OPENINGS:  There was a barely-wide opening for OUR FRIEND (Gravitas, also on VOD) at 543 theatres with a $250K weekend that translated into a quiet per-theatre average of $460. HOLDOVERS:  THE MARKSMAN (Open Road) dipped 35% in its 2nd weekend to $2M (by comparison,  Liam Neeson’s prior vehicle Honest Thief dropped 43% in Weekend […]

        NETWORK FINALS:  The reruns of SINGLE PARENTS and CELEBRITY FAMILY FEUD lost 0.1 in final numbers.           Broadcast Official Nationals Program Ratings Chart     CABLE HIGHLIGHTS:  The season 2 finale of YELLOWSTONE won the cable night at 0.59, up 0.06 from last week, and even more impressively […]

  FOX has announced the Season 10 renewal of BONES, which isn’t a major surprise, considering that the show has been a reliable performer for the network wherever it’s been scheduled–most recently in the netherworld of Friday nights.  (The only thing that could have kept Bones from a renewal was the cost associated with talent […]

  NETWORK UPDATE:  Things only got worse for AQUARIUS and HANNIBAL in final numbers, as both lost 0.1 to hit new lows of 0.2 and 0.3 respectively.  The rerun of RUNNING WILD was also down 0.1.  CABLE HIGHLIGHTS:  HBO insists on listing its premieres of theatrical movies as “originals,” which is why THE MAZE RUNNER appears […]

    A BETTER LIFE – Watch It At Home:  Earnest Isn’t Enough   Impending disaster hangs over every early scene of Chris Weitz’s new film A BETTER LIFE.  As soon as we’re introduced to Carlos Galindo (Demian Bichir) and learn that he’s an illegal immigrant, eking out a life as a gardener in Los […]

> Viewers continue to be uninspired by the network offerings:  with one exception, season lows were the order of the evening. CBS:  CSI benefited from a repeat SVU on NBC and no Revenge on ABC, and scored its second-best rating of the season.  Before that, though, SURVIVOR tied a season low even though this was […]

  Note that due to an overrun for THE MASTERS, the CBS primetime schedule began at 7:25PM in most of the country, which will lead to adjustments in finals. DEMOGRAPHIC DETAIL: For each broadcast program (or hour segment), the chart below displays preliminary live+same day key advertiser demographics (adult 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 ratings), audience skews […]

>The sixth weekend of the year should generate about $142 million for the top 12 films — up 5% from last year’s comparable weekend but down a similar percentage from a “normal” weekend this time of year.  The Vow and Safe House should open very solidly at #1 and #2.            […]