Kicking off the year, The Green Hornet failed to get anywhere near superhero film standards. Despite the mild starpower of Seth Rogen and Cameron Diaz and a $40 million 4-day Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend, it would finish with just under $100 million domestic and close to $230 million worldwide. The PG-13 thriller was produced for $125 million by distributor Columbia Pictures and was released in IMAX 3-D.
The Mechanic followed with another disappointing performance, tallying just short of $30 million domestic and just over $50 million worldwide. Nicolas Cage's Drive Angry 3-D fared even worse, with just $10 million domestic and close to $30 million worldwide.
One of the few sci-fi action pics this year, Battle: Los Angeles did modestly, but was very front-loaded after its' $36 million opening, going on to just $85 million domestic, but still earned over $200 million worldwide. A couple of weeks later, Sucker Punch failed to become the next 300, with just under $40 million domestically and nearly $90 million worldwide. In April, the independent action thriller Hanna did impressively, with nearly $40 million from domestic territories and about $65 million worldwide.
That leads us once again to Fast Five, which was the years' biggest-grossing action flick, earning a huge $86 million opening and going on to gross nearly $210 million stateside and is the years' sixth-highest grossing film worldwide at over $625 million. It also was the rare sequel to gross more than its' predecessor (since it is a sequel to a franchise reboot). The action flick was produced for $125 million by Universal Pictures, who celebrates their 100th anniversary next year. A Fast and the Furious 6 is currently in pre-production for a mid-2013 release.
That leads us to our next superhero film, the Norse God Thor. The Marvel Studios film did solid business, tallying $66 million for its' debut, on its' way to just over $180 million domestic and nearly $450 million worldwide. That wasn't quite in line with Iron Man, but it was stronger than The Incredible Hulk among other Marvel Studios releases. Produced for $150 million by Paramount Pictures, the character will once again appear in next years' The Avengers, and the original was successful enough that Marvel Studios has announced a Thor 2 for November 2013.
On the other hand, another comic book adaption, Priest, which debuted the following weekend, failed to spark much interest. It had a $15 million start, which sounds okay, but it crashed to just $30 million domestic, despite being more successful overseas with nearly $80 million worldwide.
That also leads us to X-Men: First Class (which we discussed yesterday). But for a superhero movie, it was on the low-end, earning $55 million on its' debut and going on to gross $145 million stateside and $350 million worldwide. Being a prequel/reboot to the X-Men franchise, that certainly didn't get it back on the right track, falling behind all of the previous movies through the same point. The film was produced between $140-$160 million by Marvel Studios and 20th Cenutry Fox.
Perhaps the biggest original movie this year, Super 8 did solid business, grossing $36 million for its' debut. It would also go on to gross $125 million domestic and $260 million worldwide, all against just a $50 million budget by distributor Paramount Pictures. And while the number wasn't as high as its' superhero competition, it was still largely impressive for a sci-fi action spoof.
Meanwhile, the years' biggest action disappointment was the second green superhero, Green Lantern. Despite earning $52 million for its' opening, it would crash to just $115 million domestic and $220 million worldwide, very disappointing numbers considering the $200 million budget. Critics panned it, and surprisingly, there is current rumor of a sequel being in development.
While not technically counting as a true-blue action film (like Fast Five), Transformers: Dark of the Moon did blockbuster status with over $350 million domestically ($170 million of that coming within its' first six days) and $1.1 billion worldwide, ranking as the fourth-biggest movie of all-time and the 10th film to cross the $1 billion barrier worldwide (incredibly, three films from 2011 reached that milestone). Produced for $195 million by Paramount/DreamWorks, there is current negotiations going on for a fourth film.
Three weeks later, Marvel Studios released another superhero flick with Captain America: The First Avenger. The opening was expected to be in the high-50's millions, but actually got $66 million on its' debut, on its' way to over $170 million domestically and nearly $375 million worldwide. Produced for $140 million by distributor Paramount Pictures (the final Marvel Studios film done by Paramount), there is current rumor about a sequel for 2014.
The following weekend, while it did claim #1, Cowboys & Aliens couldn't replicate the same success that True Grit found last year. It opened to $36 million, before closing at just over $100 million stateside and grossing about $175 million worldwide. Being against an expensive budget of $160 million (by Universal Pictures), that does get it out of "bomb" territory, but it was still a huge disappointment given the starpower of Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig and the extensive promotional and marketing campaign.
The biggest surprise the summer had was the reboot/prequel Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which was a smash success with a $54 million debut and seeing good legs, going on to gross $176 million domestic and nearly $500 million worldwide, outgrossing all of the previous movies. Produced for $93 million by distributor 20th Century Fox, there's a good possibility according to sources that a sequel could happen.
The remainder of August and September brought modest successes to disappointments. 30 Minutes or Less was unable to do even notable numbers, with a $13 million opening and a $35 million finish. Colombiana fared better, but didn't quite get Zoe Saldana on the right track, with just over $35 million domestic and earning $60 million worldwide, classifying it as an "okay" success. Though not technically considered action films, Contagion and Warrior were different. The Matt Damon thriller was a success at $75 million domestic and $135 million worldwide. The boxing drama was acclaimed by critics but failed with just $14 million domestic and $23 million worldwide.
The only other true-blue action film, Drive, was a remake of an 80's film, and was a modest success with $35 million domestic and nearly $70 million worldwide. The following week, Taylor Lautner's Abduction was unable to give him success outside of the Twilight movies, and Killer Elite couldn't get much of a boost despite a desperate marketing push from an independent studio, both winding up with $27 million and $23 million domestic and $70 million and $52 million worldwide.
October brought Transformers wanna-be Real Steel. The action boxing drama starring Hugh Jackman did modest business, tallying $27 million on opening weekend, on its' way to $85 million domestic and over $275 million worldwide, both modest numbers but a fraction of what the Transformers films did. The film was produced for $110 million by distributor DreamWorks/Disney.
Also in October were the 3-D adaption of The Three Musketeers and the reboot/sequel Johnny English Reborn. Both were bombs, with just $21 million and just over $10 million each. However, both would compensate overseas, with $140 and $160 million worldwide.
November started off with Tower Heist, which was a mild disappointment considering the strong cast of Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy. Earning $24 million on its' opening, it would go on to gross $80 million domestic and $130 million worldwide, which doesn't sound bad, but at a $85 million budget (by Universal Pictures), its' a disappointment.
The following weekend, the 3-D Greek war epic Immortals did modest business as well, earning a strong $35 million for its' debut and going on to gross over $80 million domestic and close to $200 million worldwide. On the bright side, it was distributor Relativity Media's biggest-grossing film yet, as the studio produced it for $75 million.
Now we're on to the current releases. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is out of "bomb" territory but is still lagging very far behind its' predecessor, while The Adventures of Tintin is paling in comparison to director Steven Spielberg's tracking record. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and War Horse are off to strong starts and are expected to see strong legs, while The Darkest Hour is grossing within expectations (more on that later...).
Part III coming tomorrow....
