Author Archive
 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY REVIEW: “Peter Pan Live”

  Tonight’s PETER PAN LIVE proved that NBC, and producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan, had learned some valuable lessons from last year’s successful but often painful production of The Sound of Music.  Chief am...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Pilot + 2 Review: “State of Affairs”

  STATE OF AFFAIRS:  Monday 10PM on NBC Previously… on STATE OF AFFAIRS:  Charleston–call her Charlie–Tucker (Katherine Heigl) is the CIA analyst whose task it is to put together the President’s D...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Midseason Finale Review: “The Walking Dead”

  In the fall of its fifth season, THE WALKING DEAD has remained a ratings phenomenon like nothing else on television, and for much of this run of episodes, the always-uneven show deserved some of its wild success.  Showr...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Series Premiere Review: “Girlfriends’ Guide To Divorce”

  GIRLFRIENDS’ GUIDE TO DIVORCE:  Tuesday 10PM on Bravo – If Nothing Else Is On… Bravo has established a very successful brand for itself in the unscripted realm, notably with the Real Housewives franchi...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 11/30/14

  Last year’s Thanksgiving weekend was the biggest ever, thanks to the combo of Catching Fire and Frozen, and while plenty of tickets were sold over the past few days, this year didn’t come close. OPENINGS:  T...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

UPDATED: FRIDAY BOX OFFICE: “Mockingjay” Flies High On Black Friday

  NOTE:  UPDATED THROUGHOUT WITH STUDIO ESTIMATES Black Friday was, as always, a very bright day for movies.  The holiday weekend continues to belong to THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART I (Lionsgate), which soared 118% ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THANKSGIVING BOX OFFICE: “Mockingjay” Clips Wings of “Penguins” & “Bosses”

  As is traditional, the box office for all movies aimed at young people or families slumped on Thanksgiving Day.  That kept THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART I (Lionsgate) easily on top, down 24% from Wednesday to $11.1M...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

WEDNESDAY BOX OFFICE: “Mockingbird” Slays “Penguins,” “Bosses”

  On the day before Thanksgiving, the start of a 5-day rush on moviegoing, THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART I (Lionsgate) behaved as it has since it opened:  on top, but considerably behind its franchise predecessors.  ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 11/23/14

  OPENINGS:  It’s official:  THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART I (Lionsgate) opened to $123M in the US, down 20% from the first Hunger Games and down 23% from Catching Fire.  That’s still the #1 opening of t...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Review: “Saturday Night Live” With Cameron Diaz

  Cameron Diaz has had an extremely busy year, already starring in the hit The Other Woman and the flop Sex Tape, and with a featured role in the rebooted Annie (as Miss Hannigan) still to come.  Her promotional duties on...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

EARLY WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: “Mockingjay” Flight Steadies On Saturday

  THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART I (Lionsgate) stabilized on Saturday, according to preliminary box office figures at Deadline.  The Day 2 drop was 23%, slightly better than the 25-26% Saturday drops for The Hunger Gam...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Finale Review: “Hell On Wheels”

  The fourth (and as it turns out penultimate) season of AMC’s HELL ON WHEELS was its most conventional and choppily focused.  Under showrunner John Wirth (the show’s 3rd in that post), the neo-western has aba...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

Behind the Friday Box Office – 11/21/14

  OPENINGS:  Congratulations and condolences to THE HUNGER GAMES:  MOCKINGJAY PART 1 (Lionsgate), which had the biggest day of any movie this year–yet at $55M (slightly higher than Friday afternoon estimates had pr...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Film Review: “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I””

  THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART I:  Worth A Ticket – Half a Good Movie Is Still Half a Movie As big-screen and small-screen entertainment experiences have begun to merge, there’s been an increase in serial...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

UPDATED: “Hunger Games” Box Office: “Mockingjay” Flies Low In Debut

    FRIDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE:  Both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter are reporting, based on Friday afternoon sales, that MOCKINGJAY is going to substantially underperform THE HUNGER GAMES and CATCHING FIRE for the ...
by Mitch Salem