As 2015 is coming to a close, I've decided it would be cool to publish several articles based on the box office performances of 2015. This one such article is about which films attracted huge crowds and successfully made back on their budget and the ones that didn't. Starting in January and finishing in December, this article will deal with all the notable wide releases from this year.
January
Taken 3 - Success
Budget: $48 million
Gross: $326.5 million
Gain: $115.2 million
Although it didn't really connect with audiences domestically like previous installments, Taken 3 was still a global hit that earned more than four-fifths of its predecessor's worldwide total. However, as it was the final installment in the series, it did have the potential to do better with U.S. audiences, although reviews and word-of-mouth burned that bridge.
Blackhat - Flop
Budget: $70 million
Gross: $19.6 million
Loss: -$60.2 million
Blackhat star Chris Hemsworth definitely found fame in his role as Thor in the Marvel movies, but outside the MCU he hasn't found much success both financially and critically. Unfortunately, he's going to have to rely on Marvel for now to experience lucrative box office returns.
Mortdecai - Flop
Budget: $60 million
Gross: $47.3 million
Loss: -$36.4 million
Though he's found a modest success in September's 'Black Mass', Johnny Depp previously stumbled with his other 2015 release, known as Mortdecai. Even with a recognizable cast, the comedy received awful reviews, and it wasn't really getting buzzed about on the Internet. Ultimately, there just wasn't enough moviegoers that cared enough to see this film.
Strange Magic - Flop
Budget: Around $33-$43 million
Gross: $13.6 million
Loss: Around -$40-$50 million
Although nobody's sure about the budget, estimated losses for the George Lucas animated feature are around $40-$50 million, which would put the budget somewhere between $33-$43 million. Either way, Strange Magic had one of the worst debuts ever for a film that opened in over 3,000 locations. Maybe Lucas should have stopped at Star Wars.
February
Jupiter Ascending - Flop
Budget: $176 million
Gross: $183.9 million
Loss: -$84.1 million
The Watchowskis failed to replicate the success of the Matrix films with Speed Racer and Cloud Atlas, and Jupiter Ascending is no exception. The big-budget sci-fi flopped with just $18.4 million in its opening weekend, and is currently the seventeenth biggest box office bomb ever, right below fellow 2015 underperformer Pan (October).
Seventh Son - Flop
Budget: $95 million
Gross: $114.2 million
Loss: -$37.9 million
YA adaptations that aren't Hunger Games, Twilight, or Harry Potter generally don't do too well, and with a constantly delayed release schedule as well as a previous film that also flopped, Seventh Son never seemed like a surefire success. Those expectations were proven right after it opened to a paltry $7.2 million. Even with mostly solid overseas grosses, those weren't enough from saving it from bombing.
The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water - Success
Budget: $74 million
Gross: $323.4 million
Gain: $87.7 million
While it was no Despicable Me, the sequel to 2006's The Spongebob Movie cleverly positioned itself as a superhero-type movie, with the marketing mainly focusing on the slapstick and humor. Apparently, the marketing paid off and ended up becoming a break-out success.
Fifty Shades of Grey - Success
Budget: $40 million
Gross: $570.5 million
Gain: $245.2 million
This one's pretty much a no-brainer. But when it broke the February opening record with $85.2 million, you have to admit you were pretty surprised by this one given the negative buzz and controversial topic. Turns out it's one of the most profitable movies of the year.
Kingsman: The Secret Service - Success
Budget: $81 million
Gross: $414.4 million
Gain: $126.2 million
Say what you want, but in some ways this is more impressive than Fifty Shades. The R-rated spy comedy surprised everyone when it debuted to $36.2 million against one of the most anticipated movies of 2015. It was no slouch overseas either: it currently has an impressive international total of $286.1 million.
March
Unfinished Business - Flop
Budget: $35 million
Gross: $14.4 million
Loss: -$27.8 million
Vince Vaughn hasn't found much success recently, and Unfinished Business officially sealed the deal: he no longer is a reliable box office draw. It earned less than a seventh of its production budget in its opening weekend and around three-and-a-half times less than it for its domestic total.
Cinderella - Success
Budget: $95 million
Gross: $542.7 million
Gain: $176.3 million
Cinderella is the fourth Disney film to get adapted from a classic (usually animated) tale. Pulling off the seventh biggest debut in March, the PG-rated fantasy became the first film of 2015 to gross over $200 million domestically (in terms of its release schedule, not the actual time it took for a film to accomplish that milestone. That title belongs to Furious 7).
