Updated weekly ranking of top cable and broadcast programs.  A broadcast network reclaimed the top spot this past week (CBS’s Saturday night telecast of the Syracuse-Michigan Final Four game), mainly because Walking Dead concluded its season last week.  Otherwise, AMC would have been atop the heap again.   There are a lot of empty spaces on this […]

Weekend #34 of 2015 is looking like $105 million for the top 12 films this weekend, above the norm for this weekend (see comparisons below). Sinister 2 from Focus/Universal should open with a $15.5 million three-day weekend. Early reviews at RottenTomatoes are not going encouraging: 0% positive overall so far (with fewer than 10 reviews counted at this time…but […]

  Preliminary numbers at Deadline present a Friday box office in which few titles moved more than 10% from Thursday, typical for the Christmas-to-New Year’s period.  The top 2, once again, were FROZEN (Disney) and THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG (Warners/MGM), although with the first moving up around 7% and the other declining by […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #35 of 2014 looks like $84 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, 1% below the norm for this weekend ($85 million). Opening at 2,639 theaters, As Above/So Below from Universal grossed $3.2 million Friday and is on track for a $9.3 million opening three-day weekend (somewhat below our $10.5 million […]

  OPENINGS:  NO GOOD DEED (Screen Gems/Sony) hit in a big way with an unexpected $24.5M start.  That’s not quite the equal of 2009’s Obsessed ($28.6M), but it’s close enough.  And while Obsessed had to contend with the opening of X-Men Origins: Wolverine in its 2d weekend, No Good Deed will face much less blockbusterish […]

> The Hollywood Reporter has some rough early numbers for Friday’s boxoffice, and the news looks good for CAPTAIN AMERICA:  THE FIRST AVENGER.  Including Thursday midnight grosses of $4M, it seems to be around $25M for the day.  This would be right in the neighborhood of its Marvel-mate Thor, which had a $25.5M opening day […]

Projected weekly network ratings in prime time (based on four days of official nationals and three days of fast nationals).  ABC wins the week, thanks mostly to the Billboard Music Awards, which is up 30% over the 2012 version, making up for declines on the rest of the schedule.  With the finale of American Idol, FOX is […]

      NETWORK FINALS:  THE BACHELOR finale and SCORPION each gained 0.1 in final numbers, while BLINDSPOT and the AFTER THE FINAL ROSE after-show went the same distance in the other direction.        Broadcast Official Nationals Program Ratings Chart     CABLE HIGHLIGHTS:  In the absence of a new LOVE & HIP-HOP, […]