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Box Office

Emma Stone in 'Poor Things.'

The Oscar Bump May Be Gone for Good

Remember when well-reviewed awards contenders big and small gave a sizable boost to the box office during the early months of a new year? That economic dynamic is the latest vestige of a foregone Hollywood.
Scott Mendelson • February 5, 2024
Scott Mendelson • January 29, 2024
Coroner’s Report: Michael Mann’s ‘Ferrari’
Adam Driver in 'Ferrari.'
Why is the industry surprised when expensive awards bait films, designed to impress critics more than audiences, fail at the box office? The latest Mann disappointment is an example of the chasm between film executives and filmgoers.
Scott Mendelson • January 15, 2024
Hollywood’s Dude Slump
Paramount's 'Mean Girls'
Following the so-called #Barbenheimer phenomenon, the only big-deal domestic hits in the last five months of 2023 were female-driven or female-skewing films. Too bad Hollywood is still betting on male-dominated superhero I.P.
'The Color Purple'
Scott Mendelson • January 8, 2024
The Color Purple Question
Is it fair to quantify the commercial value of a prestige film that disappoints at the box office without considering a potential streaming license as part of its gross?
Jenna Ortega at the photo call for "Wednesday" held at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on April 29, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Matthew Belloni • January 5, 2024
24 Surefire, 100 Percent Probable Hollywood Predictions for 2024 (Part 1)
Declining budgets, a potential Imax sale, more agency consolidation, a Netflix film reckoning, Fox’s humbling, Jenna Ortega’s rise and exit, and other hypotheses for another wild year in the entertainment business.
Timothée Chalamet, Denis Villeneuve and Zendaya promote the upcoming ‘Dune: Part Two’ during the Warner Bros. Pictures presentation at CinemaCon, the official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners, on April 25, 2023, in Las Vegas.
Scott Mendelson • January 2, 2024
Is 2024 Really the Box Office Year From Hell?
Actually, the overall 2023 domestic box office was down just 20 percent (sans inflation) from 2017, despite 32 percent fewer movies, with a per-film average gross of $15 million, the highest since the Avatar-inflated 2009-10 calendar years. Maybe theaters just need more movies.
Margot Robbie in 'Barbie'
Scott Mendelson • December 18, 2023
The 10 Commandments of Movies in 2024
As the industry takes stock of a year that will fall short of $9 billion at the domestic box office, here are 10 rules that can help executives decide what movies to make.
Beyoncé in Tamara Ralph for the opening of night two of the Renaissance Tour at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Sept. 2, 2023.
Scott Mendelson • December 4, 2023
All Hail the Niche Event Film
A subgenre of demographically specific movies, as exemplified by current hits featuring Beyoncé and Godzilla, used to be gravy for the theatrical business. Now it’s a necessity.
Brie Larson in 'The Marvels.'
Matthew Belloni • November 20, 2023
Apple, Marvel, and the Great Box Office Fallacy
In a perverse side effect of the streaming age, Hollywood seems unwilling to call a flop a flop. Instead, the question of what is “profitable” or “value-additive” has become convoluted—especially if it involves a pure-play streamer or a Scorsese movie.
Mission 7, Tom Cruise’s nearly $300 million-budgeted baby, is getting bumped from IMAX screens.
Matthew Belloni • June 2, 2023
The Tom Cruise vs ‘Oppenheimer’ Movie Theater Smackdown
Cruise has been forcefully pushing exhibitors to put ‘Mission: Impossible’ ahead of Chris Nolan’s film on large-format screens after he lost three weeks of IMAX exclusivity in the first truly competitive summer for blockbusters since Covid.