OPENINGS:  The first Sonic the Hedgehog had the final pre-pandemic smash opening in 2020 before theaters started to close, with $58M for its 3-day weekend ($70M for the full Presidents Day holiday).  Now SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 (Paramount) has gotten off to an even bigger start with $71M for 3 days.  Although the success […]

  OPENINGS:  This was the weekend of AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER (20th/Disney), and the epic’s launch was softer than widely expected at $134M in the US and $301M in all major overseas markets including China.  Box office apologists, who at this point resemble political press secretaries, have rushed in to spin that Way of […]

  OPENINGS:  THE EQUALIZER 3 (Escape Artists/Columbia/Sony) performed both within expectations and at around the same level as its predecessors, with $34.5M for the 3-day weekend compared to $36M for Equalizer 2 and $34M for the first in the franchise.  (The Monday holiday is projected to bring the total to $42M.)  Also like the previous […]

      THE AVENGERS:  Simply spectacular.  The 50% drop in Weekend 2 ripped past the $75M record to an amazing $103M.  The level of the weekly decline isn’t unprecedented (Avatar dropped an insane 2%, Shrek 2 33%, the original Spider-Man 38%, Alice In Wonderland and Toy Story 3 46% each), but it’s better than […]

> As detailed in Mitch Metcalf’s Weekend Boxoffice Report, New Year’s Day wasn’t the bonanza the studios were expecting it to be. PARAMOUNT:  MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL‘s Sunday increase was less than half of the 33% projected, and it’s likely to fall another 15-20% today, giving it a bit over $140M in total and […]

  Paul W.S. Anderson and Paul Thomas Anderson share the glory. OPENINGS:  W.S. Anderson’s RESIDENT EVIL:  RETRIBUTION (Screen Gems/Sony) took the weekend, but its $21.1M haul is the lowest the series has seen in a decade, and 20% below the opening of the last installment.  All of this only means something if it’s reflected overseas, […]

  OPENINGS:  EVIL DEAD (TriStar/Sony/FilmDistrict) took the weekend with $26M, and even though, based on Sunday results for other recent horror movies, that number may drop a bit with final figures tomorrow, it should end up with a pleasantly bloody $50M before it’s done in the US (it also made $4.5M this weekend in 21 international […]

  OPENINGS:  THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS: CITY OF BONES (Screen Gems/Sony) won the weekend’s battle (among newcomers) but isn’t likely to win the war, with a very blah $3K average at over 3000 theatres for a $9.3M weekend ($14.1M since its Wednesday opening).  The big question is whether Constantin Film, the German studio that financed the […]