Author Archive
 

 

EARLY FRIDAY BOX OFFICE: “Spider-Man” Is Big–But How Big?

  Friday night numbers for THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (Sony) should be considered more preliminary than usual, because the $34-35M figures for the day at Deadline and elsewhere are based on the idea that while Amazing 2 had ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

Behind the Friday Box Office – 5/2/14

  OPENINGS:  The opening day of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (Sony) was actually a touch behind the opening day of the first Amazing ($35.2M to $35.9M).  However the earlier movie had a different trajectory, opening on the T...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED Review: “Saturday Night Live” with Andrew Garfield

  When inspiration hit this week’s SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, it came from an unexpected direction.  African-American staff writer Leslie Jones, who isn’t an official cast member, pretty much blew the doors off Week...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

EARLY WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: “Spider-Man” Slips But Still Dominates

  THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (Sony) didn’t succeed in outperforming other recent superhero movies in its Saturday matinees, and probably won’t supplant Captain America 2 as the year’s #1 opening to date, bu...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

Behind the Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 5/4/14

  OPENINGS:  As summer kick-off weekends go, the $92M for THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (Sony)–which may go down by $1M or so in final numbers tomorrow, given an aggressively high Sunday estimate–was pretty mild.  I...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

UPDATED: THE SKED CABLE/NETWORK SCORECARD – 5/2/14

  NETWORK UPDATE:  SHARK TANK went even higher in final Friday numbers, up 0.1 to a new season high 2.3.  However, the entire NBC line-up (which had been preempted in Portland for an NBA playoff game) went down, DATELINE...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

NIELSENWAR: Pre-Upfront – What Will the Networks Do?

  The network averages for last week are significant because they represent a full week of sweeps programming, which means reruns were at a minimum and some stunting (although not a tremendous amount of it: a Chicago Fire/...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Season Finale Review: “2 Broke Girls”

  2 BROKE GIRLS is a serviceable sitcom for CBS, and in its 3rd season, it knows fairly well how to do what it does.  The show hangs on the comic charisma of Kat Dennings as wise-ass, tough-but-vulnerable waitress and asp...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED Season Finale Review: “Bates Motel”

  The second season of BATES MOTEL has been two largely separate series, and one of them is well worth watching.  That’s the one about teenaged Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore), the sensitive and high-strung taxiderm...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Series Premiere Review: “24: Live Another Day”

  24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY:  Monday 9PM on FOX – DVR Alert Jack Bauer didn’t speak until 40 minutes into the first hour of tonight’s 24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY premiere.  It’s not that he wasn’t aroun...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

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

  NETWORK UPDATE:  2 BROKE GIRLS and DANCING WITH THE STARS got back a bit of what they’d lost to 24, each up 0.1 from this morning.  MIKE & MOLLY, though, fell an additional 0.1.  The 10PM NCIS LA rerun was also ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

UPDATED: THE SKED CABLE/NETWORK SCORECARD – 5/4/14

  NETWORK UPDATE:  All the moves were of 0.1, with the LEGO SIMPSONS, ONCE UPON A TIME, RESURRECTION and DATELINE on the positive end and THE GOOD WIFE on the negative. SATURDAY CABLE:  ORPHAN BLACK (BBCA) dropped 0.1 to 0.2...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

NIELSENWAR 2014-15: FOX & NBC Begin Their Pick-Ups

  NBC and FOX will be the first broadcast networks to announce their 2014-15 schedules next Monday, so it makes sense that they’re the first to begin announcing their new series pick-ups.  No trailers have yet been ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Season Finale Review: “New Girl”

  It seems fair to ask just what the hell happened to NEW GIRL this season.  A series that seemed to spring out of its pilot womb in complete command of its oddball voice and marvelous cast could suddenly barely take a st...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED Season Finale Review: “The Mindy Project”

  After two full seasons, it’s become clear that Mindy Kaling’s THE MINDY PROJECT may never be a “well-made show.”  Characters pop in and out–it was recently announced that receptionist Betsy...
by Mitch Salem