Weekend #5 of 2015 is looking like $104 million for the top 12 films this weekend, actually well above the normal volume for this weekend ($77 million), which is hobbled by the Super Bowl and its massive television audience.  American Sniper on Friday and Saturday should salvage the weekend somewhat, but there is very little […]

Here is the final Summer Olympic ratings track for Rio 2016, with the official ratings for all 17 nights.  In terms of millions of viewers 2+, Rio finished above Sydney 2000, just above Athens 2004, but below Beijing 2008 and London 2012.  In terms of adult 18-49 rating (what an advertiser cares about), Rio was well below […]

  AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (Marvel/Disney) continues to be a monstrous hit–but not as monstrous as expected.  Based on preliminary numbers at Deadline, its 2d Friday will be $21.9M, down 74% from last Friday’s $84.4M, and down 25% from the $29.2M 2d Friday of The Avengers.  Ultron is heading for a Weekend 2 drop of […]

Here are the full week sports ratings for Monday April 11 through Sunday April 17, 2022. Eligible programs include sporting events on broadcast and cable networks (minimum audience size 200K Persons 2+ live+same day). Programs are grouped by sport and ranked within each sport by P2+ audience size. Here is the same week last year: […]

  Note:  due to last week’s low-grossing Super Bowl Sunday, all weekend-to-weekend comparisons appear unusually strong this week. OPENINGS:  THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE:  SPONGE OUT OF WATER (Nickelodeon/Paramount) notched the #5 February opening ever with $56M (although not quite in a league with last year’s The LEGO Movie, which was #2 with $69.1M).  The studios seem […]

  Plot and character revelations are a critical part of James Marsh’s subtle, complex spy drama SHADOW DANCER, adapted by Tom Bradby from his own novel, so I’ll be circumspect in describing its plot beyond the initial set-up.  (Then again, I saw it at an 8:30AM screening at Sundance, so I’m not altogether sure I […]

  If preliminary numbers at Deadline hold, the Weekend 2 drop for CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (Marvel/Disney) will be in line with comparable superhero epics.  Its second Friday looks like $19.5M, which would be down about 74% from last week’s opening day.  That compares to Friday-to-Friday drops of 75% for Avengers: Age of Ultron, 71% […]

        NETWORK FINALS:  20/20 lost 0.1 in final numbers.         Broadcast Official Nationals Program Ratings Chart     CABLE HIGHLIGHTS:  A&E’s LIVE PD led Friday cable, up a tenth to 0.58, with the pre-show hour up 0.08 to 0.33.  ESPN’s NBA doubleheader was at 0.57/0.42.  On Discovery, GOLD RUSH […]