Hollywood execs seem to be waking up to the power of women at America’s multiplexes. The success of He’s Just Not That Into You (Warner Bros) and this weekend’s Confessions of a Shopaholic (Disney) can be traced to Meryl Streep’s
After I posted my original Early Estimates column on Big Hollywood last night, I received a Facebook message from Platinum Dunes partner and Friday the Thirteenth producer Rob Fuller saying “I hope you’re right.” My Friday estimate last night was
Although America is suffering through its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, there is no recession in the movie business. Led by the Warner Bros reboot of Friday the Thirteenth and a couple of surprisingly strong chick flicks, Hollywood’s
Sometimes pre-release industry tracking points to a very clear box office winner, and that’s the case for the upcoming Valentine’s Day/President’s Day 4-day weekend. The reboot of Friday the Thirteenth (Warner Bros) appears to be headed for a resounding win
There was not a great deal of drama surrounding this year’s British Academy of Film & Television Arts Awards, commonly known as the BAFTA Awards. Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) is a movie with deep roots in the UK. Director Danny
There is a phenomenon known as “the Oscar bounce.” When a movie receives Academy Award nominations, especially one of the five coveted Best Picture slots, ticket-buyers generally follow. The Oscar seal of approval used to mean something to the rank-and-file
The Drew Barrymore-produced romantic comedy He’s Just Not That Into You has made the jump from catch-phrase to self-help book to movie hit. With an all-star cast this classic ‘chick flick” appears to be winning the weekend after posting a
After a spectacular $1 billion dollar-grossing January for the movie industry, Hollywood trots out four new titles for the first weekend of February. The first month of ’09 was nothing short of spectacular, featuring nine releases with 3-day openings of
I have had the privilege of being in Tampa all week to cover Super Bowl 43, and one of the lesser reported stories of the week is the relationship between Steelers chairman and owner Dan Rooney and President Barack Obama.
Liam Neeson is officially a full-fledged action star. The Irish-born actor has often played heroes, whether it was Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece Schindler’s List, the wise Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace or
In 1990, when Republican incumbent Senator Jesse Helms was locked in a tight reelection race against Democrat Harvey Gantt, the African American Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, basketball legend Michael Jordan was approached about stumping for Gantt. Jordan was a
In 2006, Magnolia released the French sci-fi action thriller District B13, written and produced by Luc Besson and directed by his longtime collaborator Pierre Morel. The US domestic engagements grossed an estimated $1.2M, but previously, the movie delivered a solid
The chubby guy on the Segway rallied for a come-from-behind win over the Beckinsale-less Underworld sequel, but regardless, it was a 1-2 finish for Sony. When I originally predicted that Paul Blart: Mall Cop as the likely weekend winner over
Last fall, a small, unheralded movie called Fireproof (IDP/Samuel Goldwyn) arrived in theatres and became a huge surprise hit and among the most profitable movies ever made (at least according to budget-to-gross ratio). Now that the film will be released
Nobody is ever completely satisfied with the Academy Award nominations, but with several key snubs, Oscar voters may have ensured that the 2009 telecast hits an all-time ratings low. Investor Warren Buffet coined the phrase “skin in the game” to
Michael Sheen has two movies in release this weekend. The classically-trained Welsh actor plays Lucien in the wildly commercial Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (Sony), opening on about 3,000 screens, and he plays David Frost in Frost/Nixon (Universal), expanding to
Thursday morning at 5:30a pacific, the Academy Award nominations will be announced. For a movie junkie like me, this is one of the highlights of the year. I have diligently seen every major awards contender and informally surveyed Academy voters
Guys named Dev, Akshay, Piyush and Anoop could become household names in 2009, winning Oscars, generating box office revenue for US studios, preparing for a Presidential run and even becoming the American Idol. The term Desi (pronounced Deshi) refers to
The movie Notorious (Fox Searchlight) a biopic about the life of rapper Biggie Smalls, has opened well-above industry expectations with about $9M on Friday and, as I reported Friday night, that could mean about $29M in ticket sales over the
Paul Blart: Mall Cop (Sony), My Bloody Valentine 3-D (Lionsgate) and the Sean Combs’-produced hip hop biopic Notorious (Fox Searchlight) lead a strong-performing quartet of wide releases as Hollywood seems headed for the biggest 4-day Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
True to their nature, the British Academy of Film and Television Awards, issued their decidedly stuffy list of nominees today, and Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount) led the way with 11 nominations apiece.
