> Or if the title were a Jeopardy answer, the question would be: what should writer/director Rodrigo Cortes have paid attention to, before he typed “The End” on his script Red Lights wouldn’t have been a festival movie even if it had been good. It’s no more than high-grade hokum (and not that high), and […]

Based on Friday’s and Saturday’s grosses, weekend #20 of 2014 now looks like $171 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, somewhat less than the $177 million estimate yesterday but still up 17% from the norm for this weekend.   Opening at 3,952 theaters, Godzilla from Warner Brothers grossed $38.5 million late Thursday/Friday and a slightly cooler $32.2 […]

  WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2019 film slates by studio. BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2019 is still -5% below last year’s comparable span and still basically even with this point the past four years ($7.895 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed $20.9 […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, Weekend #40 of 2013 looks like a decent $109 million for the top 12 films, down 18% from last year’s atypical weekend but up 10% from the average for the same weekend the past few years. Opening at 3,575 theaters Friday, Gravity from Warner Brothers grossed $17.4 million Friday and is on track for […]

The holiday box office season is here, a revenue bonanza particularly between December 25 and January 2, when the top 10 films in North America total over $45 million per day on average.  And the top 10 totals often exceed $60 million each day between December 25 and 27.   As a baseline, we look […]

Following up on Mitch Salem’s Best Picture overview, here’s an updated look at the odds for the major Oscar categories. After its winning streak at the various guild award ceremonies, Argo has traded places with Lincoln as the favorite for Best Picture.  London bookmakers would pay $1.15 on a $1 bet if Argo wins, a movement of +6 in […]

> Reviews of some of the more prominent movies in theatres right now: X-MEN:  FIRST CLASS MIDNIGHT IN PARIS THE HANGOVER PART II KUNG FU PANDA 2 THE TREE OF LIFE

  THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT:  Watch It At Home – If Only The Engagement Were A Little Shorter…   Judd Apatow, as both director (The 40=Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up) and producer (Bridesmaids, Superbad, Pineapple Express, TV’s new Girls) has brought a tremendous amount of first-class comedy to large and small screens in recent years.  But […]