The Divergent Series: Insurgent - Success
Budget: $110 million
Gross: $297.3 million
Gain: $38.6 million
After essentially opening on par with the first Divergent, Insurgent fell a bit harder than that film did. Still, international returns were significantly higher with a $167.1 million take compared to the first's $137.9 million. Ultimately, look for the next film to continue the domestic declines and the international increases.
The Gunman - Flop
Budget: $40 million
Gross: $10.7 million
Loss: -$34.7 million
Trying to replicate the success of Taken, the Sean Penn led The Gunman flopped in the wake of Insurgent. It earned a meager $5 million in its first three days. Not being played in any international markets didn't help matters either. Maybe films about old, butt-kicking hitmen should just take a rest.
Home - Success
Budget: $135 million
Gross: $386 million
Gain: $58 million
After the disappointing grosses of Turbo and Mr. Peabody and Sherman, not many expected DreamWorks Animation's new film to do much better. Boy, how astonished they must have been when it became the first $50m+ opener for the studio since Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.
April
Furious 7 - Success
Budget: $190 million
Gross: $1.515 billion
Gain: $567.5 million
I would have been a fool to leave this one off the list. Not only did it become 2015's first billion dollar grosser, it also became the fifth biggest worldwide. After demolishing the record for the biggest April opening, Furious 7 became the fastest film to acquire $1 billion (later surpassed by a couple little films that were released later on).
May
Avengers: Age of Ultron - Success
Budget: $250 million
Gross: $1.405 billion
Gain: $452.5 million
Although many were disappointed that it didn't break the opening weekend record like everyone thought it would, the sequel to the surprise box office hit from 2012 easily became one of the highest-grossing films ever with $459 million domestic and $1.4 billion worldwide. It remains to be seen whether or not the two-part sequel will put up better numbers, but for now we'll just be happy about these.
Mad Max: Fury Road - Success
Budget: $150 million
Gross: $375.8 million
Gain: $37.9 million
This is one of Warner Bros.' more respectable 2015 releases. Mad Max was thought to be a lost cause long before its release, but it defied expectations and successfully dethroned Age of Ultron from the top spot alongside another strong opener.
Pitch Perfect 2 - Success
Budget: $29 million
Gross: $287.1 million
Gain: $114.6 million
It earned more than the first did in just one weekend. Now don't you think that's impressive? Thanks to its cult following after its release on DVD, the fanbase obviously turned out here.
Tomorrowland - Flop
Budget: $190 million
Gross: $209 million
Loss: -$85.5 million
Prospects never looked that good for Disney's big-budget adaptation of their popular theme park attraction: projections were decent at best. Unfortunately, Tomorrowland debuted below its already modest expectations and became one of the biggest bombs ever made.
Aloha - Flop
Budget: $37 million
Gross: $26.3 million
Loss: -$23.9 million
With American Sniper recently becoming a huge success, star Bradley Cooper and his fellow cast members should be able to get Aloha past the behind-the-scenes drama and the nasty comments directed at it by Sony's employees, right? Apparently not, as it earned less than two-thirds of its budget domestically and only a little bit more globally.
San Andreas - Success
Budget: $110 million
Gross: $473.8 million
Gain: $126.9 million
Dwayne Johnson stumbled in 2014 with Hercules, so experts predicted San Andreas would be on the same level. Instead, it became the latest big-budget disaster hit, with the biggest opening for a natural disaster film since 2012 in 2009. It, too, was another one of Warner Bros.' stronger releases of the year.
June
Spy - Success
Budget: $65 million
Gross: $235.7 million
Gain: $52.8 million
Though it opened below expectations, Spy held on strong and surpassed 2014's Tammy to become Melissa McCarthy's fifth highest-grossing movie ever. Overseas audiences were slightly more interested in the spoof, adding to Spy's already solid domestic gross.
Jurassic World - Success
Budget: $150 million
Gross: $1.669 billion
Gain: $684.5 million
When it debuted in the U.S. on June 12, and a couple days earlier internationally, Jurassic World blew away even the most generous expectations and broke almost every record imaginable. While a new little film called Star Wars: The Force Awakens took most of those away, its performance is still one of the most memorable in box office history.
Inside Out - Success
Budget: $175 million
Gross: $851.6 million
Gain: $250.8 million
After Jurassic World's record-breaking debut, weekend projections for Pixar's latest were lowered significantly. Although it became the first (but not last) Pixar film to not open in first, it became the highest-grossing second place opening of all time, beating The Day After Tomorrow.
