There were no miracles on Saturday to lift the faltering box office, although preliminary numbers at Deadline and elsewhere suggest that the holdovers did better than the newcomers. DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (20th) will take its 2d consecutive weekend title easily.  It earned around $15M on Saturday, down about 40% from […]

  Even though it’s just mid-July, Guardians of the Galaxy is the only likely blockbuster opening left this summer.  Barring some surprises, the seasonal picture is ugly. OPENINGS:  THE PURGE: ANARCHY (Universal) took Friday with $13M, but that was $3.8M below the opening day of the first Purge.  The sequel is likely to be at least […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #29 of 2014 looks like $129 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, -30% below the norm for this weekend and below our forecast ($147 million).  This is the fifth really sub-par weekend in a row. Opening at 2,805 theaters, The Purge: Anarchy from Universal grossed $13.0 million through Friday and […]

  Hollywood’s underwhelming summer box office continues this weekend, with preliminary numbers at Deadline and elsewhere indicating that all three of the newcomers are likely to perform below expectations. The bleakest news of the weekend, though, may be about its #1 ticket seller.  Despite some of the year’s best reviews, and seemingly everything needed for […]

  NETWORK SCORECARD:  BIG BROTHER gained an additional 0.1 in final numbers. THURSDAY CABLE:  FX fared better than USA in their dual launches last night.  MARRIED premiered at a healthy 0.65 (although that was below the 0.76 for FX’s movie lead-in), and did particularly well with advertiser-prized Men 18-34 (1.1).  YOU’RE THE WORST was weaker […]

  NETWORK UPDATE:  BIG BROTHER and MOTIVE each gained 0.1 in final numbers. WEDNESDAY CABLE:  WE’s entry into original scripted programming wasn’t very auspicious, with a 0.07 rating for the debut of THE DIVIDE.  (It went up to 0.1 with additional runs, and in the network’s core audience of Women 50+, it was all the […]

Weekend #29 of 2014 is looking like $147 million for the top 12 films this weekend, -21% below the norm and the fifth weekend in a row down significantly from previous years.  Opening at 3,303 theaters Friday (well above the 2,886 average theater count for opening weekends the last two years), The Purge: Anarchy from Universal should […]

  NETWORK UPDATE:  The ALL-STAR GAME only adjusted up to 3.2 in final numbers.  Elsewhere, the NIGHT SHIFT season finale lost 0.1, while both EXTREME WEIGHT LOSS and CELEBRITY WIFE SWAP put on 0.1.   TUESDAY CABLE:  THE DEADLIEST CATCH (Discovery) and PRETTY LITTLE LIARS (ABCFamily) were both steady at 1.0 at the top of […]