Author Archive
 

 

Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 2.6.2022

  OPENINGS:  The male 18-34 demo was again at the center of the box office, largely fueling the $23.5M start for JACKASS FOREVER (Paramount), not quite at the level of the last product of the franchise, 2013’s Bad G...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED: Sunday Ratings – Network Scorecardj – 10/30/11

> The fairy tale continues for one of this season’s new arrivals. ABC:  The back order for ONCE UPON A TIME should be arriving any minute.  The fantasy soap has clearly found an audience sweet spot, and even wit...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE BIJOU: Boxoffice Footnotes – 8/6/11

> RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES has a slew of positives going for it commercially:  the reportedly fairly low $93M production cost, the month of August ahead with its limited competition, strong support from an older audi...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

EARLY FRIDAY BOX OFFICE: “Winchester” Takes Day, “Jumanji” Likely To Rebound For Super Bowl Weekend

  Although some films have opened well against the Super Bowl, both counterprogramming (the Hannah Montana concert movie and Dear John) and playing toward the action genre (Taken and Chronicle), as a rule the studios stay ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED’S PILOT + 1 REVIEW: “American Horror Story”

> A lot can happen between the creation of a TV pilot in the spring and production of episodes for the regular season:  a writing/producing team is hired, audience focus groups weigh in, networks and studios (which may hav...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

“The Hunger Games” and Theatre Counts (Pop Culture Apocalypose Minus 2)

> With the exception of some whose hearts are set on 12:01AM screenings tomorrow night, no one should have to complain that they weren’t able to see THE HUNGER GAMES because there weren’t any seats to be had.  ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

Behind the Weekend US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 10/12/14

  Despite the new competition flooding in from all sides, GONE GIRL held on beautifully for its second consecutive weekend win. OPENINGS:  DRACULA UNTOLD (Legendary/Universal) earned $23.5M in the US, a fair result.  Dra...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED: “Locke and Key” At Comic-Con

>Remember what we were saying about busted pilots not being a waste of time?  It’s been reported that the Fox pilot Locke & Key will receive a full screening and panel at next month’s Comic-Con.  It...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED PILOT REPORT: Showtime’s “Homeland”

> 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 sh...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 5.6.2018

  OPENINGS:  OVERBOARD (MGM/Pantelion/Lionsgate) opened in 45% more theatres than Eugenio Derbez’s How To Be A Latin Lover, and had a weekend that was 20% higher at $14.8M.  That’s not the cross-cultural brea...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

Behind the Friday Box Office – 8/1/14

  OPENINGS:  GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (Marvel/Disney) has something the summer’s other blockbusters could only dream of:  weeks ahead without any A-level competition.  When the biggest titles coming up are the rebo...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY SUNDANCE REVIEW: “They Came Together”

  The writing team of David Wain and Michael Showalter (Wain directs) certainly knew that THEY CAME TOGETHER would be far from the first parody of romantic comedy movies to come along.  Date Movie opened back in 2008, Fri...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE BIJOU: “The Dark Knight Rises” (Briefly)

> Tonight at 43 real Imax theatres (the ones with the huge squarish screens), Warner Bros debuted an extended trailer for next summer’s THE DARK KNIGHT RISES shot in the full Imax format, consisting of the opening sequenc...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL Day 2 Capsule Reviews: “Snowden,” “American Pastoral” & “Carrie Pilby”

  SNOWDEN (Open Road – Sept 16):  Oliver Stone’s return to politically-charged biography is subdued by the standards of his Nixon or W.  It’s a hagiography that follows the character arc of his Born of ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

Sundance 2024 Film Reviews: “Presence” & “I Saw the TV Glow”

  PRESENCE (Neon – TBD):  Steven Soderbergh has always appreciated, and often demanded, a challenge, and in Presence he and screenwriter David Koepp have taken an original approach to the haunted house genre.  The ...
by Mitch Salem