THR Heat Index
6:00 AM PDT 10/30/2012
by
THR staff
Tracking the week's ups and downs in the business of entertainment.
UP: Taylor Swift
Her latest album sells 1.21 million copies in its first week, the biggest debut since 2002. Helping push it past the platinum mark: a slew of tie-ins with such brands as Keds, Papa John's and Target.
DOWN: Gerard Butler
The actor's surfing drama Chasing Mavericks wipes out in its opening weekend, grossing just $2.3 million from 2,000-plus screens, one of the worst bows of the year.
UP: Rich Ross
The ex-Disney film chairman lands as CEO of Elisabeth Murdoch's Shine America, returning him to TV with a mandate to expand a slate that includes Fox's MasterChef and NBC's The Biggest Loser.
DOWN: Anderson Cooper
The CNN host's daytime talk show is canceled despite a relaunch in season two as he trails even newcomers Katie Couric and Steve Harvey in the competitive ratings race.
SHOWBIZ STOCKS
Yahoo (YHOO)
$16.79 (+6.5%)
The online pioneer reports a quarterly profit of 35 cents a share, a dime better than expected by analysts.
Apple (AAPL)
$604 (-4.7%)
Quarterly earnings of $8.67 a share are 8 cents less than analysts expected.