Summer Movie Wrap-Up

So here we are in the doldrums of August, looking back at yet another wild summer movie season. I saw eight of the major studio releases this season, more than average, but mostly big action films I'm more willing to pay money to see in a theater. Still, I felt I saw enough to get a good sense of how the season went. I've been keep up with the box office tallies and the chatter about audience reactions, so I can talk about a few trends.

The biggest story is the blockbuster busts, of course. There were plenty of early warning signs that the slate was too crowded with too many expensive, $100 million plus productions, leading to a lot of big losses. "The Lone Ranger," "R.I.P.D.," "Smurfs 2," and "White House Down" felt the worst of it, while "After Earth" and "Pacific Rim" did badly in the U.S., but performed well enough overseas to make up some of the difference. You can count this as the summer where everyone was talking about global numbers, not just the industry analysts but regular movie fans too. I've never seen a summer where so much of the chatter was about comparing different release dates, marketing campaigns, and audience interest in different countries.

Most of the underperformers were original properties, meaning non-sequel films. This has lead some to conclude that the studios are going to be more risk-averse about them in the future. However, on the other hand some of the biggest success stories of the summer were smaller budget, non-franchise films like "The Conjuring," "The Purge," "Now You See Me," "This is the End," and "The Heat." None of them were especially high grossers, but they all made over three times their budgets. The same can't be said for higher profile films that brought in bigger numbers, like "The Wolverine." Also, one original film that was expected to be a major bust, "World War Z," made half a billion dollars worldwide and plans are being made for a sequel.

There's been so much focus on the bombs this year, that some have overlooked the fact that this has been a pretty financially robust summer. Moviegoers spent around $7 billion in domestic ticket sales alone, and the box office winners included the expected franchise films "Iron Man 3," "Fast & Furious 6," "Despicable Me 2," "Man of Steel," and "Monsters University." Even the franchises that didn't do as well as the studios hoped still brought in a lot of viewers, like "Star Trek" and "Hangover." However, 3D companies are feeling the pinch, as metrics show that audiences are abandoning 3D in droves, and 3D presentations account for a smaller share of a film's revenue than they have in previous years. Three years after "Avatar," it looks like 3D may have finally run its course.

But what about the quality of the movies? This summer has failed to produce any universally lauded films, or films that have become so popular as to ascend to the level of real cultural touchstones. Of the movies I saw, some hits, some bombs, and a few in the middle, my reaction was about the same to all of them: they were okay. "Iron Man 3," "Pacific Rim," and "White House Down" were a lot of fun, but these aren't movies I'd watch again in a hurry. "Star Trek: Into Darkness," "Despicable Me 2," and "Elysuim" were disappointments, but had their good points. "World War Z" and "Fast & Furious 6"? Mildly entertaining. Serviceable. Okay. There was a lot of repetitive city crushing and dystopian imagery. Many had plots that were terribly labored, shallow, safe, and familiar. Young white males were well represented, and the rest of us, not so much. But I still felt like I'd gotten my money's worth.

I stress that there were few movies that I'd call outright bad. Usually there are a couple of big hits that get dreadful marks from critics, and then we have a big debate on whether movie critics are relevant anymore. This year that conversation didn't happen. Rather, because there were so many films flooding the theaters, I noticed people were actually more prone to check the reviews this year. This is only anecdotal evidence, of course. There were still bad movies that made money - "Grown Ups 2" is at the top of the list - but not as much money as they have in the past. Meanwhile, good reviews seems to have helped horror movie "The Conjuring" take the box office by storm.

So all in all, not a good summer at the movies, but not a bad one either. However, it was a very interesting one, and perhaps a portentous ones. I expect more sequels, but also more counterprogramming like the surprisingly popular "The Great Gatsby." I expect more zombies and superheroes, but I also expect more Melissa McCarthy movies. I expect more overspending and more crashing tentpoles, but I also expect that there will be more sleepers and more surprises. At least is was nice to get a break from Michael Bay this year, who will be back for a two-fer in 2014.

Until next time.
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