With no major releases set for this Labor Day weekend, it’s safe to say that this is the end of the summer movie season. Superheroes in tights, action sequels and animated favorites ruled the cinema, and movie fans packed the theaters to see. Well, not exactly, but there are a number of winners and losers that made the season. Let’s see who came out on top.
Winner: Disney/Marvel
Since 2018, Disney has pushed back summer’s start date to its advantage, and releasing “Avengers: Endgame” at the end of April kicked off the season to a flying start. The three-hour conclusion to the original Marvel “Avengers” series debuted with a $357 million opening weekend and going on to earn nearly $2.8 million worldwide. In fact, four of the top five grossing summer movies were from Disney. In second place is pseudo live-action remake of “The Lion King,” with a U.S. haul of $510.55 million. Pixar’s “Toy Story 4” is third at $426.73 million, and at fifth is the live-action version of “Aladdin” at $353.86 million. Disney took the easiest route to gain audiences — give them something they already know. “The Lion King” and “Aladdin” were favorites in their animated form to many and had a built-in audience before their release. “Spider-Man: Far From Home” came in at No. 4 with $379.75 million as the only non-Disney entry, but it is a Marvel title. However, Sony and Marvel have split over Peter Parker, and now the character is out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Who knows what the future holds for the franchise, but fans got to enjoy it this summer.
Loser: Theaters
Despite “Avengers: Endgame” breaking the all-time box office earnings record, summer ticket receipts were 10.3% lower than in 2018, according to the website Box Office Mojo. Between the first Friday of May to now, moviegoers spent just under $3.7 billion, down from $4.13 billion in 2018. Some blame the hold Disney had on theaters as movies stuck around for months at a time. Others point to the downfall of movie subscription services like MoviePass and Sinemia as more moviegoers used the low-cost plans to see multiple movies at a time. However, the average price of movie tickets actually went down, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners. In a report released in July, movie tickets dropped 12 cents in price from 2018, from $9.38 to $9.26. Streaming services are not completely to blame either, as online giant Netflix saw a drop in scribbers during its second quarter and missed its goal of gaining new ones.
Winners: Ryan Reynolds, flamethrowers and scions
When it was announced that Reynolds would star as the thunderbolt-zapping creature of cuteness in “Pokemon: Detective Pikachu,” it sounded like a bad joke. But the “Deadpool” star made good in the family-friendly film with Justice Smith. Reynolds even took on a supporting role as CIA liaison Locke to Dwayne Johnson’s cop Luke Hobbs in “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.” Like the terrible gun silencers in 1990s action movies, flamethrowers were the weapon of choice in two movies, “Hobbs & Shaw” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time … In Hollywood.” Leonardo DiCarpio uses the fire spitter in two memorable scenes in the drama set in 1969 at the time of the Manson family murders. The flamethrower in “Hobbs & Shaw” fits in an over-the-top battle scene in the action series, much like the tank gliding on ice in a past “Fast & Furious” flick.
Two former Miss Golden Globes starred in a summer tentpole sequel, living up to the title of a new generation of stars. Corinne Foxx (daughter of Jamie Foxx) and Sistine Stallone (daughter of Sylvester Stallone) appeared in the shark-infested movie, “47 Meters Down: Uncaged.” Genesis Tennon (daughter of Viola Davis) and Faith and Sunday Kidmand-Urban (daughters of Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban) lend their vocal talents to the animated sequel, “The Angry Birds Movie 2.”
This sequels weren’t the only ones to rely on genetic talent. Tarantino rounded up the largest group of celebrity offspring for “Once Upon a Time … In Hollywood” when he selected his cast for the Manson family roles and other characters. Margaret Qualley (daughter of Andie McDowell) portrayed Pussycat, the woman who leads Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth to the Manson compound at the Spahn Ranch. Others included Harley Quinn Smith (daughter of director Kevin Smith) as Froggie, Maya Hawke (daughter of Tarantino muse Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke) as Flower Child, Rumer Willis (daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis) as Joanna Pettet, Spencer Garrett (son of TV actress Kathleen Nolan) as Allen Kincade, and Clifton Collins Jr. (grandson of character actor Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez) as Ernesto The Mexican Vaquero.
Losers: Dramas, comedies and most sequels
Outside of Disney titles, the only other box office champs this summer were two action sequels, “John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum” and the recently released “Angel Has Fallen.” “John Wick” flicks continue to be popular, gaining nearly $170.8 million domestically, and a fourth sequel is on its way. “Angel Has Fallen,” however, had a weak debut at about $21 million last week, but it opened at the top spot.
Other sequels and reboots underperformed throughout the summer, including “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” “Men in Black International,” “Shaft,” and “Dark Phoenix.” Dramas and original comedies did not captivate audiences. Unless there was music involved, like “Rocketman” or “Yesterday” or had Tarantino directing it, dramas like “Poms” and “The Art of Racing in the Rain” fizzled out quickly. On the funny side, “Good Boys” was the only surprise hit worth mentioning. The laughs were silent for “Booksmart,” “Late Night” and “Stuber.”
