We’re about to hit the final two months of the year, often when studios save some of their biggest releases, just in time for the holidays and awards season. Here’s how the 6 biggest studios have been doing so far in 2017:
DISNEY
Grade: B-
Yes, “Beauty and the Beast” was a financial smash, and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” outgrossed the original by a lot. But the rest of Disney’s Top 5 of the year so far is lacking. “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” and “Cars 3” underperformed, and the nature documentary “Born in China” (which only made $14 million) is currently No. 5.
That’s because the studio decided to save 3 of their biggies until Nov. & Dec. They would be: “Thor: Ragnarok”, Pixar’s “Coco” and… “Star: Wars: The Last Jedi”. These films need to make a combined $900 million in order to beat Disney’s previous Top 5 yearly total (set in 2015) of $2.13 Billion. Considering “The Force Awakens” made $937 million alone in ’15, I’d say we should have a new record by the end of the year.
20TH CENTURY FOX
Grade: C+
“Logan” is currently on top, though its box office performance wasn’t as big as previous “X-Men” films. “The Boss Baby” was a huge hit for Fox and DreamWorks. It’s No. 2. “War for the Planet of the Apes”, “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” and “Alien: Covenant” finish-out the Top 5, though they’ve all underperformed compared to previous installments.
Fox has 4 big movies opening during the rest of the year, and all of them could easily make a lot of money: “Murder on the Orient Express”, the animated “Ferdinand”, Steven Spielberg’s “The Post” with Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, and Hugh Jackman’s musical “The Greatest Showman”. Needless to say, Fox’s year is far from over.
PARAMOUNT
Grade: D
Paramount is currently in its worst financial year since ’05. Its top film of the year is “Transformers: The Last Knight”, which only managed to bring-in $130M in the U.S., significantly less than the previous installments. The rest of its films are much farther behind: “Baywatch”, “xXx: Return of Xander Cage”, “Ghost in the Shell” and “Monster Trucks” round-out the Top 5.
“Daddy’s Home 2” is sure to make more than the $33M of “Monster Trucks”, so it’s definitely going to enter the Top 5 and has a chance to beat “Transformers” to become Paramount’s biggest film of the year. Two Matt Damon films, “Suburbicon” and “Downsizing”, may not make the Top 5.
SONY/COLUMBIA
Grade: C-
Columbia’s Top 5 total for 2017 of $545 million has passed the total for 2016 ($527M), but only because of one movie: “Spider-Man: Homecoming”, with $334M. “The Emoji Movie” is in 2nd and probably did about what the studio expected ($85.5M). All the rest of their films have been flops and disappointments: “The Dark Tower” ($51M), “Smurfs: The Lost Village” ($45M), “Life” ($30M). “Rough Night”, “Flatliners”, “Only the Brave” and “All Saints” have made much less than $30 million.
Side Note: While “Baby Driver” is a Sony film (that grossed $108 million this summer), it was released under their Tri-Star division, not the prominent Columbia Pictures division.
The rest of the year does show a potential big bounceback, with Denzel Washington’s “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”, the animated film “The Star” and “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle”, starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart and Jack Black.
UNIVERSAL
Grade: B
With a current $918 million total of their Top 5 movies, 2017 is currently their 4th biggest year since ’05. “Despicable Me 3” didn’t do nearly as well as “Despicable Me 2”, but it’s the studio’s biggest hit of ’17. “The Fate of the Furious” is No. 2, followed by Blumhouse thriller hits “Get Out” and “Split”. “Girls Trip” just passed “Fifty Shades Darker” to crack the Top 5.
Unless it completely flops, “Pitch Perfect 3” will likely enter the Top 5 when it’s released around Christmastime.
WARNER BROS.
Grade: A
The combined total of their top 5 movies of 2017 so far is an all-time high $1.26 Billion, thanks to the monstrous successes of “Wonder Woman” and “It”. “Dunkirk” also performed above expectations, while “The LEGO Batman Movie” and “Kong: Skull Island” did well enough during their runs.
Expect “Justice League” to knock “Kong” out of the Top 5 this November and raise the record total.