Microsoft’s online Office, Bruno’s weekend weak ending
Good day for profit cannibalism; Bad day for a strong finish
GOOD DAY FOR: Profit cannibalism, as Microsoft is unveiling a free online version of its Office software today, in the latest salvo of the escalating Google-Microsoft war. The Web version of Office will directly challenge archrival Google’s free Google Docs online suite, but it will also almost certainly cut in to Microsoft’s bottom line. The online Office suite is set for public release in mid-2010. (Reuters)
BAD DAY FOR: A strong finish, as “Bruno,” the follow-up to Sasha Baron Cohen’s “Borat,” topped the weekend U.S. box office, earning $30.4 million. In a sign of trouble for the film, it earned $14.4 million of that on opening day. The subsequent 39 percent fall on Saturday, $8.8 million, is the second-biggest non-holiday drop-off in modern Hollywood history, according to Box Office Mojo. (Los Angeles Times)
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