Franchises and a former President may carry the weekend to record heights, but the newcomers stumbled. OPENINGS:  RISE OF THE GUARDIANS (DreamWorks Animation/Paramount) has the advantage of no new animated competition through the entire holiday season (Disney/Pixar is re-releasing a 3D conversion of Monsters Inc in mid-December), and it’s going to need that long […]

The weekend looks a little stronger than it did yesterday ($102 million for the top 12 films rather than $98 million) but still well below the normal pace for weekend #51 .  The Hobbit is looking a little stronger than it did yesterday, and This Is 40 is a tiny bit stronger.  But everything else continues to […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, Weekend #2 of 2013 is on pace for $124 million, identical to last weekend and up slightly from the same weekend the last few years.  The three wide-release films this weekend performed pretty much as forecast Wednesday, while Lincoln is the big surprise among the holdovers thanks to the Oscar nominations, […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, Weekend #7 of 2013 is not as bad as the last few weeks: $123 million for the top 12 films during the traditional Friday-Sunday period of this holiday weekend (only 4% behind the pace for the same weekend the last few years).         Opening at 3,552 theaters Thursday […]

  Nothing changed very much from Friday to Saturday at the boxoffice.  OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (Disney) will more than double its nearest competition, following its $11.4M Friday with, according to preliminary numbers at Deadline, a $18.8M Saturday.  If that number holds, it’ll be a 65% Saturday bump, better than the 56% Alice In […]

  The burnished Jackie Robinson bio 42 (Warners) continued its winning ways on Saturday, according to preliminary numbers at Deadline, with a solid 22% bump to $11.1M and what should be a $27M weekend.  That’s very strong for a sports movie, and with good word of mouth and an audience that skews old, it should run […]

As Dark Shadows followed The Avengers last year in the second weekend of May, The Great Gatsby will try to follow Iron Man 3’s huge opening last weekend.  Let’s face it, the TV spots for Gatsby make the film look like a lame costume party or some kind of high school production, and the racing […]

Updated weekly international box office chart.