There was wide speculation that AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (Marvel/Disney) would outgross the opening weekend of the first Avengers, but in the US that may not be in the cards.  Ultron did beat Avengers on Friday, $84.5M vs $80.8M, but that win comes with an asterisk, because both include Friday night showings, and Ultron […]

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 […]

        NETWORK FINALS:  The only significant adjustment (to the next tenth) was for FOX’s AMERICAN ROAD TRIP.          Broadcast Official Nationals Program Ratings Chart     CABLE HIGHLIGHTS:  As will also probably be the case for Wednesday, Tuesday cable was dominated by news, here on the Georgia runoffs.  CNN’s […]

> Box office momentum continues this weekend with one strong new entry and several solid holdovers.  We expect another weekend tally above the same weekend in 2010. Opening at about 3,400 theaters, X-Men: First Class should average a very strong $20,800 per theater (for $71 million this weekend).  Critical reviews for this prequel have been […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2017 film slates by studio, including early 2018 dollars for films released later in 2017. We will start tracking the 2018 studio slates in a few weeks. YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. A first look at 2018 year to date after only one week. A reminder: […]

  The Super Bowl will take a chunk out of everyone today, the only Sunday that plays like a Monday with 60-70% drops from Saturday across the board.  That’s why the studios, for the most part, stay away. OPENINGS:  Given that fact, WARM BODIES (Summit/Lionsgate) did fairly well with a $20M weekend (that includes $500K […]

>Super 8 now looks like a $37 million opening weekend based on Friday and Saturday results.  The weekend top 12 should be down 6% from 2010.    The ShowbuzzDaily Domestic Final estimates now show that Super 8 should finish its domestic run with $109 million.  X-Men: First Class has been downgraded a touch to $163 […]

  It’s time to start hoping Netflix, or cable, or some other outlet with good taste and cash to burn will save HAPPY ENDINGS.  ABC, in a vote of no confidence, announced today that it’s yanking the sitcom from its Tuesday 9PM slot and after about 6 weeks off the air, will stick back-to-back episodes […]