OPENINGS:  BULLET TRAIN (Columbia/Sony) opened in line with general predictions at $30.1M, but that’s not the same as a good result.  The film carries around $175M in production/marketing costs, and faces a long track to profitability.  Nor does it appear to be showing particular strength internationally, despite Brad Pitt’s star power and the international […]

> A surprisingly strong start for 2 low-budget arrivals, although the upside is limited by tomorrow’s Super Bowl. OPENINGS:  CHRONICLE (20th) had a slight $350K edge over THE WOMAN IN BLACK (CBS Films) on Friday, and both are in frontloaded genres, appealing to young men and young women, respectively.  Young men are more likely to […]

  In any given year, there are perhaps 15 movies that can even be seriously entertained in a Best Picture conversation, so with the combination of a potential 10 Oscar nominees under the new rules and the weeks of preliminary awards, Top 10 Lists, predictions and speculations that occupy the weeks preceding the announcement, the […]

> The arrival of the World Series meant remarkably little to the other networks last night. FOX:  Last night’s was the lowest rated non-Saturday Game 1 in history, and basically did the same rating for FOX as X Factor has been getting on Wednesdays all season.  If there’s to be any upside for the network […]

  AFTERNOON UPDATE:  Things actually got worse for AMERICAN IDOL in the adjusted numbers, falling 0.1 to 1.7, not just yet another new all-time low, but ignominiously keeping it in a tie with THE CRAZY ONES (which also fell 0.1), a show CBS may not even renew.  THE MILLERS and ELEMENTARY also lost 0.1 each.  […]

  NETWORK UPDATE:  NBC’s NHL PLAYOFFS game adjusted to 1.5, and FOX’s regional MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL coverage adjusted to 0.4 nationwide. CABLE HIGHLIGHTS:  Lifetime’s MARILYN: THE SECRET LIFE OF MARILYN MONROE led Saturday cable at 0.50, and its BEYOND THE HEADLINES follow-up was close behind at 0.42.  Adult Swim’s late-night line-up returned solidly after skipping […]

  Crossover episodes for sweeps are as old as the hills, but they still work. 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) and total viewership (thousands of people over the […]

    CHICAGO FIRE:  WEDNESDAY 10PM on NBC WHAT IT’S SAYING:  Backdraft, not Rescue Me.  Big fires, sweeping, heroic music, a stalwart band of brothers (and the occasional sister) uniting despite their personal strife to save the people of Chicago. WHAT IT’S REALLY SAYING:  Even though it’s from Dick Wolf, not a pure Law & […]