So much for tracking.  Defying all expectations, LONE SURVIVOR (Universal) is romping with what might be called the Duck Dynasty audience that goes underreported in pre-opening surveys, and according to preliminary numbers at Deadline, its Friday may be as high as $14M, which could give it a $35M+ weekend.  Peter Berg’s film only cost […]

  To no one’s surprise, NBC has announced midseason sitcom launches that try to take maximum adventage of the upcoming Winter Olympics–and The Voice.  Starting on February 25, the first Tuesday after the Olympics ends, ABOUT A BOY and GROWING UP FISHER will air in the 9PM hour, running directly after the Tuesday edition of […]

  ENLISTED:  Friday 9:30PM on FOX  – Change the Channel Not all goofy, barely-functional family sitcoms are alike, and although FOX has paired the new ENLISTED with Raising Hope on its Friday schedule, the two aren’t much of a match.  Raising Hope is a very smart comedy about people who aren’t necessarily rocket scientists, while […]

  AFTERNOON UPDATE:  PARKS & RECREATION has been badly in need of a boost, and airing behind COMMUNITY may have supplied it, as an extra 0.1 in final numbers gave it a 1.5, which may not look like much but is up 50% from its last airing.  It was the highest rated show on NBC […]

  The Television Critics Association gatherings are taking place over the next few weeks, which means a steady flow of scheduling updates amidst the press conferences promoting upcoming shows.  Today was HBO’s day at the podium, and its major announcement was that the upcoming 5th season of BOARDWALK EMPIRE will be its final one, likely […]

  AFTERNOON UPDATE:  CHICAGO PD held its 2.0 rating in final numbers, and remained stable through the hour, which is a good sign for the show.  REVOLUTION, though, sank 0.1 to 1.5, just barely over its series low, and the 10:30PM SUPER FUN NIGHT also lost 0.1 to 1.7.  The PEOPLES CHOICE AWARDS gained 0.1 […]

Wednesday fast national ratings and relevant comparisons:

Weekend #2 of 2014 is looking like $100 million for the top 12 films, a pretty shabby total for a weekend that normal totals $125 million or more. Opening at around 2,700 theaters Friday (slightly below the 2,886 average theater count for opening weekends the last two years), Lone Survivor from Universal should average about $8,200 per […]