More than a month into the summer movie season, one thing has become clear: Many of Hollywood’s sequels, reboots and reimaginings are falling flat.
Some films have missed analysts’ forecasts by tens of millions of dollars. They include last weekend’s new releases — Walt Disney Co.’s “Dark Phoenix” and Universal Pictures’ “The Secret Life of Pets 2.” Though Paramount Pictures’ “Rocketman” topped studio forecasts, the Elton John biopic came in below outside estimates. Warner Bros.’ “Godzilla” sequel also missed industry projections.
So far, the shortfall hasn’t claimed any of the summer’s biggest tentpole films. And Eric Wold, an analyst at B. Riley FBR, still expects higher ticket sales through the balance of the year to deliver a record 2019. But the results also show that fans are getting pickier about the glut of sequels that Hollywood studios have force-fed movie moviegoers for years.
“Audiences are savvy enough to wait for the home market, especially with so many great streaming choices this summer,” said Jeff Bock, an analyst with Exhibitor Relations Co. “That’s something Hollywood will be contending against for years to come.”
Sequels and reboots need to be more compelling to draw in fans, Bock said. “Many of them aren’t upping the ante or raising the stakes significantly enough,” he said.
Hollywood studios have turned movie serials, now dubbed franchises, into an art form — with film series built around comic-book figures, action-hero revivals and classic cartoon characters. And no one has been more successful at this task than Disney.
Greenland rejects Trump’s hospital ship: ‘No thanks’
‘It’s hidden’: Female genital mutilation and the secret shame of Minnesota’s Somalis
Greenland rejects Trump’s hospital ship proposal, citing existing free healthcare system
USA Men’s Hockey Wins First Gold Medal Since 1980 ‘Miracle on Ice’
AOC blames critics, Trump after Munich hiccup backlash
President Trump tells Netflix to fire Susan Rice or ‘pay consequences’
Rafter vanishes in Oregon wilderness, survives five-day ordeal before helicopter rescue
Zohran Mamdani declares NYC emergency, bans all travel during blizzard threatening city
Why keeping lawmakers in DC during shutdown may have caused more harm than good
Actual Convicted Terrorist Might Hold Office in European Country He Plotted Against
Florida teacher charged for alleged sexual relationship with student who lived with her
Don’t Let the Media Paint the Trans Hockey Shooter as MAGA – His X Profile Shows His Politics Were Inanely Contradictory, Even Schizophrenic
NC college fires instructor who was running for office after rant on Charlie Kirk, Trump
Breaking: Armed Man Shot Breaking Into Mar-A-Lago Carrying Fuel Can, Shotgun
Ex-Democrat Strategist Says AOC ‘Not Ready’ For Primetime After Her World Stage ‘Fumble’
Second Place
But even Disney’s biggest hits aren’t doing quite as well as predicted. The Marvel finale “Avengers: Endgame” racked up $2.73 billion in box-office sales globally and looked likely to dethrone “Avatar” as the top-grossing movie of all time. Now — following a drop-off in attendance — it will have to settle for second place.
“It looks like ‘Avatar’ will hold onto the title,” Bock said, “unless Disney snaps their fingers and springs an alternate ending re-release in the near future.”
Bock cites a number of reasons for all of the misses. No one cared about the humans in “Godzilla,” he said, and “The Secret Life of Pets 2” didn’t “bring anything new to the table.”
Missing estimates in a debut weekend doesn’t necessarily mean a feature won’t be profitable. Movies like “Rocketman,” with smaller production budgets, are expected to make money.
‘Dark Phoenix’
“Dark Phoenix,” an X-Men film, is emerging as one of the summer’s bigger duds. It suffered from production and story problems, along with muddled marketing that left audiences confused by the trailer, Bock said. The film cost about $200 million to make, plus tens of millions more to market, suggesting it will have trouble turning a profit.
Greenland rejects Trump’s hospital ship: ‘No thanks’
‘It’s hidden’: Female genital mutilation and the secret shame of Minnesota’s Somalis
Greenland rejects Trump’s hospital ship proposal, citing existing free healthcare system
USA Men’s Hockey Wins First Gold Medal Since 1980 ‘Miracle on Ice’
AOC blames critics, Trump after Munich hiccup backlash
President Trump tells Netflix to fire Susan Rice or ‘pay consequences’
Rafter vanishes in Oregon wilderness, survives five-day ordeal before helicopter rescue
Zohran Mamdani declares NYC emergency, bans all travel during blizzard threatening city
Why keeping lawmakers in DC during shutdown may have caused more harm than good
Actual Convicted Terrorist Might Hold Office in European Country He Plotted Against
Florida teacher charged for alleged sexual relationship with student who lived with her
Don’t Let the Media Paint the Trans Hockey Shooter as MAGA – His X Profile Shows His Politics Were Inanely Contradictory, Even Schizophrenic
NC college fires instructor who was running for office after rant on Charlie Kirk, Trump
Breaking: Armed Man Shot Breaking Into Mar-A-Lago Carrying Fuel Can, Shotgun
Ex-Democrat Strategist Says AOC ‘Not Ready’ For Primetime After Her World Stage ‘Fumble’
So far, summer sales are up about 14%, according to Wold. That’s helped theater owners recover from a sharp decline earlier in the year. For 2019 to date, domestic sales through last weekend were down 6% from a year earlier, according to Comscore Inc.
“Sequels can obviously be successful — there wouldn’t be 20 of them this summer if Hollywood thought otherwise,” Bock said. “However, the ones that have opened below expectations were ill-conceived and/or flimsy films. In other words: lazy sequels.”
Wold said a successful summer season hinges on a few big releases still to come: “The Lion King” and “Toy Story 4” from Disney, a “Fast and Furious” spinoff from Comcast Corp.’s Universal studio, and a new “Spider-Man” release from Sony Corp.
“You’ve got at least four titles through the remainder of the summer period which should do very well,’’ he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Anousha Sakoui in Los Angeles at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at [email protected], Rob Golum
Story cited here.
