Well, I have to hand it to The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS). The company is doing well with Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Early estimates for the three-day box-office weekend at domestic theaters place the movie at the top spot (according to Boxofficemojo). Believe it or not, the talking-canine project has been in first place for two weekends in a row. I guess I got my answer in terms of the playing power of the Disney pooch. It took in about $17 million as of this writing, and it has grossed over $50 million thus far.

With Halloween approaching, you just knew Sony Corporation's (NYSE: SNE) Quarantine picture was going to do decently. It came in second, with about $14 million to its celluloid credit. Body of Lies from Time Warner, Inc. (NYSE: TWX) was third, and Eagle Eye from Viacom (NYSE: VIA) came in fourth. The latter is doing moderately well, not a huge hit, but not quite a disappointment, either, considering the box-office time period we're in. It currently has $70 million in cumulative grosses. I thought Eye was going to be a much bigger hit, but the market apparently is telling me that I was wrong on that count. The Express, by the way, bombed. It was released by General Electric Company's (NYSE: GE) Universal, and it grossed about $4.7 million, meaning it may be in either sixth or seventh place after final numbers are tallied. Not good at all for the football feature's debut weekend.

Disney's movie division will hopefully be able to maximize the profit potential of Chihuahua. I'm sure the powers that be are already at work on turning this concept into a franchise. That's what Disney likes best: not just one picture, but a whole string of them that can drive merchandise sales and theme-park rides. Who knows what will happen, but as an aside, I can honestly say that the stocks mentioned above are looking pretty interesting in terms of the price-cuts they've been given by the slashing claws of all the bears out on Wall Street. Long-term investors looking for exposure to the media sector should give them some due diligence (but always remember the context of the current volatile market, where anything cheap can suddenly get cheaper still).

Disclosure: I own Disney and GE; positions can change at any time.

Disney's "Chihuahua" retains its box-office bite originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Are you a Disney (NYSE: DIS) shareholder? If so, then you're pretty happy about the box-office weekend. According to Boxofficemojo, Disney's Beverly Hills Chihuahua was number one over the past three days at domestic theaters. It is estimated to have grossed $29 million. That number may change when final stats are released later on, but it won't change the ranking, since the movie in second place, Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Eagle Eye, grossed around $17.7 million.

Eye was last week's number-one film, and I have to say, I thought the thriller would remain in the top position this week. That's how Hollywood works, though. You're on top one minute, and then the next minute, you're on the way down.

Movies are a very risky business, and I have been critical of how Disney manages its movie operations. I am a shareholder, and I care about how much capital is put at risk on each project and how the deals are structured. Are they structured with the shareholder in mind, or are they tipped toward the pampered stars who demand big percentages of the grosses while not taking on any risk?

Continue reading Can Disney's Chihuahua movie continue to top box office?

Can Disney's Chihuahua movie continue to top box office? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Viacom (NYSE: VIA) scored over the weekend at the domestic box office. Ever since I saw the trailer for the movie Eagle Eye back in the summer, I had a feeling this was going to turn out to be a hit. According to Boxofficemojo, the thriller took in $29 million since opening on Friday as of early estimates.

In fact, I can't understand why Eye wasn't placed in a summer slot. I suppose there are some legitimate reasons, such as the density of releases during the season, but this one begged to be competing in the busy time period. Steven Spielberg served as executive producer on this one, and Viacom's Paramount distributed it on behalf of the DreamWorks brand. Of course, Spielberg and DreamWorks will be departing from the Viacom fold, perhaps heading to General Electric's (NYSE: GE) Universal to set up a distribution deal.

Coming in second was Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) Nights in Rodanthe. It was a distant second at an estimated $13.5 million. Got to be honest, I didn't hear of this movie before I started writing this piece. Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Lakeview Terrace was in third place with $7 million. Last week, Sony was on top with that picture.

Continue reading Viacom sets its eye on box-office fortune

Viacom sets its eye on box-office fortune originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.