Movies

UPDATED EXCLUSIVE: Angel Studios’ thriller Sound of Freedom starring Jim Caviezel has seen its presales spike to $10 million. This is before the pic’s opening on July 4 in north of 2,600 locations. Many rivals are tracking this semi-faith-based, based-on-a-true-story title about about former Homeland Security agent Tim Ballard, who took rescuing abducted children around

We can knock Disney all we want over less-than stellar post-Covid results on Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm titles, but the fact of the matter is the brands are still delivering, making the theatrical motion picture studio the continued box office leader with $3.4 billion worldwide for the period of Jan. 1-July 2. That breaks out

UPDATE, 2:20PM: Disney/Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny officially wins Tuesday with $11.698M over Sound of Freedom‘s reported $11.5M. Monday revised on Dial of Destiny was $11.7M, which means business was even on July 4th; and that’s solid for any tentpole on that holiday. 5-day on Dial of Destiny is $83.7M. PREVIOUS: Angels

Back To The Future: The Musical landed on Broadway last week in overdrive: The stage adaptation starring Casey Likes and Roger Bart scored a dizzying $1,035,256 for just four preview performances, filling 98% of seats at the Winter Garden. The musical, which opens August 3, features a book by Bob Gale and new music and

EXCLUSIVE: Exhibition marketing firm PaperAirplane Media, which has been a crossways for movie theaters and studios since launching during the pandemic in August 2020, has reached a milestone in its digital asset download portal, The Hanger, with 500K studio marketing assets downloaded. Lionsgate vets Mike Polydoros and Will Preuss saw an opportunity and a need

Refresh for chart…On the bright side for Independence Day bomb Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, its first five days at the box office of $82M aren’t as bad as Paramount/Skydance’s Terminator Genisys. That sequel’s launch just prior to July 4, 2015 left a lot of methane in the air with $42.4M in its

As Regal parent Cineworld prepares to exit Chapter 11 this month, rumors are heating up over who will emerge as the giant theater chain’s new chief executive, with reports Monday pointing to Eduardo Acuna of Cinepolis. Longtime Cineworld CEO Moody Greidinger has a consulting contract during a transition period but isn’t likely to stay in

We’ve had a couple of tentpole missteps here this summer, read Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny this weekend with $60M, The Flash and Elemental; putting the running summer box office at $1.88 billion for May 1-July 2. That’s close to -2% off from the $1.91 billion reached over the same frame last year.

Refresh for latest…: Disney/Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is off to a disappointing start with a $130M global opening. Of that, $70M is from 52 international box office markets as the the fifth installment in the beloved 42-year-old franchise came in below projections. Anthony has run down the reasons behind the domestic

Fans of The Name of The Rose author Umberto Eco turned out in NYC, boosting the documentary on medieval scholar turned novelist and social commentator to over $9.1k on one screen – a nice showing by The Cinema Guild for a foreign language documentary on a solid weekend for some indie and arthouse fare. Umberto

SATURDAY AM: Refresh for chart…and more analysis Disney/Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is still bound to open at the bottom of end of tracking’s projection of $60M as this morning. I saw an estimate in The Flash vicinity of $55M last night and took an Alka Seltzer out of shock. Hopefully Dial

The fatal shooting of a 17-year-old by a police officer in Nanterre, France earlier this week has set off a swath of nationwide riots and violence, resulting in early closures of some cinemas, curfews in certain cities and a plea for calm from the national football team, among more widespread issues. The killing of the

The National Association of Theatre Owners VP & Chief Communications Officer Patrick Corcoran is departing after 24-plus years. The news comes in the wake of NATO CEO and President John Fithian retiring after a 24-year run at the exhibition trade org. Together with Fithian, Corcoran, known for being a straight-shooter with the press, has had

EXCLUSIVE: We all know post-pandemic that tentpoles work at the box office, but it’s been hit and miss for everything else, especially indies movies. From out of nowhere, Angel Studios’ Sound of Freedom movie about Tim Ballard, a former Homeland Security agent who left the department after he was frustrated with the U.S. rescue efforts

EXCLUSIVE: Disney/Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is posting an estimated $6 million-$7.5 million Thursday night, per sources, which is where previous older-skewing action-guy comps live. We’re specifically referencing the Thursday night starts of No Time to Die, which grossed $6.3M (started at 4 p.m.) before its $55.2M opening weekend in October 2021,

