August 1st, 2020

It has been a long time since weâve seen a theatrical release from a major studio in North America, but that grim record may finally change in August. While there are only three major releases still on the calendar, and things remain in flux, it seems likely that at least one of them will open on their current release date.

That assumption is based partly on Warner Bros.â decision to go ahead with Tenetâs release on September 3, and United Artistsâ release of Bill and Ted Face the Music in theaters and VOD on September 1. With theaters steadily opening internationally, the pressure to release new films has become too great, even while the pandemic continues to rage in the United States. Even if expectations are very low domestically, it makes sense to start releasing films that have some international appeal, can lure moviegoers back to theaters in small numbers in the US, and then can make back more money from domestic video releases.

In the first part of this monthâs preview, we look at the films that are lined up to open in August. Tomorrow, weâll analyze what itâll take to get box office earnings close to normal, and how long we can expect that to take, at least in countries that are bringing the pandemic under control. More...



June 10th, 2020

Although recovery from the pandemic varies widely around the world, and some countries are seeing worrying spikes in infections, this weekend saw some encouraging signs of growth at the box office. Hereâs a round up of what weâre seeing in different territories. More...



January 15th, 2020

There were already a record number of films released in 2019 to get to the $1 billion milestone on the worldwide chart, and on Tuesday Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker added to that record when it become the ninth such film. The film earned $1.9 million domestically and $2.6 million internationally, pushing its totals to $481.3 million internationally and $1.001 billion worldwide. This total includes $72.0 million in the U.K. and $61.7 million in Germany. The film has also cracked $50 million in both Japan ($56.4 million) and France ($50.7 million). Amazingly, of the nine films that hit $1 billion, seven were released by Disney directly, while one of the others, Spider-man: Far from Home, is part of the M.C.U. Weâve never seen a studio dominate the box office like Disney has over the past few years and hopefully we will never see it again. As much as I like the M.C.U., for the overall health of the industry, I would rather have more studios thriving. More...



January 3rd, 2020

The preliminary final numbers for 2019 have been announced and we had record-breaking results. Overall, the worldwide box office hit $41 billion, with a $30 billion international and $11 billion domestic break-down. Of that total, Disney was responsible for $13.2 billion, or 32% of the worldwide total. This does include its Fox releases, but the studio earned $11.1 billion by itself. This breaks the previous record of $7.6 billion, set by Disney in 2016. It doesnât just break the previous record; it practically redefines the industry. More...



November 27th, 2019

It's Thanksgiving weekend, which means Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and of course the first installment of our Holiday Gift Guide. This year, Thanksgiving is as late as it could have been, which means thereâs no way to squeeze in four weeks of regular installments of the gift guide, as well as the December monthly preview, etc. So we are going to have a condensed list this year. That said, there werenât a ton of first-run releases that would have made this list regardless. More...



October 30th, 2019

We've had a lot of helpful user feedback over the past week, and a popular feature we've been asked to implement is the ability to sort films on our franchise pages. Now, films can be sorted by Release Date, Title, Production Budget, Opening Weekend, Domestic Box Office, and Worldwide Box Office in ascending or descending order.

This makes it easy to see, for example, which Marvel movie had the biggest opening weekend or which Jurassic Park movie had the highest production budget. You can also search and sort all franchises on our main Movie Franchises list.

You can find franchises either by using the Search function from our navigation bar, from our franchise records page, or by clicking on the franchise link on a movie page. By the way, movies can be members of more than one franchise. For example, Avengers: Endgame is a member of both the Avengers franchise, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. More...



October 3rd, 2019

Itâs a great week for home market releases with a couple of monster hits coming out. Spider-Man: Far From Home was already named Pick of the Week when it came out on VOD and the DVD / Blu-ray / 4K lives up to that title. Meanwhile, Toy Story 4 is the best release of the week, but it is only coming out on VOD and I donât like giving the Pick of the Week title to VOD releases. This leaves Maiden and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Season One, Part 1 as the Pick of the Week contenders. It is a close race, but the latter has better extras on its Blu-ray and that was the tiebreaker. More...



October 1st, 2019

Spider-Man: Far From Home was the first installment in the M.C.U. to come out after Endgame. It not only needs to tell a story by itself, it has the unenviable goal of setting up the post-Infinity Stones era of the M.C.U. Is it able to accomplish both of these tasks? More...



August 12th, 2019

Avengers: Endgame comes out on DVD / Blu-ray / 4K this week and it should come as no surprise that it is the biggest release of the week. It is so big that there are practically no other releases to talk about and I had to include some films that would be relegated to the Secondary Blu-ray releases list most weeks. (Conversely, there were a lot of secondary Blu-ray releases this week.) That's not to say there are no other releases worth owning. The only real competition for Pick of the Week is Shadow on DVD / Blu-ray / 4K Ultra HD, but there are several others worth picking up. More...



August 10th, 2019

Avengers: Endgame is the biggest box office hit worldwide. It is also a follow-up to Infinity War, which I consider the best movie in the M.C.U. Can Endgame live up to its predecessor? Can it top it? More...



August 4th, 2019

Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw missed even the low end of predictions with an estimated opening weekend of just $60.8 million. This is not a good start for a film that cost $200 million to make. Additionally, its reviews and its A minus from CinemaScore do not suggest long enough legs to make up for this opening. Fortunately, the film is doing a lot better internationally with an estimated opening of $120 million in 63 markets. Furthermore, this number doesnât include China, because the film doesnât open there until the end of the month. (It has also yet to open in France, Italy, and Japan, but it will earn more in China than those three markets combined.) The film is opening well behind The Fate of the Furious in most markets, including Russia where it managed $8.20 million on 1,766 screens, compared to $14.26 million on 1,470 screens for the previous film. It was even worse in the U.K. at $7.85 million in 610 theaters vs. $17.58 million on 572. Overall, the film is more in line with Fast Five than the other recent films in the franchise. This is still enough to earn a profit, especially if it does well in China, but the spin-off wonât replace the main films in the Fast and the Furious franchise like I thought it had a chance of doing. More...



July 31st, 2019

The Lion King remained in first place on the international chart earning $142.8 million in 53 markets for totals of $611.9 million internationally and $962.7 million worldwide. The filmâs only opening this weekend was in Hong Kong, where it earned $2.0 million opening in first place. The film has yet to open in Italy and Japan, so it will have no trouble getting to $1 billion before it finishes its international run. More...



July 30th, 2019

It was a mixed weekend at the box office with Once Upon a Timeâ¦in Hollywood becoming Quentin Tarantinoâs biggest opening film in his career, but The Lion King falling much faster than expected. The overall box office was down 38% from last weekend, hitting $162 million. However, this was 4.1% more than the same weekend last year and thatâs a much more important result. 2019 is still behind 2018 by a 6.4% or $460 million margin at $6.73 billion to $7.19 billion, but at this point, I will celebrate any victory, no matter how small. More...



July 28th, 2019

As expected, The Lion King is easily topping the box office chart this weekend. Unfortunately, it is doing so despite falling much faster than expected, down 61% to an estimated $75.52 million during its third weekend of release for a running tally of $350.78 million. Fortunately, it could still be on pace to reach $500 million domestically, while it earned $142.8 million internationally for totals of $611.9 million internationally and $962.7 million worldwide. It will reach $1 billion shortly, making it yet another profitable disappointment. Weâve had too many of those this year, but I guess it is better than having these films lose money. More...



July 25th, 2019

Once Upon a Timeâ¦in Hollywood is Quentin Tarantinoâs first film in four years and it is generating a ton of buzz. However, it is going up against The Lion King, which set records last weekend and has a slim chance at $100 million this weekend. Fortunately, the two films donât share much of their respective target audiences, so they shouldnât cannibalize each other at the box office too much. As a result, 2019 should easily beat the same weekend last year in the year-over-year competition. It is too soon to get excited about a potential comeback, but any victory is worth celebrating when you are this far behind. More...



July 23rd, 2019

The Lion King finished on the very high end of expectations opening with $191.77 million topping the previous July weekend record by well over $20 million. It also made more than the rest of the weekend box office combined, as the total weekend haul was $263 million. In fact, The Lion King made more than the entire box office made last weekend ($126 million) and this weekend last year ($172 million). Needless to say, there was strong growth both week-over-week at 109% and year-over-year at 53%. Granted, 2019 is still well back from 2018âs pace, down 7.1% or $490 million at $6.44 billion compared to $6.93 billion, but at least that gap is down significantly from where it was last week. More...



July 20th, 2019

The Lion King was widely expected to be a monster hit; however, this year there have been countless potential monster hits that have missed expectations. There have been so many that I deemed it wise to be a little more pessimistic in my predictions to prevent being disappointed yet again. Turns out I didnât need to worry, as the film earned $78 million on Friday. It wasnât able to match the record for biggest July day; however, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II was the epitome of a Fanboy Film and had very short legs in theaters. The Lion King should have longer legs. Granted, its reviews wonât help, but it did earn an A from CinemaScore, so it is clear its target audience are a lot happier with the film. I still donât think the legs will be great, but it should top the July weekend record with around $180 million. The industry needed this good news, and it doesnât end there, as every other film in the top five either matched or exceeded expectations. More...



July 18th, 2019

The Lion King has the weekend to itself and it is widely expected to have one of the biggest openings of the year. This is true, despite its mixed reviews. In fact, it should earn more during its opening day than the rest of the top five will earn combined over the full weekend. It should also easily earn more than the top five earned this weekend last year, giving 2019 a rare win in the year-over-year competition. More...



July 11th, 2019

Last weekend, Spider-Man: Far From Home was the first pleasant surprise at the box office since Aladdin came out in May. This weekend, we have two new releases hoping to continue the pleasant surprises. Unfortunately, neither Stuber nor Crawl are expected to be big hits. In fact, they likely wonât match Far From Homeâs sophomore stint combined. Worse still, this weekend last year, both Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation and Skyscraper opened with more than Stuber and Crawl are expected to open combined, meaning 2019 will lose once again in the year-over-year competition. More...



