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 […]

Marvel’s The Avengers (distributed by Disney) has jumped again to $629 million to date overseas (up from $441.5 million last week).  United Kingdom continue to lead the way overseas ($48.2 million so far now — up from $25.7 million this time last week).  Mexico moved up to the second-biggest territory ($40.7 million to date — up from […]

  This was the weekend that the COVID-19 crisis hit the box office in earnest, and while that fact pales in importance compared to the human cost of the pandemic, it’s going to represent a multi-billion dollar hit that will reverberate through the lives of many throughout the world.  As bad as the numbers below […]

  OPENINGS:  NON-STOP (Universal) had a very solid Saturday, rising 22% from Friday, and even though Oscar Sunday may push it below the $30M weekend it’s currently projecting, it should comfortably take the weekend.  This will be the highest non-Taken opening of Liam Neeson’s late-in-life action star career, and the movie should clean up overseas […]

  OPENINGS:  NAPOLEON (Apple/Sony) launched at the higher end of expectations, with $20.4M over the 3-day weekend and $32.5M for the 5-day holiday.  As with Apple’s Killers of the Flower Moon, however, that leaves it a long way from any hope of breakeven on roughly $300M in production/marketing costs (particularly considering that audience polling indicated […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2017 film slates by studio. YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2017 to date is still +2% above last year and still +4% above the average for this point the past four years ($5.940 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed over $16.9 […]

  OPENINGS:  Franchises continued to be the lifeblood (so to speak) of Hollywood, and this week it was SCREAM VI (Paramount) breaking its saga’s previous record with $44.5M, almost 50% higher than the $30M for last year’s Scream reboot.  It was also above the $40M for 2000’s Scream 3, although that would change with an […]

  OPENINGS:  THE GRINCH (Illumination/Universal) rode its family movie 47% Saturday bump to a $66M weekend, 20% better than 2000’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas.  There are relatively few recent mid-November family movie releases, because Disney has established its ownership of the Thanksgiving corridor that starts less than 2 weeks later (this year’s installment is […]