Fairest of them all, indeed.
This should be interesting.
'Men in Black 3' Disassembles 'The Avengers' over Memorial Weekend!
Wes Anderson's latest: Twee movie, big hit
'The Avengers' surpasses 'Star Wars' on all-time box office chart!
'Battleship' unable to sink 'The Avengers' this weekend.
Will she sink or swim?
'The Avengers' sets a new domestic box office speed record reaching the $400M box office threshold in 14 days!
Becomes 9th highest grossing film globally, surpassing "Star Wars Episode 1."
It does have quite the worthy adversary.
'Avengers' posted the first $100 million plus second weekend in box office history!
There may be hope in Dark Knight Rises, Johnny Depp and Aliens.
Is the A-Listers creep factor directly correlated to his success?
'The Avengers' opens May 4 in North America, but has already opened huge internationally in 39 international territories.
The films that almost had $200 million opening weekends — but not quite.
'The Avengers' shocks with a $80.517 million cume Friday.
Enough to finance Tony Stark's next suit of armor, that's for sure.
Sony's “Think Like a Man” leads the box office for the second consecutive weekend holding off a bevy of newcomers.
'Think Like A Man' performed well beyond expectations earning almost double pre-release projections with $33 million.
Is this the new 'Notebook'?
The young adult fiction continues to slay the competition.
Is there another slice of pie in our futures?
Easter weekend is another solid one at the nation’s theaters as 'The Hunger Games' continues its amazing run.
Hunger Games wins again.
Can American Reunion stand up to its predecessors.
The young adult phenomenon debuts, '21 Jump Street' holds strong.
Box office history gives it a fighting chance.
Box office insiders predict an upset.
Newcomers once again perform above expectations and set box office on fire!
The A-list star proves she isn't afraid to put up a fight.
The statistics speak for themselves.
Oscar weekend is another strong one at the box office with revenues up 24% from the same weekend a year ago and year-to-date revenues 18% ahead of last year.
Is there really a correlation between the top category and the box office receipts of its nominees?
'Safe House' jumps to the top of the chart in its second weekend as 'The Vow,' 'Journey 2,'Ghost Rider 2' and 'This Means War' perform well.
Audiences Clearly Loved the Movies This Valentine’s Weekend.
'Chronicle' and 'The Woman in Black' lead a strong Super Bowl weekend at the box office.
'The Grey' debuted with a better-than-expected $20 million during another solid weekend at the box office.
'Contraband' from Universal tops the Martin Luther King weekend box office with a much better than expected $24.5 million.
'The Devil Inside' was the only wide release newcomer this weekend and shocked everyone with a massive and much better-than-expected $34.5 million.
We've got the whole story of the year's box office!
After two very slow weeks at the nation’s theaters things are finally heating up with the arrival of three new and very high profile releases.
With no new wide release newcomers this will be one of the lowest grossing weekends of the year with around $82 million in total receipts.
With a plethora of family films, blockbusters and Oscar contenders to please virtually every audience, the holiday season will hopefully gain momentum as we head into the final month of the box office year.
It was a solid Wednesday start for the Thanksgiving holiday 5-day frame
Take a cup of “Romeo and Juliet,” a tablespoon of “West Side Story,” a dash of “Dark Shadows,” a sprinkling of “Beverly Hills 90210” and a bucketful of teen angst and you have “The Twilight Saga.”
Two 'True Blood' alums join the cast tonight!
'Puss in Boots' in 3D easily clawed its way to the top of the weekend chart with $34 million.
The play adaptation delivers outstanding performances.
Warner Bros.’ 'Dolphin Tale' in 3-D swims upstream and tops the chart in a surprise second weekend number one performance.
Disney’s The Lion King roars again with a massive 29.3 million!
And why would any of us doubt him?
'The Help' makes it two in a row as Hurricane Irene affects Box Office
Check out a snazzy, informative guide to summer's past.
We break down the numbers and figure out what it all means!
Wolverine, Kate Austin & Robots: Nerd Heaven
'The Help' takes on four newcomers and some very strong apes to top the chart.
The Universal/DreamWorks co-production of Cowboys & Aliens starring James Bond’s Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford is locked beats Sony’s The Smurfs in a photo finish!
Our Hollywood.com Box Office President waxes poetic on the weekend's highlights.
The balance of power between Walt and Gus shifts once again.
Last installment in franchise obliterates previous Single-Day box office Record with $92.1 Million!
This weekend was another winner for the sci-fi popcorn action flick with a $47 million gross against a modest 52% drop and north of $260 million in North America dollars.
Friday's numbers are in...
Another superhero has entered the summer movie box office sweepstakes as Warner Bros.’ 'Green Lantern' starring Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively smashed its way into over 3,800 theaters
The 'Training Day' director will helm 'Southpaw.'
A weekend gross of $56 million from this reinvented prequel to the X-Men franchise with a critically acclaimed director and top actors including James McAvoy and Jennifer Lawrence proves the continued appeal of the series.
'Hangover: Part II' and 'Kung Fu Panda 2' pump up Memorial Weekend box office.
Boxing! Hit stuff!
The summer movie season has officially kicked off with the $66 million debut of Paramount’s 'Thor' in 3-D from Marvel Comics.
'Hop' and 'Arthur' top the weekend box office chart and suddenly Russell Brand is a box office force to be reckoned with.
A “Wimpy Kid” named Rodrick really does rule at the box office!
Some very tough girls and a wimpy kid hit theaters this weekend.
Relativity Media’s 'Limitless' tops the weekend with a bigger-than-expected $19 million and in the process makes Bradley Cooper America’s favorite leading man.
Sony’s sci-fi alien adventure Battle: Los Angeles created a solid weekend of box office mayhem with a better-than-expected debut of $36 million.
Sony’s sci-fi alien adventure 'Battle: Los Angeles' is poised for a solid weekend of box office mayhem.
'Rango' proves that family audiences are always looking for new entertainment at the multi-plex and posts the best debut of 2011 thus far!
There’s a new Box Office Sheriff in Town and his Name is Rango!
And it still actually looks funny!
Standing tall, Disney’s 'Gnomeo and Juliet' reaped the benefits of being the only family animated film in wide release took the top spot with $14.2 million in its third weekend of release.
Audiences likely to get a Hall Pass for Oscar Weekend while Nicolas Cage gets Angry!
Let's get ready to ruuuummmble!
Sandler and Bieber duke it out for Box Office Supremacy!
Sony lands on top with the dramatic thriller The Roommate with a better-than-expected $15.6 million and earning back its negative cost in the process.
The Super Bowl may be the only blockbuster this weekend as audiences look for a 'Roommate.'
Anthony Hopkins has “The Rite” stuff this weekend as Warner Bros. markets the hell out of the film.
Anthony Hopkins will have 'The Rite' stuff this weekend, while 'The Mechanic' will try to put extra gas in the box office tank.
This film shakes up the conventions of traditional boxing movies.
The Best Picture Nominees were announced early this morning in Los Angeles and it is one of the best crop of films in recent memory with each having a deserved place on this illustrious list.
Martin Luther King weekend was unable to break the downward spiral as we suffer through a down streak at the box office that has lasted for ten straight weeks.
'The Green Hornet' is expected to give Vince Vaughn a “Dilemma” this weekend.
Paramount’s True Grit has been in hot pursuit of a first place finish at the box-office and it finally claimed its reward this weekend.
