Well, its' after Labor Day Weekend, so, its' time to look back on this summer's ups and downs...
With a projected $4.277 billion collected this summer, overall box office this summer was down 3% from last year. Total ticket sales are projected to be at 533.5 million, the worst turn-out since 1993, and down from 2010's previous 17-year low of 534.4 million.
But there were lots of success stories, so I'm going to focus on them before we get to more bad news:
First, there was The Avengers, which came, was seen, and conquered the box office. Outdoing almost every expectation in the book, the film broke the opening weekend record at $207.4 million, and is currently sitting at $620.3 million as of Labor Day, giving it the bronze medal on the all-time list behind James Cameron's unstoppable duo (Avatar and Titanic). Overseas grosses have been even stronger at $888 million and counting, giving it the third-biggest overseas haul of all-time and pushing its' worldwide tally past $1.5 billlion. Marvel, who recently swip-swapped distributors with Disney and Paramount, is definitely in amazement at this performance. A sequel is already in development for the first weekend of summer in 2015. But audiences won't have to wait long for another Marvel superhero title, Iron Man 3 is wrapping filming and is set for next May, followed by Thor 2 in November 2013 and Captain America 2 in April 2014.
Then there was The Dark Knight Rises, which was affected by the unfortunate Colorado shooting tragedy, but still set the box office on fire with a $160 million opening (edging its' predecessor's opening, earning the 3rd best debut of all-time as well as the biggest non-3D debut ever). Even though it won't end up anywhere near The Dark Knight's whopping $533 million gross (it currently sits exactly $100 million below that), it should have no problem finishing with around $450 million, enough for seventh place on the all-time list. International grosses, in fact, have far surpassed those of its' predecessor, at nearly $580 million (and still surging). The worldwide gross roared past $1 billion this weekend, surpassing the final worldwide gross of its' predecessor in the process, and could get to $1.1 billion (and the Top 10 list worldwide) if it remains relevant overseas.
Those were the two major heavy-hitters this summer. But there were other movies that were also blockbuster hits. Despite being released in between two superhero juggernauts, The Amazing Spider-Man was still able to pull in solid business. Currently sitting at $260 million, yes, it didn't even come close to the previous Spider Man trilogy. But considering that this was a reboot and there was a new director and less-known main actor, its' still a potent result. Overseas grosses have been even stronger with another $475 million and counting. Worldwide grosses are approaching $750 million (and will surpass Spider Man 2's final worldwide gross). Altogether a successful reboot and Sony has put a sequel on the calendar for May 2, 2014.
But you can't have a summer box office without animation, which contributed hugely this year. Domestically, as expected, Pixar's Brave was the winner at $232.3 million so far, but it was DreamWorks Animation's Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted that surprised many with $214.8 million to date, well ahead of expectations and becoming the biggest-grossing entry in the franchise by far. Far behind the two was Fox/Blue Sky's Ice Age: Continental Drift, which was more modest at $156.1 million so far, and the lowest-grossing installment domestically for the franchise. Finally, ParaNorman sits at $40.4 million so far, and is looking at over $50 million. However, its' kinda funny internationally. Because if you include overseas grosses, the three major animation players swap places. Ice Age 4 has been a monster overseas, at $675 million internationally ($830 million worldwide), and is looking to come just short of the all-time animation overseas record. Madagascar 3 also was huge overseas at close to $400 million to date ($605 million worldwide, and is set to beat its' predecessor on that front). Not translating as well with foreign audiences, Brave, which has had a slow roll-out, is approaching $500 million worldwide (at $240 million overseas thus far with just a few markets left).
Then there was the R-rated comedy hits, and there was three this summer. Ted was the major headliner (and this year's Bridesmaids), with a much higher than expected $216 million to date (along with $400 million worldwide), and was among the Top 5 biggest films of the summer. Magic Mike was also a major hit, with $113 million so far, and beating even the biggest of expectations. Finally, The Campaign was able to snag $75 million by far, and should finish between $85-$90 million, a solid result for the movie's political theme. Not R-rated but still succeeding was Hope Springs, which took advantage of older audiences with $53 milllion so far and a projected $60 million finish.
