The “kids” didn’t show up for MEN IN BLACK 3 (Sony) on Saturday–it was wishful thinking to believe they would, considering the franchise’s decade-long absence–and the result, according to preliminary numbers at Deadline, was a very mild Friday-to-Saturday bump under 10%.  That puts the picture on track for a 4-day holiday weekend of $67-70M, just […]

  As espected with a sequel, THINK LIKE A MAN TOO (Screen Gems/Sony) took a dip on its 2d day of release, and after virtually tying the opening day of the first Think with $13.2M on Friday it fell, according to preliminary numbers at Deadline and elsewhere, about 15% on Saturday to $10.5M (the original Think had gained 9% on its first […]

  Early Saturday boxoffice numbers at Deadline show no great surprises for the weekend’s offerings.  Any hope that EVIL DEAD (TriStar/Sony/FilmDistrict) would have the staying power of a Mama faded with the demon-filled gorefest’s 24% Saturday drop (although it should be noted that Saturdays in general will start looking lower with studios now treating “Friday” […]

  Although it’s possible for a horror or action movie to make some money over Labor Day weekend, no studio opens a movie it cares about for the holiday that repels moviegoers.  This weekend’s openings won’t change that rule.  THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS (DreamWorks/Reliant/Participant/Touchstone/Disney) was probably envisioned as an awards-worthy project when it was originally […]

  The failure of ALLEGIANT (Summit/Lionsgate) puts its studio in an unusually awkward position.  Even though Lionsgate may be able to put the 3rd Divergent movie on its books as a profit (most of the international rights were pre-sold, providing revenues that can off-set the oncoming US losses), the economics are going to get much […]

  With a marketplace starved of adult comedy after the failure of Bad Santa 2, and the holiday deluge of product not quite here, this weekend is proving to be good timing for the arrival of OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY (DreamWorks/Paramount).  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, Office had a $6.7M Friday (including $950K from Thursday night), and depending […]

  It won’t be #1 for the full weekend, but the story on Saturday was DJANGO UNCHAINED (Weinstein/Sony), which–according to preliminary numbers at Deadline, at least–had its second straight day of splendid growth (+17%) and is challenging THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY (Warners/MGM) for the day’s lead with $11.2M.  It appears as though Django will […]

  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, MAN OF STEEL (Warners) dropped 18% on its second full day of release to $36.1M.  That’s a good but not exceptional hold for a mega-opening; some recent comparisons are a 10% slip for Iron Man 3, 9% for The Great Gatsby, and an 18% decline for Fast & […]