New Year’s weekend marks the start of what could be one of the biggest years in box-office history as we say goodbye to 2010 and hello to 2011.
We project full year revenues to fall just short of 2009’s record $10.6 billion and land with $10.556 billion.
Christmas weekend was a tough one at the box office with overall revenues down 45% vs. the same weekend a year ago.
The final three wide releases of the year hope to bring some Christmas cheer back to the Box-Office with 'Little Fockers,' 'True Grit' and 'Gulliver’s Travels.'
This weekend 'Tron' grabbed the sci-fi fans, 'Yogi' took on the families, fight fans cheered for 'The Fighter' while a 'Black Swan' made her nationwide debut.
A potentially strong weekend in store as 'Tron' grabs the fan boys, 'Yogi' takes on the families, fight fans go for 'The Fighter' and the date crowd asks 'How Do You Know.'
With the opening of Disney’s 'Tron: Legacy' this weekend and its expected blockbuster debut, we take a look back at the films that made December a month to remember at the movie theatre.
The rapper and '8 Mile' star will team up with 'Sons of Anarchy' creator Kurt Sutter
'Narnia' Leads Another Slow Box Office Weekend, but 'Black Swan,' 'The King's Speech' & 'The Fighter' all deliver knockout punches!
Narnia returns to the holiday season as Depp and Jolie make 'The Tourist' look really good.
'Harry Potter 7 ' does it yet again as it as it leads Wednesday's box office rally and 'Tangled' inches closer to $100 million.
'Black Swan' huge per-theatre average on Monday while Mr. Potter gets his revenge with a first place finish on Monday after losing the weekend to Miss Rapunzel in 'Tangled.
'Tangled' on the cusp of $100 million at the domestic box office while 'Black Swan' fills weekday theaters!
Harry Potter and Rapunzel engaged in a box-office showdown during the second slowest box office weekend of the year.
It will be the battle of the family movies as audiences snack on the box office leftovers during what is traditionally one of the lesser performing weekends of the year.
For the eleventh straight day 'Harry Potter 7' is on top of the box office chart with $2.3 million on Monday. 'Tangled' strong in second place.
Harry Potter tangles with four newcomers and comes out on top for Thanksgiving!
After posting the third biggest midnight gross of $24 million, Warner Bros.' 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1' went on to earn a magical $61.15 million in its first full day of release.
After a record-setting opening weekend, we look back at the series' blockbuster track record!
A boy wizard is set to cast a box office spell this weekend as ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1’ prepares to unleash the magic.
'Megamind' leads one of the most star-filled weekends of the year as Brad Pitt, Will Ferrell, Robert Downey, Jr., Denzel Washington, Tina Fey, Rachel McAdams and Harrison Ford do box office battle.
'Due Date' which was second for the weekend, takes the mid-week lead at the Box Office.
Paramount has certainly been on a box office roll of late and with the release of 'Megamind,' Dreamworks’ animated 3D film featuring the voices of Will Ferrell and Brad Pitt they have another winner with a “mega” debut of $47.65 million.
The Holiday Movie Season officially starts as Paramount Exerts “mind” control over family audiences while Downey, Jr. gets his due and Tyler Perry releases his tenth film in five years.
After six days of release, Lionsgate's 'Saw 3D' nears the $30 million mark.
A strong Monday gross of $1.98 million puts Jigsaw on top with a five day total of $26.2 million.
Satire at its finest.
A Halloween Horror Movie Smack-down takes the 'Saw' franchise out with a bloody bang as 'Paranormal Activity 2' mutilates the competition.
A Halloween Horror Movie Smack-down to take place this weekend at the nation’s theatres as “Saw 3D” and “Paranormal Activity 2” look to mutilate the competition.
So, how much Metamucil will be on hand during this production?
Johnny Knoxville and company have elevated gross-out humor to high art and now to high finance!
The horror franchise continues a strong showing as the horror friendly Halloween weekend approaches.
'Paranormal Activity 2' gives Paramount another huge weekend with a whopping $41.5 million!
Paramount Pictures about to get very Paranormal with the top two slots at the weekend box office.
After an earth-shattering weekend debut of $50.3 million, the 'Jackass' crew tops the Wednesday chart with $3.4 million.
'Jackass 3D' earns a massive $22 million on Friday as the franchise grabs its third number one debut!
Johnny Knoxville and company are set to make a complete jackass out of the box-office as Paramount’s “Jackass 3D” looks to add another number one debut to the franchise’s perfect track record.
Sony's "The Social Network" had performed well mid-week with grosses in the $2 million range as heavy interest in the film continued after great reviews and strong word-of-mouth.
A real horse race at the box office this weekend as three new wide releases join the crop of films currently in the marketplace.
In its sixth day of release the film closes in on the $30 million mark as it continues strong mid-week at the box office.
'The Social Network' continues to dominate the marketplace. The critically acclaimed film is now up to $26.8 million and with great word-of-mouth it will continue to perform well in the coming weeks.
'The Social Network" tops the Monday box office Rally after a number one debut over the weekend.
This is just the beginning for Sony’s “The Social Network” as the David Fincher film earned a solid $23 million in its opening weekend and will now build upon solid word-of-mouth and Oscar buzz to eventually reach the $100 million mark in domestic revenue.
With Oscar buzz, critical raves and over 500 million members who use Facebook on a daily basis, David Fincher’s 'The Social Network' is set for a solid debut this weekend.
At nearly $25 after six days of release, the sequel is still the mid-week champ at the box office
'Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps' tops the Monday Box Office Rally with $1.7 million.
It turns out that not only greed is good, but $19 million at the box office is pretty sweet as well as iconic movie villain Gordon Gekko makes his return in Fox’s Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.
If greed is good, big box office is better as Michael Douglas prepares to unleash a re-booted version of his iconic movie villain Gordon Gekko in Fox’s Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.
Ben Affleck's 'The Town' ruled the box office again yesterday with $2.6M, with Easy 'A' close behind at $1.2M
Affleck goes to town and Emma Stone proves she has A-list star power at this weekend’s box office.
Sony’s Easy A to get an Easy A (and close to $30 million) from audiences this weekend as tweens, teens and John Hughes fans everywhere have much to rejoice about in this innovative, quirky and fun riff on the classic Nathaniel Hawthorne tale of “The Scarlett Letter.”
The lowest grossing weekend of the year thus far is led by Sony/Screen Gems’ Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D with a franchise high of $27.7 million in 3D and IMAX powered dollars.
It is going to be a particularly evil weekend with Sony/Screen Gems’ “Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D” set for the best debut of the series.
These two films remain neck and neck with only $15,222 separating Clooney and Trejo.
After winning the Labor Day weekend box office race, George Clooney continues to top the chart on Tuesday. However Danny Trejo is snapping at his heels in a close second place finish that puts 'Machete' only $66,662 behind 'The American."
'The American' leads the weekend, but Fox's 'Machete' sliced its way back to the number two spot after a strong Sunday that saw its box office fortunes rise.
Summer 2010 Box Office Review - Or...How I Learned to Love the bombs and the hits and learned a few lessons along the way.
George Clooney proves that pushing 50 (and Danny Trejo proves that pushing 70!) is no longer a handicap when it comes to the box office as Focus Features’ “The American” tops Labor Day Weekend and “Machete” takes third. Sony’s “Takers” proves the young guys still have some box office muscle too!
