My third movie this Thursday, and none of them have stirred any interest from the paying customers.

Will “Wolf Man” or “One of them Days” or any of the Oscar contenders opening wide this weekend (“The Room Next Door,” “The Brutalist,” “The Last Showgirl,” (reopening) “Sing Sing,” or “Nickel Boys” sell any popcorn? Asking for a friend. 

Every multiplex is a microcosm of the cinematic whole. I used to frequent great barometer theatres in Florida on Thursdays, but urban NC and rural Va. cinemas are “readable,” too.

I’ll know more Friday when I visit the Raleigh Durham metroplex. But this feels like a weekend that could be truly desolate.

The new films have no pop in the provinces and the holdovers are all gassed.

Let’s see what first numbers look like Friday afternoon.