Author Archive
 

 

THE SKED: Early Sunday Cable Ratings – “Halt and Catch Fire” Low, “Game of Thrones” Mountainous

  We’ll have more detailed Sunday cable ratings tomorrow, but here are some highlights networks were anxious to share: On AMC, HALT AND CATCH FIRE debuted with 1.2M total viewers, and an 18-49 demo rating that will b...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

UPDATED: THE SKED CABLE/NETWORK FRIDAY SCORECARD – 5/30/14

  NETWORK UPDATE:  CROSSBONES couldn’t hold its preliminary number, and slipped 0.1 to a 1.0 premiere.  WHAT WOULD YOU DO went up 0.1 to 1.2, and the SHARK TANK rerun was likewise up to 1.1. FRIDAY CABLE:  There w...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED: NBC Fall Premiere Dates

  NBC has struck first in releasing the dates of its fall premieres.  Most of its new shows will launch during the official Premiere Week starting Monday September 22, but there are a few exceptions (new series are in ALL...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Season Finale Review: “Silicon Valley”

  While not as loudly buzzy as Girls, SILICON VALLEY has been far more popular, indeed HBO’s highest-performing new comedy in quite a while (the fact that it follows the massive Game of Thrones on the network’s...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

Behind the US/International Weekend Box Office – 6/1/14

  OPENINGS:  MALEFICENT (Disney) is claiming a $70M weekend, and like all round-number estimates, that should be viewed with some skepticism.  But even if it dips slightly in final numbers tomorrow, it’s a fine sta...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Season Finale Review: “Da Vinci’s Demons”

  The farther it gets from the historical person named Leonardo Da Vinci, the better Starz’s DA VINCI’S DEMONS tends to be as a series.  In its 2d season, it went very far–all the way to South America, i...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

EARLY WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: “Maleficent” Loses A Bit of Magic, “A Million Ways” Still Dead

  Based on preliminary numbers at Deadline and elsewhere, MALEFICENT (Disney) gained just 6% on Saturday from its Friday start, not a great bump for a family movie, giving it around $25.5M on Saturday and a weekend that no...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Film Review: “A Million Ways To Die In the West”

  A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST:  Not Even For Free – They Don’t Include “Die Laughing” Seth MacFarlane, out from behind his high-concept animated and fantasy premises, has a surprisingly retr...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

Behind the Friday Box Office – 5/30/14

  OPENINGS:  MALEFICENT (Disney) didn’t come cheap–with worldwide marketing, its price-tag will top $300M.  But it seems to be money well spent, as its $24.2M Friday should propel it into a $70M+ weekend.  I...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Series Premiere Review: “Crossbones”

  CROSSBONES:  Friday 10PM on NBC – Potential DVR Alert Viewers of Starz’s Black Sails will find much that’s familiar in NBC’s summer pirate adventure CROSSBONES.  We’re back in the Caribbea...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

EARLY FRIDAY BOX OFFICE: “Maleficent” Soars, “A Million Ways” Perishes

  MALEFICENT (Disney) performed as well as its Thursday night start suggested it might, at the high-end of expectations according to preliminary Friday numbers at Deadline and elsewhere.  The revisionist fairy tale surged...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Film Review: “Maleficent”

  MALEFICENT:  Watch It At Home – Only Jolie Casts a Spell The conflicting agendas driving the new MALEFICENT don’t leave much room for the movie itself.  Like Wicked and Once Upon A Time, it’s a revisi...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THURSDAY NIGHT BOX OFFICE: “Maleficent” Spreads Its Wings, “Million Ways” Dies

  MALEFICENT (Disney) made it clear very quickly that it’s not going to play strictly as a family movie, earning a strong $4.2M in Thursday night screenings that began at 7PM.  That’s better than the Thursday ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Pilot + 1 Review: “Gang-Related”

  GANG-RELATED:  Thursday 9PM on FOX Previously… on GANG-RELATED:  Ryan Lopez (Ramon Rodriguez) is an LAPD detective on the city’s inter-agency anti-gang task force, working for Sam Chapel (Terry O’Quin...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED Pilot (+1) Review: “Undateable”

  UNDATEABLE:  Thursday 9PM on NBC – Change the Channel UNDATEABLE, whose episodes NBC is burning off two at a time on summer Thursday nights, may not be quite bad enough to earn the obvious “unwatchable”...
by Mitch Salem