The summer movie season, as usual, has seen its share of ups and downs. Blockbusters this year seem to come in like lions and exit like lambs all in the time frame of seven days.
Over the course of the last four months, nine films have opened with a first weekend take of $40 million dollars or more at the box office.
That is as many movies in one summer as the last two combined. Four of those nine flicks actually opened with more than $60 million for the opening weekend: The Mummy Returns, Pearl Harbor, Planet of the Apes and Rush Hour 2.
The startling thing about that is the fact that of those movies, every single one had more than a 50 percent drop off in earnings during its second weekend.
What is the cause of this rapid decline? The first thing to usually come to mind is poor word of mouth, which results in a low number of repeat visitors. While that may be true, a more likely culprit could be that there have been so many big movies opening this summer, most movie-goers can't keep up.
Jurassic Park 3, Planet of the Apes, Rush Hour 2 and American Pie 2 opened one weekend after the other, each knocking the previous week's big opener right down the ladder.
Movie-lovers are having a hard time keeping up with the new movies. By the time they see one of the big films something else is opening up. If they miss a weekend at the theater, the next weekend another show is the talk of the town.
The only movie to really not feel the wrath of a big opening and a drastic drop-off was Shrek. The DreamWorks cartoon, voiced by Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz, opened with $42.3 million, and the next weekend matched that with $42.5 million.
Overall this trend is not as bad as it looks. This summer looks like one of the best ever, maybe even the best. Will this trend change though, or will this summer trend carry over into the fall? Movie grosses usually drop right after children start back to school. So do the number of movies opening up. That will allow some movies to open big and maintain that lead for more than a week.
The crowded summer market just simply doesn’t allow for it, and most long-dominating movies premiere in the fall, winter or spring seasons.
Take Titanic, for instance. Most people remember Titanic, opened huge and was the No. 1 movie for over three months, but what they forget is that Titanic was not a summer blockbuster. It opened in December.
Good vs. Bad
Two movies this year have already made over $200 million at the box: Shrek and The Mummy Returns. Six are expected to top the $180 million mark, but are these the best movies of the summer?
Looking at quality movies versus those that make a lot of money, one sees two totally different worlds.
Shrek was an incredible movie. It had a few parents raising their eyebrows at some questionable language, but it was a great story that spoke to both adults and children. It would definitely rank up there with the best of the best.
Movies that weren't good, judging by the critics’ reaction, include Pearl Harbor (arguably the summer's biggest let-down), Jurassic Park 3 and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. However, while all three of these films have been slammed by critics, they’ve grossed over $500 million combined. So is it fair to call them bombs? If you even have to ask that question, you obviously haven’t seen the painfully bad Tomb Raider.
Some of the best movies of the summer are the quietest ones, the ones that haven’t raked in huge returns at the box office. The cream of the crop includes:
• The Others, starring Nicole Kidman, which to date has only grossed $32.1 million dollars in three weeks.
• Legally Blonde, a surprisingly good comedy starring America's newest clueless girl Reese Witherspoon.
• The Princess Diaries which proved that G stands for “great,” rather than "grown-ups not allowed.
• Shrek as previously mentioned.
• Rush Hour 2, making waves as the sequel that just might be better than the first.
Other disappointments include:
• Rat Race, which was highly disappointing despite having a great cast.
• Nicolas Cage’s unenjoyable vehicle Captain Corelli's Mandolin.
• Swordfish, which featured a half-naked Halle Berry and a completely naked plot.
The biggest surprises this summer came by the way of Ghost World, The Fast and The Furious and Spy Kids, which can only be deemed a summer movie because it was re-released.
Looking Ahead
The fall holds many great things, but let's look more into the future, to next summer.
Expect big things from Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones, Men In Black 2, Minority Report (with Tom Cruise, directed by Steven Spielberg), Spy Kids 2 and Spider-Man.
It sounds like while this up and down trend won't carry over into the fall. Instead, it will pick right back up next summer, just before Memorial Day.
I can't wait.