July 9th, 2019

Spider-Man: Far From Home really brightened up the box office earning $92.58 million over the three-day weekend for a six-day opening of $185.06 million. This is one of the biggest positive surprises of the year and we desperately needed some good news after June. Toy Story 4 and Aladdin held on better than expected and the overall box office surged growing 21% from last weekend to $183 million. This is still lower than this weekend last year, but by only 2.7% and at this point, Iâm willing to call that a victory. Year-to-date, 2019 did manage to close ground with 2018, thanks mostly to Far From Homeâs strength before the weekend. However, this year is still 8.4% or $540 million behind last year at $5.88 billion to $6.42 billion. More...



July 6th, 2019

Spider-Man: Far From Home got off to a record-breaking performance and it has since shown better-than-expected legs by earning $32.5 million on Friday for a four-day running tally of $124 million. Because it opened on Tuesday and not Friday, the film should have a better than average internal multiplier, giving it a better than 50/50 chance of cracking $90 million over the three-day weekend. The film cost $160 million to make and it will match that domestically on Sunday. Additionally, its reviews suggest strong word-of-mouth (The CinemaScore still hasnât been released. I blame the Fourth of July holidays.) and with no direct competition for the rest of the month, it should have a long stay in theaters. It is yet another success story for the M.C.U. and enough to lift 2019 to a rare win over 2018 in the year-over-year competition. This could be a good omen going forward and perhaps we will look back at this weekend as the weekend that 2019 turned things around. More...



July 3rd, 2019

It has been a long time since weâve had a pleasant surprise at the box office. In fact, the last film to really beat expectations and earn first place was Aladdin, which came out in May. However, it appears that streak is over, as Spider-Man: Far From Home broke the record for biggest Tuesday with $39.26 million. Additionally, Midsommar earned $1.1 million during its previews, which means July should get off to a faster than expected start. Additionally, there should be some strong holds in the top five as well, with Toy Story 4, Annabelle Comes Home, and Yesterday all looking to earn more than $10 million over the three-day weekend. This weekend last year, Ant-Man and the Wasp opened with $75.81 million. Spider-Man: Far From Home could top that after its record-breaking start and the overall box office does look a little healthier as a result. More...



July 1st, 2019

June was a disaster, with no pleasant surprises for the entire month, and a boatload of disappointments. In fact, one could argue Aladdin was the biggest hit of the month, despite it opening in May. Toy Story 4 is the biggest hit released in June, but it still missed expectations by a huge margin. In fact, so many films missed expectations by huge margins Iâm rethinking my predictions for July. I still think there will be monster hits and I seriously doubt Spider-Man: Far from Home and The Lion King will bomb, but I also donât think they will reach the heights some of the tracking data suggests they will. The only other film that has a shot at $100 million is Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but the overall box office is so weak that Iâm no longer sure it will get there. Meanwhile, last July wasnât as strong on top with just two films topping $200 million, Mission: Impossible - Fallout and Ant-Man and the Wasp, neither of which came close to $300 million. However, last year had a lot better depth and I think that could result in 2019 merely breaking even in the year-over-year competition. More...



June 26th, 2019

It is an absolute nightmare on the home market. Thereâs no monster hit to talk about, but there are a mountain of new releases that are selling well enough that they could have been featured in the main list and about twice as many that could have been included in the Secondary Blu-ray release. I had to trim some of them to keep the list manageable. Unfortunately, the list of Pick of the Week contenders is rather short with just Megalobox: Season One and Frankie Drake Mysteries: Season Two, both of which are worth owning. However, the biggest and best release of the week is Captain Marvel. The screener arrived late, but I finally got the review of the Blu-ray online. That said, Iâm going to award Frankie Drake Mysteries with Puck of the Week for best Canadian release. More...



June 25th, 2019

Captain Marvel started with two strikes against it, because itâs an origin story and a prequel. There have been so many origin stories for super heroes released over the past decade plus that audiences have grown tired of them. Furthermore, prequels are difficult to do right, because itâs much harder to surprise audiences. Can this film overcome these obstacles? Or should fans of the M.C.U. just wait till the sequel comes out when this character can really shine? More...



June 12th, 2019

It is a very busy week on the home market, but like last week, thereâs a lot of what would be filler in a normal week. In fact, thereâs only one big release, Captain Marvel, which is also one of the better releases on this weekâs list. The only other release that was really in contention for Pick of the Week was The Mustang, but the lack of extras on the Blu-ray hurt its chances. More...



May 12th, 2019

If projections hold, then Avengers: Endgame will fall almost as much this weekend as it did during its second weekend, with a 57% decline taking it to $63.1 million time around, and a three-week total of $723.5 million. It is very unusual for a film to not rebound significantly during in third weekend of release. One sign of how quickly the film is dropping after its enormous opening is that it will have âonlyâ the fourth-biggest third weekend, slipping behind Black Panther at this point in its run. More...



May 10th, 2019

This will be the last day Disney will be releasing daily tracking numbers early in the morning, but they picked a good day to end on. Avengers: Endgame pulled in $7.5 million on Thursday, pushing its running tally to $660.4 million and this allowed the film to pull ahead of Titanic on the all-time domestic chart. It will continue to climb that chart and should earn first place on the M.C.U. early in the weekend. More...



May 9th, 2019

Avengers: Endgame was able to overtake Jurassic World for sixth place on the all-time domestic chart on Wednesday. It did so after earning $8.3 million and pushing its running tally to $652.9 million. It is very close behind Titanic for fifth place on that chart, while it wonât take much longer to reach second place on the M.C.U. More...



May 9th, 2019

Avengers: Endgame continued to dominate the international box office with $282.2 million in 55 markets for totals of $1.57 billion internationally and $2.19 billionh worldwide. Like last week, weâve been tracking these numbers as they have been released on our page for the movie, so thereâs no need to go into much more detail here. I would like to point out that the film earned more in several individual markets than the second place film earned in total. This includes China ($63.83 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $572.64 million); The U.K. ($18.83 million / $91.09 million); and South Korea ($17.93 million / $80.40 million). More...



May 8th, 2019

Tuesday didnât change Avengers: Endgame box office much. It earned $12.5 million domestically for a total of $644.5 million after just 12 days of release. Its remains in third place in the M.C.U. and seventh place on the all-time domestic chart. However, while it didnât move up on Tuesday, it wonât be long before it starts climbing both of those charts. More...



May 7th, 2019

Avengers: Endgame continues its box office run scoring $10.7 million on Monday for a total of $631.9 million after 11 days of release. The film has already overtaken The Avengers for third place in the M.C.U. and it wonât take long for it to overtake Infinity War. The film is in seventh place on the all-time domestic chart and it will overtake both Jurassic World and Titanic before the weekend. More...



May 3rd, 2019

Avengers: Endgame finished its first week on the domestic chart by earning $21.4 million on Thursday to push its running tally to $473.8 million after just seven days of release. This is the 14th-best Thursday of all time, but a lot of the entries ahead of it are either holidays or opening days. The film is now in fourth place on the M.C.U. chart, but it will take a bit to overtake The Avengers for third place. It is in 15th place on the all time domestic chart and its chances of reaching first place will depend heavily on how well it does this weekend. If it has the same legs as Avengers: Infinity War, then it will get there. More...



May 2nd, 2019

Avengers: Endgame set yet another record when it earned $70.4 million on May 1st in China lifting its total to $459.4 million in that market. The film became the highest grossing western film of all time, topping the previous champion The Fate of the Furious. More...



May 2nd, 2019

Avengers: Endgame absolutely destroyed the international record book earning $866.5 million internationally for a worldwide debut of $1.223 billion. However, as daily readers will know, weâve been tracking these numbers as they have been released, so thereâs no need to go into further detail here. You can see the most recent Daily Tracking here. More...



May 1st, 2019

Avengers: Endgame continued to climb the domestic chart earning $32.9 million on Tuesday. This is the biggest non-holiday, non-opening result for a Tuesday, while it placed third on the overall Tuesday chart, behind The Force Awakens and The Amazing Spider-Man. This was also enough to raise its running tally to $426.89 million, putting it in first place for the year after just five days of release. This is also enough for fifth place in the M.C.U. and 20th biggest domestic hit of all time. To emphasize, Avengers: Endgame is the 20th biggest hit on the all-time chart after just five days of release. More...



April 30th, 2019

Avengers: Endgame ended its international tour opening in Russia with $7.8 million, which is the highest opening day in that market. It is also 59% higher than Avengers: Infinity Warâs debut last year. As impressive as this opening is, it is far from the only impressive aspect of Endgameâs Monday box office. More...



April 29th, 2019

Avengers: Endgame was expected to break records with some high-end predictions going as high as $350 million. Its final weekend numbers actually topped the high end expectations, as it opened with $357.12 million. This is almost exactly $100 million more than the previous record, set this weekend last year by Avengers: Infinity War. In fact, it is significantly more than the previous record for an overall weekend, set a few years back by The Force Awakens et al. Needless to say, the overall box office rose considerably from last weekend, up 270% to $402 million. More importantly, this was 29% more than the same weekend last year and this one weekend put a serious dent in 2019âs deficit in the year-over-year comparisons. Granted, 2019 is still behind 2018âs pace by more than 11% or $420 million at $3.28 billion to $3.70 billion. I suspect May will also be a very good month in the year-over-year comparison so hopefully that gap will be more reasonable in a monthâs time. I donât think 2019 will catch up to 2018 any time soon, but if it can cut the deficit in raw dollars in half by the end of May, then I will be happy. More...



