It’s time to evaluate how the six major movie studios did at the 2018 box office. I’ll be primarily focusing on each of their Top 5 moneymaking releases (Source: Box Office Mojo).
DISNEY
Grade: A-
It’s another record year for the studio, with “Black Panther” ($700M), “Avengers: Infinity War” ($679M) and “Incredibles 2” ($609M). Even fourth place “Ant-Man and the Wasp” topped the original by $36 million. So why not an “A” grade? “Solo: A Star Wars Story”, in 5th, significantly underperformed with just $214 million. Plus heavyweights “Ralph Breaks the Internet” and “Mary Poppins Returns” weren’t able to crack the Top 5.
20TH CENTURY FOX
Grade: C
“Deadpool 2” leads 2018, but $45 million behind the original is nothing to celebrate. (Plus that whole “Once Upon a Deadpool” thing…?) “Bohemian Rhapsody”’s monstrous near-$200 million gross is impressive. But in their Top 5 – three clunkers: “Maze Runner: The Death Cure” ($58M), “The Predator” ($51M) and “Red Sparrow” ($47M).
PARAMOUNT
Grade: B-
“Mission: Impossible – Fallout” headlines Paramount’s 2018 with a series high $220 million. And “A Quiet Place” blew away expectations with $188 million. “Bumblebee” is in 3rd, but it lacks the box office punch of all the other “Transformers” movies. “Book Club” brought-in enough of the older crowd ($69M). And I’m glad to see “Instant Family” in the Top 5, but it didn’t make nearly as much as director Sean Anders’ two “Daddy’s Home” films for the studio.
SONY/COLUMBIA
Grade: B+
You can’t get much better than 5 movies that grossed more than $100 million. Super-charged “Venom” leads the pack with more than $200M, followed by “Hotel Transylvania 3”. “Summer Vacation” installment nearly matched the $170M total of 2015’s “HT2”. Sony Animation’s Golden Globe winning “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is starting to pick up steam. And “Peter Rabbit” ($115M) and “The Equalizer 2” ($102M) both beat expectations.
UNIVERSAL
Grade: B+
“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”’s monster $417 million is still more than $230M behind the first “JW” just three years earlier. Meantime, “The Grinch” has topped the 2000 live-action Jim Carrey version (not adjusted for inflation). And “Halloween” set an opening weekend record for a film starring a woman over 55 (Jamie Lee Curtis). “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” seems like the biggest disappointment for the studio – $120M is nearly $25M less than what the first “MM” did 10 years ago. Still, it beat the third and (thankfully) final chapter of the “Fifty Shades” trilogy – though “Freed” did manage more than $100 million.
WARNER BROS.
Grade: A-
“Aquaman” is a superhero smash and easily the studio’s top grossing pic of ’18. Best Picture Oscar contender “A Star Is Born” has taken-in more than $200 million. And fellow potential nominee “Crazy Rich Asians” is right behind with a stellar $174 million. “Fantastic Beasts” is the big disappointment here: in 4th, but $75 million less than the first installment doesn’t bode well for the future of the franchise. And in 5th, a critically panned shark attack “thriller” that still captured summer popcorn moviegoing audiences: “The Meg”, with $143 million.