OPENINGS:  TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (Paramount) may or may not turn a big profit–it carries a $300M pricetag (including worldwide marketing), and could falter quickly now that the fans have shown up–but there’s no question that Paramount marketing did its job in rousing those fans, successfully appealing both to a young audience and to […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #32 of 2014 looks like a very good $173 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, well above our forecast ($152 million) and 26% above the norm for this weekend ($138 million). Opening at 3,845 theaters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from Paramount grossed $25.6 million through Friday and is on track for […]

  There was general glee last weekend when Guardians of the Galaxy overperformed to a record-breaking degree, proving that audiences could appreciate a blockbuster that was a cut above the rest.  The rejoicing is likely to be more muted this weekend, as the surprise smash this time is the latest incarnation of TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA […]

  THURSDAY BROADCAST:  Because this morning’s numbers were so screwed up, we’ll just start fresh with the broadcast networks. CBS:  BIG BROTHER, after all the adjustments, was up 0.1 to 2.3.  Even after the football effect was removed, the night’s rerun of THE BIG BANG THEORY was up half a point to a big 2.1. […]

  NETWORK UPDATE:  BIG BROTHER and CRIMINAL MINDS each gained 0.1, but not EXTANT.  However, that show was able to claim victory at 10PM, because TAXI BROOKLYN lost 0.1.  The NASHVILLE: ON THE RECORD rerun gained 0.1, for what it’s worth. WEDNESDAY CABLE:  DUCK DYNASTY (A&E) and TEEN MOMS (MTV) were almost exactly equal with […]

Weekend #32 of 2014 is looking like $152 million for the top 12 films this weekend, up 11%from the norm for this weekend and the second up weekend in a row after six straight down weekends. Opening at over 3,700 theaters Friday (above the 2,886 average theater count for opening weekends the last two years), Teenage Mutant […]

  NETWORK UPDATE:  The CMA MUSIC FESTIVAL gained 0.1 in final numbers.  The ARROW rerun on CW lost 0.1. TUESDAY CABLE:  THE DEADLIEST CATCH (Discovery) was cable-watchers’ choice last night at a steady 0.99.  PRETTY LITTLE LIARS (ABCFamily) took a big 0.2 leap up from last week to 0.95, followed by a steady 0.46 for […]

  NETWORK UPDATE:  BACHELOR IN PARADISE and AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR each gained 0.1 in final numbers. MONDAY CABLE:  PARTNERS didn’t get off to much of a start for FX, with 0.35 in the demo for the first half-hour, and 0.3 for the second.  It’s hard to believe that would be high enough to trigger the […]