Ted 2 - Success
Budget: $68 million
Gross: $215.9 million
Gain: $39.9 million
Although the raunchy R-rated sequel had little problem making its budget back, it underwhelmed greatly both domestically and internationally, earning less than the first one in both areas. What's even worse is that it couldn't even break $85 million while the first one got past $215 million just from domestic sales alone. And while it couldn't crack $135 million internationally, the first got to $330 million. Long story short, Ted 2 should have at least retained a lot more than half of the original's audience when it only got a little more than a third.
July
Magic Mike XXL - Success
Budget: $14.8 million
Gross: $122.5 million
Gain: $46.5 million
Another raunchy R-rated sequel to a 2012 comedy, Magic Mike XXL opened with just $27.9 million over the five-day July 4th weekend, whereas the first one was already at $40 million in three days. While it was more back-loaded, many thought Magic Mike could get past $100 million a couple months before its release. Maybe if it weren't for that pesky Wednesday opening...
Terminator Genisys - Success
Budget: $155 million
Gross: $440.6 million
Gain: $65.3 million
Terminator Genisys opened to $42.5 million in its first five days, which is a bit less than what Terminator Salvation earned in three days. That's domestic, however. Even though it tanked domestically (if the studio just relied on domestic grosses, the film would have lost around $110 million), international returns saved the day with a whopping $350.8 million total, making it the first (technically second, but The Intouchables was a foreign film) movie to gross over $400 million globally without crossing $100 million in the U.S.
Minions - Success
Budget: $74 million
Gross: $1.157 billion
Gain: $504.6 million
Minions surprisingly opened to $115.7 million, but became increasingly front-loaded in the following weeks. Still, it became the fifth $300m+ grosser of 2015, which is surely a feat to be considered impressive. It also represents the first time that three films released by a single studio have grossed over $1 billion in the same year.
Ant-Man - Success
Budget: $130 million
Gross: $518.6 million
Gain: $129.3 million
After being plagued by more behind-the-scenes drama, especially after Edgar Wright left the project, Ant-Man was destined to become one of the MCU's lowest-grossing entries yet. Or so people thought. It opened in line with expectations, and after a sizable second weekend drop it looked as if it will become the second lowest-grossing entry. However, it quickly stabilized after, and actually passed the first Captain America, showing that the power of Marvel is still as strong as ever.
Pixels - Success
Budget: $88 million
Gross: $243.9 million
Gain: $34 million
Another film that bombed domestically but found success overseas. The video game comedy tried to get the nostalgia factor working for U.S. audiences (didn't work out so well), but did a better job in international markets where it's grossed a strong $165.2 million.
Southpaw - Success
Budget: $30 million
Gross: $91.6 million
Gain: $15.8 million
The boxer drama was just thought to have become a modest success, but apparently you don't have to be a Rocky movie to hit it with audiences.
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation - Success
Budget: $150 million
Gross: $682.3 million
Gain: $191.2 million
The goodwill, strong reception, and buzzed-about high profile obviously transferred over from Ghost Protocol to this, helping it near $700 million as many expected it too. While it didn't dethrone Ghost Protocol for biggest worldwide gross and M:I 2 for biggest domestic gross in the franchise, it still did a very solid performance and easily beat one unfortunate superhero flop the next weekend.
August
Fantastic Four - Flop
Budget: $120 million
Gross: $168 million
Loss: -$36 million
The trailers for the film promised a movie that never happened. With a new, dark atmosphere and a new cast, many thought this could be the FF film that could actually be good. They were dead wrong. And the critics thought so too. Word-of-mouth was poisonous, and once viewers saw that this one was actually worse than the last two, they easily stayed away from it.
The Gift - Success
Budget: $5 million
Gross: $59 million
Gain: $24.5 million
Well, STX shouldn't be disappointed about its first outing. Not only was it thrilling and suspenseful it was a huge box office success. The phenomenal reviews and word-of-mouth helped it overcome expectations with an $11.9 million weekend and a $43.8 million domestic total.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - Disappointment
Budget: $75 million
Gross: $109.4 million
Loss: -$20.3 million
This spy flick wasn't as lucky as Kingsman or Mission: Impossible, but it wasn't a complete disaster either. Still, it could have done much better and this is clearly a disappointment, whether it's a flop or not.
Straight Outta Compton - Success
Budget: $28 million
Gross: $200.4 million
Gain: $72.2 million
One of the biggest hits of the year was an R-rated rap biopic about "the world's most dangerous group" that were allegedly created by "the world's most dangerous times". With over $160 million in domestic sales, Universal should be proud of the breakout hit.