As expected Fox's 'Machete' tops the Friday box office derby in a very tight race with Focus Features' 'The American' which put them both at close to $4 million for the day and could see them flip-flop by the end of the weekend.
George Clooney does it again as 'The American' tops the Daily Box Office Rally in its second day of release.
The final weekend of the summer will give audiences a lot to chose from at the nation's theatres as Clooney, Barrymore and...Trejo give Labor Day audiences their last chance at summer movie-going fun.
'The American' starring George Clooney leads the Wednesday Box Office Rally with $1.67 million for its opening day in 2,721 theatres. The film will find new competition on Friday when 'Machete' and 'Going the Distance' join the fray.
Takers' takes the top spot at the Monday box office with $1.7 million after a photo finish for the weekend with 'The Last Exorcism'
After two weeks on top with “The Expendables,” Lionsgate looks to make it three consecutive weekends as their horror film “The Last Exorcism” debuts on midnight Thursday. However, Paul Walker and the "Takers" may try to steal the number one slot from the devil child.
Stallone, Roberts, and Ferrell remained the big names at the box office Wednesday, as 'The Expendables' cleared $70 Million - Daily Box Office Rally, August 25
With Lionsgate’s “The Last Exorcism” opening this weekend, a look back at cinema’s lasting love affair with the horror genre is in order.
The introduction of five new wide release openers created a box office mash up at the nation's theatres this weekend. Insanity reigns as a tight group of films fell in behind “The Expendables” and made this one of the toughest weekends to call ever!
On Friday one of the tightest races at the box office ever in as "The Expendables" and "Vampires Suck" lead the weekend.
Lionsgate’s “The Expendables” and Sony’s “Eat Pray Love” look to take on all comers in a crowded marketplace and could have themselves a two-peat at the top of the chart. Unless of course the lovely Nanny McPhee has anything to say about it.
Sylvester Stallone's epic actioner and Julia Roberts' rom-com travelogue stay ahead of the competition once again - Daily Box Office Rally, Tuesday August 17
On Friday Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Mickey Rourke and Steve Austin topped the box office with a gross of around $13.5 million as “The Expendables” took on other newcomers and "The Other Guys."
Laremy predicts a scary future where we'll see Vin Diesel and Steven Seagal in Expendables 2
Sibling rivalry is rarely as publicly manifested as it will in this weekend’s box office horse race as Julia Roberts and her big brother Eric Roberts go head to head in a familial box office smackdown.
'The Other Guys' Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg end Inception's reign in this Monday's Box Office Rally
Sony’s “The Other Guys” gives Will Ferrell his second biggest opening weekend ever with a bigger than expected $35.5 million as Warner Bros.’ “Inception” continues strong in its fourth weekend of release and Disney’s “Step Up 3-D” draws the younger crowd.
Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg in 'The Other Guys' takes the top spot at Friday's box office with $13.2 million and thus could post a bigger than expected gross in the mid-30's and possibly give Ferrell his second best debut weekend ever.
Its looks like Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg are set to take over the top spot at the nation’s theatres as Sony’s “The Other Guys” prepares to assault the weekend.
'Inception' enters its third week at the box office on Monday keeping the #1 rank at the Daily Box Office Rally for August 2, 2010
'Inception' adds $5.3 million at the box office on Thursday bringing its 14 day domestic total to $165.8 million.
'Inception' adds $5.5 million at the box office on Wednesday bringing its 13 day domestic total to $160.5 million.
Like a broken record as 'Inception' continues its march toward $300 million at the domestic box office while 'Salt' and 'Despicable Me' continue holding strong in the second and third spot. On Tuesday, "Toy Story 3" became the 11th highest grossing film of all-time!
'Inception' is living the dream of box office success while 'Salt' and 'Despicable Me' show continued strength in the Monday Daily Box Office Rally for July 26, 2010
“Inception” from Warner Bros. proves that smart and summer can actually go together as it tops the chart for the second straight weekend.
Tuesday Box Office Race - "Inception" induces Deja Vu as the Top 3 Films remain unchanged from Monday with ‘Despicable Me’ continuing to dominate the family marketplace
More of the same at the daily box office as "Toy Story 3" prepares to make Mel Gibson very angry
'Inception' continues its mind-bending dominance at #1 with the Daily Box Office Rally for Thursday, July 22, 2010
With the combination of "Inception," "Salt," "Despicable Me," "Toy Story 3," "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and "Ramona and Beezus," this should be another strong weekend at the nation's theatres.
The high Monday box office gross for 'Inception' is a direct result of the positive word-of-mouth generated by social networking platforms and other traditional channels
Universal’s animated “Despicable Me” has an impressive debut while Summit’s “Eclipse” holds well and Fox’s “Predators” does solid R-rated business.
This weekend's box office numbers, revealed
Congress has approved an amendment banning the trading of derivatives based on box office results.
It's going to be a great Fourth-of-July weekend for Vampires and Werewolves, Airbenders, Toys, and Grown Ups everywhere as audiences will line-up for "Eclipse," "Toy Story 3," "Grown Ups" and "Knight and Day" during this explosive weekend at the nation's theatres.
Toys rule the Box Office again as “Toy Story 3” continues to wow a worldwide audience while Adam Sandler proves he is still a major box-office force with Sony’s “Grown Ups”...
It took the eighties to save the box office in 2010 as Sony’s “The Karate Kid” and Fox’s “The A-Team” lead the first solid weekend in a month at the nation’s theatres.....
Paramount/DWA’s “Shrek Forever After” tops the chart for the third consecutive week as overall box office hits a speed bump.....
Get ready for a post-Memorial weekend pileup at the nation’s theaters as four brand new wide release openers debut.....
Paramount/DWA’s “Shrek Forever After” proves that families rule on Memorial Weekend.....
A little pre-weekend "Sex" as the ladies of "Sex and the City" follow up on the hugely successful 2008 big-screen installment of the beloved HBO series.....
Paramount/DWA’s “Shrek Forever After” continues the franchise’s tradition with a number one debut, but came in on the low end of expectations.....
Paramount/DWA's "Shrek Forever After" looks to keep the venerable franchise’s perfect track record alive with another number one debut.....
Paramount/Marvel’s “Iron Man 2” tops the chart for the second consecutive weekend, while Universal/Relativity Media’s “Robin Hood” took the worldwide crown with $111.1 million.....
The second official weekend of the summer is upon us as three wide release newcomers hit the marketplace and have to contend with.....
The summer movie season of 2010 kicks off in high style as Paramount/Marvel’s “Iron Man 2” posts the fifth biggest opening weekend of all-time.....
When it comes to box office, Tom Cruise is a true force of nature with 33 films over 30 years, $3.2 billion in domestic box-office, Sixteen films over $100 million...
Disney and Pixar do it again topping the box office chart for the eleventh straight time and posting the second biggest animated opening ever.....
10 films, 10 number one openings, $5.6 billion worldwide dollars. If there was ever a more perfect box office track record.....
10 films, 10 number one openings, $5.6 billion worldwide dollars. If there was ever a more perfect box office track record...
Christina Hendricks and Ryan Phillippe celebrate the release of a controller-free console.
With little competition in the family freindly space, the green guy knocks Iron Man from top spot
In it's second week of release, Iron Man 2 takes in a whopping $53M
Regulatars have given Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald the go-ahead to offer "film futures" trading.
Federal regulators today gave tentative approval to the trading of "film futures."
