With a few scattered exceptions, over the next couple of days the broadcast networks will shut down their regular series for breaks that will range from 2 to 12 weeks, for all intents and purposes ending the “fall” part of the 2013-14 TV season. Let’s see where we are: Season to Date Averages Weeks […]

  Preliminary numbers from last night’s season finale have HOMELAND setting a new series record with 2.4M total viewers for its initial airing (an additional 500K tuned in for the re-broadcast later in the evening).  Whatever the qualms have been over this season’s creative direction, its viewership has been very solid. MASTERS OF SEX has […]

The ratings below are household ratings from the 56 television markets with local Nielsen meters for Saturday December 14 and Sunday December 15, 2013. The 56 markets (out of 210 total) cover about 70% of the US television population.   College Football Week 16 4.2 rating CBS 3:00 Army vs Navy 2.7 rating ESPN 8:00 […]

  On a night dotted with football (adjusted up below to anticipated final numbers), it didn’t pay to be the odd network out. ABC:  The fall finale of ONCE UPON A TIME didn’t go the way ABC had hoped, dropping 0.2 from last week to 1.9, which tied its all-time low.  The show doesn’t return […]

Updated worldwide box office chart for 2013 North American films.  Also, click here for a summary of worldwide performance by studio.

Warner Brothers is back on top of Disney, thanks to the second Hobbit film.  For a complete ranking of 2013 films individually by worldwide performance click here. TOTAL NORTH AMERICAN BOX OFFICE. Looking at wide-release films in North America (those that play on at least 400 screens at some point), 2013 totals almost $9.5 billion, virtually even with […]

  OPENINGS:  THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG (Warners/MGM) had a better Saturday hold than last year’s An Unexpected Journey (-22% vs. -25%), suggesting that positive word of mouth is kicking in, and no doubt easing the minds of Warners executives.  The studio’s $73.7M weekend estimate still puts it 13% below Journey‘s start, but if […]

Based on Friday’s  and Saturday’s grosses, Weekend #50 of 2013 looks like $139 million for the top 12 films from Friday-Sunday, not as strong as we had forecast and down $5 million from yesterday’s estimate but still up double digits in terms of percent increase over comparable weekends the past several years.   Opening at […]