The 8th weekend of 2013 looks like another down weekend: $95 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, down 16% from the same weekend last year.  Two more movies will open this weekend, both with little potential. Opening in about 2,500 theaters Friday, Snitch from Summit and starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson should average a perfectly […]

  Almost anyone could win Best Supporting Actor this year.  All of the nominees delivered acclaimed performances in highly-praised films, and all are previous winners, so none of them would necessarily take precedence as someone who’s “owed.”  It’s possible to construct plausible cases for and against each one: Tommy Lee Jones, LINCOLN Pros:  Jones is […]

No good news for anyone last night. ABC:  It was never clear why ABC renewed BODY OF PROOF, which had marginal ratings last season (reportedly foreign sales played a part, as the network’s in-house studio produces the show), but last night’s season premiere certainly didn’t justify the decision.  Despite very little competition on the other […]

  The voting has just closed for this year’s Academy Awards, and here at Oscar Central, we are ready to make the following call: Daniel Day-Lewis is going to win the Best Actor Oscar for Lincoln. I know, way out on a limb.  And sure, Buster Douglas beat Mike Tyson, nothing is certain in this […]

  Viewership for the Season 3 finale of DOWNTON ABBEY wasn’t hurt at all (and may have been helped a bit) by the fact that its “surprise” death had been out there in the internet ether since the show aired in the UK last December.  The finale had a 5.2 household rating and an estimated […]

A good night for those seeking true love and serial killings. FOX:  A big sigh of relief was breathed at FOX as THE FOLLOWING bounced back to 2.8, up 0.4 from last week (and the episode ended with a cliffhanger that should keep the show going into next week).  The result looked particularly good because […]

Following up on Mitch Salem’s Best Picture overview, here’s an updated look at the odds for the major Oscar categories. After its winning streak at the various guild award ceremonies, Argo has traded places with Lincoln as the favorite for Best Picture.  London bookmakers would pay $1.15 on a $1 bet if Argo wins, a movement of +6 in […]

  So, is it over? It certainly feels over.  Voting for the Academy Awards ends tomorrow, and last night’s win at the Writers Guild for Best Adapted Screenplay cemented Argo’s astonishing streak of victories over the past 5+ weeks.  With the Oscars still almost a week away, it’s already at the heart of the Argo […]