Liam Neeson, superstar. OPENINGS:  TAKEN 2 (20th) is on track for an opening in the high-$40Ms, which would make it the biggest weekend #1 since late July’s 2nd weekend of The Dark Knight Rises.  Since the movie only cost around $45M to produce (not including substantial marketing costs), it’s already assured of success, and […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #4 of 2015 looks like $143 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, well above the norm for the fourth weekend of the year, which usually struggles to get above $100 million.  (See complete weekend track below.)  All credit goes to American Sniper, which is truly extraordinary.  As for the […]

  Another week’s worth of ratings are in, and once again, we ask:  what do we know now that we didn’t know a week ago? NEXT CALLER MUST HAVE BEEN A REALLY, REALLY BAD SHOW.  Last week NBC stopped production on Next Caller, a single-camera sitcom slated for midseason that starred Dane Cook as a […]

  OPENINGS:  Hollywood’s barely-breathing Labor Day weekend didn’t get any healthier on Saturday.  The CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (Columbia/Sony) re-release had a 35% Saturday bump, and like everything else in the market, it will hold nearly steady on this holiday Sunday, then have a Sunday-type decline on Monday.  (The exception is that children’s […]

An oddball night, thanks to the final PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE and sports. NBC:  Normally it would be worth some concern that THE VOICE was down 0.6 from last week (still an easy winner at 4.2), but on such an atypical evening, it’s hard to know if the drop has any meaning.  Because NBC had the bulk […]

  We’re now 5 weeks into the 2012-13 TV season, and as we regularly do, it’s time to ask:  What do we know now that we didn’t know a week ago? NBC Is Running Out Of Sitcoms.  With the cancellation of Animal Practice, the as-planned short final season of 30 Rock, the production halt on […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2017 film slates by studio. YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2017 to date is now down -2% from last year and now +2% above the average for this point the past four years ($7.598 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed […]

  There were no surprises of any scale at tonight’s ACADEMY AWARDS (a full list of winners is here) , and that went for the telecast, too.  Neil Patrick Harris was as personable a host as anticipated, and he/his writers were sometimes quick on their feet, as when he had a gag ready about a Documentary […]