War Room - Success
Budget: $3 million
Gross: $67.8 million
Gain: $30.9 million
One of the biggest surprises of the year was a PG-rated Christian-based drama. After a dreadful start of the year, Sony is now proud to say that they are back at it.
September
The Perfect Guy - Success
Budget: $12 million
Gross: $60.3 million
Gain: $18.1 million
After a couple disappointing weekends, two thrillers brought the monthly box office back to life. The Perfect Guy was one of them, and ended up way more than quadrupling its production budget domestically and quintupling worldwide.
The Visit - Success
Budget: $5 million
Gross: $97.1 million
Gain: $43.5 million
With less than half the budget and more than 1.5x the gross of The Perfect Guy, M. Night Shyamalan found a fitting return to form with The Visit. With almost $100 million worldwide against a $5 million budget, this is one of the biggest hits of 2015.
Black Mass - Disappointment
Budget: $53 million
Gross: $95.1 million
Loss: -$5.5 million
Although Johnny Depp's latest is a lot stronger than his past efforts, it still couldn't crack $100 million worldwide, which meant the studio still lost a couple million bucks.
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials - Success
Budget: $61 million
Gross: $312.3 million
Gain: $95.2 million
Though it was a disappointment domestically (would have lost $20.2m), overseas saved this one. It wasn't as strong as the last film, but still solid nevertheless.
Hotel Transylvania 2 - Success
Budget: $80 million
Gross: $466.2 million
Gain: $153.1 million
While pre-release expectations initially pegged it as earning less than its predecessor, the sequel to the successful animated comedy flew past them and took the September opening record from the first one.
The Intern - Success
Budget: $35 million
Gross: $194.1 million
Gain: $62 million
This was another comedy that opened on September 25, exceeded expectations, and held up very well throughout its entire run. The mid-budget film from Warner Bros. became Nancy Meyers' highest-grossing film in almost six years.
Everest - Success
Budget: $55 million
Gross: $202.4 million
Gain: $46.2 million
While Universal's ensemble-led thriller underwhelmed with domestic audiences, international viewers were more generous, accounting for almost four-fifths of the final gross.
October
The Martian - Success
Budget: $108 million
Gross: $597.4 million
Gain: $190.7 million
After the admittedly disappointing run of Interstellar in 2014, few thought that The Martian could do any better. Turns out that Matt Damon trying to find a way off Mars can become a crowd pleaser as well as a crowd-drawer.
Sicario - Success
Budget: $30 million
Gross: $80.6 million
Gain: $10.3 million
Expanding nationwide against The Martian probably wasn't the safest move out there, but Sicario still managed to find audiences after its excellent run in limited release. A bit more surprising is that the film found more interest here in the U.S. and Canada instead of elsewhere in the world.
Pan - Flop
Budget: $150 million
Gross: $127 million
Loss: -$86.5 million
Big-budget original fantasties/sci-fi just doesn't work well with audiences. Nobody was really interested in a prequel to the Peter Pan legend, and the ones who were only got the film to $35 million domestic. Overseas was a lot better, although that is barely a condolence given that Pan still couldn't pass its budget worldwide.
The Walk - Disappointment
Budget: $35 million
Gross: $44.7 million
Loss: -$12.7 million
With strong reviews, a well-known story, and a brilliant cast, The Walk was expected to at least debut in the low teens in its nationwide debut. Instead, it barely got past $10 million total domestically.
Jem and the Holograms - Flop
Budget: $5 million
Gross: $2.3 million
Loss: -$3.9 million
While it doesn't seem like it lost much, Jem and the Holograms was an outright box office bomb when its debut became the fourth worst for a movie that opened in over 2,000 locations.
The Last Witch Hunter - Flop
Budget: $90 million
Gross: $108.3 million
Loss: -$35.8 million
Outside the Fast & Furious franchise, Vin Diesel isn't that much of a box office draw. His latest film only made a bit more than a ninth of its production budget during its opening weekend. Sorry, Lionsgate, but not even foreign audiences can save this one.
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension - Success
Budget: $10 million
Gross: $78.1 million
Gain: $29 million
While it tanked in the U.S. and Canada, the fifth installment in the six-year-old series still kept the franchise alive internationally, with foreign audiences accounting for more than three-fourths of the final worldwide gross.
