Martin Grove's Hollywood Report

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 05-20-13

“Trek” time: With “Star Trek Into Darkness” launching to $84 million for its first four days in theatres, the pre-summer’s looking good after getting off to a flying start May 3 with “Iron Man 3.” More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 05-13-13

Cannes circus: After the Oscars, the Cannes Film Festival is Hollywood’s second highest profile event of the year. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 05-06-13

May muscle: May promises to be a muscular month at the boxoffice what with “Iron Man 3’s” $175 million opening last weekend and some very familiar franchises arriving throughout the month. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 04-29-13

Metallic men: Films starring two classic comic book metallic men will be magnets for boxoffice gold this summer. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 04-22-13

Memorial movies: If you’re hungry for Hollywood’s summer popcorn movies, the good news is they start arriving a month from now. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 04-15-13

Oblivion opening: With a half dozen big budget high profile sci-fi films landing in theatres over the next few months Hollywood could be seeing out-of-this-world boxoffice results. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 04-08-13

Oscar outlook: The Oscars are about 11 months away and normally no one in Hollywood would be paying much attention to them right now. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 04-01-13

April action: April is Hollywood’s swing month between winter’s serious awards contenders and summer’s popcorn blockbusters. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 03-25-13

Cannes countdown: The long road to the Oscars typically begins at the Cannes Film Festival where Hollywood makes the most of being in the global media spotlight. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 03-18-13

Mighty March: Even without any of those four-day holiday weekends that Hollywood loves, March is still a mighty month at the boxoffice. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 03-11-13

Franchise films: Spring’s only a few weeks away, but it certainly feels like summer at the boxoffice. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 03-04-13

March movies: March came in like a boxoffice lamb, but there’s a lion waiting to spring into action this weekend. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 02-25-13

Oscar outcome: It’s all over, but the shouting – and there’s plenty of that as Hollywood recovers from one of the most controversial Oscar seasons ever. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 02-18-13

Oscar outlook: The long and winding road to the 85th annual Academy Awards began last May at the 65th annual Cannes Film Festival and will end, finally, Sunday night. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 02-11-13

Presidents preview: With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, love is in the air – especially in Hollywood. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 02-04-13

Guild gold: The road to winning an Oscar is paved with gold – guild awards gold. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 01-28-13

February films: February may bring us icy cold winter weather, but temperatures at the boxoffice could be much warmer. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 01-21-13

Homestretch hopes: The sealed envelopes will be ripped open in about a month at the 85th annual Academy Awards, but for now the race is wide open heading into the homestretch. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 01-14-13

Golden Globes: With Sunday’s Golden Globe wins and Thursday’s Oscar nominations behind us, we’re heading full speed down the awards season homestretch. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 01-07-13

Oscar outlook: We’ve been talking about Oscar frontrunners since last May’s Cannes Film Festival, but we won’t know who the contenders really are until Academy members’ nominations are announced Jan. 10. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 12-31-12

Happy New Year: After setting a $10.8 million boxoffice record for 2012, Hollywood’s starting the New Year with high hopes. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 12-24-12

Heavy hitters: The year’s not over yet, but we already know who did best at the 2012 boxoffice. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 12-17-12

Awards arena: All it takes is a quick look at today's movie ads to see how quickly the awards arena is heating up. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 12-10-12

“Hobbit” hopes; Most weekends see three or four new wide releases arriving in multiplexes, but that’s not the case this time around. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 12-03-12

Golden Globes: Hollywood’s awards season heats up in December with every week bringing new nominations or wins that impact on films’ Oscar prospects. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 11-26-12

Happy holidays: December is one of Hollywood’s happiest boxoffice months since holiday ticket sales are typically second only to the much longer summer season. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 11-19-12

Thanksgiving time: As holidays go, Thanksgiving’s one of Hollywood’s top favorites. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 11-12-12

“Hitchcock” history: I’ve been a Hitchcock fan for many years and a “Hitchcock” fan since seeing Sacha Gervasi’s awards worthy biographical drama about the Master of Suspense 10 days ago. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 11-05-12

Big Bond: It’s a safe bet that “Skyfall’s” going to open big, but the real question is whether it will be the biggest Bond film ever. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 10-29-12

November numbers: You don’t need a crystal ball to see that November’s boxoffice numbers should make Hollywood very happy. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 10-22-12

R ratings: There’s no R in “fall,” but there are plenty of R’s at the fall boxoffice. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 10-15-12

“Paranormal” power: You don’t have to believe in supernatural forces to recognize the effect they’re having at the boxoffice. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 10-08-12

“Argo” arriving: October’s only just begun and it’s already sizzling on both the boxoffice and awards fronts. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 10-01-12