James Cameron’s big blue monster officially became the world’s highest-grossing film of all time on Monday.
Sandra Bullock was the biggest draw at the box office in 2009, according to a new survey.
Variety has outlined the bright lights in the indie sector for 2009 and lists Summit at the head of the field with $455 million in box office totals (excluding holdovers).
'Harry Potter' is already battling 'Transformers' at the U.S. box office - the new wizard movie is outselling the robot action picture a week before it is released.
The Dark Knight (Warner Bros), which has generated an estimated $315M since opening 10 days ago, has provided a huge boost to the film industry.
Marvel Studio’s second movie is a much tougher proposition. Adding the word Incredible to the title, bringing on Transporter director Louis Leterrier and Academy Award nominee Edward Norton, and essentially ‘re-booting’ a franchise after just five years is an audacious gamble, and it appears as though it will pay off solidly.
This weekend, there is one for the girls at America’s multiplexes as Warner Bros rolls out the long-awaited Sex and the City movie.
In movie industry parlance, there are four audience quadrants--Males Under 25, Males 25 Plus, Females Under 25 and Females 25 Plus.
“A real movie.” That’s the phrase that one of my industry sources used to describe Eagle Eye (Dreamworks/Paramount), which debuts this Friday at 3,500 or so locations and on more than 4,500 screens. The movie reunites Hollywood’s hottest young star, Shia LaBeouf, with his director from the surprise hit Disturbia, DJ Caruso, and industry tracking is pointing toward a spectacular opening.
Summer box office disappoints.
The Sept 11 attacks had no discernible effect on movie ticket sales according to the chairman of box office trackers Exhibitor Relations
Christian Bale is stepping into the boxing ring with Mark Wahlberg -- the actors have signed up to co-star in new film The Fighter.
'Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience' underperformed at the box offce with $12.7 million, coming in second place.
Madea may have gone to jail, but Tyler Perry took another trip to the bank. Perry proves that he is as consistent as Pixar or Harry Potter when it comes to churning out the box-office hits with his fourth theatrical film, 'Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail,' debuting at No. 1.
In a world riddled with bad economic news, the theatrical movie-going experience continues to generate huge numbers as people looking for an escape from everyday worries are finding solace in a darkened movie theatre.
What better endorsement than having Justin Timberlake’s vote? He’s smart, he’s young and he speaks to the youth. He’s not afraid to stand up and say it…or, sing it for that matter!
Hollywood.com announced today the acquisition of Media by Numbers, the complete destination for box office data information and expert analysis. Current Media by Numbers President, Paul Dergarabedian, will be joining the Hollywood.com team as part of the deal. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army will be Guillermo del Toro’s best-ever opening, and the film’s strong opening dramatically improves the odds that Universal will put together another impressive summer streak of 4 consecutive $100M grossing movies and five-in-a-row is a real possibility.
Everyone in Hollywood is asking an intriguing question this week: “How high can Sex and the City go?” After all, the average red-blooded American male will have to be dragged into the theater to see Carrie Bradshaw and friends (although, gay men will likely be among the movie’s early attenders). According to industry tracking relayed to me, an astounding number of American women have a weekend appointment to see these four 40+ actresses in their first big-screen adventure.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: There is no mystery about which film will win the weekend. It is more a question of how high the new Narnia saga Prince Caspian can fly.
How big will Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull open? Lucasfilm and distributor Paramount are keeping this certain mega-hit under wraps until Sunday, May 18. The film will have an afternoon press screening Cannes with another Sunday night. Reviews will likely start posting as soon as Sunday night. This movie is, however, critic proof.
Warner Bros. and the Wachowski brothers may need to call for a tow truck. Speed Racer, the big-budget adaptation of the popular late '60s anime cartoon classic, remains in the "slow lane," according to the most recent industry tracking.
Don't bet the house on Horton, says today’s Hollywood Reporter. Only an exceptional third-session hold by Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! would see it score a hat trick atop the box office and though none of the four wide openers this weekend appears to be a sure shot to hit No. 1, Sony's card-counting drama 21 is a strong lead candidate.
This weekend sees Roland Emmerich’s 10,000 BC enter theaters in the same frame that last year saw 300 pull in a $70.9 million weekend. Estimates for BC are that it will hit somewhere between $30 and $40 million.
Sources have reported to Hollywood.com that they and other moviegoers have been viewing Mel Gibson’s new movie Apocalypto after buying tickets to see different movies.
When predicting this year’s Best Picture Oscar for your annual office pool—not that we condone gambling—bear in mind the following caveat: the box office is no Oscar psychic! One of many Oscar myths says that Academy members only nominate the year’s chief breadwinners for Best Picture, choosing the most lucrative among those to take home Oscar bling. History dispels this myth, however, since past winners’ earnings are all over the place, instead of only high. Furthermore, if it were true, then where amongst this year’s noms is Kong? Potter? Narnia? Sith?
Big Momma's House 2 crushed the competition at the North American box office this weekend with a plump $28 million take--the second-best January opening ever. The Martin Lawrence sequel ranks second behind a special edition of Star Wars, which grossed $35.9 million when it premiered in 1997, but bumped 2004’s Along Came Polly’s $27.7 million opening
Most moviegoers' mission Memorial Day weekend will be to see Paramount's "Mission: Impossible 2." The PG-13-rated action adventure sequel -- known for short as "M:I-2" -- got off to a flying start with its Wednesday opening to $12.5 million at a record-setting 3,653 theaters ($3,422 per theater). "It's a 37% first choice in the tracking," an insider points out, predicting blockbuster business for the long holiday weekend. Looking back, he adds, the original "Mission" was a 27% first choice when it opened, and last year's "Star Wars: Episode One -- The Phantom Menace" was a 43% first choice. "M:I-2's" Wednesday gross compares very favorably to the original "Mission: Impossible's" opening day total of $11.8 million for Wed., May 22, 1996, at 3,012 theaters ($3,918 per theater). That gross actually included pre-opening Tuesday night preview showings as well
News, June 9: Disney, Miramax Make Feud Public; Mel Gibson Sues Over "Passion" Box Office; Soul Plane Crash Lands on Bootleg Market Viggo Mortensen Cameron Crowe Vanilla Sky Final Destination 3 Bridget Jones
Pop singer-turned-reality TV star Jessica Simpson has signed a development deal with ABC to star in a comedy series project targeted for fall 2004. Also: Ted Harbert Joe Simpson Catherine Zeta-Jones Michael Douglas Halle Berry Justin Guarini Chuck Wepner Sylvester Stallone Rocky G Unit 50 Cent Duran Duran Luis Guzman Craig Ferguson Brad Silberling Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Illusionist David Blaine emerged Sunday from the transparent box hanging over London's River Thames in which he spent 44 days for a starvation stunt and was taken to the hospital after making a brief statement. Also: Robert Blake Arnold Schwarzenegger Woody Allen Eminem Ozzy Osbourne Siddiq Barmak Osama Informa Media Group Robert Duvall Will Farrell A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl Brad Pitt Jennifer Aniston
Although no records were shattered at the box office this summer, the season's grosses exceeded last year's by 4 percent with the help of a little animated tale called Finding Nemo.
The Matrix Reloaded cames in first on the British box office charts its opening weekend.
