ROGUE ONE (Lucasfilm/Disney) is performing as expected, massive but short of last year’s core Star Wars installment The Force Awakens.  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, Friday’s take was $72M (including $29M from Thursday night), 40% below Force Awakens yet still one of the Top 10 opening days of all time.  In a sign […]

  After a summer of fizzled franchise movies, audiences were–pardon the expression–hungry for something new, and the unquestionably unique, hard-R existential talking food cartoon SAUSAGE PARTY (Annapurna/Columbia/Sony) is satisfying that appetite.  According to preliminary numbers at Deadline, Sausage is going to win Friday with $13.3M ($3.3M from Thursday night shows), although it’s likely to be […]

  Both of the weekend’s major openings cost too much for the amount they’re currently earning.  MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN (TSG/20th) has production/marketing costs of $225M+, and preliminary numbers at Deadline have its opening day at roughly $9M (including $1.2M from Thursday night).  That suggests a $25-27M weekend, which would be an even […]

> Deadline has some early Saturday and weekend numbers, the highlight of which is that REAL STEEL is claiming a 40% Saturday bump, which would lead it to a $29M weekend, somewhat higher than expected.  Since Steel is a family movie, a big increase for matinees is possible, but we’ll see if it bears out […]

  ALIEN: COVENANT (TSG/20th) was supposed to refresh the franchise after the disenchanted response to Prometheus, but it’s opening at the low end of expectations.  Preliminary numbers at Deadline put opening day at $15.2M (including $4.2M from Thursday night), which suggests a $38M weekend.  Covenant carries about $225M in production/marketing costs, and it may not […]

>Not a lot of change in the numbers as early Saturday results are factored in.  Deadline reports THE LION KING at #1 with $22M, MONEYBALL 2d with $21M, and DOLPHIN TALE 3rd with $20M, so any or all of those could shift as fuller counts are completed.  ABDUCTION is reported to have edged up to […]

  Preliminary figures at Deadline give THE BUTLER (Weinstein) a commanding victory over its competition.  Very impressively, on Saturday Butler reportedly increased its take by about 10% over Friday, putting it on target for a $23-25M weekend (The Weinstein Company, which has never been shy about aggressively estimating its weekends, could make a run for […]

  The studios remained largely averse to going wide on the weekend before The Last Jedi devours the universe.  JUST GETTING STARTED (Broad Green) was thrown with little ceremony and no advance reviews into 2161 theatres, and according to preliminary numbers at Deadline, it had a dismal $1.1M on Friday, which with word of mouth […]