Continue reading Market Down on DreamWorks Animation After 'Megamind' Debut

Market Down on DreamWorks Animation After 'Megamind' Debut originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 14:30:00 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.

If this weekend's box office results say anything, it's that success in the movie business resists predictability. How else do you explain the money that Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) The Hangover is grossing? I haven't seen the film, so I'm sure there's something to it. Nevertheless, it just didn't seem like it would be a big hit. Guess the word of mouth on it has been pretty good.

Hangover, as of early estimates at Boxofficemojo, took in $33 million at domestic theaters over the past three days, good for first place. It beat Disney's (NYSE: DIS) Pixar project Up, which took in about $30 million and came in second. Hangover actually was the number-one movie last weekend as well. So far, it's taken in more than $100 million.

Continue reading Time Warner's 'Hangover' beats Sony's new action flick

Time Warner's 'Hangover' beats Sony's new action flick originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Jun 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Pixar have a great thing going with their new cartoon Up. Last weekend, the movie debuted in the top spot. This past weekend, Disney just might retain that number-one designation. And if it does, I can tell you that this is cool news.

It's very close. As of this writing, early estimates at Boxofficemojo credit Up with a take of $44 million for the past three days at domestic theaters. Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) The Hangover is said to have grossed $43 million. If those numbers by any chance hold, then Up will be in first place and Hangover will come in second.

Continue reading Disney's 'Up' continues to reach for box-office domination

Disney's 'Up' continues to reach for box-office domination originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Mammoths and multiplexes go hand in hand, apparently, especially if said mammoths are of the CGI variety. According to Boxofficemojo, 10,000 B.C., Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) prehistoric epic, pounded the rest of its competition like an angry caveman warrior clubbing a saber-toothed tiger (I didn't see the film, but I assume this happened at some point during the plot). The film is estimated to have taken in over $35 million (final numbers are due later today) at domestic theaters over the weekend. Disney (NYSE: DIS) couldn't even come close to Time Warner -- its family comedy, College Road Trip, right now stands at a gross of $14 million, which was at least good enough for second place. Erstwhile Disney Channel phenomenon Raven-Symone star in the flick, so at least there was a little bit of synergy in that respect -- Disney is nothing if not about synergy, as we all know.

Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Vantage Point came in third, and Time Warner's Semi-Pro, starring the hilarious Will Ferrell, came in fourth. Lions Gate's (NYSE: LGF) The Bank Job, which achieved fifth position, actually did pretty well, considering that its per-theater average of approximately $3500 was much higher than the per-theater average for the two films above it.

Continue reading Time Warner's prehistoric romp wins big box office bucks

Time Warner's prehistoric romp wins big box office bucks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 10 Mar 2008 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Will Ferrell: Next dot-com tycoon? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Apr 2007 14:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.