OPENINGS:  NON-STOP (Universal) had the Friday lead with $10M, but that doesn’t mean it’ll take the weekend.  In any case, Universal’s investment will pay off handsomely–it covered only $12M of the budget for US rights (plus marketing costs in its territory, of course), and a likely weekend in the high $20Ms should mean US […]

  Hannibal didn’t eat anyone on the first Olympics-free Friday in a month. NBC:  HANNIBAL returned at 1.1, which was considerably below its series premiere 1.5 (which aired on a Thursday), but better than its postseason 0.7 season finale.  It was also slightly up from the 1.0 season finale of Dracula in that timeslot.  Hannibal […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #9 of 2014 looks like $109 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, somewhat better than we forecast Wednesday ($100 million) but still 17% below the average for this weekend. Opening at 3,090 theaters Friday, Non-Stop from Universal grossed $10.0 million Friday, putting the film on track for a $30.0 million opening weekend […]

  We’ve reviewed all the performers in the Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Actress and Best Actor categories, and now it’s time to look at the filmmakers themselves.  Here’s a last rundown of the factors for and against each Best Director nominee, with merit taken for granted and precursor awards put aside.  Also, read […]

  NON-STOP (Universal) has taken the initial lead over SON OF GOD (20th) with a tight Friday win, according to preliminary numbers at Deadline, but the weekend race is far from over.  Non-Stop reportedly took in $9.5M on Friday (including around $700K on Thursday night), with Son of God close behind at $9M+ (including $1.2M […]

  Continuing as we’ve done for Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress, here’s a final look at the pros and cons behind each nominee for Best Actor.  All are assumed to deserve the award on the basis of performance, and precursor wins can be counted elsewhere.  Also read about the Best Director and Best Picture races. […]

  AFTERNOON UPDATE:  All movements were of the 0.1 variety, with AMERICAN IDOL, BIG BANG THEORY, GREY’S ANATOMY, SCANDAL and PARKS & RECREATION getting the bump.  That meant IDOL and PARKS tied their lows rather than setting new ones, but even though THE MILLERS also went down 0.1, IDOL still lost that competition (IDOL did […]

  As with Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, we’re taking a last look at the factors for and against each nominee for Best Actress, with deserving performances assumed and precursor awards put to the side.  Also read about the Best Actor, Best Director and Best Picture races. BEST ACTRESS AMY ADAMS, American Hustle WHY:  With 5 nominations in […]