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 […]

  See our analysis of the fall line-ups for NBC, FOX, ABC and CBS. In a way, CW got there before anyone else.  The mini-network has been able to make a business out of shrunken linear ratings for years, cobbling together low network license fees, lucrative SVOD deals, an extensive push on streaming, and international sales to produce […]

  All boxoffice figures are unofficial until tomorrow, when the studios will once again admit that they’re in a business designed to make money.  However, numbers have made their way to the outside world, and it seems clear that as midsummer Saturdays go, yesterday was slower than usual, probably by a factor of 10-20% virtually […]

    FRIDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE:  Both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter are reporting, based on Friday afternoon sales, that MOCKINGJAY is going to substantially underperform THE HUNGER GAMES and CATCHING FIRE for the day, and therefore for the weekend, to an extent that goes far beyond the fact that unlike the others in the series, […]

  THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (Warners) did indeed have a big Saturday, as the preliminary numbers estimated–up 40% from Friday and fueling what should be a $63-65M 2d weekend, down about 60% from the opening.  It continues to run behind The Dark Knight, which had a $75.2M  Weekend 2 that was down only 53%, but […]

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 +7% above last year and now +8% above the average for this point the past four years ($4.283 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed over $13.1 […]

  STATE OF AFFAIRS wasn’t quite as dead last night as it was a week ago, but it’s still far from healthy. DEMOGRAPHIC DETAIL: For each broadcast program (or hour segment), the chart below displays preliminary key advertiser demographics (adult 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 ratings), audience skews (women 18-49, men 18-49 and adults 50+ shares) […]

  Any negative ratings effect due to the Olympics seems to have subsided, as the numbers were generally up for cable on Sunday night. HBO:  TRUE BLOOD, of course, was in the lead, with a 2.7 rating that was up slightly from last week, and another crazytime episode that at least let us bid adieu […]