A general note:  the last time December 22 fell on a Friday was in 2006, and a look at that year indicates what box office patterns may be between now and January 1.  We can expect most films to have a relatively mild Saturday uptick (up to 30%) then plunge by 50% or so […]

  The Dick Wolf Universe may not be the equal of Marvel’s, but it continues to deliver for NBC. DEMOGRAPHIC DETAIL: For each broadcast program (or hour segment), the chart below displays preliminary key advertiser demographics (adult 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 ratings), audience skews (women 18-49, men 18-49 and adults 50+ shares) and total viewership (thousands […]

> THE HANGOVER PART II seems to be headed for the 4th highest Memorial Day opening of all time, behind only Pirates 3, Indiana Jones 4 and X-Men 3–and at less than half the budget of any of them.  Unlike all 3 of those, it should have good word of mouth, being a classic example […]

  AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (Marvel/Disney) continues to be a monstrous hit–but not as monstrous as expected.  Based on preliminary numbers at Deadline, its 2d Friday will be $21.9M, down 74% from last Friday’s $84.4M, and down 25% from the $29.2M 2d Friday of The Avengers.  Ultron is heading for a Weekend 2 drop of […]

The season may have its first genuine drama hit. FOX:  Last night might be slightly skewed by the fact that CBS was in reruns.  Nevertheless, THE FOLLOWING showed enormous strength by actually rising in its 2d week on the air, up slightly from last week’s premiere to 3.3.  That’s the opposite of what most shows, […]

> 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 reviews, but rather as a guide to the general style and content of the […]

  OPENINGS:  Melissa McCarthy is now a genuine Hollywood player with the enormous debut of IDENTITY THIEF (Universal), beating all pre-release estimates with $36.6M.  (Take that, Rex Reed!)  Apart from Universal, the happiest studio in town is Fox, which has the McCarthy/Sandra Bullock vehicle The Heat coming up in the thick of summer movie season […]

> Watch It At Home: Fodder For the Undemanding Young One of the running gags in MR. POPPER’S PENGUINS is that the birds are fascinated by old Charlie Chaplin movies, and can be kept calm for hours just by placing them in front of a TV displaying the silent films.  Mr. Popper’s own ambition is […]