>The eighth weekend of the year should generate about $116 million for the top 12 films — up 21% from last year’s comparable weekend and up 25% from the four-year average for this weekend.  The big studios are sitting out Oscar weekend, leaving it to Relativity, Lionsgate and Summit to open films as attention shifts […]

  Over the past 10 days or so, a multitude of groups have presented awards for 2013’s best, with prizes given to screenwriters, editors, cinematographers, animators, and production designers.  FROZEN solidified its commanding lead for the Best Animated Film Oscar, but that’s about the only conclusion to be found, as the other honors were spread […]

  BROADCAST FINALS ABC:  SHARK TANK dropped a tenth to 0.38, and 20/20 was down 0.13 to 0.27. CBS:  SWAT ticked down to 0.37, FIRE COUNTRY lost 0.05 to 0.41, and BLUE BLOODS was down a tenth to 0.33. NBC:  LOPEZ VS LOPEZ gained 0.05 to 0.26, GRAND CREW ticked up to 0.17, and DATELINE […]

> SMASH-watch continues, on a very atypical night. NBC:  With NASCAR unexpectedly occupying FOX’s primetime, CBS down and ABC up, the great news for NBC was that SMASH stabilized and even creeped up 0.1 from last week, a level that would leave the network very happy if the show can just stay there.  Even better, […]

  OPENINGS:  POKEMON: DETECTIVE PIKACHU (Legendary/Warners) started strong in the US with $58M, not that far off the $69.1M launch of The LEGO Movie.  Pikachu may not have that movie’s legs, especially with Aladdin just 2 weeks away, but it should total $175-200M here.  Pokemon in general is a more worldwide phenomenon than LEGO, which […]

  UPDATE:  THE OLYMPICS excluded the 8PM half-hour (no commercials) and by that means was able to adjust up to 5.0 for the rest of primetime. TUESDAY CABLE:  TEEN MOM (MTV) led the night with 1.4, up 0.1 from last week.  BEING MARY JANE (BET) was likewise up 0.1 to 1.3, tied for 2d place […]

BROADCAST FINALS ABC:  AMERICAN IDOL was at 0.53, and THE GOOD DOCTOR returned from an off-week down 0.05 to 0.29. CBS:  After a rerun at 0.50, the NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP was at 3.73.  Last season’s final game aired on TBS, TNT and Tru at a combined 4.72. NBC:  THE VOICE dropped 0.06 to 0.54, and QUANTUM […]

>Disclaimer:  Network pilots now in circulation are not necessarily in the form that will air in the Fall.  Pilots are often reedited and rescored, and in some cases even recast or reshot.  So these critiques shouldn’t be taken as full TV pilot reviews, but rather as a guide to the general style and content of […]