News, May 16: The Matrix Reloaded Already Breaking Box Office Records, Halle Berry Injured on Movie Set, "Untouchables" Actor Robert Stack Dies Nicolas Cage Mariah Carey Eminem
The release schedule for summer 2003 is already heating up just as the holidays are ending
November numbers hit all-time high of $824 million, with help of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Die Another Day and The Santa Clause 2
Sony Pictures Entertainment said today it set an annual film-revenue record this weekend, surpassing $1.27 billion in ticket sales.
Minority Report Lilo & Stitch Pam Grier Newark Black Film Festival Friday Foster Bobby Brown Natasha Lyonne The Whole Nine Yards 2 Bruce Willis Jennifer Lopez Hactor Lavoe Marc Anthony John Woo Nicolas Cage Chow Yun-fat Land of Destiny Peter Pan Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick's Napoleon -- The Greatest Film Never Made
Thanks to Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, which held on to the top spot at the box office this weekend, and Spider-Man, which remained in its No. 2 position, overall ticket sales for Memorial Day weekend topped $200 million for the first time.
Fearing audiences would deem their content offensive, many Hollywood studios postponed the release of films after the Sept. 11 attacks on America. But as Disney's Big Trouble proved last week, the move seems to have hurt studios more than anything Big Trouble Gangs of New York Windtalkers Collateral Damage Sidewalks of New York The Last Castle Training Day Spy Game Black Hawk Down Disney Miramax Universal MGM Warner Bros. Paramount Classics DreamWorks
2001 box office grosses reached $1 billion with hits such as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Monsters, Inc. The Mummy Returns Rush Hour 2 Shrek Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Robert Redford Brad Pitt Bruce Willis Nicole Kidman Catherine Zeta Jones Julia Roberts Americas Sweethearts Moulin Rouge
Harry Potter and the Sorcer's Stone, Van Morrison, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Jeopardy!, Jonathan Franzen, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Dick Cavett, Jerry Springer, Sally Jessy Raphael, Penn & Teller, Dave Holmes, Cindy Adams, Gilbert Gottfried, Robin Leach, more.
Attendance is expected to soar next weekend with the opening of Pixar's latest computer animated production, Monsters, Inc.
French films are making a big comeback -- in France. While U.S. films accounted for 62 percent of ticket sales in France last year, they now account for just 49 percent.
Word that the U.S. and Britain had launched their first major attacks against the Taliban in Afghanistan apparently kept many potential moviegoers at home on Sunday -- throwing off studio estimates for the weekend.
After two weeks of dismal results, the box office roared back to life last weekend with total ticket sales of $64.1 million for the top 12 films, up 47 percent from the previous weekend and 22 percent from the same weekend a year ago.
Analysts offered several explanations for poor box-office showings this weekend . . .
Hardball Keanu Reeves Diane Lane The Glass House Leelee Sobieski Joy Ride The Musketeer Two Can Play That Game Rock Star Mark Wahlberg The Others Jeepers Creepers Rush Hour 2 American Pie 2 Rat Race Jay and Silent Bob Mariah Carey Glitter Big Trouble Training Day Hearts in Atlantis Zoolander Don't Say a Word
All three new additions to the box office turned out to be disappointments over the weekend as Universal's American Pie 2 remained in first place for a second week, despite losing 53 percent of its opening-week business.
American pie 2 confounded many analysts over the weekend by taking in $45.1 million in ticket sales despite an R rating that many theaters are meticulously enforcing.
Dinosaurs established a firm foothold at the box office over the weekend and braced for an onslaught of apes on Friday. Universal's Jurassic Park III exceeded analysts' -- even the studio's -- forecasts, as it earned $50.1 million in ticket sales over the weekend and $81.4 million since its opening on Wednesday.
The success of the two films brought an end to a three-week period that saw the box office dip well below the same period last year. The top 12 films earned an estimated $135 million, up 6 percent from a year ago.
DreamWorks' Shrek regained the top spot at the British box office last weekend after being beaten out the previous week by Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Shrek has now earned $20.3 million in the U.K. since its opening three weeks ago.
Entertainment analysts were blonde-sided at the box office over the weekend as a little $18 million comedy captured first place while the predicted winner, which cost an estimated $115 million to $135 million to make, came in fourth.
Auguring well for the weekend, Warner Bros.' Cats and Dogs took in $9 million on Wednesday, Independence Day, while Miramax/Dimension's Scary Movie 2 was close behind with $8.8 million.
Buyers of DVD movies are increasingly opting for full-screen ("pan and scan") versions of movies over widescreen ("letterbox" format), according to the online edition of Video Business magazine
If estimates hold, the total box office last weekend was the biggest in history. The top 12 films earned about $176.5 million, according to Exhibitor Relations, significantly higher than the $171.3-million previous record, set over the Memorial Day holiday last year. Exhibitor Relations chief Paul Dergarabedian told Tuesday's New York Times that the new record "bodes well for the summer. ... There are still a lot of big movies to come."
"The Wedding Planner" marched down theater aisles this weekend, celebrating in first place with $14 million.The PG-13-rated romantic comedy from Columbia Pictures and Intermedia Films easily captured the top spot on Super Bowl Weekend with a sexy ESTIMATED $14.0 million at 2,785 theaters ($5,027 per theater)."Planner" had the highest per-theater average for any film playing in over 1,000 theaters last weekend."Great news for us this weekend," Sony Pictures Entertainment worldwide marketing & distribution president Jeff Blake said Sunday morning, noting that Sony had four of the top ten films ("Planner," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Finding Forrester" and "Snatch")."$14 million is allowing for an over 50% drop on Sunday because we (should) do a little better than the rest of the world (against) the Super Bowl," Blake explained. "We got a real clear mi
"The Grinch" should continue to top the chart, but may be hanging by its fingernails as "Vertical Limit" tries to scale this weekend's box office heights. "'Grinch' was down 48% last weekend from Thanksgiving. I would expect this weekend to drop maybe 40%," an insider speculates. "That means it's going to do around $16 million. It doesn't look to me like 'Vertical Limit' can get there." "I don't think it'll fall 40%," another executive counters. "It's falling less than that mid-week. If it falls 35%, it'll do $17.5 million." Universal and Imagine Entertainment's PG-rated comedy adventure blockbuster "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" has already grossed over $176 million. It should hit $200 million on Dec. 15 and be at about $215.5 million on Dec. 22. That would put it slightly ahead of "Mission: Impossible 2," which now ranks as the year's b
Three films should enjoy heaping portions of box office pie over a five-day Thanksgiving period in which the marketplace expands to $240 million or more. Which movie carves itself the biggest slice of holiday business remains to be seen, but insiders say the happy chart-topping trio will be Universal and Imagine Entertainment's "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas," last weekend's Number One film, and Buena Vista's two openings -- Disney's "102 Dalmatians" and Touchstone's "Unbreakable." Also likely to be well fed at the holiday box office buffet are two holdovers -- Paramount and Nickelodeon's "Rugrats In Paris" and Columbia's "Charlie's Angels." After kicking off to $55.1 million last weekend, the PG-rated comedy adventure "Grinch" should have $70 million as it goes into this weekend at 3,134 theaters (up 7 runs from last week). It should have