April 28th, 2019

A few brave souls thought Avengers: Endgame would be the first film to earn more than $1 billion during its opening weekend. If estimates hold, then it will smash past that number: Disney is projecting a global opening of $1.209 billion. This is the biggest worldwide debut of all time and the film is already the biggest worldwide hit of 2019. Internationally, the film is earning $859.0 million in 54 markets with Russia the only late release. Unsurprisingly, the filmâs biggest market is China at $330.5 million. Meanwhile, it is having stunning openings in the U.K. ($53.8 million) and South Korea ($47.4 million). The film will crack $30 million in both Mexico ($33.1 million) and Australia ($30.8 million), and $20 million in Germany ($26.9 million), India ($26.7 million), Brazil ($26.0 million), and France ($24.2 million). In comparison to other M.C.U. hits, the film will take just five days to top what Captain Marvel earned in eight weeks. It is currently in sixth place on the franchise chart and will top Iron Man 3 literally before it is officially Monday here. Iâm not sure exactly how long Infinity War will hold out as the top earner in the M.C.U., but I do know we will be tracking its journey there. More...



April 28th, 2019

As expected, Avengers: Endgame is dominating the weekend with an estimated $350 million. Unsurprisingly, this sets a new record for opening weekend, topping the previous champion, Avengers: Infinity War, by just close to $100 million. It is also enough to push the film into ninth place on the M.C.U. chart after just three days of release. Its international numbers are looking even better, at a jaw-dropping $859 million. More on that coming shortlyâ¦ More...



April 27th, 2019

Avengers: Endgame earned another $182.0 million internationally on Friday, putting its three-day running total to $487.0 million internationally, which is already more than the previous international weekend record set by The Fate of the Furious at $443 million. Worldwide, the film has already amassed $643.7 million, which is again already more than the previous record held by Infinity War at $641 million. Its international number is already more than ten installments in the M.C.U., while it is in 15th place on the M.C.U. worldwide chart. There were not many new markets left to open in, but the film did secure the single-day industry record in Mexico with $12.5 million. It âonlyâ managed the third-biggest opening day in India with $9.0 million, but this is the best for a Hollywood film. It also had the biggest opening day for a Marvel movie in Japan. More...



April 27th, 2019

âHulk Smash!â is a common phrase in the comics and itâs clear Avengers: Endgame is following Hulkâs lead. The film pulled in $156.7 million on Friday. This not only absolutely demolishes the previous record for biggest single day at the domestic box office, it is already more than The Incredible Hulk made in its entire run. It took less than 30 hours from the start of the movieâs previews to rise out of last place in the M.C.U.. This is simply stunning. Furthermore, thanks to the filmâs 96%-positive reviews and its unbelievable A plus from CinemaScore, it could have decent legs. Granted, it is the definition of a Fanboy film and it is clear many people rushed out to theaters to see it, but there were also so many sold out shows that even many of the hardcore fans will have to wait until Saturday or Sunday to see the movie. I would put the over / under of the weekend total at nearly $350 million, which is well above our original prediction. This is also more than over a dozen films in the M.C.U. earned domestically and it will be just days away from entering the top five for the franchise. More...



April 26th, 2019

Avengers: Endgame hasnât even debuted in every international market it will be playing in this weekend, but that hasnât stopped it from earning $305 million internationally in just two days, according to Disneyâs Friday morning update. To put this into perspective, thatâs more than four installments in the MCU managed in total. The list of new markets includes the U.K., where it earned $15.3 million, which is not only the biggest single day in that market, but it is also 86% more than Infinity Warâs opening day. It wasnât quite as potent in Brazil, as its $7.0 million opening day was a mere 67% more than Infinity War, but it also set the new record for biggest single day in that market. More...



April 25th, 2019

Avengers: Endgame opens this weekend and itâs overstating things only fractionally to say that nothing else at the box office matters. Endgame will earn more during its Thursday night previews than any other film will earn during the full weekend. In fact, it could earn more opening day than any other film released this April will earn in total. Itâs only competition is Avengers: Infinity War, which opened this weekend last year. All available evidence suggests Endgame will easily win this race and propel 2019 to a massive win in the year-over-year competition. It wonât be enough to close the gap with 2018 entirely, but it will be an important step in turning 2019âs box office around. More...



April 24th, 2019

The Curse of La Llorona earned first place on the international chart with $29 million on 13,155 screens in 71 markets. This is excellent for a film that cost $9 million to make. However, it is also playing in nearly every major market, so it doesnât have a lot of room to grow. The film had a very strong opening in Mexico with $5.1 million on 2,432 screens, while it was equally strong in Colombia with $2.3 million on 421. It easily earned first place in both markets. On the other hand, the film struggled in France ($2.0 million on 254 screens); Spain ($1.8 million on 330 screens); and Russia ($1.1 million on 1,758). It failed to crack $1 million over the weekend in a number of major markets. It came the closest in South Korea with $905,000 on 620 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $1.25 million, while it was further behind in Italy ($852,000 on 314 screens) and Brazil ($775,000 on 561). The film opens in the U.K. and Japan in the next couple of weeks. More...



April 23rd, 2019

Easter weekend gave box office watchers a few reasons to celebrate. The Curse of La Llorona topped expectations and earned first place with $26.35 million over the weekend. Thatâs a very strong debut for this time of year. Additionally, both Shazam and Captain Marvel held on amazingly well, which bodes well for their chances against Avengers: Endgame. Overall, the box office rose 1% from last weekend to $108 million. This was 14% lower than the same weekend last year, and it wasnât Easter weekend last year. On a side note, Iâve seen some stories call this past weekend the worst Easter weekend in over a decade. However, this is misleading, as it was the first time Easter weekend was one weekend before the start of the Summer Blockbuster season. Avengers: Endgame opening on Friday had more to do with the weak box office than any other factor and if Endgame is as big as some box office analysts expect, then by this time next week, we will be talking about how quickly 2019 will turn things around rather than how bad 2019 has been. In the meantime, weâve hopefully sunk to the low point in the year-over-year comparison, as 2019 is now behind 2018 by a $570 million or 17% margin at $2.84 billion to $3.41 billion. More...



April 21st, 2019

The Curse of La Llorona is leading the way on the weekend chart with a surprising $26.51 million. Granted, this is the weakest opening in the The Conjuring franchise, while its reviews and B minus from CinemaScore suggest short legs. Also, Avengers: Endgame opens in just a handful of days, so it will be pushed into the smallest screens in most multiplexes very soon. That said, the film reportedly only cost $9 million to make and < HREF="https://www.the-numbers.com/market/distributor/Warner-Bros">Warner Bros.â share of the opening weekend will be close to double that. Internationally, the film is opening even better with an estimated $30 million debut. On the downside, it is playing in 71 markets already, so it has very few major markets left to open in. More...



April 17th, 2019

Shazam remained in first place on the international chart, despite not opening in any new markets, major or otherwise. This caused it to fall to $35.3 million on 24,633 screens in 79 markets lifting its totals to internationally and $258.4 million worldwide. The film fell 84% in China down to $4.79 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $40.30 million. It held on better in the U.K., down 47% to $2.83 million in 611 theaters for a two-week total of $11.65 million. The filmâs last major market is Japan and it opens there this week. If it does well there, then it will have no trouble crossing $400 million worldwide, which is a great run for a film that cost $85 million to make. More...



April 11th, 2019

Shazam stormed to the top of the international chart with an opening weekend haul of $102.3 million on over 40,000 screens in 79 markets. The filmâs biggest market was unsurprisingly China, where it earned second place with $30.4 million on 20,939 screens. The film earned first place in a quartet of major markets. This includes Mexico ($5.8 million on 2,669 screens); the U.K. ($5.3 million on 1,533); Russia ($5.2 million on 3,072 screens); and Brazil ($5.1 million on 1,509 screens). This is a great start, especially for a film that âonlyâ cost $85 million to make. However, thereâs some bad news here. Thereâs almost no where left to open, as its only other major market debut is in Japan on the 19th of April. More...



April 6th, 2019

Shazam was able to take full advantage of its impressive previews, and its $20.5 million Friday debut should be enough to carry it above our initial prediction. Its reviews remain above 90% positive and it earned an A from CinemaScore. Furthermore, its a hit with families, so that should also help its legs over the rest of the weekend and beyond. As for the filmâs international debut, it is almost as impressive, as the film earned $29.2 million on Friday for a three-day total of $44.0 million in 79 markets. It is not doing as well as it is here, at least relative to the sizes of the markets, but this is still a fantastic start for a film that cost $85 million to make. If there isnât already a sequel in the works, there will be one shortly. More...



April 3rd, 2019

Dumbo opened in first place with $71.0 million in 53 markets during its opening weekend on the international chart. This is about as good as its debut here. The filmâs biggest market was China, but it only made $10.75 million during its opening weekend there. It did relatively better in the U.K. and in Mexico. The film earned first place in both markets with $7.92 million in 666 theaters and $7.71 million respectively. There are no more major markets for the film to open in, so it will have to rely on long legs to break even any time soon. More...



April 1st, 2019

March was a good month at the box office with most films beating expectations. The biggest hit was Captain Marvel, which is still on pace for $400 million domestically and may have crossed $1 billion worldwide by the time you read this. The biggest âmissâ was Dumbo, but it is still going to top $100 million domestically with ease. This month, it is a battle between Avengers: Endgame and last yearâs Infinity War. To be fair, A Quiet Place got last April off to a very fast start and Shazam! should do the same this year, so there will be more than one potential box office hit to talk about. That said, Endgame will almost certainly open with more than any other April release earns in total and if 2019 is going to cut into its deficit with 2018, it will be on the back of that one film. More...



March 28th, 2019

Captain Marvel completed the threepeat earning first place on the international chart for the third weekend in a row. It managed $52.1 million in 54 markets over the weekend for totals of $588.8 million internationally and $909.5 million worldwide. The film will have no trouble becoming the seventh installment in the MCU to reach $1 billion worldwide, but it likely wonât rise any higher on the franchise chart. More...