The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend brings four new wide releases to America’s multiplexes along with one major expansion. The Monday holiday means stronger-than-average business on Sunday and a bonus fourth day of steady sales, especially for younger-skewing movies.
The 2009 Golden Globe Awards are in the books, and, for an entertainment junkie like me, it was great fun. On launch day for Big Hollywood, I published my predictions for all 25 categories with plenty of analysis. I am
I have spent most of my career reporting on and studying sports and entertainment. Athletes and actors have very similar personality traits. In fact, many athletes secretly harbor acting aspirations and plenty of actors wish they could have been pro
SUNDAY 10AM: As I first reported Friday night, Clint Eastwood is king this weekend at the box office, and although Gran Torino (Warner Bros) didn’t quite reach $30M, its final 3-day studio estimate of $29M is still easily the best
A year ago, Fox scored a January hit with the female-geared 27 Dresses. The Katherine Heigl vehicle chick-flick opened with $23M on the weekend of January 18 en route to a nifty $76.8M domestic gross. Now Kate Hudson has produced
Steve Mason is on Facebook and now also on Twitter. Last January, Hollywood was in the midst of the disastrous WGA strike forcing the cancellation of the Golden Globe Awards ceremony. It was painful to watch Access Hollywood‘s Billy Bush
Steve Mason is on Facebook and now also on Twitter. SUNDAY MORNING: Dog lovers everywhere united to make Fox’s Marley & Me the #1 Christmas weekend movie with an expected $51.18M in the Thursday-thru-Sunday period for a Per Theatre Average
In the movie business, there are no real holidays, and tonight, while the studio executives are nestled all snug in their beds, visions of big Christmas Day box office receipts dance in their heads. Five major wide releases arrive in
The final studio estimates are in, and, as I first wrote Friday night, Jim Carrey’s Yes Man (Warner Bros) is the weekend winner, although the performance of the film was softer-than-expected. When the movie started with a soft $6.7M on
Steve Mason is on Facebook and now also on Twitter. Bad weather with several major storms, including one in the Northeast, are making this a challenging weekend to project. I have revised my the 3-day estimates I released last night
Steve Mason is on Facebook and now also on Twitter. Jim Carrey and his high-concept comedy Yes Man (Warner Bros) will win the pre-Christmas weekend out-performing Will Smith’s more challenging Seven Pounds (Sony), although both films seem to be under-performing
Steve Mason is on Facebook and now also on Twitter. The weekend box office battle boils down to Jim Carrey vs. Will Smith. This is a match-up between the former “World’s Biggest Box Office Star” and the reigning champ, and
Steve Mason is on Facebook and now also on Twitter. The teen vampire blockbuster Twilight added another $7.95M this weekend, breaking through the $150M barrier in domestic box office. This performance exceeds even the rosiest box office expectations for the
Steve Mason is on Facebook and now also on Twitter. The Day the Earth Stood Still has failed to stop Fox’s 2008 losing streak managing just $31M in its opening 3 days according to studio estimates. As I wrote Friday
Steve Mason is on Facebook and now also on Twitter. Despite being shut out in all of major categories in this week’s Golden Globe Awards nominations, Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino (Warner Bros) has opened with very strong numbers at 6
Steve Mason is on Facebook and now also on Twitter. The world is not “standing still” for Fox’s remake of the 1951 Robert Wise-directed sci-fi classic opening in theatres this weekend. The Day the Earth Stood Still, starring Keanu Reeves,
With Fox still smarting from the underwhelming start for Baz Luhrmann’s Australia (just over $32M so far), they unleash The Day the Earth Stood Still on Friday. This is a big budget remake of the 1951 classic from 4-time Oscar
The Golden Globe nominees will be announced this Thursday, December 11 at 5am Pacific. Announcement day for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is always the official start of the Academy Award season, and the stakes are very high for pictures
I write about the business of Hollywood. Each week, I will be writing a box office preview with predictions for the coming weekend. My forecast is always based on conversations with studio executives and analysis of the latest industry tracking/audience