HOLLYWOOD, Nov. 16, 2000-- "The Grinch" should steal first place from "Charlie's Angels" this weekend. "'Grinch' is going to be number one," an insider predicts without having to think twice. "You can count on $30 million-plus, and it could even be much higher. The question is will the market expand? I believe that it can." The PG-rated comedy adventure "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" from Universal and Imagine Entertainment, opening at 3,127 theaters and on over 4,200 screens, is expected to turn box offices everywhere green. Directed by Ron Howard and produced by Brian Grazer, "Grinch" stars Jim Carrey. Paramount and Nickelodeon Movies' G-rated animated sequel "Rugrats in Paris: The Movie" should be a lively number two, opening at 2,934 theaters. "The first 'Rugrats' opened to $27 million, but there was nothing else in
This weekend's box office election is too close to call, according to insiders who see a close race between "Charlie's Angels" and "Little Nicky" for the popular vote. Columbia's PG-13-rated action adventure comedy kicked off to a record setting $40.1 million last weekend. New Line's PG-13-rated youth appeal comedy "Little Nicky," opening at about 2,910 theaters, is flying high on the Hollywood radar screen. "It probably will fall less than 50%," an insider predicts about "Angels." "Figure 40%. So you're looking at $24 million. It could be a tight race with 'Little Nicky.' I'd have to say $22-24 million for both of them." "I think you've got to figure it's 'Charlie's Angels' again unless 'Little Nicky' just really surges here at the last minute, which it could with young males," another studio executive cautions. Directed by McG, "Angels" s
HOLLYWOOD, Oct 26, 2000 - Look for "Blair Witch 2" to do killer business this Halloween weekend. Artisan Entertainment's R-rated sequel "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2," opening at about 3,000 theaters, should scare up enough ticket sales to end "Meet the Parents'" three week reign in first place. "'Blair Witch' is going to play very young," explains an insider. "They ought to be able to open to $20 million." The original "Blair Witch Project," last summer's sleeper blockbuster, was made independently for about $35,000 and picked up by Artisan. It grossed about $140.5 million in domestic theaters. Directed by Joe Berlinger, "Blair Witch 2" stars Kim Director, Jeffrey Donovan, Erica Leerhsen, Tristen Skylar and Stephen Barker-Turner. Universal's PG-13-rated comedy "Meet the Parents" should slide one slot to second place in its fourth
Moviegoers and "Parents" should meet again in first place given the gloomy expectations for this weekend's new releases. While most top level studio marketing and distribution executives were in Orlando this week for ShowEast, the annual convention of exhibitors and distributors, the handful of Hollywood handicappers left minding the store see the holdovers "Meet the Parents" and "Remember the Titans" as the films most likely to perform well. Universal's PG-13-rated comedy "Meet the Parents," which opened to a sizzling $28.6 million last week, is a safe bet to hold on to the top spot. If it falls 25%, it will still do about $21.5 million. Even a 30% drop would give it a $20 million second weekend. "It's kind of crystal-ballish, but based on what's out there, 'Meet the Parents' could very well be number one again," one insider volunteered while on the
HOLLYWOOD, Sept. 28, 2000 It should be a weekend to "Remember" as "Remember the Titans" hits the box office gridiron. "Titans," Buena Vista/Disney's PG-rated football theme drama, is kicking off at 1,865 theaters. It has insiders seeing green, a box office color that's been invisible so far this fall. "I think we will remember the 'Titans,'" observes one studio executive. "They'll be over $20 million. At last a movie exploits the soft marketplace." "There's no question 'Meet the Titans' will be the number one film -- $20-25 million," predicts another distributor. Driven by "Titans," the weekend should be up sharply from last week when key films only managed to gross about $56 million. The improvement will come, a source maintains, "thanks to one movie, which is all the market ever needs to turn around." "I hope the marketplace wil
SANTA MONICA, Calif., September 14, 2000 -- Hollywood will suffer from the box office blahs this weekend. In fact, insiders anticipate so little moviegoer enthusiasm for the weekend's new wide releases that it won't take much to capture first place. Warner Bros. and Castle Rock Entertainment's R-rated action comedy "Bait" has the best shot at topping the chart thanks to a very wide opening at 2,352 theaters and its likely appeal to urban moviegoers. "I'm sure it's going to play well to African-Americans, but after what happened to 'Turn It Up' last week (you can't expect much)," a source points out. "Bait' is probably $6-8 million, just because it's going out so wide and should have strong black appeal. Depending on what happens to 'The Watcher,' either film could be number one." "I would say 'Bait's got a shot at number one. I would say in the high end of
HOLLYWOOD, Nov. 28, 2000 -- “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” helped set a new Thanksgiving box office record and reached a major milestone for itself, too. While “The Grinch” led the pack as the biggest money-maker over the holiday weekend, the film -- along with “102 Dalmatians,” “Unbreakable” and others -- helped set a new box office record with a grand total of $171.1 million in sales, making it the largest-grossing three-day (Friday-Sunday) weekend in movie history. The previous three-day record stood at $160 million and was set last year with the help of “Toy Story 2.” The Jim Carrey starrer took in $73.8 million over the five-day (Wednesday-Sunday) Thanksgiving holiday, making it the second highest-grossing film ever recorded during that period. To date, “The Grinch” has already made $137.4 million and also tied Sony’s “Men in Black” and Paramount’s “Miss
"Hannibal" bit off much more at the box office than anyone thought it could chew, opening to a record-setting $58 million. The R-rated thriller presented by MGM and Universal in association with Dino De Laurentiis captured first place with a head-spinning estimated $58.0 million at 3,230 theaters ($17,800 per theater). "It is far and away the biggest R-rated opening ever -- beating $42.3 million on 'Scary Movie' (which opened via Miramax's Dimension Films last July 7-9)," MGM worldwide distribution president Larry Gleason said Sunday morning. "It's the third biggest three days of all time. It's behind the three days of 'Lost World: Jurassic Park,' but that was a four-day weekend. That was $72 million. The next one was 'Star Wars: Episode One' (which did $64.8 million via 20th Century Fox the weekend of May 21-23, 1999). That was a three-day weekend. So we came in
Predicting this weekend's box office is enough to drive anyone a little "Nutty." If Eddie Murphy's "Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps" has big legs, it stands to hold on to the top spot. The PG-13-rated comedy sequel from Universal and Imagine Entertainment could drop 50% from last weekend's $42.5 million opening and still place first with around $21 million. Directed by Peter Segal, it stars Eddie Murphy, Janet Jackson and Larry Miller. Columbia's opening of its R-rated sci-fi thriller "Hollow Man" at about 2,800 theaters is shaping up as the most solid competition "Nutty" faces. But there also will be high-profile openings for Buena Vista/Touchstone's PG-13-rated romantic comedy "Coyote Ugly" at 2,650-plus theaters and Warner Bros. PG-13 sci-fi action adventure "Space Cowboys" at 2,700-plus theaters. "'Coyote Ugly,' 'Hollow Man' and 'Space Cow
Moviegoers will go "Nutty" for Eddie Murphy this weekend. With a 31% overall first-choice tracking score among opening and released films, Universal and Imagine Entertainment's PG-13-rated comedy sequel "Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps" is clearly heading for first place. Among African-American moviegoers, "Nutty 2" is a 48% overall first choice. Adding to its potential strength is the fact that Universal is launching "Nutty 2" extremely wide - with 3,242 theaters and 4,430 screens. "It's huge," says one studio executive. "It's going to do north of $30 million." "Based on the fact that the original opened to $25 million and (the similarly-focused PG-13) 'Big Momma's House' opened to $25 million, and this one is PG-13, I don't know why this wouldn't be in the $25-30 million range," observes a slightly more cautious insider. The origin