March 24th, 2019

Us made the most of its opening weekend with an estimated debut of $70.25 million, which is much higher than even the high end of expectations. If this opening holds, it would be the tenth-biggest March opening, but thatâs a big if. Itâs just behind 300 and just ahead of The Lorax, so I expect it to change a spot when Mondayâs final numbers are released. The film should have reasonable legs going forward, as its reviews are a major asset, while it earned a B from CinemaScore, which is a good result for a horror film. Internationally, the film is opening ahead of Get Out, but far behind its domestic debut with an estimated $16.7 million in 47 markets. This includes the U.K., where it earned $3.7 million during its opening weekend. However, it only cracked $1 million in three other markets: France ($2 million); Germany ($1.4 million); and Spain ($1.2 million). More...



March 23rd, 2019

Us topped expectations, and even beat Fridayâs revisions, with an opening day of $29.06 million on Friday. Universal is projecting an opening weekend of $67 million after this result; however, studios tend to lowball these projections, so thereâs a good chance itâll do even better. That said, it would be wise to treat the movie like a horror sequel when it comes to predicting its legs. Granted, its reviews are more than 90% positive, and it earned a B from CinemaScore. That might seem low, but it is actually quite strong for a horror film. More...



March 21st, 2019

Us is the only wide release of the week and it should easily earn top spot on the box office chart. It wonât dominate the box office chart, as Captain Marvel should still be a powerful draw this weekend. Unfortunately, there will be a huge gap between those two films and the rest of the box office, as no other movie is expected to crack $10 million at the box office. Fortunately, this weekend last year wasnât particularly strong. Granted, there were five films that earned more than $10 million over the weekend, but the best, Pacific Rim: Uprising, only managed $28.12 million. Thereâs a chance the top two films this year will earn more than the top five did last year, giving 2019 only its third win of the year so far. It would also be its third win in a row. More...



March 20th, 2019

Captain Marvel continued to dominated the competition earning first place on the international chart with $119.7 million in 54 markets for totals of $494.0 million internationally and $758.9 million worldwide. This is already ahead of 10 previous installments in the MCU. The film opened in its last market, Japan, earning first place with $5.6 million. It also earned $23.83 million in China for a two-week total of $131.84 million. This is down by 72% from its opening weekend, which is a sharp decline, even for China, but not a disaster. The film held on better in the rest of the international markets; in fact, on average, it held on better than it did here. This puts $1 billion worldwide within reach, likely by next week, and it might even reach the top five for the MCU. More...



March 18th, 2019

Before Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse was released, there was some trepidation among the fans. It wasnât connected to the MCU and Sonyâs non-MCU Spider-Man offerings have been weak to awful. However, the film earned stunning reviews and even went on to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Is it as good as this? Or was it praised because it topped low, low expectations by such a large degree? More...



March 17th, 2019

Captain Marvel will remain in top spot on the weekend chart with an estimated $69.32 million, giving it a two-week total of $266.21 million. This is higher than predicted and a 55% decline bodes well for its future. It is already ahead of the lifetime domestic totals of eight previous installments in the MCU and it will quickly rise into the top ten. Internationally, the film added $119.7 million to its running tally, which now sits at $494.0 million, while its worldwide total rose to $760.2 million. Yesterday, I said the film could be in the top ten for the MCU. If these estimates hold, it will miss that mark by about $10 million. In fact, given its holds this weekend, it has a pathway to enter the top five. The filmâs only, and last, new international opening was Japan. There the filmâs estimated weekend opening was $5.6 million, which was the highest opening for a standalone film in the MCU. Meanwhile, outside of China, the film held on even better than it did domestically. China tends to be a very front-loaded market, but the film held on well enough there to get to $132.0 million after just two weeks, making it the fourth highest grossing film in the MCU already. It is even better in Indonesia where its two week total of $16.1 million is the fourth highest total of all-time. We will have more details on the international numbers later in the week. More...



March 16th, 2019

Captain Marvel held on a little better than expected to earn $19.05 million on Friday, which pushes it past the $200 million mark in just 8 days. This is 69% lower than its opening Friday, but is still a fantastic start to its sophomore weekend. In fact, it should top our prediction with $68 million over the full weekend for a two week total of nearly $265 million. Disney hasnât released Fridayâs international numbers, but it is widely expected to top $400 million internationally and $600 million worldwide. The film has already surpassed five previous installments in the MCU on the worldwide chart and did so in just eight days. By the end of the weekend, it could be in the top ten for the franchise. More...



March 15th, 2019

Captain Marvel will undoubetedly dominate the box office again this weekend with some thinking it will avoid a 50% drop-off. I think that is overly optimistic, but there are some good signs. This includes a lack of top-notch new releases. Wonder Park is the biggest new release, at least in terms of theater count, but it also has the worst reviews of the three wide releases. Five Feet Apart has better reviews, but they can best be described as mixed. Meanwhile, Captive State still has barely any reviews and its buzz is so quiet that it might not top the Mendoza Line. Finally, some sources have Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase opening wide, but that isnât happening. Thatâs too bad, because if it were opening wide, it would have the best reviews of the weekend. This weekend last year, Black Panther completed its month at the top of the chart, while Tomb Raider was the best new releases. Those two films earned almost exactly $50 million combined, which Captain Marvel will top by itself, leading 2019 to the victory in the year-over-year comparison. More...



March 12th, 2019

That burst of hot air you feel is box office analysts and movie executives breathing a sigh of relief as 2019 finally has its first win in the year-over-year comparison. Captain Marvel beat expectations earning $153.43 million over the weekend. This is more than the entire box office earned last weekend, helping the box office grow 85% week-over-week to $209 million. The year-over-year growth wasnât as explosive, but this was still 51% more than the same weekend last year. 2019 is still way behind 2018, $480 million or 22% to be more precise at $1.75 billion to $2.23 billion. However, this gap is about 10% smaller than it was this time last week, so while 2019 has a long, long way to go to catch up to 2018, it at least looks like it is possible instead of just wishful thinking. More...



March 10th, 2019

Captain Marvel is opening with $153.0 million over the weekend, according to Disneyâs estimate. This is on the high end of the studioâs projections based on Fridayâs estimates. Additionally, it is more than the entire box office pulled in this weekend last year, as well as the third biggest March opening and the seventh biggest opening in the MCU. The film is already the biggest domestic hit of 2019 and the fifth-biggest hit worldwide. Its legs should be relatively long for a blockbuster, as it earned certified fresh reviews and a solid A from CinemaScore. More...



March 9th, 2019

It took just one day for Captain Marvel to set the record for biggest 2019 weekend, as it dominated the chart with $61.38 million. In fact, it is already in sixth place on the 2019 domestic chart, just behind Alita: Battle Angel. The reviews are on the lower end of the MCU average, but that says more about the high quality of the MCU than the low quality of the film, as its Tomatometer Score is 79% positive. The audience reactions are even more positive; Disney released its CinemaScore and it is a solid A. The film should have no trouble topping our prediction with Disney projecting a $145 million to $155 million weekend. I think they are being a little conservative here, but we will see tomorrow when the weekend estimates show up. More...



March 8th, 2019

Captain Marvel earned $20.7 million during its Thursday previews, which is easily the best of the year so far. This is nearly double Wonder Womanâs start and enough for fifth best in the MCU. It isnât too far back from the $25.2 million Black Panther managed last year, although previews for this film started at 6 pm rather than 7 pm. Iâm a little concerned about the filmâs legs. Its reviews are great for a potential blockbuster, but below those earned by Black Panther, Wonder Woman, etc. Additionally, I think this film has a stronger Fangirl Effect in play and that will shorten its legs. On the positive side, Spring Break is starting for a significant number of students, so that should help its legs somewhat. That said, it would have to have really short legs for the film to not top our $140 million prediction. We will have a better idea where itâs going tomorrow when the Friday Estimates come in. More...



March 7th, 2019

This should easily be the best weekend of 2019 as Captain Marvel is widely expected to become the biggest domestic hit of 2019 and it should take just three days to get there. It could take just two days to get there. This film has no competition, at least when it comes to this year. However, the main competition is Black Panther, A Wrinkle in Time, and the rest of the box office from this weekend last year. Those films pulled in $139 million and hopefully Captain Marvel will top that by itself. More...



March 1st, 2019

2019 has been terrible so far and by the end of February, will be about half a billion dollars behind 2018âs pace. March should be the first step in 2019âs attempt to recover from this hole it has dug for itself. Captain Marvel will be the biggest film of the year so far and tracking has it opening with more than $100 million during the second weekend of March. While that film is undoubtedly going to become the biggest hit of the month, it isnât the only potential hit opening in March, as both Us and Dumbo are expected to earn $100 million domestically; Dumbo might even top $200 million domestically. As for last March, there were only two films that hit $100 million, A Wrinkle in Time and Ready Player One, and neither of them came close to $200 million. Thereâs a slim chance this March will be better than last year, even if we ignore Captain Marvel. We could cut the deficit in half by the end of the month, if everything goes well. Then again, if everything went well during the first two months of the year, we wouldnât be in such a deep hole at this point. More...



November 19th, 2018

It's Thanksgiving weekend, which means Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and of course the first installment of our Holiday Gift Guide. This week we will tackle first run releases and franchise box sets as well. Unfortunately, 2018 has not been a good year for blockbusters for any studio not named Disney. In order to be on this list, a film has to be a major release, earn critical praise, and be on out DVD / Blu-ray and thatâs a really short list this year. For example, Universal is the second best studio this year in terms of total domestic box office, but theyâve only released one film that has earned $100 million and overwhelmingly positive reviews. That film, Halloween doesnât come out on DVD / Blu-ray till January. Most of the rest of the big six are lucky to have more than one entry on this weekâs list. More...



October 16th, 2018

Ant-Man and the Wasp is coming out on DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, and 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack this week and it is scaring away most of the competition. Fortunately, it is also an amazing movie and a Contender for Pick of the Week. It isnât the only contender, as both Mamoru Hosoda Movie Collection (Blu-ray) and Whitney (DVD or Blu-ray) were in the race. However, in the end, I went with Ant-Man and the Wasp. More...



October 15th, 2018

Ant-Man and the Wasp is the second film in the Ant-Man franchise and the 20th film in the MCU. I liked the first film more than the average critic, because Iâm a huge fan of heist movies. This film wonât have the same heist angle, so will it not work with me as much? More...



