Here are 7 takeaways from the Summer 2019 Box Office:
DISNEY IS UNSTOPPABLE… SORTA
“The Lion King” and “Toy Story 4” lead the box office, with “Aladdin” in 4th place overall. They are undeniable juggernauts under the Walt Disney Pictures brand. But Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox has proven to be a so-so one so far. Fox releases “Dark Phoenix”, “Stuber” and “The Art of Racing in the Rain” underperformed. Plus, Disney’s clash with Sony on the future of “Spider-Man” following the success of “Far from Home” hasn’t been pretty.
YEAH. I THINK HE’S BACK.
Keanu Reeves has returned to the A-list driver’s seat with “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum” pulling in a franchise high $170 million. He also delivered the goods as Duke Caboom in “Toy Story 4”.
ADULT CONTENT
The likes of Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”, Danny Boyle’s “Yesterday”, Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell” and Dexter Fletcher’s “Rocketman” prove that older audiences still go to the movies… if you give them an interesting concept. However, “Blinded by the Light”, “Brian Banks” and “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” haven’t resonated nearly as well.
MIXED THRILLS
On the positive side: “Annabelle Comes Home”, “Angel Has Fallen”, “Ma”, “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark”, “Crawl” and “The Intruder”. On the negative side: “Child’s Play”, “Midsommar”, “Brightburn”, “The Kitchen” and “Anna”.
COMEDY IS HARD
“The Hustle”, “Long Shot”, “Booksmart”, “Stuber”, “Shaft”, “Late Night”, “Poms” and “The Dead Don’t Die” were all financial flops. The only pure comedy that seems to be clicking is “Good Boys”. But again – that’s one out of nine.
WE CAN’T WAIT THAT LONG
Sequels such as “The Secret Life of Pets 2”, “Godzilla: King of the Monsters”, “The Angry Birds Movie 2”, “A Dog’s Journey” and “47 Meters Down: Uncaged” didn’t pack the same box office punch as their predecessors. And spinoffs “Men in Black International” and “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” didn’t bring in the big bucks of their core franchises.
YOU NEED A FAN-BASE
Live-action family films were limited to just a few. “Pokemon: Detective Pikachu” benefited from a recognizable, popular brand. “Dora and the Lost City of Gold” is getting there. Teen romance “The Sun is Also a Star” sadly showed that Yara Shahidi and Charles Melton aren’t huge draws quite yet. And as for the animated “Uglydolls”, it’s a name that sells a lot of merchandise, but only enough tickets to the tune of $20 million.