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...Darkseid might not be this superhero movie's greatest threat after all. Story by Matt Cummings It was a weekend for the box office history books, as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice set several worldwide and domestic records, but slightly under-performed here in the States. Warner Bros on Monday reported that BVSDOJ took in a domestic total of $166m, establishing a new March opening weekend record and the largest Easter opening, besting the $147.1m brought in by Furious 7 last year. It's also the largest opening for a DC Comics film, a record previously held by The Dark Knight Rises ($160.8m). Such a premiere had been a foregone conclusion, based on the extra year Director Zack Snyder took to bring the film to audiences. But with all the celebration at WB's Burbank studios, there's probably a lot of worrying going on. Destroyed by critics (with only a 29% Rotten Tomatoes rating as of this posting) and netting only a "B" CinemaScore,

Here's what Hollywood can do immediately to ensure lush 2016 profits. Story by Matt Cummings In a year that saw Hollywood take home the biggest profits of all time (just over $11b), there were many glaring signs that the industry needed a new set of resolutions. And while don't condone the greedy getting greedier, the 2015 box office proved that Hollywood still doesn't have its act together when it comes to producing, distributing, and marketing their films. In some cases, terrible choices were made that cost Sony, Paramount, and Lionsgate millions. What are the essential resolutions which Hollywood must adopt for a profitable 2016? We list just a few below: 1. Fox must give Fantastic Four back to Marvel: When fans heard about the on-set troubles behind FF , it was more than an indication the Josh Trank film was in big trouble. Then the film came out and fans realized it was much worse than we thought. With the dust now settled - and a sequel apparent

The number was actually a tad below expectations. Story by Matt Cummings The 2015 box office results are in, and some Hollywood studios are singing all the way to the bank. The overall domestic number hit a new record with just over $11b, beating 2013's $10.93b. That's a little lower than expected, mainly due to several high-profile disasters including Fantastic Four , Pixels , and Terminator: Genysis . This is the first time that the North American box office has surpassed $11b. For those of you who think such numbers are bloated due to the high cost of today's tickets, consider another number: attendance at NA theaters surpassed 1.33 billion moviegoers. That's 5% higher than 2014's 1.27b. But early on, things didn't look so good, even though everyone was expecting top numbers as far back as 2013. The first quarter (January through March) staggered to just $18.87b billion, which only ranked in the middle of the past 10 years. But it was Q2

The big news about this weekend's lackluster box office isn't what you think. Story by Matt Cummings August 2015 broke all kinds of box office records, none of which to hang your hat on. September is off to just as bad a start, with a collection of new releases that just aren't bringing in the crowds. Suffering might be good for the soul, but this is ridiculous. Coming in at No. 1 was the faith-based War Room with $12.55m, which represents a slight 18% drop in its second week. The Sony film benefited from strong word of mouth and an expansion of theaters (391). Its 27.86m total haul over 11 days is guaranteed to further unleash more of the low-budget God films, but look for smart placement in the schedule to be a deciding factor of each success. Falling to No. 2 was Straight Outta Compton with an estimated four-day haul of $11.06m. Having owned the past three weekends, the F. Gary Gray N.W.A biopic fell only 16% and actually trailed War Room by a s

The worst August in 21 years is fortunately put out of its misery. Story by Matt Cummings 2015 might become the biggest box office draw ever, but August will go down as one of the all-time worst. Theater owners saw empty lines for popcorn and even more depressing receipts last month, as the industry experienced a perfect storm of unprecedented flops, poorly-timed releases, and a lackluster set of films that kept audiences away in droves. The problem actually began in July, which included the under-appreciated ( Southpaw and Self/Less ), the dull ( Paper Towns ), and the just plain awful ( Vacation ). This set the stage for three nearly-instant August duds, The Fantastic Four , Ricki and the Flash , and The Man from UNCLE , before delving into two of the worst weekends of the year. In fact, August 2015 has achieved a set of records that theater owners and Hollywood fat cats would just as soon forget. Here are just a few: August 2015 was the worst since August 1994

Team Sandwich breaks down their Summer movie faves and hates. Story by Matt Cummings, John Meneghetti, and Brandon Wolfe. With the 2015 summer movie schedule winding down, it's time for us to look back on the winners, losers, disappointments, and clear bombs. Although August has experienced a blood bath, down over 60% from the same month last year, the industry is up a mere 0.2% for the season. But that's what you get when your second highest-grossing August movie is The Fantastic Four . Yikes. Still, it was a fruitful summer, filled with lots of surprises, big performances, and incredible duds. Did your movies make any of our lists? Read on to find out! We've also included reviews for every review here, so feel free to back to them. To be clear, the Summer movie season is defined as the first Friday in May through the Labor Day Weekend. SandwichJohn Best Movies Straight Out of Compton Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation Avengers: Age of Ultron

The NWA biopic registers the fourth largest August bow while Man From U.N.C.L.E. gets taken out. Story by Matt Cummings Straight Outta Compton delivered solid box office numbers over the weekend, crushing its competition with $60.2m. Led by strong word of mouth and solid reviews, the biopic about rap group NWA including a very strong $24.12m Friday on its way to the fourth largest opening for an August film. These numbers are all the more impressive when you consider it did not play either in 3D or at any IMAX - that privilege went to The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Although its 'A' rating from CinemaScore and impressive 96% audience score from Flixster should bode well for its immediate future, the film will most likely endure for another reason: the lack of strong candidates remaining for the month. Under those conditions, we think this and at least one other film on our list should do well as the summer winds down. With a modest drop of 40%, the Tom Cruise spy