October 4th, 2018

The first weekend of October could see records fall, as most have Venom opening with between $60 million and $70 million. The movie with the line âTurd in the windâ in its trailer is expected to open better than Gravity did. On the other hand, A Star is Born is expected to open in second place, but have much, much longer legs and I believe it will be the bigger hit in the end. Both Night School and Smallfoot will earn more than $10 million over the weekend, which will help the overall box office performance. This weekend last year, Blade Runner 2049 opened with $32.75 million, while only one other film earned more than $10 million. Even on the low end, Venom will earn more than those two films combined. On the high end, it could match last yearâs top five by itself. More...



August 29th, 2018

Ant-Man and the Wasp jumped into first place on the international chart earning $71.2 million in 28 markets for totals of $332.6 million internationally and $544.1 million worldwide. This past weekend, the film debuted in first place in China with $66.62 million over the weekend for a total opening of $68.14 million. This is the fourth biggest opening for the MCU in that market and 66% more than the original opened with. The film opens in Japan, its final market, next weekend. It should get to $600 million worldwide shortly after it debuts there. More...



August 15th, 2018

Avengers: Infinity War comes out on DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, and 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack this week and it is scaring away most of the competition. Thatâs not to say thereâs nothing else worth picking up. For example, Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami isnât selling well enough to make the list, but the Blu-ray is certainly worth owning. More...



August 14th, 2018

Avengers: Infinity War and its still unnamed sequel are the culmination of ten years of the MCU. This is a massive undertaking, even more so than the first Avengers movie, and with the MCUâs outstanding track record with critics and moviegoers alike, expectations couldnât be higher. Can the movie possibly live up to expectations? Or was it destined to disappoint? More...



August 14th, 2018

Like we did with The Force Awakens, we are going to do a spoiler-free, detail-free review for Avengers: Infinity War. In other words, we are going to rate all of the movies in the MCU to see where Infinity War and the rest fit into place. More...



August 1st, 2018

Hello Mr. Billionaire, a Chinese remake of Brewsterâs Millions, opened in first place in China and the international market with $132.26 million. Thatâs more than 800 million in the local currency, while it took just one more day to live up to its name and reach 1 billion Yen in revenue. More...



July 23rd, 2018

The Equalizer 2 was the surprise winner at the weekend box office chart with $36.01 million over the weekend, which put it just ahead of the $34.95 million earned by Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! The overall box office topped expectations with $171 million, up 2.7% from last week. This is 5.1% lower than the same weekend last year, but this is better than expected. Also, 2018 is still ahead of 2017 by a sizable margin of $560 million / 8.8% at $6.98 billion to $6.42 billion. Again, if 2018 just maintains the raw dollar margin for the rest of the year, it will be a reason to celebrate. More...



July 15th, 2018

It was not a close race at the box office this weekend, as Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation topped expectations and Skyscraper did not. Transylvania 3 will open with a projected $44.1 million over the weekend for a total opening of $45.4 million, including June 30thâs special showings. This is average for the franchise, as is its reviews and A minus CinemaScore. The film will have no trouble earning enough to cover its $65 million production budget domestically. Meanwhile, the film opened with $46.4 million on 12,600 screens in 442 markets internationally, representing just under half of the total international marketplace. Its biggest market was Mexico, where it earned $8.6 million, while it was also impressive in Russia with $5.8 million. Its only holdover is Australia, where it added $2.4 million to its running tally, which sits at $10.2 million after three weeks of release. More...



July 12th, 2018

There should be a close race at the top of the box office this weekend, as both Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation and Skyscraper have a real shot at $40 million over the weekend. In fact, thereâs a good chance both films will earn first place at least one day over the weekend. Meanwhile, Ant-Man and the Wasp will be pushed into third place, but will still be a solid box office performer. Itâs this depth that is key, because the top two films from this weekend last year, War for the Planet of the Apes and Spider-Man: Homecoming, both earned more than either of the two new releases this year are expected to earn. 2018 is weak at the top, but the depth gives the weekend a great shot at coming out ahead in the year-over-year comparison. More...



July 10th, 2018

The two biggest releases of the weekend couldnât quite match expectations, while the two big holdovers werenât able compensate, resulting in a rare loss for 2018. Ant-Man and the Wasp still had an excellent opening with $75.81 million over the weekend, the seventh-best opening weekend of the year. The First Purge started out well on Wednesday, but slipped below the pace needed to match predictions by the weekend. That said, the overall weekend haul was still impressive at $188 million, which is 5.8% higher than last weekend. Granted, it is 8.7% lower than the same weekend last year, but Spider-Man: Homecoming opened with $117.03 million, so this is still a good result. Furthermore, 2018 remains ahead of 2017 by a substantial amount: $570 million, or 9.6%, at $6.47 billion to $5.90 billion. If the year ended with a lead of $570 million, we would be very happy. More...



July 7th, 2018

Ant-Man and the Wasp dominated the box office on Friday with $33.80 million. This is about $1 million less than we would have liked to have seen after its Thursday previews, but still above our earlier prediction. Its reviews are 86% positive, and it earned an A minus from CinemaScore, which is good for a blockbuster, but I was expecting an A like the original Ant-Man earned and it is below average for the MCU. More...



July 5th, 2018

Itâs technically the July 4th Weekend, although July 4th was yesterday. This is a good weekend to release a film and Ant-Man and the Wasp is looking to take advantage of the holiday. Meanwhile, The First Purge already started its run with $2.5 million in previews. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Incredibles 2 will continue to be a major presence at the box office. This weekend last year, Spider-Man: Homecoming opened with $117.03 million. Thereâs no way Ant-Man and the Wasp is going to match that. Itâs highly unlikely Ant-Man and the Wasp and The First Purge combined will match that. The depth this year is a little better, but I think 2018 will lose in the year-over-year comparison. Hopefully it will be close. More...



July 1st, 2018

June was amazing, with two absolute monster hits and a solid $100 million hit. By the end of the month, 2018âs lead over 2017 will be well over $500 million, or close to 10%. Even if 2018 only managed to maintain this lead in terms of raw numbers for the rest of the year, it will be a massive jump at the box office. As for July, there are a couple of potential monster hits, Ant-Man and the Wasp and Mission: ImpossibleâFallout, plus four potential $100 million hits. Last July, there was only one monster hit, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and three $100 million hits. I donât think 2018 will match 2017 at the top, but 2018 appears to have more depth and that should put it a little ahead over the full month. More...



June 1st, 2018

This May was an odd month, as Avengers: Infinity War opened on the last weekend of April, rather than the first weekend of May. This meant May started out slowly, but Deadpool 2 and Solo: A Star Wars Story did well enough to give 2018 a healthy lead over 2017. Looking forward, there are two potential monster hits this month, Incredibles 2 and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and another $100 million hit, Oceanâs 8. Last June, there were four $100 million hits, led by Wonder Woman, which pulled in over $400 million. I think 2018 and 2017 will be an even match at the top, so 2018 will have to rely on depth to improve upon its lead over 2017. More...



May 27th, 2018

Solo: A Star Wars Story opened with an estimated $83 million / $101 million over the three-day / four-day weekend. It had the best Memorial Day long weekend since 2014, when X-Men: Days of Future Past opened with $111 million over four days. In fact, this result is the fourth best Memorial Day long weekend opening in the past decade. That said, it was much lower than expected and some are calling it a box office failure. Thatâs complicated. The film was originally going to cost $150 million to make, making it the cheapest installment in the new Star Wars franchise. However, they reportedly had to reshoot 70% of the movie, which lifted the price to $250 million. The box office needed to break even during the filmâs initial push into the home market rose from about $500 million to $650 million. And with an initial international debut of $65.0 million in 54 markets, this film is just not going to get there. The unending talk of behind-the-scenes trouble seems to have hurt the filmâs box office chances and even its good reviews and its A minus from CinemaScore wonât be enough to turn things around. That said, it is far from a complete disaster and the franchise will continue, although it might be wise for Disney to not release so many installments in the franchise so quickly. Three in 18 months is a bit too much. This isnât the MCU. More...



May 15th, 2018

Avengers: Infinity War became the second fastest film to opened in China earning $190.68 million over the weekend for a total opening of $200.02 million, including previews. This is the highest ever opening in terms of American currency. In local currency, The Fate of the Furious still holds the record at RMB1.352 billion to RMB1.266 billion. Overall, Infinity War earned $281.3 million in 55 markets for totals of $1.059 billion internationally and $1.607 billion worldwide. It became the first film in the MCU to reach $1 billion internationally and it is already the highest grossing film in the franchise worldwide. It is in fifth place on the all-time international chart and will be in third place by this time next week. Meanwhile, it is also in fifth place on the worldwide chart and is aiming for third place there as well, although it will take a little while longer to get there. More...



May 15th, 2018

The weekend was better than expected, for the most part. All of the holdovers, including the number one film, Avengers: Infinity War, held on better than we predicted, while one of the two new releases also opened faster. Life of the Party was the only film in the top five that didnât beat expectations. Overall, the box office still slipped 19% from last week, down to $137 million. However, this is 1.2% higher than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2018 maintains a strong 5.2% / $210 million lead over 2017 at $4.24 billion to $4.03 billion. More...



May 8th, 2018

It was a relatively good weekend at the box office with every film in the top five matching or beating expectations. This includes Avengers: Infinity War, which had the second best second weekend of all time, earning $114.77 million. Overall, the box office fell 46% from last weekend, but $169 million is still a good total. It is 13% lower than the same weekend last year, but it had to go up against Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 opening weekend, so being this close is actually a positive result. Year-to-date, 2018 has pulled in $4.05 billion, which is 5.6% or $220 million higher than last yearâs pace. More...



May 7th, 2018

Black Panther was expected to be a hit; after all, itâs part of the MCU. However, almost no one was expecting it to become the biggest hit in the MCU. It is also considered the best film in the MCU by a lot of people. Am I one of them? If not, where does it fit? More...