Rock the Kasbah - Flop
Budget: $15 million
Gross: $3 million
Loss: -$13.5 million
Four flops in a single weekend? I know it sounds outlandish, but this was the case on the weekend of October 23-25, 2015. And Bill Murray's Middle East comedy was one of them. I guess he just wasn't what he was back in the 80's.
Steve Jobs - Flop
Budget: $30 million
Gross: $28.1 million
Loss: -$16 million
This one shocked everyone. With all the Oscar buzz, stellar reviews, and a notable cast, Steve Jobs was expected to earn $20-$25 million in its opening weekend. Unfortunately, it couldn't crack $20 million overall.
Our Brand is Crisis - Flop
Budget: $28 million
Gross: $7 million
Loss: -$24.5 million
Sandra Bullock should have at least been enough to get it over $10 million overall (not like that would have been much better, but still). Apparently audiences are more interested in space thrillers and buddy comedies than a boring political comedy.
November
The Peanuts Movie - Success
Budget: $99 million
Gross: $221.2 million
Gain: $11.6 million
After opening strong, the nostalgic G-rated kid pic flamed out rather quickly for an animated film, but it's catching up overseas.
Spectre - Success
Budget: $245 million
Gross: $872.5 million
Gain: $191.2 million
Though it underwhelmed domestically, the big-budget spy action film found a massive audience abroad, with total sales currently standing at $673.7 million.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 - Success
Budget: $160 million
Gross: $646.3 million
Gain: $163.2 million
This movie underperformed both domestically and internationally, but it was still a respectable performance nevertheless. However, being the first in the franchise to not cross $300 million isn't anything to give a round of applause at.
Creed - Success
Budget: $35 million
Gross: $120.5 million
Gain: $25.2 million
Easily flying past expectations, the franchise revival Creed opened to $30 million and was expected to cross $100 million domestic, making it the first in the franchise to do so since Rocky IV. Overseas is a bit weaker, but it should build momentum in the coming weeks.
The Good Dinosaur - Flop
Budget: $200 million
Gross: $266.5 million
Loss: -$66.8 million
Okay, maybe I should wait until its completely out of theaters before calling it a success or a flop, but this was a huge box office disappointment, especially by Pixar's lofty standards. After the breakout performance of Inside Out earlier this year, audiences were less eager to rush out and see this one. Expect the numbers above to change significantly in a couple months.
Victor Frankenstein - Flop
Budget: $40 million
Gross: $33.9 million
Loss: -$23.1 million
With only a bit more than $5.5 million domestic and not even $30 million internationally, how can this not be called a flop?
December
Krampus - Success
Budget: $15 million
Gross: $61.3 million
Gain: $15.7 million
I don't really need to wait to determine the fate of this movie: it recently became only the fourth December-released Christmas-themed film to cross $40 million domestic.
In the Heart of the Sea - Flop
Budget: $100 million
Gross: $87.5 million
Loss: -$56.3 million
This film flopped in the U.S. and Canada, and is currently disappointing overseas, so even if the last numbers up there go down a bit it's still a failure nevertheless. Chris Hemsworth really should stick to just the Marvel movies (and maybe the Snow White ones depending on how The Huntsman performs this year).
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens - Success
Budget: $200 million
Gross: $1.799 billion
Gain: $699.5 million
In just 12 days, the seventh installment in the beloved, old franchise crossed $1 billion (a new record!). It also broke the records for the fastest time a film crossed $100m (1 day), $150m (2 days), $200m (3 days), $250m (4 days), $300m (5 days), $350m (6 days), $400m (8 days), $450m (9 days), and $500m (10 days). Some other notable records it broke include the biggest Thursday launch ($57m), biggest Friday gross ($119.1m), biggest Sunday gross ($60.6m), biggest domestic opening ($248m), biggest December opening ($248m), biggest worldwide opening ($529m), and biggest Christmas Day gross ($49.3m). Passing Avatar's $760.5 million lifetime gross shouldn't be a problem, but passing its worldwide cume ($2.78b) will be a bit trickier. Still, this is the biggest hit of the year, and one of the biggest of all time.
Sisters - Success
Budget: $30 million
Gross: $86.8 million
Gain: $13.4 million
Easily providing great counter-programming against 'Star Wars', Universal ended the year on a very high note with the low-budget comedy starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
Concussion - Flop
Budget: $35 million
Gross: $35.6 million
Loss: -$17.2 million
Many thought Will Smith could rebound box office wise with the football medical drama 'Concussion'. Unfortunately, it looks to make just a few million dollars more than its production budget.