October overview: September ended with a boxoffice bang – about $43 million for Sony’s “Hotel Transylvania” and about $21 million for Sony’s “Looper!” October should blast off even stronger with a hefty take this weekend for Fox’s “Taken 2.” More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 09-24-12

What’s working: With the fourth quarter fast approaching, Hollywood’s gearing up for a fall and winter season of Oscar hopefuls and holiday hits. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 09-17-12

Contenders collection: Visibility at fall film festivals in Venice, Telluride and Toronto is part of Hollywood’s basic awards marketing playbook. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 09-10-12

3D Dimension: Hollywood’s been putting technology to work since the early 1900’s when moving images moved from arcade peep show machines to on screen projection in nickelodeon theatres. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 09-04-12

September sizzle Summer may be history, but Hollywood’s hoping for plenty of boxoffice sizzle in September. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 08-27-12

“Oogieloves” Oogust August may be winding down, but Oogust is just getting started! More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 08-20-12

Hollywood horror: Hollywood’s been making horror movies since the early silent days and there’s only one reason for that – moviegoers like being scared! More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 08-13-12

Festival films: As summer winds down Hollywood shifts gears, turning its attention to fall and the start of the annual awards race. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 08-06-12

“Bourne” reborn: Movie franchises are way too valuable for Hollywood to let them evaporate just because stars won’t continue in their roles or they’ve run out of books to adapt. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 07-30-12

“Recall” remake: Hollywood’s been remaking movies since the silent days, realizing that if a picture works once it has what it takes to work again. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 07-23-12

August action: August used to be where Hollywood buried its dead – movies it didn’t think stood a chance of doing big business. But in recent years that’s all changed. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 07-16-12

Batman blockbuster: It’s the best of times and the worst of times when a blockbuster movie franchise like Batman ends. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 07-09-12

Franchises are Hollywood’s brand name products and they’re highly marketable because moviegoers know exactly what they are. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 07-02-12

Fourth fireworks: July Fourth is Hollywood’s midsummer’s night dream come true – a holiday that doesn’t fail to ignite boxoffice fireworks! More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 06-25-12

July jolt: The summer movie season, which explodes in early May, can start dragging by mid-June. But, no worries – July’s known for jolting the boxoffice back to life. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 06-18-12

Oscar outlook: If we had a dollar for every film that opened during the first half of the year and wound up being Oscar nominated, we wouldn’t have much money. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 06-11-12

Family fun: Last weekend’s chart topping launch for “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” hammered home once again the big boxoffice advantage family films have thanks to their broad playability. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 06-04-12

Halftime hopes: June doesn’t just signal the start of summer, it means it’s halftime on the Hollywood gridiron. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 05-29-12

June jackpot: June may not have its own four-day holiday weekend to tempt moviegoers, but it certainly benefits from being bookended by Memorial Day and July Fourth. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 05-21-12

Memorial movies: Moviegoing and Memorial Day weekend have had a 30 year love affair and it’s still going strong. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 05-14-12

Cannes celebration: The Cannes Film Festival, which turns 65 this week, continues to be the world’s highest profile celebration of movies as both an art and a business. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 05-07-12

Strong summer: Summer’s only just begun, but with “The Avengers” off to a spectacular record-setting start it’s hard to picture this summer as being anything but strong. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 04-30-12

“Avengers” applause: Applause usually follows a movie, but with “The Avengers” it’s already being heard loud and clear through the film’s astounding tracking. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 04-23-12

May movies: They call it the merry month of May and for Hollywood this one could turn out to be really merry! More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 04-16-12

Blockbuster books: Hollywood’s been bringing books to the screen since the silent days and hits like D.W. Griffith’s “The Birth of a Nation,” adapted from Thomas F. Dixon, Jr.’s novel “The Clansman.” More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 04-09-12

Silly “Stooges:” We don’t see much slapstick humor on the screen these days, but moviegoers have been laughing at physical comedy since the silent days of Mack Sennett's Keystone Kops and Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 04-02-12

April action: As the transition between winter’s end and the start of summer, April isn’t known for sizzling boxoffice business. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 03-26-12

“Titans” talk: The ancient Greek gods in “Wrath of the Titans” aren’t very happy, but today’s movie gods are definitely smiling on the sizzling boxoffice. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 03-19-12

“Hunger” homerun: Unlike baseball, where you never know who’s hitting a homerun, with movies you usually can see the likely homeruns well ahead. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 03-05-12

“Carter” crowd: With the boxoffice running about 19 percent ahead of this time last year, 2012’s off to a fabulous start. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 02-27-12

Oscar Outcome: They say it’s not over till it’s over, but that really didn’t apply to the Oscars. They were over before the show even started. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 02-20-12