May 4th, 2018

Overboard opened with $675,000 during its previews last night. This is 50% higher than the $450,000 How to Be a Latin Lover managed during its previews. However, that film earned better reviews than Overboard is earning, so it likely wonât have as good legs. It should still top our $12 million prediction, barely. $13 million to $14 million is now more likely. More...



May 3rd, 2018

Last weekend, Infinity War destroyed the weekend record. This weekend, there are three new releases that are just hoping to not get embarrassed. Overboard is the biggest film in terms of buzz, but the buzz isnât good, to be kind. Tully is the smallest film in terms of theater count, but its reviews are stellar and it has a shot at the top five. Bad Samaritanâs early reviews, are good, but its buzz is so quiet that it will likely bomb in theaters. This weekend last year, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 opened with $146.51 million. Thereâs almost no chance 2018 will match last yearâs performance. Thanks to Infinity Warâs record-breaking opening, 2018 should be relatively close. More...



April 30th, 2018

Infinity War was expected to dominate the box office over the weekend. However, not a lot of people thought it would break the all-time record, but it did. Not only did it break the record, it smashed it, topping The Force Awakens by nearly $10 million at $257.70 million. The MCU now has six of the top ten openings of all-time. Remember, when Disney bought Marvel for $4 billion, a lot of people thought they overpaid. Disneyâs share of just the domestic box office numbers is close to $4 billion at this point. The overall box office rose 150% from last weekend to $312 million. This is within a rounding error of the record and we might get there as smaller studios report their numbers later in the week. This is 212% higher than the same weekend last year; granted, this is because summer started a week early this year. Year-to-date, 2018 has retaken the lead by $140 million or 4.0% at $3.78 billion to $3.64 billion. However, and this is important, this is a misleading number, because summer started a week early this year. I would wait till Deadpool 2 comes out to judge the year-to-date numbers. It will take that long for Infinity War coming out a week early to fully balance out. You will probably make solid judgments before then, but I think it is wise to be a little cautious. More...



April 29th, 2018

Avengers: Infinity War will smash the all-time opening weekend record this weekend with a sensational $250 million domestically and $380 million internationally, according to Disneyâs Sunday morning projections. After $106 million on Friday, the studio estimates the film had the biggest Saturday of all time, with $83 million, and is projecting an all-time-best $61 million on Sunday. More...



April 27th, 2018

Infinity War was widely expected to destroy the previous MCU record for previews. Age of Ultron held the previous record at $27.6 million and Infinity War destroyed that record with $39 million. This is not only the best previews in the MCU, it is the fourth best previews of all time. Only The Force Awakens at $57 million and The Last Jedi at $45 million and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II at $43.5 million beat it. The filmâs reviews suggest it could have long legs; however, thereâs also a chance the film has an Empire Strikes Back problem. It definitely feels like the second part of a trilogy for reasons Iâm still not comfortable saying. More...



April 26th, 2018

Infinity War. Do I need to say more? Infinity War is easily the most anticipated movie of the year, and some argue the most anticipated film in the past few years. Thereâs even talk that it will have the best three-day opening of all time. This weekend last year, The Fate of the Furious earned its third first place result with just under $20 million. Infinity War could make twice that during its midnight previews. It will make more than the entire box office made last year. More...



April 19th, 2018

There are two wide releases this week, I Feel Pretty and Super Troopers 2, as well as a semi-wide release that has a shot at the top ten, Traffik. However, most analysts think A Quiet Place will return to first place on the box office chart. Meanwhile, Infinity War opens next week and thatâs all most moviegoers are talking about and this will likely really hurt this weekâs box office. This weekend last year, The Fate of the Furious remained on top with $38 million, while the top three films combined earned $60 million. I donât think 2018 will be able to match that, but it should be close. More...



April 15th, 2018

Rampage isnât exactly living up to its name this weekend, as it heads for a $34.5 million debutâjust enough to keep A Quiet Place in second place, with $32.6 million in its second outing (down a very respectable 35% from its debut). As might be expected, international markets are proving friendlier to Rampage than the US and Canada, and itâs off to a healthy $114.1 million start in 61 territories, according to Warner Bros.â Sunday morning estimate. More...



April 5th, 2018

There are only two wide releases this week, A Quiet Place and Blockers, both of which are expected to be midlevel hits. There are also two films opening semi-wide, Chappaquiddick and The Miracle Season, neither of which are expected to open in the top five. This weekend last year, The Boss Baby led the way with $26.36 million during its second weekend of release. A Quiet Place could top that, but even if it does, last yearâs depth will probably keep 2017 behind 2018 in the year-over-year comparison. More...



April 1st, 2018

The gulf between blockbusters and also-rans could hardly be starker these days. Since the release of Black Panther to a whopping $202 million on February 16, three movies that could have caught the general publicâs imagination have arrived on the scene, and earned somewhere between a fifth and a seventh of that on opening weekend. Ready Player One is the most successful among them, with an opening of $41.2 million predicted by Warner Bros. as of this morning. That compares favorably to the openings of A Wrinkle in Time (which started out with $33.1 million), and Pacific Rim: Uprising ($28.1 million), and is, in fact, the best weekend in 2018 for a movie not called Black Panther, but it barely starts to chip away at considerable marketing costs, let alone a reported $150 million production budget. More...



April 1st, 2018

Well, March has ended and it was a very disappointing month. Black Panther made more than any of the new releases did. The only potential big hit that didnât miss expectations was Ready Player One. Because of this, 2018 lost its lead over 2017 and is now over $100 million behind last yearâs pace. April is usually a terrible month, because it is a dumping ground, especially late in the month. No studio wants to compete with the first monster hit of the Summer. This year, the first monster hit of the summer, Avengers: Infinity War, opens in April. It will make more during its opening weekend than any other April release will make in total. It might make more opening day than any other April release will make in total. The only film that has a real chance to earn more than $100 million is Rampage, a video game adaptation. Last April, The Fate of the Furious earned more than $1.2 billion worldwide, but âonlyâ earned $225.76 million of that domestically. Infinity War should earn more than that opening weekend. The second biggest hit of last April was Smurfs: The Lost Village and Going in Style, both of which earned $45.02 million. If 2018 doesnât retake the lead by the end of the month, then 2018 is in trouble at the box office. More...



March 28th, 2018

Pacific Rim: Uprising easily earned first place on the international chart with $122.4 million in 61 markets during its opening weekend. The film earned first place in China with $63.80 million over the weekend for a total opening of $65.19 million including previews. There were two markets who could claim second place: Russia and South Korea. In Russia, the film earned $6.76 million on 1,538 screens. Meanwhile in South Korea, it opened with $5.27 million on 1,143 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $6.80 million. More...



March 27th, 2018

Pacific Rim: Uprising opened in first place over the weekend. In fact, it opened better than expected with $28.12 million. Unfortunately, thatâs nowhere near enough compared to its production budget, so it will need international numbers to thrive. Black Panther was finally removed from top spot, but it also held on better than expected with $17.10 million. As for the rest of the new releases, they ranged from serious disappointments like Sherlock Gnomes and Paul, Apostle of Christ, to complete bombs like Midnight Sun and Unsane. The overall box office slipped just 2.0% from last week earning $129 million. However, this is 36% lower than the same weekend last year. 2018âs lead has completely evaporated and it is now $60 million or $2.1% behind 2017âs pace at $2.64 billion to $2.69 billion. I donât see that improving this coming weekend. More...



March 25th, 2018

Black Pantherâs run at the top of the domestic chart will finally come to an end this weekend, with Pacific Rim: Uprising taking over as the most popular film in the US and Canada. The switch over is mostly due to Panther beginning to run out of steam, rather than Uprising showing any particular strength though. Universalâs sci-fi action movie will pick up $28.005 million over its opening weekend in North America, about in line with expectations, but disappointing for a film that cost $150 million to make. Overseas markets, particularly in Asia, are where the box office action is at for this one. More...



March 24th, 2018

As expected, Pacific Rim: Uprising earned first place on Friday. In fact, its opening day box office of $10.36 million is actually a little better than expected and it is on pace for a $26 million opening weekend. Granted, this is a terrible opening compared to the filmâs production budget, which is reportedly in the $155 million to $175 million range. Neither its reviews, nor its B-rating from CinemaScore will help its legs, but this film was never made to win over domestic audiences. It was made to shine in Asia, specifically China. It is too soon to tell for sure if thatâs a viable strategy, or if Universal is going to have to suck up massive losses. Based on Friday numbers, the studio is predicting a $65 million opening weekend China alone and a $120.5 million international debut. Thatâs obviously better than here, but the film will need at least $400 million internationally to break even any time soon. More...



March 21st, 2018

Tomb Raider roared into first place on the international chart earning $87.2 million on 33,290 screens in 65 markets for an early total of $105.2 million. The filmâs biggest single market was China, where it opened in first place with $40.79 million on 15,640 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $41.26 million. The filmâs second best opening was in the U.K. at $4.29 million in 585 theaters. The only other market where the film opened with more than $4 million was Russia with $4.11 million on 1,457 screens. The film debuted in first place in all three markets and is in a good position to break even early in its home market run. More...



March 20th, 2018

As predicted, Black Panther remained in first place on the weekend chart. Tomb Raider had an okay opening in second place, while I Can Only Imagine was the biggest positive surprise of the weekend. Love, Simon had a solid opening, especially compared to its production budget. The less said about 7 Days in Entebbe, the better. Overall, the weekend box office was down 4.8% from last weekend to just $132 million. This is 49% lower than this weekend last year. A 49% decline usually only happens when there is a misalignment in holidays, but in this case itâs due to Beauty and the Beastâs debut. 2018 is still ahead of 2017, albeit by a fraction of last weekâs lead at just $66 million or 2.8%. In fact, with a margin of just $2.46 billion to $2.39 billion, it is very likely 2018 will lose its lead before the next weekend begins. More...



