Based on preliminary numbers at Deadline, THE CONJURING (Warners) might be headed for the biggest horror opening of the year.  It reportedly pulled in $16.5M on Thursday night/Friday, neck-and-neck with the $16.8M that The Purge made on its opening day.  But Conjuring has the kind of strong reviews and exit polls that suggest it might […]

  BROADCAST FINALS ABC:  A marathon of BLACK-ISH reruns at 0.19-0.34. CBS:  Reruns at 0.38/0.31/0.32. NBC:  Reruns at 0.26/0.18/0.18/0.13. FOX:  A MASKED SINGER rerun at 0.24. CW:  Reruns at 0.07/0.08/0.07.   Broadcast Official Nationals Program Ratings Chart   CABLE HIGHIGHTS:  ESPN’s COLLEGE FOOTBALL bowl games commanded the day and night at 0.90/0.56/0.55/0.48.  Food Network’s CHOPPED […]

>Game 2 of the World Series averaged a 3.7 Adult 18-49 rating in the fast nationals, down from a 3.9 fast national rating for Game 1.  The official nationals rating for Game 2 should be about a 4.0 this afternoon (compared to a 4.2 for Game 1).  It really is a shame because this is […]

  We’re in the 2-week void between Thanksgiving and the Awakening of the Force, and the low-budget KRAMPUS (Legendary/Universal) is the weekend’s only major studio arrival.  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, it’s performing a tad beyond expectations with $6.25M on Friday.  Given the quick burn-out for horror movies, that should mean a $13-15M weekend, […]

  OPENINGS:   Two smart studio decisions bailed out what could have been a scary opening weekend for THE WOLVERINE (20th).  Fox kept the budget relatively low for its expensive genre, just $250M or so including worldwide marketing, and it boosted international appeal with an Asian setting.  Both paid off, as the movie had the robust […]

  BROADCAST FINALS ABC:  The finale of WOMEN OF THE MOVEMENT dropped 0.05 to 0.40, and the final LET THE WORLD SEE was down 0.07 to 0.31. CBS:  YOUNG SHELDON rose a tenth to 0.83, UNITED STATES OF AL held at 0.53, GHOSTS gained 0.03 to 0.68, and B POSITIVE ticked up to 0.50.  BULL […]

> Another night of atypical FOX programming as we head to the World Series endgame(s). ABC:  The real test for the network’s new sitcoms will be next week when Glee returns, but ABC can’t be happy with the preliminary results:  the very expensive, hugely-promoted LAST MAN STANDING is a passable sub-3, while MAN UP! is […]

The ratings below are household ratings from the 56 television markets with local Nielsen meters for Saturday August 3 and Sunday August 4, 2013. (The 56 markets out of 210 total cover about 70% of the US television population.)   Golf was back in business this weekend with Tiger Woods running away with the WGC […]