So if you
will recall last week, and a few times before then, I have written about how this
summer’s B.O. take was shaping up to be the worst ever in nearly a decade – even worse
than last summer, 2014, which had the worst summer
b.o. total take since 2005, which, when adjusted for inflation, was actually
the worst b.o. summer since 1992.
Well that
was then and this is now. What a difference a week makes as it now looks
like this summer is going to look pretty good after all, for the studios. As of this weekend, the overall summer box office totals are 16% higher than there were at this
same exact point last year. No doubt big totals from films such as "Avengers," "Inside Out," "Jurassic World" (which, at over $611 million, is domestically the highest
grossing film this year), "San Andreas" and "Max Mad: Fury Road" have helped
greatly.
But even
more modestly budgeted films such as "Spy," "Pitch Perfect 2," and "Magic Mike XXL" have done very well at the box office in relation to their budgets. Even "Paul Blart:
Mall Cop 2" grossed over $70 million; who saw that coming?
Yes, of
course, there have been big flops such as "Tomorrowland" and "Terminator: Genisys," but what would be a summer film season be without some big flops? They’re expected
(though not welcome), and they haven’t seriously affected the b.o. totals overall.
And looking
at what’s coming next with "Mission Impossible: Rouge Nation," which is being heavily
hyped by Paramount and expected to do every well, as well as "Straight Out of Compton" opening in August, which is excepted to pull in some strong numbers, it could be that this summer is going to be a winner instead of the doom and gloom which was
predicted just a few weeks ago.
However, the
much maligned "Fantastic Four" is being screened to the media the day before its
August 7th release, which is not a good sign at all. And the other
big August release, "The Man from U.N.C.L.E" based on the old 1960’s NBC TV show
is not considered to be a player (and is yet another film like "The
Green Hornet" with Seth Rogen) that is
going to completely trash and ruin a beloved childhood memory.
As for this
weekend, Disney/Marvel’s "Ant Man" was considered a real mystery since no one
could agree on how the film would do. Some said it could do as much as $70
million this weekend, while others said that it would be Marvel’s
first big b.o. flop. But the film came in No. 1 with $58 million, which is
considered not bad for a Marvel film based on a second tier superhero.
Meanwhile "Minions" came in second with $50 million, and it’s well on its way to grossing over
$300 domestically (which Pixar’s "Inside Out" has already done), and has grossed an astonishing $625 million n
so far worldwide.
The other
big release this weekend was the Amy Schumer comedy "Trainwreck," directed by Judd
Apatow, which proved to be a big hit, coming in third with the second highest opening
box office for any Apatow film (except for "Knocked Up" which opened higher but
not by much)
The rave
reviews and likely positive word of mouth should ensure that it’s going to
be yet another box office winner for Universal, which is having quite a big
summer.
Though once
again, permit me to indulge in one of my favorite guessing games, in wondering whether there could be a black version of "Trainwreck"? In other words, could
there be a comedy about a sexually promiscuous, cynical, alcoholic black woman
who, after an endless series of one night stands and loser boyfriends, finally
finds the one guy who’s right for her, but can’t handle it? I would love to see
a film like that, but I can easily see many black people up in arms because it presents a “negative stereotype” – the oversexed, wanton black woman. What do you
think?
Also, for the
second weekend in a row, a Bollywood film, totally under the radar, "Bajrangi Bhaijaan," has made the top 12
in 11th place. Last week’s Bollywood film, which made 10th
place, "Baahubali: The Beginning has grossed," has grossed $6.5 million in the US. If you’re
curious about the latest, "Bajrangi Bhaijaan," check out the trailer below:
1) Ant-Man BV $58,040,000
2) Minions Uni. $50,200,000 Total: $216,692,000
3) Trainwreck Uni. $30,200,000 Total: $30,200,000
4) Inside Out BV $11,660,000 Total: $306,363,000
5) Jurassic World Uni. $11,400,000 Total: $611,174,000
6) Terminator: Genisys Par. $5,400,000 Total: $80,640,000
7) Magic Mike XXL WB $4,500,000 Total: $58,636,000
8) The Gallows WB (NL) $4,005,000 Total: $18,007,000
9) Ted 2 Uni. $2,700,000 Total: $77,457,000
10) Mr. Holmes RAtt. $2,489,000 Total: $2,489,000
11) Bajrangi Bhaijaan Eros $2,425,000
12) Self/Less Focus $2,292,000 – Total: $10,355,000
