SUNDAY: Pixar has returned to the top of the box office, but their little rat named Remy doesn't have nearly the box office juice of Buzz Lightyear, Nemo, Mr. Incredible or Lightning McQueen.
Each week, we round up the weekend box-office predictions of the so-called experts, including yours truly. The old show business adage "Nobody knows anything" is in full effect because, even by studying and poring over the tracking, the release plan, the screen counts and the reviews, and even after seeing the films, the moviegoing public is still too fickle and unpredictable for this to be a science rather than an art.
Live Free or Die Hard (20th Century Fox) is now open. I went online with an opening day projection of $8 million-$10 million early Wednesday night, revised to $8 million Wednesday night at 10:30 a.m., and pushed it to $8.8 million Thursday morning at 9 a.m. Box Office Mojo released its Wednesday estimate at about 11 a.m. on Thursday, and they're at $9.1 million. That is a good, not great, start for John McClane. I'm raising my five-day figure slighty to the $36 million-$39 million range and a traditional three-day weekend of $22 million-$25 million. For more analysis on Die Hard 4, read my Wednesday tracking column.
THURSDAY MORNING UPDATE (as of 9:00 a.m., Pacific)
Last night, I called Live Free or Die Hard's opening day for $8 million. As of this morning, I'm revising the Wednesday number to $8.8 million. $34 million-$37 million still looks like the correct range for the five-day take, and the traditional three-day weekend mark should still fall in the $20 million-$23 million range.
Hello again, and welcome to the latest episode of Bard's Eye View, the place to come for counsel, confirmation, validation or plain ol' vanilla advice on the summer's endless bombardment of large-, medium- and small-scale films. Whether you are an Internet rubbernecker looking for dirt on the latest nine-digit-budget flops, or a staunch optimist seeking warmth in the tiniest of cinematic hopes, I bid you welcome ... unless, of course, you are one of my league competitors, in which case, please stare at this lovely gold watch, gently waving back and forth, back and forth ... you are getting sleepy ... (Wink.)
Continue reading "BARD'S EYE VIEW: Giant Robots from Outer Space or Teenage Wizards from Blighty?" »
Greetings, Moguls! Mister Informative here, primed for the launch of new July-September leagues. Up 'til now, August movies have been somewhat diminished in value because their release date means they have less time in play before the season ends. With new leagues, however, August films will have some space to flex their muscles.
As of Monday night, Lionsgate and the Weinsteins are close to finalizing their Sicko strategy for this weekend.
Michael Moore, the Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker and master provocateur, hasn't lost his box office touch. Moore's critically-acclaimed and seemingly non-partisan healthcare expose Sicko is making the most of its exclusive engagement at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Michael Moore, the Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker and master provocateur, hasn’t lost his box office touch. Moore’s critically-acclaimed and seemingly non-partisan healthcare expose Sicko is making the most of its exclusive engagement at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Continue reading "WEEKEND ESTIMATES: 'Evan Almighty' sinking; Healthy numbers for 'Sicko'" »
Hello again, and welcome to another installment of Bard's Eye View, the place to come for the D.L. on this summer's wide array of G, PG, R and NC films. Whether you're here to raise your cinematic IQ and become a BMOC, or perhaps a VIP or, dare I say, the MVP of your summer leagues, I bid you welcome ... as long as you promise to keep it all on the QT. (Wink.)