Get ready for another X-citing box office weekend. After its $54.5 million opening last weekend, 20th Century Fox's "X-Men" should easily hold on to the top spot. Even if it falls 50%, the PG-13-rated sci-fi action adventure will still gross about $27 million. Directed by Bryan Singer and produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter, "X-Men's" extensive cast is headed by Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman and Ian McKellen. DreamWorks' opening of its R-rated supernatural thriller "What Lies Beneath" (co-financed with Fox, which is releasing it internationally) should materialize in second place. Its 17% overall first choice in the tracking should translate into ticket sales of $20-25 million at 2,500-plus theaters. "The overall definite interest is 50%," an insider notes. "With men, it's 36% and with women it's 63%. The highest group is 25-plus
"X" will mark the top spot on the chart this weekend. With "X-Men's" 27% overall first-choice tracking among opening and released films, insiders expect the PG-13-rated 20th Century Fox sci-fi action adventure to open to $25-30 million at over 3,000 theaters. "It could do $35 million if it's really, really front-loaded (with moviegoers running to see it right away)," an insider notes. "X-Men," based on the hit Marvel comic book, should benefit from being this weekend's only new wide release. Who's most interested in seeing it? "It's primarily younger (under 25) and older males," explains one distribution executive, "with very little females. 'Scary Movie' is primarily young males and young females. So 'Scary Movie' gets hurt with young males, but should still have the young females." "Females have 'X-Men' an 11% first choice. Males
"Scary Movie" has a good shot at scaring up this weekend's biggest grosses. "I think it's going to open to north of $20 million, maybe $25 million," a studio executive speculates in view of its 27% overall first-choice tracking. "It's going to be between 'Scary Movie' and 'Perfect Storm' for first place. Both could be in the mid-twenties, but 'Scary Movie' could take it." "It skews very high for the under 25 group," another insider adds. "It's 43% first choice for males and 45% for females. So it's obviously young teenagers. It could open to $25-30 million." The R-rated teen appeal comedy from Miramax's Dimension Films label combines gross-out comedy with a spoof of classic horror flicks. It is opening very wide; Dimension was still doing its final tabulations, but insiders figure it will go into 2,800-plus theaters. Directed by Keenan Ivory
Jim Carrey should be the personality splitting most of this weekend's box office. Carrey and 20th Century Fox's R-rated comedy "Me, Myself & Irene," about a schizoid Rhode Island motorcycle cop, should speed into first place at 3,016 theaters with about $25 million. "Among opening and released films, it has a 27% first choice," explains an insider. "It's 36% for males under 25 and 20% for males over 25. It's 31% for females under 25 and 23% for females over 25. So it's definitely young males." A $25 million launch, this source says, "isn't the 'Liar Liar' opening, but I don't think it has the heat that 'Liar Liar' had." That Jim Carrey comedy opened via Universal to $31.4 million the weekend of March 21-23, 1997. Should Fox be unhappy with a $25 million opening? "No," replies this insider. "$25 million is a huge opening. Who would be unhappy w
"Gone In 60 Seconds" should have no trouble finding first place parking this weekend. With a first-choice tracking of 27%, the PG-13-rated action thriller from Buena Vista/Touchstone is on track to steal $30-35 million at 3,006 theaters. Insiders point out that if it opens as well as "The Rock" - $25.1 million at 2,392 theaters June 7-9, 1996 ($10,481 per theater) - it would gross $31.5 million. Who most wants to go to "Gone?" "It's very much young male," an insider says of the film's appeal. "The overall definite interest is 55%, but for young males (under 25) it's 69% and it's 46% for older men (over 25). It's 57% for young women and 48% for older women." Look for "Gone" to drive Paramount's "Mission: Impossible-2" down one ramp to second place in its third week. The PG-13 blockbuster action adventure sequel's 19% first-choice tracking suggests "M:I-2"
Paramount's "Mission: Impossible 2" was saying, "mission accomplished" early Sunday morning. "M:I-2" dominated Memorial Day weekend with an ESTIMATED $59 million in ticket sales from Friday through Sunday and $74 million for four days (Friday through Monday). "M:I-2" easily out-performed the original 1996 "Mission." If the sequel comes in with a four-day gross of $74 million at 3,653 theaters ($20,257 per theater), it will be about 30% ahead of the first "Mission's" $56.8 million. The sequel's ESTIMATED six-day cume (Wednesday-Monday) of $95 million is about 27% bigger than the original's $74.9 million, which also included Tuesday night previews. Not surprisingly, "M:I-2's" per-theater average was the highest for any film playing in wide or limited release this weekend. Speculation elsewhere that "M:I-2" would break or come close to
A "Dino"-mite opening by Disney's "Dinosaur" should cut DreamWorks' "Gladiator" down to size this weekend. After its two-week box office reign, "Gladiator" should fall prey to Buena Vista/Disney's opening of its PG-rated computer-animated "Dinosaur" at 3,257 theaters. "Dinosaur's" 21% first-choice tracking doesn't really tell the whole story, according to insiders. "It's just fine, because kids' movies don't track," says one executive. Estimates by Hollywood handicappers of just how big "Dinosaur" will open range from a cautious $25-35 million to a really exuberant $35-40 million. Making projections even more challenging is the fact that a great many "Dinosaur" tickets will be sold at reduced prices to children. "'Lion King' did $40.9 million in its opening weekend," explains one source. "Now, it opened the end of June. Kids were out of school
DreamWorks' "Gladiator" should be victorious again on the box office battlefield this weekend. With "Gladiator" still commanding a 30% first-choice tracking score among opening and released movies, there's little doubt the R-rated action adventure will keep a tight grip on the top spot. If "Gladiator" slips 36% from its $34.8 million opening, its second weekend tribute will still be a handsome sum of about $22 million. DreamWorks is distributing "Gladiator" domestically, while Universal is releasing it internationally. The two studios co-financed the film, which reportedly cost $103 million to make, and are 50-50 partners, sharing equally in its success. Directed by Ridley Scott, it stars Russell Crowe. Warner Bros. and Franchise Pictures' PG-13 rated sci-fi action adventure "Battlefield Earth," opening at 3,307 theaters, should w
Universal's "U-571" should rule the Easter Weekend box office waters.The PG-13 World War II submarine drama, opening at 2,584 theaters, was a 17% first choice in studio tracking studies late in the week. With adult men making it a 29% first choice, it's on track to blast the adult male-driven drama "Rules of Engagement" out of first place. "They could certainly do $18-20 million," predicts one insider. But that sounds high to another source, who cautions: "No females under 25 want to go see this movie. It's Nazis and subs and World War II.""I don't know what the market will bear this weekend," says a distribution executive. Good Friday is typically a very strong box office day, but Saturday should only be fair, and Easter Sunday is never a great day for moviegoing.A key factor affecting Easter weekend ticket sales, adds another studio source, "is the weath
SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 23, 2000 -- Julia Roberts' "Erin Brockovich" won't have to settle for less than first place in its second weekend. Julia Roberts After its big $28 million opening, the showy biopic should remain atop the chart, insiders say. Even if business fell off 30 percent, it'd still be pushing $20 million at the box office. One observer had the Top Five stacked up this way: "Erin Brockovich" at No. 1; newcomer "Romeo Must Die" at No. 2; followed by "Mission to Mars" and "Final Destination" with about $6 million in ticket sales each, and the teen drama "Here on Earth" "probably" in fifth place with about $5 million to $6 million. An insider said "Erin Brockovich" is showing up in tracking scores as the No. 1 film of choice by 35 percent of moviegoers. "'Erin''s been holding up fine. They did $2.3 million on Monday and $2.6 million on Tuesday
SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 16, 2000 -- Julia Roberts' new movie "Erin Brockovich" should turn its St. Patrick's Day competition green with envy. "Erin Brockovich" The biopic's well-attended sneaks Saturday helped jump-start favorable word of mouth about the R-rated drama about a real-life law-firm secretary (Roberts) who takes on a giant corporation over the poisoning of a California community's water supply. "Erin Brockovich," opening at 2,845 theaters, is well-positioned to do blockbuster business. "We've got a monster coming," predicts an insider at a competing studio. "I feel like the guys at the National Weather Service who track the hurricanes. Hurricane Erin is coming!" How big a hurricane does he anticipate? Given that the film is being cited by 27 percent of filmgoers as their must-see flick of the weekend, the insider said he's guessing "Er
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan. 3, 2000 -- Buoyed by the holiday success of "Toy Story 2," the summer hit "Tarzan" and the mega-sleeper "The Sixth Sense," Disney was 1999's studio box-office champion. The title marks the sixth time in seven years that the Magic Kingdom has captured the biggest slice of the domestic movie market. Disney product accounted for 17 percent of all ticket sales, grossing more than $1 billion. The Mouse House, which had a rough year on Wall Street, nonetheless ruled Hollywood thanks to a pair of $200 million-plus hits ("Sixth Sense" and "Toy Story 2"), and a couple of kiddie superstars, "Tarzan" ($170.8 mil) and "Inspector Gadget" ($97.4 million). Disney's dominant box-office performance came despite less-than-great performance from several front-line releases, including "The Insider," the critically acclaimed but commercially tepid tobacco-
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Dec. 30, 1999 -- Memo to Al Pacino and/or Matt Damon: Before finalizing plans to ring in the new millennium with a No. 1 box-office hit, look over your shoulder. EEEK! A mouse!"Stuart Little," Columbia's animated talking-mouse movie, picked up major post-Christmas steam at the box office early this week, grossing an estimated $11.7 million on Monday and Tuesday, according to studio estimates. Disney's "Toy Story 2," in its seventh week of release, proved that it can still kick butt as it pulled in about $9.6 million during the same two days.Last weekend's top two films also started the week strong, though less impressively. "Any Given Sunday," which stars Pacino, posted $7 million over Monday and Tuesday, while Damon's "The Talented Mr. Ripley," made $7.7 million.As for New Year's holiday weekend? When the grown-ups are finished partying li
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Dec. 26 — At the holiday weekend box office, Oliver Stone's homage to football scored, while Jim Carrey's homage to Andy Kaufman fumbled. Director Stone's "Any Given Sunday," released by Warner Bros. and starring Al Pacino, and Cameron Diaz, was No. 1, grossing $14.2 million Friday through Sunday, studio estimates say. The film opened Wednesday in 2,505 theaters and averaged $5,669 per screen over the weekend, and has pulled in an estimated $21.3 million in its first five days. But perhaps the biggest story of the weekend was all the money "Man on the Moon" didn't pull in. The Andy Kaufman biopic, starring Jim Carrey as the late "Taxi" comedian, is not expected to earn more than about $9 million for the Friday-Sunday weekend and $13.8 million for the week. (Like the Stone film, "Man on the Moon" opened Wednesday.) "I think we pretty much exp
Hollywood is expecting Warner Bros. and Castle Rock Entertainment's opening of "The Green Mile" to walk off with the most box office green this weekend. The R-rated drama, written and directed by Frank Darabont and starring Tom Hanks, kicks off at more than 2,850 theaters. "'Toy Story [2],' if it's down in the neighborhood of 35-40%, is $16-18 million. And I think 'Green Mile' beats that based on the tracking. They're sitting there with an 18% first choice right now," one studio executive said earlier this week." "It is high," he said of the tracking results. "Although I understand the reviews are not very good, with Tom Hanks (starring), that's $20 million-plus." While a $20 million-plus opening is certainly very attractive, it's not spectacular. One of the factors working against a bigger first weekend for the adult appeal "Green" is that adults are bu
Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" and George Clooney's "The Perfect Storm" should spark big box office fireworks this weekend. "Patriot," the R-rated period piece drama from Columbia Pictures and Centropolis Entertainment, marched into 3,061 theaters Wednesday. It grossed an encouraging estimated $5.0 million ($1,633 per theater) in its first skirmishes with moviegoers. "Patriot's" overall first-choice tracking of 26% has most insiders predicting it will win the five-day battle that ends with the Fourth of July holiday. After its $5 million start, it could wind up with a first place finish of $30 million or more for three days (Friday-Sunday) and $40 million or more for five days (Wednesday-Sunday). "If you extrapolate from other performances on this kind of holiday, it could very well get to $30 million," a studio source explains. "It's a 2 hour 40 minute
"Shaft" should have moviegoers shouting "Right On" at this weekend's box office. Look for Paramount's R-rated urban appeal remake starring Samuel L. Jackson to open to a cool $20 million-plus at 2,337 theaters. "Shaft" is a powerful 19% overall first choice in studio tracking studies, with its strongest appeal to men, especially those under 25. "They're up from 15% first choice earlier in the week to 19%, so they're looking stronger than they did," an insider explains. "They'll do $20 million, maybe more." "$22-25 million would be the number to me," predicts another studio source. "$10,000 a theater gives you $23 million." Directed by John Singleton, "Shaft" stars Samuel L. Jackson and Vanessa Williams. "Shaft" should give Buena Vista/Touchstone's "Gone In 60 Seconds" the first place heave-ho. The PG-13-rated action thrill
DreamWorks' "Gladiator" should emerge victorious in this weekend's box office arena. "There's 'Gladiator' and there's everything else," says one studio executive. "I think it's a $30 million opening." The R-rated action adventure will open in 2,938 theaters with about 5,000 prints, which means it will play on more than 5,000-plus screens. Its first-choice tracking score in terms of all opening and released films in the marketplace is an enviable 31% overall. For men, it's a muscular 48%. "There's no doubt about it that this picture could crack $30 million, if not more," an insider notes. "Last year at this time, there was 'The Mummy,' and it was an $80 million weekend (total for films making over $500,000). But there also was 'The Matrix,' which was doing $12.5 million. You don't have that (strength in second place) this weekend." "It's the 'D
HOLLYWOOD, June 30, 2000 -- If only there was a new "Star Wars" movie every summer, then maybe Hollywood might have something to celebrate. Instead, box office grosses are lagging about 6 percent behind last year's figures, which were buoyed by the gargantuan success of "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace" and its $431.1 million-grossing theatrical run. Through Sunday, domestic summer movie ticket sales amounted to $774 million; during the same period in 1999, that figure was $820 million. (The summer movie season, by the way, runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day, according to movie industry watchers.) The studios are banking on this holiday weekend, with two so-called "event movies" ("The Patriot" and "The Perfect Storm") going head to head, to resuscitate the summer cash flow. But Brandon Gray, editor of Boxofficemojo.com, says it might not be eno
Grown ups takes the weekend in a tight race with Knight and Day