March 18th, 2018

A spirited opening by Tomb Raider wonât be quite enough to knock Black Panther off its perch at the top of the domestic box office chart this weekend. The final numbers will be close: Raider is predicted to earn $23.52 million by Warner Bros., while Disney has Panther coming in with $27.024 million. If the numbers hold (and it would be a huge surprise if they donât), Black Panther will become the first film since Avatar to spend its first five weekends at the top of the chart. More...



March 15th, 2018

Another week and another film trying to dethrone Black Panther. This week, itâs Tomb Raiderâs chance to finally remove Black Panther from first place on the weekend chart. I donât like its chances. The only other truly wide release of the week is Love, Simon, which should have a solid, but not spectacular opening. There are two other films with a shot at earning a spot in the top ten: I Can Only Imagine and 7 Days in Entebbe. This weekend last year, Beauty and the Beast opened with nearly $175 million. Thatâs more than the entire box office is going to earn this weekend. 2018 is going to get crushed. More...



March 14th, 2018

For the first time, Black Panther earned first place on the international chart, adding $100.0 million in 57 markets to its totals, which now sit at $516,600,000 internationally and $1.078 billion worldwide. It became just the 33rd film to reach $1 billion worldwide and by Tuesday was in the top 20 of all time. Additionally, it is now in fifth place in the MCU and will be in a close fight for third place by the end of the weekend. Iâm more bullish that I was last weekend, because the film was a hit in China earning $65.07 million. This is about on par with Thor: Ragnarok and Spider-Man: Homecoming, meaning the film is on pace to hit $1.3 billion worldwide More...



March 13th, 2018

For the first time ever, the top two films at the weekend box office were both directed by African-American directors. Thatâs amazing and should be the big story. Unfortunately for A Wrinkle in Time, the big story is Black Pantherâs continued box office dominance, as that film earned first place over Wrinkle with $40.82 million to $33.12 million. Disney should be happy with both results. The only other new release that didnât bomb was The Strangers: Prey at Night, which earned third place with $10.40 million, which is excellent for a low-budget horror movie. The less said about The Hurricane Heist and Gringo, the better. Overall, the box office fell 8.3% from last weekend to $138 million. Compared to this weekend last year, the box office fell 16%. Year-to-date, 2018 has earned $2.27 billion, which is still 8.3% or $170 million ahead of 2017âs pace. That lead could be cut in half by this time next week. More...



March 11th, 2018

A Wrinkle in Time got out the gate a little more slowly than hoped for this weekend, and Disney is projecting an opening weekend of $33.3 million, as of Sunday morning. Thatâs actually in line with our prediction on Thursday of just under $35 million, but well below what pre-release interest in the film would have made seem possible. That relatively subdued debut left the door open for Black Panther, which will pick up another $41.1 million this weekend to top the chart, and continues breaking records. More...



March 8th, 2018

There are four wide releases coming out this week, but only one of them, A Wrinkle in Time, has a shot at dethroning Black Panther. Only one other, The Strangers: Prey at Night, has a shot at the top five. The other two, Gringo and The Hurricane Heist, are just hoping to not embarrass themselves. This weekend last year, the top two movies earned nearly $100 million. This year, the top five likely wonât earn that much. 2018 will lose the year-over-year comparison, but hopefully it will be close. More...



March 7th, 2018

Operation Red Sea remained in first place with $62 million in seven markets for an international total of $472 million. Of this, the film earned $61.90 million in its native China for a two-week total of $471.44 million there. More...



March 4th, 2018

Black Panther will add another $65.7 million this weekend, according to Disneyâs Sunday morning estimate. Thatâll be the 3rd-best 3rd weekend in history, behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Avatar. It also will make Panther the 3rd-fastest movie to $500 million at the domestic box office, behind Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. It continues to track extremely closely to Jurassic World, which finished its domestic run with $652 million. More...



February 28th, 2018

Operation Red Sea climbed into first place with $107 million in five markets for an international total of $336 million. Of this, the film earned $107.02 million in its native China for a two-week total of $335.81 million there. Amazingly, this was 46% higher than its opening weekend. More...



February 26th, 2018

Almost everyone expected Black Panther to earn first place over the weekend. I doubt there were many people who expected this. The film fell just 45% earning $111.66 million for a ten-day total of $403.61 million, helping the film make appearances on a number of record charts, including; second biggest second weekend of release, second fastest to $400 million, etc. The new releases matched expectations, more or less, with Game Night earning second place and coming within a rounding error of our prediction. Overall, the box office earned $192 million. This is 33% lower than last weekend; however, this is a good hold for a post-holiday weekend. Compared to last year, the box office was up by 55% and this is a much more important number. Year-to-date, 2018 has a 14% / $230 million lead over 2017, at $1.88 billion to $1.65 billion. This is great news at this point of the year, but we really need to stretch that lead to over $300 million in the next two plus weeks, before we are dealing with Beauty and the Beast, if we canât, then this lead could evaporate before the end of March. More...



February 26th, 2018

Thor: Ragnarok opened with some of the best reviews of the MCU and was easily the biggest hit in the Thor franchise. And now it is being completely overshadowed by Black Pantherâs success. Is it worth checking out? Is it really one of the best films in the MCU? More...



February 25th, 2018

The party is just getting started for Black Panther. With Disneyâs official weekend estimate in, it looks like the latest from the Marvel Universe is already just one day away from being the franchiseâs highest-grossing movie for a film built around a single character, and it is on course to top The Avengers as the biggest Marvel movie of them all. Thatâs thanks to a projected $108 million weekend that sets some records of its own. More...



February 24th, 2018

As expected, Black Panther dominated on Friday at the box office. However, it was a little better than we were predicting, earning $28.86 million. Usually when outstanding reviews have to go up against the Fanboy effect, the Fanboy effect wins, but not this time. Look for $101 million during its second weekend of release, making it just the fourth film to earn $100 million during its second weekend. On a related note, the film has already topped the lifetime totals of several MCU installments, including Thor: Ragnarok. More...



February 22nd, 2018

Monster Hunt 2 earned first place on the international chart with $190 million. Of that, $188.47 million was earned in its native China. The only other market where the film earned more than $1 million was Malaysia, where it earned $1.2 million. The original Monster Hunt didnât start nearly as fast, but it also had surprisingly long legs for a Chinese film. I suspect Sequelitis will reduce this filmâs legs, but that wonât stop it from improving on the first filmâs nearly $400 million worldwide run. More...



February 20th, 2018

Black Panther destroyed expectations over the Presidents Day long weekend earning $202.00 million / $242.16 million over the 3-day / 4-day weekend. The list of records this film broke seems endless, but we will get to that in a bit. Unfortunately, the two other new releases, Early Man and Samson, both bombed. On a more positive note, the total box office rose 103% from last weekend reaching $285 million. This is the third-biggest weekend of all-time, and the biggest non-December weekend. This is also 92% higher than the same weekend last year. Even if we use Presidents Day of last year, 2018 was still 51% higher. More importantly, 2018 completely erased the small deficit it had and is now ahead of 2017 by $120 million or 8% at $1.62 billion to $1.50 billion. More impressively, 2018 is even ahead of 2017 in terms of ticket sales at 178 million to 172 million. More...



February 19th, 2018

Disney posted updated weekend projections for Black Panther this morning, and if your jaw was dropped already, itâs time to pick it up and drop it again. The filmâs box office fell just 9% on Sunday to an estimated $60.096 million, giving it the second-best Sunday in box office history, just fractionally behind The Force Awakensâ $60.553 million. That pushes Pantherâs three-day opening weekend to an estimated $201.797 million, making it the fifth film in history to top $200 million on opening weekend.

There are a couple of other telling statistics that reveal just how strongly the film is performingâ¦ More...



February 18th, 2018

â¨Black Panther is currently eating up the charts, with a projected $218 million 4-day opening. The film is tracking for the second- or third-best opening weekend for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film, so its status as a hit is practically confirmed, even if it ends up having the worst multiplier in MCU history. That said, and despite having 17 previous films in the series, the patterns for what gives an MCU film good legs or not is hard to pin down. â¨ More...



February 18th, 2018

Black Panther is riding a waving of positive feedback all the way to record territory this weekend, with Disney projecting a $192 million three-day, and $218 million four-day weekend, as of Sunday morning. That gives the film three outright records right off the bat: biggest weekend in February, biggest three-day Presidents Day weekend, and biggest four-day Presidents Day weekend. In each case, the film is topping the jaw-dropping-at-the-time opening of Deadpool in 2016. More...



February 16th, 2018

I tried to remain cautious in the face of the overwhelming hype surrounding the release of Black Panther. This could be a mistake. It started its domestic box office run with $25.2 million in previews on Thursday, which crushed the $12.7 million Deadpool earned during the beginning of its record-breaking debut weekend. Not only is this the best previews for a Presidents Day debut, it is the best pre-summer preview, topping The Hunger Gamesâs $19.7 million. It is also the second best for the MCU, just ahead of Civil Warâs $25 million mark, and just behind Age of Ultronâs result of $27.6 million. The filmâs 97% positive reviews suggest it will have long legs; however, as weâve seen time and time again, even Award-worthy reviews are almost never a match for an extreme Fanboy Effect. That said, this result is way above the $20 million I was expecting and a $200 million four-day debut is now more likely than not. More...



February 15th, 2018

Itâs Presidents Day long weekend and there are two-and-a-half films trying to take advantage of the holiday with wide releases. However, the only film opening this weekend that people are actually talking about is Black Panther. This film is earning more buzz than any film opening until Infinity War and is widely expected to break records. Early Manâs reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, but it is just hoping to reach the top five. Finally, thereâs Samson, which is only opening semi-wide. This weekend last year was the weekend after Presidents Day long weekend, so it is not a fair comparison and 2018 will crush 2017. Compared to Presidents Day of last year, 2018 will still crush the competition. More...



