OPENINGS:  It was the Thanksgiving holiday of Hollywood’s dreams, spearheaded by the record-breaking performance of MOANA 2 (Disney), which shoveled in $221M during the Wed-Sun period and $135.5M for the weekend itself.  Most Thanksgiving blockbusters launch the weekend before the holiday, so there aren’t a lot of direct comparisons to make.  In contrast to […]

> Paranormal Activity 3 is THE story at the nation’s theaters this weekend.  An opening weekend of almost $52 million (with almost $26 million in the bank Friday), blasting past Paranormal Activity 2’s $41 million opening weekend this time last year.  And yet the weekend overall is down from last year.  Blame two incredibly lame […]

Wow.  It’s time to haul out the superlatives and the sports cliches like grand slam and buzzer-beating three-point shot.  Marvel’s The Avengers is headed for a $200 million opening weekend, shattering the record previously held by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 ($169.2 million).  Beating a record by 18% is truly extraordinary.  While […]

> Based on Friday and Saturday box office (and estimated Sunday numbers), Dolphin Tale (in its second week) moves into the #1 spot.  Look out for a boatload of TV commercials trumpeting this feat to keep the momentum going.  Not far behind is Moneyball, also in its second week, with a slightly higher weekend drop […]

>Now 11 full weeks into 2012, year-to-date domestic box office is running 23% ahead of last year’s horrible pace (down from +26% last week), and the year-to-date total is now pacing 11% ahead of the comparable period’s average for the last several years (down from +12% last week).  Despite a very good opening for 21 […]

> The past week (seven days ending Sunday) came in up 20% versus last year’s comparable week (the third significant increase in as many weeks).  Year-to-date box office is now down 5% versus last year.  Cowboys & Aliens edged The Smurfs in the weekend photo finish, but the ShowBuzzDaily domestic gross estimate (the number that really counts) gives the […]

> This Week: Don’t Miss ShowbuzzDaily’s First Annual Summer Blockbuster Draft!   The last weekend of April is an odd one for Hollywood:  as Mitch Metcalf’s analysis shows,sometimes it begins the parade of summer franchises, and in other years it’s just the quiet end of Spring.  Fast Five, of course, puts 2011 firmly in the former […]

>The Worldwide Box Office revenue chart has been expanded to the Top 30 releases this week (currently the cut-off to make the list is about $150 million worldwide).  Through Sunday, The Smurfs have moved up to #8 and is closing in on $500 million worldwide ($144 million domestic and an incredible $345 million overseas). Rise […]