Based on Friday’s grosses, Weekend #3 of 2013 is on pace for $113 million, basically on pace with the same weekend the last few years.  It is a weekend of Jessica Chastain: starring in the top two films of the weekend, an over-performing horror film opening at #1 and carrying the #2 film on her […]

Lance Armstrong (as calculating, cautious and conniving as ever) appeared with Oprah Winfrey Thursday night on the struggling OWN network in a much-hyped and relatively little-watched interview. The 90-minute part one of Lance Armstrong on Oprah’s Next Chapter at 9:00 pm scored a 1.2 rating with adults 18-49 and averaged 3.2 million viewers of any age.  The […]

CBS does FOX a favor. FOX:  With CBS in reruns last night, AMERICAN IDOL didn’t have to face fresh episodes of Big Bang Theory or 2 1/2 Men.  That allowed Idol to tie last year’s 5.6 Thursday premiere (which had to contend with a new Big Bang), although it doesn’t bode well for next week, […]

After its Golden Globes win for Best Drama, the odds of winning Best Picture for Argo improved a bit (moving from a $7.50 payout on a $1 wager to $5.25 and moving past Les Miserables into second place).  But the favorite remains Lincoln, which also actually tightened to a $1.29 payout (from $1.40 last week), as Les Miz and especially Zero […]

American Idol isn’t scary anymore. FOX:  As Mitch Metcalf detailed this morning, AMERICAN IDOL‘s 6.0 season debut–while obviously still a huge number for any network series–was down 1.4 ratings points from last year’s premiere, and down a staggering 3.7 points from 2 years ago, a margin that in itself would be the rating for a […]

American Idol returned to the air last night, winning the night handily but continuing the show’s long slide from phenomenon to mere mortal status.  The two-hour premiere last night averaged a 6.0 adult 18-49 rating from 8-10 pm, down 19% from last year’s premiere (7.4 rating) and down 38% from the 2011 premiere (9.7 rating). Next […]

The third weekend of 2013 should total about $106 million for the top 12 films, down a bit from the same weekend the past few years.  Three movies open Friday and an Oscar hopeful expands into wide release, but no film should gross much more than $15 million Friday-Sunday. Opening in about 2,400 theaters Friday, […]

No major movements on the night as we await some finales and arrivals over the next few weeks. NBC:  PARENTHOOD, the Rodney Dangerfield of network television, won its hour with a steady 1.9, and was the network’s highest rated show of the night.  (Even though it’s getting a bit contrived as it heads toward next […]