OPENINGS:  HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: SUMMER VACATION (Sony Animation/Columbia/Sony) clocked in with a reliable $44.1M weekend, just about midway between the first Transylvania‘s $42.5M and the second’s $48.5M.  (Sticklers might note that this the first of the franchise to feature Thursday night screenings, giving it a slightly longer “weekend”.)  There are some other family movies […]

  OPENINGS:  ABOMINABLE (Pearl/DreamWorks/Universal) seized a weekend on the calendar that had a dearth of new children’s movies (and with 2 weeks until The Addams Family opens), and pushed it to a fair $20.9M opening.  However, with roughly $150M in costs, it will need international help to reach profit, and since weekend results were at […]

Based on Friday’s grosses, Weekend #5 of 2013 is another weak one: only $69 million for the top 12 films (over 30% behind the pace for the same weekend the last few years).   Opening at 3,009 theaters Friday, Warm Bodies from Summit grossed $7.6 million Friday and is on track for a $20 million opening weekend […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2019 film slates by studio. BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2019 is still -5% below last year’s comparable span and still +1% above this point the past four years ($9.593 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed over $25.5 billion […]

  OPENINGS:  FREAKY (Blumhouse/Universal) led the weekend at $3.7M.  It was the third consecutive weekend that a Universal-branded film opened at #1 (aided by the studio’s deal with AMC that allows its films to hit digital 3 weeks after theatrical release) and the fifth new #1 to open in the $3.1-4.1M range.  Like the others, […]

STUDIO SCORECARD. In the worldwide studio rankings for 2013 to date, Warner Brothers again distanced itself from the others as Gravity enjoyed an upgraded domestic final and the start of overseas dollars, which will soon turn into a gusher.  Sony also had a good week as Captain Phillips came aboard and overseas results from other […]

>Based on Friday and Saturday box office (and estimated Sunday numbers), The Lion King returned to theaters 17 years later — in 3D no less — and scored a solid #1 for the weekend.  Drive opened okay, while Straw Dogs and I Don’t Know How She Does It were very quiet arrivals.  Conatagion fell to […]

  OPENINGS:  PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE MARKED ONES (Paramount), with its $18.2M weekend, made less at 2867 theatres than the first Paranormal made at 760, a little more than 4 years ago.  It was also well below the $29M weekend for the last Paranormal installment in 2012 (which had been the franchise low).  In other words, […]