Author Archive
 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Series Finale Review: “Halt & Catch Fire”

It isn’t the preference of networks and producers for obvious reasons, but for viewers, there can be something particularly thrilling about a series that finds its greatness after its first season.  Shows like Mad Men, T...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 10.15.2017

  OPENINGS:  HAPPY DEATH DAY (Blumhouse/Universal) opened so well at $26.5M that inevitably, despite the fact that it appears to tell a completely closed-end story, talk of a franchise has started.  You can’t blame...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

EARLY FRIDAY BOX OFFICE: “Boo 2″” Tops Weak “Geostorm,” “Only The Brave” & “Snowman”

  It’s a busy but not particularly big weekend at the multiplex.  The weekend’s winner will be BOO 2! A MADEA HALLOWEEN (Lionsgate), which did a fairly good job of holding the audience for last year’s or...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 10.22.2017

  OPENINGS:  BOO 2! A MADEA HALLOWEEN (Lionsgate) took the weekend with $21.7M, down 24% from last year’s first Boo.  That puts it behind all the previous Madea openings except A Madea Christmas, which had the enti...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Premiere Review: “The Walking Dead”

  THE WALKING DEAD:  Sunday 9PM on AMC Last year’s season premiere of THE WALKING DEAD was the show’s most polarizing hour, introducing long-awaited Big Bad Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and lingering on his bru...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

EARLY FRIDAY BOX OFFICE: “Jigsaw” Doesn’t Scare, “Thank You For Your Service” & “Suburbicon” Flop

  Rebooting an aged horror franchise can be tough.  Recent attempts to bring back Alien, Scream and Friday the 13th have faltered, and now Saw, rechristened as JIGSAW (Lionsgate), isn’t off to much of a start.  Pre...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 10.29.2017

  OPENINGS:  JIGSAW (Lionsgate) had a better Saturday hold than Saw VI (down 21% instead of 32%), and that saved it from having the lowest opening weekend of the franchise.  However, its $16.3M start is still far below t...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Finale Review: “Ray Donovan”

  RAY DONOVAN had an odd, misshapen Season 5, bleak even by its own depressed standards.  It was perhaps best viewed as a long runway to Season 6, which will by necessity involve something of a reboot, since Showtime has ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

EARLY FRIDAY BOX OFFICE: “Thor: Ragnarok” Thunders, “A Bad Moms Xmas” Fizzles, “LBJ” MIA

  Those waiting for Marvel to stumble will have to go on waiting.  Based on preliminary numbers at Deadline, THOR: RAGNAROK (Marvel/Disney) had a $46M opening day (including $14.5M from Thursday night), the highest for an...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Series Premiere Review: “SMILF”

  SMILF:  Sunday 10PM on Showtime – In the Queue SMILF is TV’s latest auteur dramedy, a semiautobiographical work from star/writer/producer/director Frankie Shaw.  (She was Elliot’s ill-fated neighbor o...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Early Friday Box Office: “Thor: Ragnorak” Keeps Lead, “Murder” Solid, “Daddy’s Home 2″” OK

  MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (20th) had a surprising amount of marketing muscle behind it, and at least in the short term it seems to be paying off.  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, opening day was $10.6M ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 11.12.2017

  OPENINGS:  In the US, DADDY’S HOME 2 (Paramount) eked out a victory among the newcomers at $30M, thanks to a 6% family audience bump on Saturday.  That’s still 22% below the opening for the first Daddy̵...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 11.19.2017

  OPENINGS:  Could JUSTICE LEAGUE (RatPac/DC/Warners) actually lose money?  That possibility exists after a worldwide opening (except Japan, not a huge superhero market) that hit only $281.5M, a number that sounds big on...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

Early Thanksgiving Box Office: “Coco” Strong, “Justice League” Struggles, “Roman J Israel” Slow, “Wonder” Solid

  The bulk of the week’s openings arrived on Wednesday, and as usual for this weekend they were led by a Disney family attraction.  This year it was COCO (Pixar/Disney), which was more or less on target at $13.2M, d...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

EARLY FRIDAY BOX OFFICE: “Coco” Takes Black Friday, “Justice League” Subdued, “Wonder” Strong, “Call Me” Starts Big

  The only new opening on Black Friday was a limited release, but everything already in the market took the customary post-holiday leap.  COCO (Pixar/Disney) will easily win the 3-day weekend, after $19.1M on Friday accor...
by Mitch Salem