A scene from “Barbie.”
Courtesy: Warner Bros.
Hollywood bet big on blockbuster franchise sequels to revive its summer cinema business, but it surely was fresh fare comparable to “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” that fueled the industry’s haul of $4 billion, a 19% jump from last yr.
Starting the primary Friday in May and running through Labor Day weekend, the summer movie season, on average, represents 40% of all movie ticket sales for the yr. Studios typically pad this a part of the discharge calendar with superhero spectacles, franchise sequels and action-packed flicks in an effort to capture audience attention throughout the hottest months of the yr.
Fall is looking gloomy, nonetheless.
Movie theaters are already contending with less content than previous years. Missing titles comparable to “Dune: Part Two” will exacerbate that issue. The industry got some excellent news in the shape of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert film, arriving in theaters in October. Expectations are set high for its debut, with many box office analysts expecting a $100 million opening. Swift won’t have the opportunity to balance the scales by herself, nonetheless.
Still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, Hollywood has entered a chaotic period of recovery. As studios are desperately attempting to lure moviegoers away from their couches, also they are contending with dual labor strikes which have limited their ability to market their slate.
Top summer movies of 2023, domestic
- Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” — $612.3 million
- Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” — $381.2 million
- Disney’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” — $358.9 million
- Universal’s “Oppenheimer” — $310.6 million
- Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” — $298.1 million
Source: Comscore
Summertime gladness
Following pandemic-related shutdowns, Hollywood has fewer titles to supply as much as theaters. This summer, there have been 10 fewer wide-released movies than in 2019, an almost 24% decline. Still, the 2023 summer box office managed to trail pre-pandemic levels by just 5.9%, or a bit greater than $200 million, in keeping with data from Comscore.
“Perhaps probably the most notable aspect of the summer movie season of ’23 was its volatility,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
Costly franchise installments, which were purported to tap into audience nostalgia, fell flat.
As an alternative, cinema patrons opted for original storytelling, leaning toward the bubblegum pink “Barbie” and dark and intense “Oppenheimer.”
“Barbie,” a partnership between Warner Bros. and Mattel, generated $612.3 million between its July 21 release and Labor Day, representing 15% of the overall summer box office.
Along with titles from major studios, the summer haul was fueled by ticket sales for “Sound of Freedom” from Angel Studios, which became a surprise hit with audiences. It has generated nearly $200 million since its July 4 release.
Fall pall
Timothee Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson star in Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of “Dune.”
Warner Bros.
The summer season also showed a growing desire from audiences for tickets to premium format showings, said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. He said the industry can learn lots from the performances of titles comparable to “Barbie,” particularly the appeal of grassroots communal experiences in cinemas.
“The caveat, nonetheless, is that the discharge calendar has thinned out barely attributable to the continuing strikes,” he said. “While this might create a possibility for certain studios and movies, it is a headwind that nonetheless presents an increasing variety of challenges for theater owners and audiences who don’t need to see more delays of flicks they’re looking forward to.”
Over the long term, it could turn out to be an increasing worry for next yr as productions remain halted, Robbins added.
It comes because the theater industry is reigniting, with the general box office from January through Labor Day up about 25% from last yr.
Nevertheless, it still lags from 2019 levels by 13%, and the fall movie season looks to be a tepid one, even with Swift’s concert movie on the calendar.
Already, movies comparable to Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment’s “Dune: Part Two” and Sony’s “Kraven the Hunter” and the “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” sequel have all departed for 2024 as writers and actors strike against studios.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of Universal Studios and CNBC.