> It may not literally be true that if you look up “hack” in the dictionary, you’ll find a picture of Brett Ratner.  In fact, not all his movies are terrible:  there’s Family Man, and… well, Family Man really wasn’t bad at all.  But did we need the director of Money Talks, Rush Hour, Rush […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2018 film slates by studio. The studio totals also include 2018 dollars for films released in late 2017. YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2018 to date is still +10% above last year and still+11% above the average for this point […]

>Now we slog through September.  The top 12 films usually gross $73 million the weekend after Labor Day, and the September weekends afterward average around $85 million.  By October, however, the typical weekend perks up to over $100 million.  Contagion should takeover the #1 spot this weekend, with Warrior fighting The Help for #2 and […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Year to date, Warner Brothers remains head and shoulders above the other studios, while Sony and Universal form a second tier with about $500 million worldwide each for 2014 to date.  Lionsgate/Summit and Disney now join Fox and Paramount in the third tier (between $200 million and $300 million worldwide each). Scroll […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #36 of 2015 looks like $63 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, actually fairly good versus the norm for the dreadful Labor Day weekend (see track below). Opening at 1,960 theaters Wednesday, A Walk in the Woods from Broad Green Pictures is on track for a $7.7 million opening three-day weekend and $9.7 […]

The Past Week: Total Box Office Volume All films in wide release playing between September 17 and September 23 grossed a weak $107 million, down 12% from the four-year average for the week and down a big 24% from the same week last year.  We have to go back to the same week in 2007 […]

    Watch it at home.   The genial PAUL really only has one joke–luckily it’s a pretty good one: what if ET had the persona of Seth Rogen? While Paul isn’t the first alien to crack jokes (remember Alf?), Rogen’s voice gives the guy a little slacker/stoner kick. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are […]

> Watch It At Home:  The God of Thunder Musters a Tinny Roar. Put it this way:  the new superhero epic THOR cost something like $150M to produce, required the diligent services of hundreds of professionals over a period of 2 years, is being presented with all the trappings of IMAX, 3D and super-stereo, and […]