AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (Marvel/Disney) continues to be a monstrous hit–but not as monstrous as expected.  Based on preliminary numbers at Deadline, its 2d Friday will be $21.9M, down 74% from last Friday’s $84.4M, and down 25% from the $29.2M 2d Friday of The Avengers.  Ultron is heading for a Weekend 2 drop of […]

  It’s probably for the best that the new iteration of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL is aimed at streaming subscribers. 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 […]

>The weekend studio estimates (based on Friday and Saturday actuals and projections for Sunday) are coming in slightly above the weekend numbers posted yesterday (based on Friday actuals only).  The box office volume for the top 12 films is now looking like $100 million for the weekend, down 31% from last year’s weekend and down […]

Thanks to Nielsen delays, Chicago Fire had to wait to get some unaccustomed good news. NBC:  CHICAGO FIRE benefits by not airing against a new CSI on CBS, because their audiences, while overlapping, prefer the latter when they can get it.  (Why, you might ask, schedule the NBC show against such clearly strength-sapping competition?  Well […]

  OPENINGS:  The only reason to make a movie like THE CROODS (DreamWorks Animation/20th) is to get a piece of the remarkable overseas business that the Ice Age franchise sees ($716M on the last one alone), but so far, Croods is looking a little soft internationally, with $63.3M this weekend in territories covering roughly half the world.  That’s better than the […]

        NETWORK FINALS:  BIG BROTHER gained 0.1 in final numbers, and DATELINE lost the same.  In addition, FOX’s MLB PLAYOFFS game adjusted to 1.2.          Broadcast Official Nationals Program Ratings Chart     CABLE HIGHLIGHTS:  ESPN’s MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL rose 0.43 to 3.35.  USA’s WWE telecast was at 0.60/0.59/0.52 […]

        NETWORK FINALS:  Game 2 of the NBA FINALS adjusted to 7.1, an impressive 0.06 above the final number for 2016’s Game 2.  In addition, 60 MINUTES gained 0.1.         Broadcast Official Nationals Program Ratings Chart     CABLE HIGHLIGHTS:  AMC’s FEAR THE WALKING DEAD topped Sunday cable, but […]

        NETWORK UPDATE:  AMERICAN IDOL gained 0.1 and BLACK-ISH lost 0.1 in final numbers Broadcast Official Nationals Program Ratings Chart     CABLE HIGHLIGHTS:  The night’s actual top-rated original was the primetime part of TNT’s NBA DOUBLEHEADER, 0.74 for Lakers vs. Cleveland, with 0.52 for the later Houston vs. Portland game.  On […]