OPENINGS:  AS ABOVE/SO BELOW (Universal) cost just $5M to produce, but its big-studio marketing campaign will add at least $30M to that, and after a $3.2M Friday, it’s headed for $9.5M by Sunday and $11.5M for the 4-day holiday, which will likely give it $20M at best for its entire US theatrical run.  Those […]

  It’s time to start hoping Netflix, or cable, or some other outlet with good taste and cash to burn will save HAPPY ENDINGS.  ABC, in a vote of no confidence, announced today that it’s yanking the sitcom from its Tuesday 9PM slot and after about 6 weeks off the air, will stick back-to-back episodes […]

  On a reality-heavy night, chefs came out on top. FOX:  MASTERCHEF was down 0.2 from last week, but still won the night at 1.8.  MOTEL HELL lost 0.1 to 1.3. CBS:  UNDER THE DOME dropped 0.1 from last week to tie its series low 1.5.  Prior to that, the night’s sitcom reruns were led […]

  The GRAMMYS weren’t quite as tuneful as last year. 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 […]

  THE GOLDBERGS, as it will be described in roughly 10 billion places between now and September, is The Wonder Years set in the 1980s, based on the childhood of series creator Adam F. Goldberg, with Jeff Garlin as gruff but loving dad, Wendi McLendon-Covey as mom, and George Segal as grandpa, who’s losing it […]

> PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 continues Paramount’s license to print money–it’ll soon be in profit even with worldwide marketing costs calculated in.  Yesterday will probably prove to be by far the biggest day of its front-loaded run, but at those prices, who cares? Sometimes it’s not about the marketing–it’s about the movie.  It would be difficult, […]

> Showtime announced today the return of 2 of its signature dramas:  both DEXTER and HOMELAND will begin their new seasons on Sunday, September 30. Not coincidentally, this is exactly 1 week after the year’s Emmy Awards on September 23, at which Showtime will be hoping that both shows–but particularly the dazzling and widely-acclaimed Homeland–will […]

> The past week (seven days ending Sunday) is up 17% versus last year’s comparable week, thanks to a solid second-weekend hold for the 3D resissue of The Lion King and good openings for Moneyball and Dolphin Tale.  Year-to-date box office is now down 3.5% versus last year, the smallest year-to-year margin we’ve seen so far this year.  The Lion […]