The Weekend Report

Star Wars: The Force Awakens remained the top title in the universe with an estimated $88.8 million. There were no new national releases but The Hateful Eight expanded and shot up third with $16 million.

Exclusives included the reissue Orson Welles’ 1966 Shakespeare adaptation, Chimes at Midnight, with $13,200 from a solo turn and a four-screen start for the adult  Anomalisa thata nimated a potent $138,000.

Domestic box office for 2015 set a new record of $11.2 billion, a 7.3% revenue bump from 2014.

Niche newcomers included Telugu Nene Sailaja with a solid $422,000 while Hindi Ho Mann Jahaan struggled to $68,300 on 18. China’s Devil and Angel was soft with a $43,800 tally.

The first weekend of the New Year generated roughly $220 million and dipped 27% from a week back. It was nonetheless 42% improved from 2015 when the third weekend of The Hobbit finale led with $21.7 million.

In the rearview, 2015 rallied with the release of a rebooted Star Wars and a year that featured 27 movies that grossed in excess of $100 million. Jurassic World was the individual winner by a nose with $652.3 million, about $300,000 better than Force as of December 31.

Disney also closed the gap with Universal in market share with both companies having individual calendars in excess of $2 billion. Universal finished with $2.45 billion and Disney grossed $2.28 billion and respective market share of 21.8% and 20.3%.

Still we all know that market share only reveals so much. Though third place Warner Bros. saw a slight 3% increase in 2015 it also released five more films than it had in 2014 and had a slate that was rife with disappointments. Sony, still reeling from the computer hack, had a dismal Q1 and Q2 but finished strong with the likes of Spectre and Hotel Transylvania 2. And the media’s favorite punching bag, Paramount, managed to plod along on the strength of a few strong commercial releases.

For the majors, half the managements appear to be in solid shape while their brethren struggle with issues such as new platforms, the ongoing issue of “windows” and the availability of product in ancillary venues. While China continues to expand, other major territories, especially in Europe, are, at best, holding their own. It’s a time of transition though the release lineup for the next two years gives no impression of game change. The sense of flux is likely to see new buyers eyeing a number of these entertainment behemoths including the aforementioned Chinese.

The situation is no less tumultuous of the independents with both Lionsgate and the Weinstein Co. receiving attention from the press about future viability. Relativity filed for bankruptcy protection and it’s far too early in the game to predict the on-going fortunes of such newcomers as Bleecker Street, STX and Broad Green.

Not a single indie, nor any of the specialized divisions of the studios had a banner year.

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