OPENINGS:  It was important for THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (Village Roadshow/MGM/Columbia/Sony) to hit the $35M that the studio is currently claiming, because that puts it slightly over the two obvious comparisons:  the $34.1M for the last Denzel Washington/Antoine Fuqua collaboration The Equalizer, and the $34.5M just a few weeks ago for Sully, a film similarly […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Updated look at 2016 by studio.   YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2016 to date is still +4% above last year and still +5% above the average for this point the past four years ($7.371 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed almost $19.7 billion worldwide when we […]

  OPENINGS:  None of the studio releasing new films this weekend had much to be happy about.  BLAIR WITCH (Lionsgate) was the top of the newcomers in the US, but with a $9.7M start, it’s low-end even by the standards of cheap horror movies, and while its $5M production budget isn’t a problem, its $40-50M […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Updated look at 2016 by studio. Warner Brothers moved into second place, pushing Fox into third place.  This is the first change in the studio rankings in weeks, thanks mostly to continued overseas strength from Suicide Squad and the strong first 10 days of Sully.   YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Updated look at 2016 by studio. YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2016 to date is now +4% above last year and still +5% above the average for this point the past four years ($7.134 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed almost $18.8 $19.0 billion worldwide when we […]

  OPENINGS:  THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS (DreamWorks/Reliance/Participant/Disney) brings to an ignominious end the distribution relationship between DreamWorks and Disney.  Their final shared title disappointed on every level, with a $5M 3-day weekend that might become $6M on Monday, and no chance of recouping its costs.  Even though the weak reviews, length and period setting worked […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Updated look at 2016 by studio.     YEAR TO DATE BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2016 to date is now +5% above last year and still +5% above the average for this point the past four years ($7.021 billion).  Over the same period, Hollywood films have grossed over $18.6 billion worldwide […]

  OPENINGS:  DON’T BREATHE (Screen Gems/Sony) had an unusually strong Saturday for a horror movie, down just 1% from Friday (which, remember, these days includes Thursday night).  By way of comparison, Lights Out fell 22% on its 2d day of release.  That propelled Don’t Breathe to an exceptional $26.1M weekend, the biggest opening for a […]