Author Archive
 

 

WEEKDAY UPDATE MON-TUE APR 11-12: The Weak Get Weaker

> The magic number for mid-week box office (Monday-Tuesday combined) is 20% of the opening weekend.  None of the films opening this past weekend hit that mark this week, indicating soft long-term playability for what was a...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW: “12 Years A Slave”

  Steve McQueen (the filmmaker) doesn’t take it easy on audiences.  His first feature Hunger provided an excruciatingly detailed look at the fatal hunger strike of the Irish convict Bobby Sands, and he followed it w...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 10.17.2021

  OPENINGS:  All the box office action is coming from franchises, with the latest being HALLOWEEN KILLS (Blumhouse/Universal, also on Peacock), which started at $50.4M.  The Peacock part of this story is probably being o...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Sundance 2015 Review: “The Bronze”

  THE BRONZE is an entertaining but standard-issue R-rated American comedy, equal parts Bad Teacher and any Danny McBride vehicle, which makes one wonder what it’s doing in the Dramatic Competition line-up at the S...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

WEDNESDAY BOXOFFICE: Look Down!

  Twas the day after Christmas, and all through the multiplex, theater owners were startled to see a lot more empty seats than they had the day before.  Normally the boxoffice is basically stable on the day following Chri...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED: 1st Pre-Look At CBS’s New Dramas

>DISCLAIMER: These initial impressions are based on the clips (usually 3-5 minutes) released by the networks to use in their Upfront presentations and for promos.  They’re chosen to sell the show, not to accurately r...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

NIELSENWAR: The Shrinking Landscape of Network Television

  The networks have announced most of their midseason plans by now, issuing back orders or canceling the series introduced to great fanfare just 6 weeks ago and shuffling some time slots, and one thing has becoming increas...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED SEASON FINALE REVIEW: “Political Animals”

  POLITICAL ANIMALS remained uncompelling to the very end, which is remarkable when you consider that its final episode threw in, among other things, the (apparent) death of the President of the United States.  The show ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
by Mitch Salem
0

 
 

BEHIND THE FRIDAY BOXOFFICE – 4/12/13

  OPENINGS:  After a painful post-Hobbit winter, Warners was in dire need of a hit, and Jackie Robinson became its great American hero, as 24 (Warners) had a very strong $9.1M opening day.  Word of mouth should be on the...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED NETWORK SCORECARD – 2/12/14

  It was American Idol‘s turn to feel the Olympics pain. NBC:  See Mitch Metcalf’s SKEDBALL post for details on last night’s Sochi ratings.  After an uptick on Tuesday, Wednesday’s WINTER OLYMPICS...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Series Premiere Review: “Conviction”

  CONVICTION:  Monday 10PM on ABC – Change the Channel It’s routine to refer to a procedural TV series as featuring a “case of the week,” but ABC’s CONVICTION takes it literally.  When forme...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

EARLY WEEKEND BOXOFFICE: “Now You See Me” Makes “After Earth” Disappear

  Things didn’t improve for AFTER EARTH (Sony) on Saturday.  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, Will Smith’s gift to his son Jaden (and, some say, to the Church of Scientology) increased only a mini...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED’S MONDAY NETWORK SCORECARD – 1/30/12

> It was the last Monday before things get interesting. FOX:  The network won the night, although the 2.8 for HOUSE and especially the 2.7 for ALCATRAZ were far from impressive, considering that CBS was in repeats and NBC ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED: Super Bowl Ads

  Hollywood didn’t have a particularly strong presence in this year’s Super Bowl (won, for those living in a very well insulated cave, by Baltimore, which held off San Francisco 34-31), despite the fact that th...
by Mitch Salem