Based on what I was reading going into the weekend, I thought the multiplex was going to be an unexciting place. I was therefore rather surprised to see what I thought were relatively impressive numbers attached to the top films.

According to early estimates for domestic grosses at Box Office Mojo, Sony's (SNE) Just Go With It, starring Adam Sandler, is so far credited with a first-place showing; the movie is believed to have made about $31 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period. But Viacom's (VIA.B) Justin Bieber: Never Say Never product isn't giving up without a fight. At the time of writing, it was in second place with $30.3 million. Essentially, it's a tie.

Continue reading Viacom's Bieber Film Gives Sony's Sandler Project a Fight

Viacom's Bieber Film Gives Sony's Sandler Project a Fight originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Funny People, distributed by General Electric's (NYSE: GE) Universal Studios, was the number one film this weekend. I don't know whether or not the critics liked it but, from a financial viewpoint, it failed.

According to Boxofficemojo, People grossed $23 million as of early estimates. Cool; that's enough money to beat Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) incredibly competitive Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which came in second with $17 million. Disney's (NYSE: DIS) G-Force is also credited with roughly $17 million, and has been given third place for now (final numbers will solidify the rankings when they are made available).

Continue reading GE's NBC Universal probably not laughing over opening of 'Funny People'

GE's NBC Universal probably not laughing over opening of 'Funny People' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 03 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I found an interesting article in this morning's New York Post examining the poor performance of NBC Universal's Universal Studios of late. In fact, Jeff Zucker of NBC -- a part of General Electric (NYSE: GE) -- is "so concerned" about the unit's performance that he sent his chief financial officer to Hollywood for a month in order to "get more educated on the studio." Before I give my opinion on how to fix the studio (and you know I have one), let's take a look at how good the year has been.

Will Ferrell's Land of the Lost cost $100 million to make, but it brought in $44 million through last Friday. It is this catastrophic flop that caught the attention of Zucker and has him wanting answers from studio boss Ron Meyer. A source noted, "It's really the first time [Zucker] is asking Ron to explain things," as Meyer basically had free rein to run the studio. Zucker now wants to know Meyer's process for greenlighting movies and determining production and marketing budgets.

Continue reading Will summer flops doom Universal?

Will summer flops doom Universal? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Guess we've got to hand it to Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston. I oftentimes criticize the enormous compensation packages of celebrity thespians, but I'll give credit where credit is due. These two stars have powered News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) Marley and Me to great success (I suppose that dog helped out, too).

In its second weekend out in the marketplace, the film was again in the top slot at domestic theaters, with current estimates pegging its three-day gross at around $24 million. Marley is now well past the $100 million mark.

Another movie is doing well at the box office, one that I thought wasn't going to be so hot. Again, it has a big star to thank, to some degree at least. Adam Sandler and his Bedtime Stories flick, distributed by Disney (NYSE: DIS), came in second over the weekend, grossing about $20 million. It's total tally is at $85 million after two weekends.

Then there's Brad Pitt's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, from Viacom (NYSE: VIA). Button was third with $18 million, and now has almost $80 million in its box-office bank account.

Continue reading 'Marley and Me' tops first box-office weekend of the year

'Marley and Me' tops first box-office weekend of the year originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Viacom Inc

Continue reading Will 'The Love Guru' and 'Get Smart' avoid box office disaster?

Will 'The Love Guru' and 'Get Smart' avoid box office disaster? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.