NETWORK UPDATE:  FOX’s Notre Dame vs. Stanford COLLEGE FOOTBALL game adjusted up to 2.0 in final numbers, while ABC’s Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State game stayed at 1.4.  In addition, DATELINE lost 0.1. Broadcast Official Nationals Program Ratings Chart   CABLE HIGHLIGHTS:  ESPN and COLLEGE FOOTBALL were in virtually sole possession of Saturday cable, with […]

  OPENINGS:  A bit surprisingly, perhaps, Pixar’s recent movies haven’t exploded at the Saturday/Sunday matinee box office, with merely normal (as opposed to “family”) weekend multiples off their Friday openings.  So MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (Disney/Pixar) is likely headed to a $75-78M weekend after a $30.5M Friday, slightly less than anticipated.  That’s still Pixar’s 2d-best opening ever (behind […]

  The Toronto International Film Festival is, of the major North American festivals, by far the most pleasant to attend.  Its line-up of films and clout are matched only by Sundance’s, and it substitutes balmy 70 degree weather and large, well-appointed theaters for that festival’s snowy winds and converted high school auditoriums and hotel ballrooms.  […]

Big Brother returns, to limited viewer excitement. CBS:  The network won the night with the premiere of BIG BROTHER, which was down 0.2 from last year’s debut at 2.6.  Last night’s score was actually lower than the rerun of THE BIG BANG THEORY (2.8) that preceded the premiere. ABC:  DUETS stumbled toward next week’s finale […]

>American Idol returned to the air down 26% from last year.  It still dominates the night, but it raises many questions.  Is the singing contest sub-genre tired as a whole?  Did X Factor lessen interest in Idol‘s return?  Are viewers tiring of the Idol judges?  And most intriguingly, is this a good sign or a […]

> TOWER HEIST hurts Universal on several levels.  It’s a big-budget movie (with marketing costs included, the total is likely $200M) in a genre that doesn’t necessarily travel well, and it was the studio’s big year-end release.  And just to make things worse, next week its pair of Stiller and Murphy have to face off […]

  OPENINGS:  The weekend’s tallest dwarf was WAR DOGS (RatPac/Warners) with a soft $14.3M start.  The 12% Saturday drop indicates that word of mouth isn’t great, and early international numbers are weak as well, with $6.5M in 31 markets.  War Dogs cost $125M+ in production and worldwide marketing, and it seems likely to add to […]

>Despite a downgraded estimated domestic total, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 expanded its international gross to date to come very close to the billion dollar mark.  Transformers: Dark of the Moon is starting to top out in its overseas gross — the worldwide gross will probably end up around $950 million.  Captain […]