Oscar Outlook: It’s more likely that you know who will win the best picture Oscar than that you’ve actually seen the movie. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 02-13-12

March Madness: Now that the Super Bowl’s history, it’s time to start thinking about March Madness — but not the basketball games! More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 02-06-12

3D Dimension: With the boxoffice nearly 14 percent ahead of last year, 2012’s off to a great start and Hollywood’s counting on 3D and its premium prices to drive ticket sales in the coming months. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 01-30-12

Golden guilds: Hollywood’s two most powerful guilds spoke last weekend, but came to different conclusions as to who deserved their golden awards. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 01-24-12

Academy applause: What looked like it would be a slam dunk Oscar best picture victory for “The Artist” took an unexpected turn when “Hugo” catapulted into the lead in Tuesday’s nominations. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 01-16-12

Glittering Globes: In a perfect world there would be two Golden Globes evenings and double the fun! More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 01-09-12

Awards action: This year’s Oscar race isn’t anything like last year’s. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 01-03-12

Film friends: My crystal ball says we’re going to run into some old friends at the megaplexes in 2012. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 12-26-11

Top Ten: Tis the season to be jolly and for movie critics that means compiling Top Ten lists honoring the movies they liked most. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 12-19-11

Golden Globes: There was no Oscar frontrunner before the Golden Globes nominations — and there still isn’t. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 12-12-11

“Sherlock” strength: You don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out who’s going to top this weekend’s boxoffice. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 12-05-11

Happy “Hugo;” These are happy days at Paramount with Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” emerging as a boxoffice success and a strong best picture Oscar contender. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 11-28-11

“Familiar” films: After a Thanksgiving weekend stuffed with family movies, it’s on to December where audiences will choose from a wide range of familiar films. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 11-14-11

“Twilight” time: It seems odd to be able to write that this weekend’s number one movie will be “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1” without using traditional qualifiers like “most likely” or “probably.” More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 11-07-11

“Immortals” impact: To investors, “Greek fantasy” probably means a European bailout, but for moviegoers we’re talking about “Immortals.” More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 10-31-11

“Tower” talk: It’s always good to be the movie people are talking about so Universal’s got to be feeling good about “Tower Heist.” More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 10-17-11

“Paranormal” power: Look for lots of activity at this weekend’s boxoffice — thanks to “Paranormal Activity 3.” More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 10-10-11

Finding frontrunners: By early October we’ve usually found a few Oscar frontrunners, but that’s not the case this year. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 09-27-11

“Twilight” tickets: The boxoffice weather report that movie marketers pay attention to gives them daily awareness and interest scores for upcoming releases. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 09-19-11

Weekend warriors: You’d think it’s still summer with four new films competing for moviegoers’ time and money this weekend. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 09-12-11

Toronto talk: Today’s talk in Toronto is likely to be tomorrow’s Oscar buzz. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 09-06-11

Film festivals: Hollywood’s awards season, which culminates in late February’s Oscars, kicks off in September with global film festivals that are now the launch pad for Academy Awards consideration. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 08-29-11

Fall films: It’s hard to believe, but the summer’s flown by and in just a few days we'll be celebrating Labor Day. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 08-22-11

Dog days: They say March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb — and you can say the same thing about the summer boxoffice. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 08-15-11

“Conan’s” coming! The biggest barbarian at this weekend’s movie gates looks like “Conan.“ More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 08-08-11

After “Apes:” Is there life after “Apes?” Well, don’t expect anything too lively at this weekend’s boxoffice, considering the soft tracking scores for all four new wide releases. None of them are likely to be aping the high climbing success of Fox and Chernin Entertainment’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.” More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 08-01-11

“Apes” arriving: Fox’s official website for “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” is ApesWillRise.com — and, indeed, that’s what they’ve been doing in the tracking. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 07-25-11

Feathered fish: Westerns and sci-fi have been popular genres since Hollywood”s silent movie days, but combined as they are in “Cowboys & Aliens” they make an odd hybrid. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 07-18-11

“Captain’s” competition: When we talk about a movie’s competition we usually have in mind what’s opening against it, but sometimes there’s even more to worry about. More >>

Martin Grove’s Hollywood Report 07-11-11

“Hallows” happiness: Warner Bros.’ “Harry Potter” franchise has already generated $2 billion domestically, but that’s about to get cranked up thanks to this weekend’s eighth and final episode, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2.” More >>

Oscar outlook: What started out as an Oscar race dominated by Sony’s "The Social Network," and then became a two–way race between “Social” and The Weinstein Company’s "The King's Speech" is now a four–way battle thanks to Paramount and Relativity Media’s "The Fighter" and Paramount’s "True Grit." More >>