>Another win for Katniss Everdeen. THE HUNGER GAMES: In just its 3rd weekend of release, and with plenty left in the tank, THE HUNGER GAMES (Lionsgate/Summit) hit $302.8M, and has already outgrossed every picture in the Twilight series. (Only 5 movies have gotten to $300M faster.) By this time next week, it will also have […]

Weekend #28 of 2015 is looking like $194 million for the top 12 films this weekend, slightly above the norm for this weekend and way above last year’s very soft weekend (see comparisons below).  [Note: a previous version of this post had incorrect estimated weekend totals.] Minions from Universal should open with a $108 million three-day weekend. Early reviews at RottenTomatoes […]

  The title BETTER LATE THAN NEVER may also have applied to its late-August launch. 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 […]

        NETWORK FINALS:  ABC’s NBA PLAYOFFS game gained half a point in final numbers, putting it up to 2.0, while NBC’s NHL PLAYOFFS game rose 0.3 to 1.2.  In addition, the CRIMINAL MINDS rerun on CBS lost 0.1.       Broadcast Official Nationals Program Ratings Chart     CABLE HIGHLIGHTS:  The […]

  Football was the night’s main attraction. 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 age of 2). Ratings analysis follows the chart. […]

> Gus Van Sant has been making movies for 25 years, but Restless–apart from its technical polish–feels like the work of a Sundance newcomer. And one who’s been reading too much Salinger, while meanwhile wearing out his DVD of Harold and Maude. Restless is way beyond twee; its mega-tweeness is like a Transformers movie compared […]

  Simply a spectacular night for cable television. AMC:  The season finale for THE WALKING DEAD had an astounding 9.1 rating in 18-49s when its 9PM, 11PM, midnight and 1AM airings are combined, and the 9PM broadcast alone scored a giant 6.4, up a full point from the previous week.  Even the TALKING DEAD post-finale […]

  NETWORK UPDATE:  Game 4 of the WORLD SERIES adjusted up 0.3 in final numbers to 3.4, and ABC’s COLLEGE FOOTBALL game was up 0.2 to 1.7.  Broadcast Official Nationals Program Ratings Chart     CABLE HIGHLIGHTS:  Starz’s decision to premiere ASH VS EVIL DEAD on Halloween night, when much of its target audience was […]