After taking domestic to William Oldroyd’s thriller Eileen out of Sundance, NEON has set a December theatrical release for the pic. Eileen will go Dec. 1 in NY and LA before going wide on Dec. 8. The movie starring Oscar winner Anne Hathaway is based on the 2015 debut novel by Otessa Moshfegh. It’s set

A bankruptcy court judge today gave a green light to a reorganization plan for Regal parent Cineworld, the key step needed for the giant movie theater chain to emerge from bankruptcy next month. At a hearing, in an order from the bench, Judge Marvin Isgur of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas

Facing the worst reviews ever for an Indiana Jones movie, the Lucasfilm franchise finale, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, is hoping to gain traction with audiences and best its $60M-$65M domestic start, $140M global opening. If the post pandemic has proved anything, it’s that popcorn pics aren’t so beholden to the Rotten Tomatoes

Big cinema advertising platform National CineMedia said today its plan of reorganization has been confirmed by a judge in United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.  The company filed for Chapter 11 in April. It now expects to emerge in August or September. The plan allows the company to eliminate debt and

Focus Features expanded Asteroid City to the highest grossing weekend for a Wes Anderson Film with a projected three-day estimate of $9 million from 1,675 theaters – no. 6 at the domestic box office — pushing the film’s cume to $10.2 million. It opened last weekend in six locations. Some 64% of moviegoers were 35 or younger. Males topped

Cineworld said on Monday that as part of its proposed restructuring following Chapter 11, it expects to file for administration of its listed entity Cineworld plc in the UK but that its operating companies will continue business as usual without interruption. Administration in the UK is an insolvency process, similar to a bankruptcy process. The world’s second biggest

Refresh for latest...: After two major studio movies bowed last weekend, this session was one of holdovers for Hollywood with mixed results. Last weekend’s leader, The Flash, which had initially come in lower than projections, added $26.6M in 78 offshore markets this weekend, dropping by 59%.The Warner Bros/DC deep universe title now counts an international

Paramount President of International Theatrical Distribution Mark Viane kicked off the studio’s CineEurope presentation with his annual fun pre-taped video, this time essaying the role of Mission: Impossible’s Ethan Hunt before appearing on stage dragging a parachute behind him in an homage to Tom Cruise’s latest spectacular stunt in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part

A week of studio presentations and discussions, as well as chatter in the halls, at the CineEurope exhibition conference in Barcelona provided some interesting takeaways about the state of cinema and its future. The mood was generally optimistic, but concerns, and room for improvement, remain. Main talking points included the need for movie theater operators

Two of the most successful specialty films of the year expand this weekend and a handful of others jump into an arthouse market that’s seen few new entrants in recent weeks as wide release piled on wide release. Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City jumps from a blockbuster six-theater opening ($800k over three days) last weekend for

Refresh for more….Sony’s mission to return comedy to the big screen with the R-Rated Jennifer Lawrence movie, No Hard Feelings, grossed $2.15M last night from showtimes that began at 4PM at 2,745 locations. The movie hopes to do around $12M this weekend in what will be second session where Warner Bros.’ misfire, The Flash, hopes

Sony Pictures said Wednesday that it has removed from its release date schedule El Muerto, the Bad Bunny-starring Spider-Man spinoff movie that is being directed by Jonas Cuarón. The Columbia Pictures pic is set to be the first time a Latino character leads a Marvel live-action film.  The studio had previously set El Muerto to hit theaters

Warner Bros’ DC pic The Flash, despite tumbling down with a $55M start, will remain atop the box office with a $16.5M-$24.7M second-weekend take as the marketplace largely takes a breath sans tentpoles before Disney/Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny arrives for the Independence Day stretch. That Weekend 2 slide for The Flash

Disney was the final studio to present here at CineEurope in Barcelona, highlighting 17 upcoming films and bringing A Haunting in Venice star/director Kenneth Branagh to town, as well as a live performance of “This Wish” from animated adventure Wish which releases in November. Head of Global Theatrical Distribution, Tony Chambers, started off the show,

With Tuesday’s global business factored in, Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has swung past the half-a-century mark worldwide, grossing $506.3M through yesterday. Domestically, the Joaquim Dos Santos/Kemp Powers/Justin K Thompson-directed sequel has so far made $290.4M. The international box office has contributed $215.9M to date. Across the Spider-Verse just opened today