The Fantastic Four utterly fails as Ethan Hunt triumphs again. Story by Matt Cummings In a devastating blow to one of 20th Century Fox's tentpoles, The Fantastic Four drew one of the lowest opening box office tallies for a super hero film, bringing in just $26.2 million from 3,995 US theaters. That's after receiving a crushing 8% from Rotten Tomatoes critics and a tidal wave of poor audience feedback including a 'C-' from CinemaScore. Perhaps what's more surprising is that the Tom Cruise spy action/thriller Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation easily won the weekend box office with an estimated $29.4 million from 3,988 theaters. That down just 48% from its opening, bringing its 10-day total to $109.5m. We were estimating a much closer race, and perhaps even a defeat for Ethan Hunt and his IMF team. There's little doubt that Josh Trank's film was torpedoed both internally and externally, capping off with a Tweet on Thursday by the directo

The star is back on top as Vacation 's road was bumpy. Story by Matt Cummings Paramount's Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation easily won the weekend box office with an estimated $56 million, ranking it as second all-time for a M:I movie - that honor goes to MI:II at just above $57m. The well received Tom Cruise follow up has been gaining traction among critics for weeks, although tracking numbers were actually painting it for a much softer opening of around $40m. Rogue Nation 's final numbers represent the higher end of expectations, and could actually rise once all the numbers are in. A 9:50am screening on Sunday at a local theater actually saw several people waiting in line to buy a morning ticket. With support like that, it's possible we could see it become the No. 1 M:I film ever. With a strong No.1 return, Actor Tom Cruise is definitely back as a bankable action star, perhaps the only one next to Dwayne Johnson. Rogue Nation opened with a s

Adam Sandler continues to disappoint in a very weak weekend Story by Matt Cummings In one of the closest Box Office races this year, Marvel Studios' Ant-Man held on to the number 1 spot, narrowly beating the competition, with an estimated $24.65 million. The Adam Sandler comedy Pixels arrived in second with $24m. But even as the battle raged all weekend - with Pixels beating Ant-Man on Friday, then the positions flip-flopping at least one more time between the days - it became clear box office hauls across the board were lower than expected. But the sting behind Sandler's latest disappointment is particularly pronounced. Stilted by a juvenile script and sadly familiar characterizations of hot women needing ugly, stupid men, Pixels has been lambasted by both critics (earning only 19% on Rotten Tomatoes) and receiving only a 'B' on Cinemascore. Its $24m haul is among the lowest Sandler-led films and perhaps a warning that his stature has finally

Even an original Avenger can't bring home the ants. Story by Matt Cummings Marvel Studios can breathe a sigh of relief (sort of), as their record of 11 consecutive #1 openings remains intact. But while Ant-Man won the weekend with an estimated $57.23 million, the box office celebration is sure to be short. That's because early hopes of $65m fell as Friday turned to Saturday, led by 'seen that before in Iron Man ' comments. By the time it was done, the Paul Rudd heist comedy had barely beaten 2008's The Incredible Hulk , which holds the lowest opening among the 12 Marvel Studios films at $55.41m. Coming in at number 2 was Minions , which took it on the chin, plunging 57% to $49.27m. And that number was boosted by a ridiculous 4,300 theater count, which means it could have slid even further had it gotten the typical 3,100 treatment. The highly-anticipated Universal/Illumination Entertainment spin-off suffered from both poor reviews and perhaps la

What does the newest survey say, and should Pay Television be worried? Story by Matt Cummings If the proof really is in the pudding, than the stuff that Netflix is serving its customers must be very satisfying. According to a recent survey , 92% of Netflix users expressed satisfaction with the streaming and DVD services, with 93% stating that they intend to have the service one year from now. The survey also revealed less-than-rosy consumer feelings about Pay Television: although 67% answered that they have PT, approximately 9% said they plan on ending their service. Moreover, 16% expressed doubt that they would still have their PT by this time next year. The survey compiled results from 829 Netflix subscribers and was conducted June 1-14 by the website www.cutcabletoday.com. Among other facts in their announcement: 1. Approximately 77% of respondents said they have their Internet, PT, and telephone "bundled" to save on cost. 2. Netflix users apparent

Post-apocalyptic machines and strippers lose out in July 4th Weekend bust. Story by Matt Cummings Early numbers are coming in from this week's domestic box office, and it doesn't look good for two movies with high expectations from their studios. It appears that Pixar's Inside Out will finally take the number 1 slot from three-peater Jurassic World , leaving Terminator Genisys and Magic Mike XXL in the dust. With hgh praise from critics and even talk of whether it deserves an Oscar nod for Best Picture, the movie about a little girl's emotions will take in an estimated $30 million over the three-day weekend. It's already made over $225m and on Friday seemed ready to exert its influence over Mike and Terminator . Coming in at a close number 2 is Jurassic World , which should take in $28-29m. Considering its staying power, there's no reason why a last-minute surge could see the two slip-flop, attesting to the popularity of both. That leaves

How has the 2015 box office performed compared to 2014? Read on to find out. Story by Matt Cummings From late 2014, critics and writers were ready to proclaim the 2015 box office as the most successful in history. We too felt a certain sense of destiny, with so many great films arriving throughout the year. We even wrote about it here , here , and here . Then January arrived, and one dud after another came with it, including Blackhat , Mortdecai , The Boy Next Door , and Project Almanac . February was actually worse, with Jupiter Ascending and Seventh Son dropping stinking loads at our door before running off. But within that mire of disaster, we also saw great films, including Paddington and Kingsman: The Secret Service , both of which kept many theaters from turning into mausoleums. You can read our QUARTER 1 REPORT here . As we pass the half-way mark of 2015, it's time to compare this year's box office to 2014, and to determine if everyone was right ab