The 5 winners and losers of the first half of 2018 at the box office
WINNER: “Black Panther”
We can no longer say February is the bumping ground for lousy movies. “Black Panther” didn’t just shatter box-office records when it did a $202 million opening earlier this year, it proved that audiences want diverse stories told to them on the big screen. The movie has since gone on to be the highest-grossing movie of the year in North America, to date, with $699.8 million domestically. Worldwide the movie has grossed over $1.3 billion.
LOSER: “Solo: A Star Wars Story”
For another other movie, almost $370 million earned worldwide in just over a month in theaters would be a job well done. But not for a “Star Wars” movie. The standalone young Han Solo movie disappointed the critics and fans leading to talk that the public had finally hit “Star Wars” fatigue. This was a major blow for Disney/Lucasfilm, which now has to go lick its wounds and rethink how it wants to go forward with telling the beloved saga. (And how much content audiences can stomach.)
WINNER: “A Quiet Place”
One of the biggest success stories of the year, John Krasinski’s $17 million thriller about monsters that attack anything that makes a sound has become an international hit as it has taken in an astounding $329.8 million, to date. It proves that the horror/thriller genre is still one of the most inventive and worthwhile in the industry.
LOSER: “A Wrinkle in Time”
Disney teaming with director Ava DuVernay and having a cast that included Reese Witherspoon and Oprah was thought by everyone to be the makings of a hit. But it turned out to be one of Disney’s biggest duds in a while. With its over $100 million budget and probably more in the marketing of the movie, it opened with a weak $33 million and just recently finally got over the $100 million mark domestically. Well, even Disney can’t win them all.
WINNER: “I Can Only Imagine”
This faith-based title made for only $7 million is a cash cow for its distributor, Roadside Attractions. The movie made back its money (and some) its opening weekend with a $17.1 million take and has gone on to earn a remarkable $83.4 million at the domestic box office.
LOSER: “The Hurricane Heist”
From the director behind the first “Fast and the Furious” movie, this CGI-fueled crime caper set in the midst of a natural disaster was one of the biggest duds of the first half. Opening on over 2,400 screening its opening weekend, it only earned $3 million ($1,200 per-screen average) and to date has only made $6.1 million.
WINNER: Summer Movies
The season started a weekend early this year with the release of “Avengers: Infinity War” and it's been a big success ever since. The latest Avengers movie has taken in $672.6 million domestically and over $2 billion worldwide. “Incredibles 2” had the biggest opening ever for an animated movie ($182.6 million) and is on its way to a huge total when it ends its box office run (it will be over $650 million worldwide by the time the 4th of July ends). And “Deadpool 2” is also proving that hard R movies can make bank. It’s earned over $700 million, to date. And the good times are going to continue as “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” is on another dominant pace to $1 billion and there’s still big releases to come like “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” Dwayne Johnson’s “Skyscraper,” and “Mission: Impossible - Fallout.” The summer movie season is certainly flexing its muscles this year.
LOSER: Comedies
However, the same can’t be said about studio-made comedies. In the past, a solid comedy by the likes of Will Ferrell or a raunchy plot with recognizable casting, like “The Hangover,” would at least take in $100 million, domestically. But it seems those days are over. Though 2018 has had a lot of hits at the box office, where the misses have come are comedies like Melissa McCarthy’s “Life of the Party” ($52.3 million, domestic) and Amy Schumer’s “I Feel Pretty” ($48.7 million). Neither of these came close to even earning $100 million worldwide.
WINNER: Disney and Fox
With the impending buy of Fox by Disney looming over Hollywood, the industry has to be nervous just how powerful that studio will become looking at the performance the two have put on this year. Disney is still the dominant force, as it's responsible for the top three domestic grossing movies of the year (“Black Panther,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Incredibles 2”), but in fourth place is Fox’s “Deadpool 2” and going forward this year Fox has attractive offerings like “The Predator,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and “Alita: Battle Angel.” This plus all the Marvel properties Fox has. Combined, the two make up close to 50% of the market share at the domestic box office this year. The future will be very different if (or when) these two team up.
LOSER: Paramount
Out of the big six studios, Paramount is in last place this year with only 5.5% of the market, domestically. Outside of “A Quiet Place,” the movie studio has only had moderate successes, like “Book Club” and “Annihilation" (which it can’t take in any foreign gross because it sold those rights to Netflix). But the black eye this year for the studio is its latest collaboration with “Jackass” star Johnny Knoxville. The comedy about an unsafe amusement park has only taken in $5 million since June 1. The movie was made for $19 million. That's going to leave a mark!
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