Based on Friday’s and Saturday’s grosses, weekend #8 of 2015 looks like $106 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, a little softer than it looked yesterday but still somewhat above the norms for this weekend.   Opening at 2,755 theaters Friday, McFarland, USA from Disney is on track for an $11.3 million opening three-day weekend (now slightly […]

A small cloud in NBC’s perfect Monday playground? NBC:  Last night REVOLUTION hit a new series low of 2.8.  That still makes it a tremendous hit, one that dominates its timeslot and indeed the 10PM hour in general… but it’s the show’s 3rd consecutive drop, and the timing is bad.  Revolution will only air 3 […]

  We’re now mid-way through November sweeps, and it’s time to ask once again:  What do we know now about this TV season that we didn’t know before? THERE WERE NO NEW BREAKOUT HITS THIS FALL.  Despite all the marketing, all the hype, and in some cases even the good reviews, the fall of REVOLUTION […]

DEMOGRAPHIC DETAIL: For each broadcast program (or hour segment), the chart below displays preliminary live+same day 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). Note: The fast affiliate-based ratings below measure what aired on […]

  Franchises and a former President may carry the weekend to record heights, but the newcomers stumbled. OPENINGS:  RISE OF THE GUARDIANS (DreamWorks Animation/Paramount) has the advantage of no new animated competition through the entire holiday season (Disney/Pixar is re-releasing a 3D conversion of Monsters Inc in mid-December), and it’s going to need that long […]

  Despite the addition of 3D and IMAX screens with their increased ticket prices, the opening day result for INSURGENT (Summit/Lionsgate) was below the start for last year’s Divergent, according to preliminary numbers at Deadline, with $21M compared to $22.8M.  That may mean a $48M opening weekend, below Divergent‘s $54.6M–or even less if, like most […]

A night of mostly declines. NBC: THE VOICE fell 0.3 to 3.9,  still the highest-rated show of the night.  BLAKE SHELTON’S NOT SO FAMILY CHRISTMAS held very well, with a 2.8 that was higher than several recent episodes of Revolution. CBS:  HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER was down 0.3 to 3.0, and then a rerun […]

> Watch It At Home:  Petty larceny. Sometimes casting can be too good:  Keanu Reeves playing a guy who pretty much sleepwalks through his own life is practically redundant.  His whole style, from the very start of his career in the Bill and Ted pictures (more than 20 years ago!), has been to lag a […]