‘Wreck-It Ralph’ to wreck box office! Unraveling VOD data.

After the coffee. Before getting ready to run a 10K this Sunday.

The Skinny: No joke, I’m running a race this Sunday. I do it once a year just to torture myself. It’s for a good cause. Friday’s headlines include a preview of the weekend box office, a look at whether Hollywood is keeping VOD data a secret like it does with all its other movie accounting and a review of “Wreck-It Ralph.”

Daily Dose: Katie Couric and Robin Roberts popped up on the Wednesday episode of ABC’s new drama “Nashville.” It used to be frowned upon when journalists crossed the line into entertainment but now the line doesn’t seem to exist anymore. I’m just trying to figure out if ABC was using Couric and Roberts to help “Nashville” or using “Nashville” to help their programs.

Guessing games. Big Hollywood movie studios have a long history of trying to hide whether the movies they make are financially successful or a flop. Now that secrecy is also being used by some studios for movies released on video-on-demand. “Right now, everybody is hiding all of the money,” director Barry Levinson, whose new film, “The Bay,” premieres Friday simultaneously in movie theaters and on VOD, told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s the new mysterious form of accounting.” Some studios are being more open with the data if for no other reason than to convince filmmakers that being on VOD is nothing to be ashamed about.

Box office wreck. This weekend, the animated movie “Wreck-It Ralph” is expected to wreak havoc on the box office. The Disney film is projected to make between $45 million and $50 million. “Flight,” the Denzel Washington drama about the aftermath of a plane crash, has gotten strong reviews, but it’s an adult drama, which makes Hollywood nervous. Insiders predict it will take in about $15 million. Box office previews from the Los Angeles Times and Variety.

What did you really think. ABC’s new sitcom “Malibu Country” premieres Friday night and the early word is not good from USA Today TV critic Robert Bianco, who writes that the show is “lazy and listless to the point of being sad.” Well, there is a reason it’s on Friday night. Hopefully it won’t hurt the show that follows it, “Shark Tank,” which has been on a ratings roll lately.

Not a good thing. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is discontinuing two of its four magazines and cutting its roughly 600-person staff by about 12%. The company has previously basically gotten out of the television business. More on the cuts from the Wall Street Journal.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Betsy Sharkey on “Wreck-It Ralph.” The Dodgers are a factor in the stalemate between Cox Cable and DirecTV and the new Lakers channel owned by Time Warner Cable.

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