Now lets' go to the mixed bag of films that still did generally well but had plenty of drawbacks. Men in Black III had a nice Memorial Day Weekend opening at $69 million in four days. And at close to $180 million thus far, its' overall an admirable result, and overseas grosses have been massive ($450 million overseas, $620 million worldwide [franchise-best]). However, Sony spent a heck of a lot of money on it ($230 million budget, not including an extensive marketing campaign), and it didn't exactly do as well as what some analysts were expecting. Snow White and the Huntsman outwitted expectations with its' $56 million debut, and a $155 million total thus far is solid, but unspectacular when you consider the starpower involved (Kristen Stewart from the Twilight films and Chris Hemsworth from The Avengers). Plus, it too fell short of its' budget ($170 million not including marketing). Prometheus had bustling expectations, and it still did good, with a $51 million opening and expected $125-$130 million finish (plus overseas grosses have been good at $220 million so far). But it faded fast (2.15 multiplier, after a mixed fan reaction) and was only able to barely break even ($125 million budget not including marketing). Concert pic Katy Perry: Part of Me only mustered $25 milllion stateside (low-end for a concert pic), but doubled its' budget ($12 million). R-rated action drama Savages opened better-than-expected ($16 million), and wound up with nearly $50 million stateside, but only ended up turning a slight profit ($45 million budget).
Step-Up: Revolution had the weakest returns of the popular dance franchise ($35 million finish), but was able to beat its' budget and had solid returns overseas ($60 million). The Bourne Legacy tried hard to successfully reboot a franchise, and while an expected $110-$115 million finish is respectable and not disastrous, its' the least-grossing installment and it won't reach its' budget stateside ($125 million). The Expendables 2 had huge expectations, but it couldn't match its' predecessor on opening weekend ($28.5 million) and will likely experience a 15% drop-off from its' predecessor, with a finish in the $85 million range. Plus, it also had a hefty price tag ($100 million). But, its' still not a bad result for an R-rated action flick and overseas grosses have gone above and beyond expectations ($80 million in only four weeks and has many more markets to go). Sparkle had a low budget ($14 million), but had an extreme case of front-loadedness and will only finish with an acceptable $25-$30 million. The Odd Life of Timothy Green had a fine start ($16 million in five days), and is headed for $50 million, but its' on the low end for a family drama and its' marketing started a year ago.
Then there were the disasters. Battleship was the worst, at a $200 million cost, it only mustered $26 million out of the gate and $65 million to finish off. Luckily it got over $235 million overseas to not get it to run completely aground. Dark Shadows was bad luck for bankable duo Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, that only managed a $30 million opening and a $80 million finish (against a $150 million budget). But again, overseas grosses were at close to $200 million to help it. Rock of Ages and That's My Boy boasted strong starpower with Tom Cruise and Adam Sandler, but both only mustered $30-$40 million in their entire runs, very disappointing for both bankable stars. Tim Burton's executive-produced book adaptation Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter seemed to have good anticipation, but wound up paying the price with just a $16 million opening and $35-$40 million finish (against a $70 million budget). Steve Carell seemed to have a good fanbase, but Seeking a Friend for the End of the World bombed with only $7 million and played in theaters for just two and a half weeks. R-rated comedy The Watch boasted starpower with Ben Stiller, Jonah Hill and Vince Vaughn, but was only able to earn $34 million stateside. The remake of Total Recall had a big budget ($125 million), but was only able to muster close to $60 million for its' entire run (though overseas grosses have given it close to $100 million more so far). End-of-August releases Hit and Run and Premium Rush have only earned $10 million and $13.5 million to date, and have very little to go.
Due to a strong first quarter however, 2012, at $6.95 billion so far, is still up 3.6% from 2011, but slightly behind 2010. As of August 26, thanks to The Dark Knight Rises, Warner Bros. has taken the lead among studios with $1.201 billion thus far, followed by Sony ($1.155 billion), Disney ($1.107 billion) and Universal ($1.098 billion). Fox is the next closest with roughly $740 million by far, while former studio champ Paramount is in last place with $583.5 million. Lionsgate currently is between the two with $695.5 million.
