Melissa McCarthy is a movie star. OPENINGS:  She co-stars with Jason Bateman (who is also a producer of the movie), but there’s no doubt that IDENTITY THIEF (Universal) is being sold on McCarthy’s back, and the movie is off to a great $11.2M opening day.  Frontloading and East Coast weather may hold it back […]

A bad night for debuts. FOX:  No one showed up for the return of TOUCH, which started with a weak 1.1 in its first hour and fell to an even worse 0.9 in its second.  Unless things turn around quickly (unlikely, with Grimm on the way as competition), its mysteries may never be solved. CBS:  Despite […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, Weekend #6 of 2013 is another weak one: only $84 million for the top 12 films (about 50% behind the pace for the same weekend the last few years, an even steeper drop than last weekend).  The lone bright spot: Identity Thief.  Our big lesson: never underestimate Melissa McCarthy.  Our outlook […]

  The early Friday numbers this week are likely to be even less reliable than usual, since weather conditions on the East Coast make estimates very dicey.  That being said, the preliminary numbers at Deadline make it clear that come blizzard or high water, IDENTITY THIEF (Universal) will be the big winner of the weekend.  […]

  We noted last night that it wouldn’t be a surprise if the second episode of DO NO HARM turned out to also be its last, and after the ratings dropped from last week’s premiere to an even more horrific 0.7, the series was indeed put out of its misery.  So anyone who really wanted […]

Compared to the return of Smash, the season premiere of Community looked like–well, a smash. NBC:  Were they just curiosity-seekers, intrigued by the show’s overhaul, or fans who will stick around?  We’ll find out next week, but for one night at least, a network desperately in need of good news got a bit, as COMMUNITY […]

February Sweeps stunts by NBC and CBS both fail. NBC:  The network aggressively promoted last night’s SVU because it featured Mike Tyson as a guest star, but the show dropped 0.2 to 1.5, in 4th place for its hour.  CHICAGO FIRE had an even steeper fall, down 0.3 to 1.8, but that was enough to […]

The sixth weekend of 2013 looks like another very bad one.  Only $78 million for the top 12 films, over 50% below the normal pace for this weekend.  That’s three down weekends in a row, and the year-over-year declines are accelerating each week.  Now before you think there is a “slump” caused by piracy, streaming, […]