How Did Summer 2013 Work Out For Hollywood? You May Be Surprised.
By: MattInRC
Hollywood's Summer is over, but is it time for them to go back to school?
The Summer movie season is 122 days - from the first Friday in May through Labor Day Weekend. This is Hollywood's Christmas season; and much like retailers, results matter. We usually provide you a quarterly report - and we'll do that once September is over - but for now, let's take a look at how Hollywood's most important season played out:
- Iron Man 3 $408,643,923
- Despicable Me 2 $354,635,000
- Man of Steel $290,327,998
- Monsters University $263,478,000
- Fast & Furious 6 $238,660,700
- Star Trek Into Darkness $228,261,000
- World War Z $200,265,000
- The Heat $157,256,000
- The Great Gatsby (2013) $144,840,419
- The Conjuring $133,827,000
As always, these numbers reveal interesting trends:
The season of Science Fiction/Sci-Fi did not lure moviegoers into theaters. For every hit (Star Trek) there were at least two disappointments (Pacific Rim and Elysium). All of these were enjoyable and well-made, yet audiences for the most part stayed away; why that happened is for astrologers to decide. However, we don't need one to know why After Earth bombed so terribly. Still, the genre's problems weren't just limited to Will Smith. In terms of domestic box office, Star Trek's $190 million budget meant it barely made a profit, sending a possible message that audiences might be burned out on dystopian future offerings.
Well-made horror can be financially successful. As scary as it was, The Conjuring was also a well-built and thoroughly scary affair. Who knew that genuine horror could still be that enjoyable? It's proof that high-quality fright does attract audiences, as it will probably remain the highest-grossing horror flick of 2013. With a sequel already planned, it sends a hopeful message that Hollywood might have learned its lesson and will actually produce horror flicks that won't rely on gore or bondage to sell them.
Animated movies and comic book movies are here to stay - sort of. Two of the top 10 films were animated, with DM2 blowing away everyone's expectations. Monsters U didn't make the grade in our review, but it proved a worthy adversary against other disappointing tentpoles. Even with these successes, Hollywood struck out big time with the flops Planes, Turbo, Epic, and The Smurfs 2. This is trend is just as disturbing as the Science-Fiction one, proving that families won't spend money on crap. The same goes for comic book movies, which ran the gamut from very good (Man of Steel) to decent (Iron Man 3) to flat out disappointing (The Wolverine). Surprisingly, the latter almost cracked the top 10, revealing that Hugh Jackman's bare chest can still bring the ladies. Comic book's newfound hold will be tested once more this year when Thor: The Dark World arrives in November. Let's hope it matches the amazing trailers we've received.
The top 10 total grosses were down from same time last year, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Last year featured two mammoth films that basically ate up all the Summer wallets of consumers in The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises. That wasn't a healthy trend that Hollywood wanted to see repeated, and luckily they didn't have to. More films in 2013 shared in the profits, with 7 making over $200 million, as compared to last year's 6 and 4 in 2011. See our list below for proof. This sends a good message about the overall health of the market, making utter commercial failures like Kick-Ass 2 easier to swallow.
The words 'intelligence' and 'Summer' can happily coexist. True, there were a lot of explosions and thinly-veiled action fare this Summer; but when The Great Gatsby can beat mindless comedies like Hangover III, We're the Millers, and Grown Ups 2 you have to hope Hollywood will hear. Listen to my words: Smart films can make Summer money.
As a matter of comparison, here's 2012's Summer numbers:
- Marvel's The Avengers $623,357,910
- The Dark Knight Rises $448,139,099
- The Amazing Spider-Man $262,030,663
- Brave $237,283,207
- Ted $218,815,487
- Madagascar 3 $216,391,482
- MIB 3 $179,020,854
- Ice Age: Continental Drift $161,321,843
- Snow White Huntsman $155,332,381
- Prometheus $126,477,084
So, what do all these numbers mean? It means the despair we were reporting on a few months ago - of empty theaters and desperate managers - is all but gone. It also means the market is healthier, with more films breaking that hallowed $200 million mark than ever before. How that trend will play through in September and the fourth quarter is anyone's guess, but these numbers will hopefully let producers and directors sleep better at night. With a fourth quarter filled with Hunger Games: Catching Fire and The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, the trend is looking up for a strong finish. Add a darkhorse into that mix and you might even beat 2012's undeniably impressive results.
Stay with us as we keep an eye on what figures to be an interesting run to the holidays.
Author Matt Cummings is a Film and Blu-ray Critic for SandwichJohnFilms.
Follow him on Twitter at @mfc90125.
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