THE WEEK.  For the recently completed week ending Sunday (December 31, 2012-January 6, 2013), NBC maintained first place with a preliminary 2.75 adult 18-49 rating in prime time.  The week was supported by NBC’s final NFL game of the season (an NFL Wild Card game on Saturday night, which should go up to a 10.6 rating).  But […]

Updated international box office chart below.  The Hobbit (+$97 million overseas since last week) and Life of Pi (+$82 million) are the big movers this week. New entrants to the chart include The Impossible at #31, Texas Chainsaw at #41, and Promised Land at #65.  With significant (and growing overseas business) the Spanish-produced Impossible is the one film in this week’s crop that can move up […]

  OPENINGS:  TEXAS CHAINSAW (Lionsgate) did what most horror movies do, dropping 23% on Saturday for a lousy 2.3x weekend multiple of its Friday gross.  It was actually in 2d place on both Saturday and Sunday, but that frontloaded Friday was enough to give it a comfortable $23M win for the weekend.  With a $20M […]

NBC’s prime time Wild Card game Saturday night (Minnesota at Green Bay) easily destroyed the competition — a 9.2 rating with Adults 18-49 from 8-11 pm against a 1.9 rating combined for CBS (0.8), FOX (0.7) and ABC (0.4).   The 9.2 fast national rating should rise to around a 10.6 rating in the official nationals. But […]

Monday night features the premiere of NBC’s temporary schedule until The Voice returns.  The Biggest Loser settles into its new night (after a preview tonight featuring the return of trainer Jillian Michaels) from 8-10 pm, followed by the premiere of new drama Deception.  ABC premieres The Bachelor directly against Biggest Loser and follows that up with a new episode of Castle.  FOX’s schedule includes […]

Based on Friday’s and Saturday’s grosses, Weekend #1 of 2013 is now on pace for $126 million, a touch stronger than it looked yesterday and still very much line with the comparable weekend in previous years.  Both Texas Chainsaw 3D and Django Unchained are also looking a little stronger than they seemed yesterday, but the […]

  Today’s shipment of critical praise comes courtesy of the National Society of Film Critics, a small (60-member) but prestigious group, which today gave Michael Haneke’s AMOUR one of its biggest boosts of the season, with awards for Picture, Director and Actress (Emmanuelle Riva).  Oscar nomination voting is now closed, so these prizes will only […]

  They deleted Massacre from its title, but it’s still mowing down the competition. OPENINGS:  Why does Hollywood make ultraviolent movies?  Because they sell tickets.  TEXAS CHAINSAW (Lionsgate) is overperforming its way to a surprisingly strong weekend win, with $10.2M on its first night.  Horror movies are hugely front-loaded, so it’s unlikely to be higher […]