> With early studio projections all over the map, it looks like it could be a long weekend of jockeying for the top spot.  Right now, it looks like Lion King in 3D will be number #1 with over $23 million.  Moneyball, written by Aaron Sorkin and best on the Michael Lewis bestseller, is flirting […]

      NETWORK FINALS:  All of NBC’s line-up fell in final numbers, THE NIGHT SHIFT by 0.2 and both the AMERICA’S GOT TALENT recap show and new hour by 0.1.  In addition, BIG BROTHER gained 0.1, while the reruns of CRIMINAL MINDS, BLACK-ISH, THE MIDDLE and the 10PM MODERN FAMILY declined 0.1.     […]

  OPENINGS:  It was no picnic opening against the historic 2nd weekend of Black Panther, and all of the new arrivals may have left some money on the table.  GAME NIGHT (New Line/Warners) fared best, and ran a healthy 25% Saturday bump into a $16.6M weekend, but that points toward a $45M US total, far […]

> Disclaimer:  Network pilots now in circulation are not necessarily in the form that will air in the Fall.  Pilots are often reedited and rescored, and in some cases even recast or reshot.  So these critiques shouldn’t be taken as full reviews, but rather as a guide to the general style and content of the […]

> When A GIFTED MAN came onto the scene, it had all the high-class auspices a new series could want.  The pilot was directed by Academy Award-winner Jonathan Demme, was written by Susannah Grant (Eric Brockovich) and had a cast that included such strong actors as Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Ehle, Margo Martindale (who, by the […]

>Once again football tops the weekly cable ratings chart.  ESPN’s Monday Night Football was in its usual #1 position with a solid 5.6 Adult 18-49 rating, but the big number was turned in by the NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football (a very good 4.1 rating, almost double the performance of the franchise two weeks ago).  […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Updated look at 2016 by studio.   YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2016 to date is now +2% above last year and still +3% above the average for this point the past four years ($9.476 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed $24.8 billion worldwide […]

  THE EMMYS held its early number. 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 and comparisons follow […]