February 1st, 2018

2018 got off to a good start and January more or less held its ground when compared to 2017. There were some misses, but surprise holdovers made up the difference. Looking forward, February will be dominated by Black Panther. In fact, it will very likely make more during its opening weekend than the second place film, Fifty Shades Freed, will likely make in total. Black Panther likely wonât break records, but it could come close, while Fifty Shade Freed and Peter Rabbit both have a 50/50 shot at $100 million. Last February, The Lego Batman Movie both earned $175 million, while Fifty Shades Darker earned over $100 million. Black Panther will easily beat any film from last February; in fact, it could earn more than the top two films earned combined. As long as the rest of the box office isnât a complete disaster, February should help 2018 earn a significant edge over 2017 in the year-over-year comparisons. More...



January 20th, 2018

NATO, the North American Theater Owners, have released their annual box office numbers, and 2017 had some mixed results. The total box office was down 2.55% to $11.09 billion, which is the third-biggest yearly box office total of all time, behind $11.12 billion earned in 2015 and $11.37 billion earned in 2016. Meanwhile, ticket prices rose 4% to $8.97. This means total attendance was 1.236 billion, the lowest since 1995. That is troubling, but not as apocalyptic as some have made it out to be, as it is only 2.7% lower than 2014âs attendance figure. Obviously, we would like to see increases in this figure every year, but we shouldnât panic just yet. If 2018 bounces back, then we can still say the overall box office is healthy. If we see another 6-point drop in attendance in 2018, then we can panic. More...



January 1st, 2018

2017 wasnât a good year. It started out well and ended on a high note, but the summer was a disaster and that proved to be too much for the rest of the year to overcome. Fortunately, The Last Jedi and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle are still doing very well and will help January get off to a fast start. Unfortunately, the biggest new release of January is Paddington 2 and it isnât expected to match its predecessor at the box office; it certainly wonât top $100 million domestically. It is unlikely any of the Oscar contenders will hit the century mark in January either. This is really bad news, as last January, we had a new release, Split and an Oscar contender, Hidden Figures, which both topped that milestone with ease. 2018 should get off to a faster start in the first two weeks, but overall, this month will end with a loss. More...



December 10th, 2017

Coco remains the number one movie at the box office this weekend by a considerable margin, mainly due to a lack of serious competition from new releases. Disneyâs animated adventure will gross about $18.3 million this weekend, for a domestic total of $135.5 million. The film will also pile up another $55.3 million internationally, taking its worldwide cume to $389.5 million. It still has some big openings to come, including Brazil, Korea, the UK, and Japan in January, so it has some way to go, although its progress will be eclipsed by The Last Jedi for the next few weeks. More...



December 6th, 2017

Coco climbed into first place with $69.0 million in 33 markets for totals of $171.3 million internationally and $281.4 million worldwide. The film opened in a trio of major markets in Europe, earning first place in all three. France led the way with $5.2 million, $6.4 million including previews, while Spain ($2.8 million) and Germany ($2.0 million) were also strong results. It beat Moanaâs opening in all three markets. The film grew 146% during its second weekend in China earning $44.17 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $75.79 million. The film is already the biggest Pixar hit in China and is in third place for Disney animated films, behind Zootopia and Big Hero 6.

More...



December 3rd, 2017

The weekend after Thanksgiving is usually when the studios take a breather before the big Christmas season, and this year is no different, with no new wide releases, and relatively minor shuffles on screen use at the theaters. Itâs therefore little surprise that Coco holds on at the top of the chart, and its strong reviews and season-friendly nature help it to extend its lead over Justice League. Coco is headed towards $26.114 million this weekend, according to Disney, for $109 million or so to date. Thatâs down 49% from last weekend. Justice League, meanwhile, drops a more troubling 60% to $16.58 million, for $197 million after three weekends.

More exciting action lies among the limited and expanding releases, howeverâ¦ More...



November 29th, 2017

Justice League plummeted more than 60% to $71.5 million on 32,800 screens in 66 markets for two week totals of $310.98 million internationally and $482.88 million worldwide. Itâs only major opening came in Japan, where it earned first place with $3.85 million on 645 screens. This is ahead of Wonder Woman and Thor: Ragnarok, so the movie is keeping its dreams of $800 million worldwide alive. It really needs that much to break even any time soon. Its biggest holdover was China, where it fell 68% to $16.36 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $84.17 million. It should be able to get to the century mark there, which will be reason to celebrate. It remained in first place in Brazil with $5.4 million on 1,617 screens for a two-week total of $24.8 million. More...



November 26th, 2017

Coco will easily top the box office chart this Thanksgiving weekend, with Disney projecting a $71 million 5-day opening, including $49 million from Friday to Sunday. Thatâs the fourth-best Thanksgiving opening of all time, behind Frozen ($94 million), Moana ($82 million), and Toy Story 2 ($80 million). In all, Disney lays claim to 10 of the top 11 opening weekendâs over this holiday period, although, to be fair, the Hunger Games and Harry Potter franchises both claim several spots in the higher reaches of the Thanksgiving weekend record chart, but were just playing in their second weekend, rather than opening.

Nit-picking aside, itâs a great weekend for Coco. More...



November 23rd, 2017

It's Thanksgiving weekend, which means Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and of course the first installment of our Holiday Gift Guide. This week we will tackle first run releases, and normally franchise box sets as well, but this year none jump out as essential additions to the Holiday Gift guide. Worse still, 2017 has been awful at the box office with potential blockbuster after potential blockbuster getting savaged by critics and struggling at the box office. Additionally, some of the biggest and some of the best have been on the home market for nearly half a year, meaning nearly everyone who would want them, already own them. That doesnât mean there are no films worth adding to this list, but the list is a little shorter than usual. On a side note, two of the films on this yearâs list are from the MCU and it would have been three, but Thor: Ragnarok is still in theaters. If you know someone who loves the MCU, but has all of the movies, then check out this site, which has some more unique gift ideas. I specifically like the Spider-man Drone. More...



November 22nd, 2017

Justice League easily won the weekend race on the international chart with a total opening of $184.95 million on 47,000 screens in 65 markets. Its biggest market was China, where it opened with $50.58 million over the weekend for a total opening of $51.89 million. Its best market was Brazil, where it earned $14.2 million on 1,580 screens, which is the biggest all-time opening in that market. In most major markets, the film opened above Wonder Woman and Thor: Ragnarok. For example, the film earned $9.6 million in Mexico, compared to $8.22 million for Wonder Woman and $7.34 million for Thor: Ragnarok. It wasnât as impressive in every market. For example, it only managed $9.67 million during its first place opening in the U.K., which is equivalent to a little more than $50 million here. The film opens in Japan this weekend, but it will need good legs to pay for its $300 million production budget. More...



November 19th, 2017

Justice League was meant to the be the big pay-off for the first phase of the DC Extended Universe, bringing together the characters introduced in Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Wonder Woman, and setting the stage for next yearâs Aquaman. The huge success of Wonder Woman this Summer seemed to be just the kick the franchise needed, and, given the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which enjoyed steadily building success leading up to the gigantic opening of The Avengers, an opening north of $150 million, and maybe even approaching $200 million seemed a possibility a couple of months ago. In that context, the $96 million projected weekend announced by Warner Bros. this morning looks like a huge disappointment. What does it mean for the franchise? More...



November 15th, 2017

For the third weekend in a row, Thor: Ragnarok dominated the international chart, earning $75.9 million in 56 markets for totals of $438.5 internationally and $650.6 million worldwide. The film fell 59% during its second weekend in China, but this is actually much better than average for the market. It added $21.71 million this past weekend, pushing its running tally to $95.51 million after just two weeks of release in that market. The film held up even better in the U.K., where it dipped just 33% to $4.05 million in 569 theaters for a three-week total of $34.07 million. Its next biggest international market was South Korea, where it has earned $31.07 million, including $3.53 million on 856 screens this past weekend. The film already has more worldwide than either of the previous Thor films earned in total. It has entered the top ten in the MCU and it is on pace to enter the top five on that chart before its done. More...



November 12th, 2017

Thor: Ragnarok maintains a firm hold on top spot at the domestic and international box office this weekend, with a respectable decline of 54% at home taking it to $56.6 million for the weekend and $211.6 million to date. With another $75.9 million internationally, for a total of $438.5 million overseas, Ragnarok will pass $650 million worldwide today. That makes it the most successful Thor film already, and it seems like it should retain decent traction into the holidays, even with Justice League coming out next weekend. More...



November 9th, 2017

After last weekâs debut, Thor: Ragnarok should have no trouble repeating in first place, but we do have two new releases that should be in a battle for second. Murder on the Orient Express had a strong opening in the U.K. and that bodes well for its opening this weekend. On the other hand, Daddyâs Home 2âs box office potential is moving in the other direction. As I started writing this, there were still no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. This weekend last year, Doctor Strange led the way with $42.97 million. Thor: Ragnarok should top that by around $10 million. Likewise, this weekâs new releases should top last yearâs new releases. However, last year had a lot better depth. Last year, every film in the top ten earned more than $3 million. This year, Iâm not sure the fifth place film will earn more than $3 million. I fear 2017 will lose yet again in the year-over-year comparison. More...



November 5th, 2017

Thor: Ragnarok continues a remarkable record for the Marvel Cinematic Universe this weekend by posting a $121 million opening weekend, according to Disneyâs Sunday morning estimate. Thatâs a significant increase from the $85.7 million of Thor: Dark World, and means that each sub-franchise based on an individual character has had increasing open box office from film to film: Iron Manâs openings went from $102 million, to $128 million, to $174 million; Captain America went $65 million, $95 million, $179 million; and now Thor has gone $65 million, $86 million, and $121 million. More...



November 2nd, 2017

After a dismal end to the summer, Disney will attempt to come to the industryâs rescue with three blockbuster releases in the coming two months: Coco for Thanksgiving, The Last Jedi for Christmas, and, this weekend, Thor: Ragnarok. The Thor sub-franchise has been the weakest link in the Marvel Universe so far, but this outing is getting stellar reviews, and by coming after a seemingly-endless succession of horror movies in September and October, seems well timed. Itâll launch in