Summer 2016 box office: A comprehensive wrap of all the hits and flops
Summer 2016 is over, and like every year, it was quite the mixed bag. As a final wrap for this year, we’ve put together a box office report – which we’ve divided into the hits and misses.
Summer 2016 is over, and like every year, it was quite the mixed bag. But what made this year unique (and also underwhelming) was the sheer number of reboots, sequels and remakes that flooded our screens.
As a final wrap for summer 2016, we’ve put together a box office report – which we’ve divided into the hits and misses. And as an added bang for your buck, we’re also telling you how the films were received critically.
Before we begin, you should keep in mind a few basic rules. An average Hollywood movie usually needs to make double its budget to break even, taking into account the production costs and exhibitor fee (which is usually divided 50-50, except in China, where the profit sharing ratio is around 25-75). The reported budgets of these films are without taking into account advertising, which can range anywhere from $20-$30 million for the smaller films to $100 million+ for the big tentpoles.
Also, it should be mentioned that it is generally accepted that the summer movie season starts in March and ends in August – so, no Deadpool.
So, in the interest of staying positive, let’s get the major flops out of the way before moving on to the big success stories.
For everyone’s convenience: $100 million = Rs 669 crore.
THE FLOPS
Ben-Hur review: God, they put Morgan Freeman in a Bob Marley wig
The Nice Guys review: Gosling & Crowe present the cult classic of 2016
Pete’s Dragon review: One of the best Disney films in a decade. Don’t miss it
Clearly, the Ben-Hur remake sticks out like Morgan Freeman in a bad wig. The movie is said to have hit MGM and Paramount with a loss of around $120 million. The Matthew McConnaughey-starrer Free State of Jones couldn’t recoup its moderate budget, and both The Nice Guys and Pete’s Dragon couldn’t connect with the wider audience, barely making their budgets back. Incidentally, both were excellent films.
THE CLOSE, BUT NO CIGARS
Alice Through the Looking Glass review: Where’s Johnny Depp’s muchness?
The Huntsman Winter’s War review: Totally worthless, despite Hemsworth
Independence Day Resurgence review: It makes you pine for Imperial Rule
The BFG review: Shame on you. You don’t deserve Steven Spielberg
These are the films that made their budget back, but did little else. The problem with most of these films was that their production costs were far too bloated for them to be called a success. Some, like the sequels Alice Through the Looking Glass, which continued Johnny Depp’s bad luck at the box office and Independence Day: Resurgence, failed to attract the audience that turned up in such droves for the originals.
The Legend of Tarzan review: Director Yates retains the Harry Potter magic
Star Trek Beyond review: Bold, beautiful, the best blockbuster of summer 2016
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 review: Have 2 hours? Get a pizza instead
In fact, none of these films are original properties. Even The Legend of Tarzan and The BFG are based on pre-existing books. Allegiant, the third film in the Divergent series bombed so badly that the studio had to scrap plans for the fourth and final film in the series. And you can be sure that the next installments of Star Trek, Warcraft and TMNT (if they happen) will suffer serious budget cuts. You can also be sure of never getting more sequels to any of the other movies.
Ghostbusters review: Who ya gonna call the worst movie of all time?
Warcraft review: Unabashedly nerdy, visually stunning, joyous fun
THE CLOSE SHAVES
Batman v Superman review: Doesn’t come close to The Dark Knight movies
Jason Bourne review: Oh baby, oh baby. Then it fell apart, it fell apart
Now You See Me 2 review: You don’t want to see this magic trick
X-Men Apocalypse review: Where’s Deadpool when you need him?
While Warner Bros would’ve liked to have seen Batman v Superman cross the $1 billion mark, it is still undeniably a success - and this is without taking into account all the money it must’ve made with merchandising. The same goes for X-Men: Apocalypse, which couldn’t come close to X-Men: Days of Future Past’s $700 million+ but still did well enough to become the third-biggest X-Men movie ever. What saved both Jason Bourne (which is making big bucks in China as we speak) and Now You See Me 2 (which exists only because of China) were the relatively smaller budgets. Notice, once again, how all these films are sequels.
THE REAL SUCCESS STORY
Bad Moms review: Beware of mothers breaking bad into gooey marshmallows
The Conjuring 2 review: A louder, overlong carbon copy of the original
10 Cloverfield Lane review: New kind of monster, different kind of beast
Central Intelligence review: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart save it, just about
These are the real success stories of the summer - films with smaller budgets and a big return on investment. You’ll notice how suddenly, aside from The Conjuring 2 and 10 Cloverfield Lane, all of these films are original. Perhaps the studios should take a cue from this. These movies succeeded not because of stars (except maybe Central Intelligence, which featured the super-hot-right-now Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart) but because of their quality. And that is reflected in their reviews.
THE BIG WINNERS
Captain America Civil War review: Watch and learn, Batman v Superman
Finding Dory review: A little less crying, a little more laughter
The Jungle Book review: More Mowgli, more special effects, more heart
Suicide Squad review: Ignore all the negativity, Joker and Harley save it
And finally, the unquestionable winners of summer 2016. These are the films that not only had a lot riding on them, but managed to deliver. Some, like The Jungle Book were surprising, while others, like Finding Dory and Captain America: Civil War were not as risky. But Suicide Squad, fighting off months of bad press proved to be a real success story for Warner Bros, despite terrible reviews.
So, that’s all for summer 2016. Bring on the awards season.
Follow @htshowbiz for more
The author tweets @NaaharRohan
Get more updates from Bollywood, Hollywood, Music and Web Series along with Latest Entertainment News at Hindustan Times.