NETWORK UPDATE:  BIG BROTHER gained 0.1 in final numbers. SUNDAY CA BLE:  Historical dramas usually skew old, and that was certainly the case with WGN America’s new MANHATTAN, which debuted with a mere 0.18 in 18-49s, although it had a bit more than 900K total viewers–not that that number is great, either.  (Those ratings go […]

  NETWORK UPDATE:  Both DATELINE and CROSSBONES lost 0.1 in final numbers.  The ABC shows swapped 0.1s, with WHAT WOULD YOU DO down and 20/20 up.  On CW, the COLIN & BRAD rerun special lost 0.1. FRIDAY CABLE:  WWE (Syfy) slipped 0.1 from last week to 0.7, but was still the highest rated cable original […]

  There was some byplay on Twitter today about the way we and other TV ratings sites report cable ratings, and it seems worthwhile to share a few guidelines. Part of the confusion may have been caused by the way that the estimable, comprehensive TV By the Numbers website posts its cable ratings.  As TVBTN […]

The ratings below are household ratings from the 56 television markets with local Nielsen meters for Saturday July 26 and Sunday July 27, 2014. The 56 markets (out of 210 total) cover about 70% of the US television population.   Golf: PGA RBC Canadian Open 1.1 rating CBS 3:00 pm Saturday 3rd Round (-15% from […]

  OPENINGS:  LUCY (Universal) is claiming the lowest Sunday drop in the Top 10, so the studio’s $44M weekend estimate may come down a bit tomorrow, but it’s still a very solid hit for all concerned.  That’s especially true for Scarlett Johansson, who now has non-Avenger action movie bona fides.  The only question is whether […]

  Allaying concerns about word of mouth, LUCY (Universal) held quite well in its 2d day of release, down 10% from Friday to $15M+ (better than some of the summer’s blockbusters, which fell 15% or more), according to preliminary numbers at Deadline and elsewhere.  That should give it a weekend of $43M+.  (The studios, as […]

  OPENINGS:  Despite all the testosterone flowing through the Avengers-verse, the biggest star to emerge from the mega-franchise is turning out to be Scarlett Johansson, the latest warrior woman at the front of the box office.  This weekend she’s doing what Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth haven’t been able to pull off:  launch an unrelated […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #30 of 2014 looks like $137 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, better than our forecast earlier this week ($128 million) but still -8% below the norm for this weekend. Opening at 3,173 theaters, Lucy from Universal grossed $17.1 million through Friday and is on track for a $46.0 million […]