Daddy's Home - Success
Budget: $50 million
Gross: $162.2 million
Gain: $31.1 million
'Daddy's Home' was originally pegged for a $20 million at the highest before its release. Blowing those expectations out of the water, it seems as if it will become on of the stars' biggest hits ever.
Joy - Flop
Budget: $60 million
Gross: $74.5 million
Loss: -$22.7 million
'Joy' certainly should've done much better than this. It had a well-known director, an all-star cast, and an inspirational premise. It did open strong on Christmas Day (as did other new wide releases), but became more front-loaded going into the weekend (as did the other new wide releases). This probably explains a bit of its underwhelming performance.
Point Break - Flop
Budget: $105 million
Gross: $99.6 million
Loss: -$55.2 million
Look, the two "flops" above this will probably just become disappointments or successes later on, but there is no way this is going to change that much. Nobody asked for a 'Point Break' remake. Nobody wanted a 'Point Break' remake. Nobody was excited for a 'Point Break' remake. And yet, Warner Bros. still decides to take the risk of losing more money than anybody can count, and ultimately lost the bet.
Note: Due to the fact that many of the recently released films have only begun or are early in their runs, I won't include them in the list until they finally close in theaters.
Success Count: 43
Flop Count: 21
Disappointment Count: 3
Total: 67
Overall Yearly Gross (All Movies): $11,126.0 billion
Not only was it a record-breaking year for movies and studios alike, it was also a record-breaking year overall. Yesterday, the 2015 box office inched past the $10,923.6 billion total of 2013 to become the highest-grossing year ever in cinematic history. With the strongest performers being Star Wars, Jurassic World, and Avengers as well as a bunch of other solid releases that earned a bit less, 2015 easily passed $11 billion total, making it the first year to do so. It's been a wonderful year for films, and hopefully the next year will build upon this one. Happy New Year everyone, and I hope you all continue enjoying my blog and going to the movies!
Notable Box Office Records and Milestones Achieved This Year:
Studio Stats:
Universal - First time a single studio released three films that gross over $1 billion worldwide.
Universal - Fastest time taken to gross $1b, $2b, and $3b domestically; fastest time taken to gross $3b, $4b, and $5b worldwide.
Universal - First time a single studio grossed over $6 billion in global sales.
Marvel Studios - First time to produce three films in a single franchise ('Avengers' with $1.5b, 'Iron Man 3' with $1.2b, and 'Avengers 2' with $1.4b) that each cross $1 billion.
Marvel Studios - Produced the highest-grossing cinematic franchise in history; first franchise to cross $8-$9 billion worldwide.
Movie Stats:
Weekend Records
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest Domestic Opening ($248 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest Worldwide Opening ($529 million)
Jurassic World - Biggest Foreign Opening ($316.1 million)
Jurassic World - Biggest Summer Opening ($208.8 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest Holiday Opening ($248 million)
Fifty Shades of Grey - Biggest February Opening ($85.2 million)
Furious 7 - Biggest April Opening ($147.2 million)
Jurassic World - Biggest June Opening ($208.8 million)
Hotel Transylvania 2 - Biggest September Opening ($48.5 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest December Opening ($248 million)
Fifty Shades of Grey - Biggest President's Day Opening ($93 million)
Furious 7 - Biggest Easter Opening ($147.2 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest PG-13 Opening ($248 million)
Inside Out - Biggest Non-#1 Opening ($90.4 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest Second Weekend ($149.2 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Top Opening Theater Averages - Wide Release ($59,982)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Top Theater Averages - Wide Release ($59,982)
Avengers: Age of Ultron - Biggest Market Share of a Weekend (84.5%)
Victor Frankenstein - Worst Saturated Opening ($2.5 million)
Daily Records
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest Single Day ($119.1 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest Opening Day ($119.1 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest Christmas Day ($49.3 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest Friday ($119.1 million)
Jurassic World - Biggest Saturday ($69.6 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest Sunday ($60.6 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest Monday ($40.1 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest Tuesday ($37.4 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest Non-Holiday Monday ($40.1 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest Non-Opening Tuesday ($37.4 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest Non-Opening Wednesday ($38 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest Non-Opening Friday ($49.3 million)
Miscellaneous Records
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest Opening Week ($390.9 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest 3-Day Gross ($248 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest 4-Day Gross ($288.1 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest 5-Day Gross ($325.4 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest 6-Day Gross ($363.5 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest 7-Day Gross ($390.9 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest 8-Day Gross ($440.2 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest 9-Day Gross ($496.9 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Biggest 10-Day Gross ($450.1 million)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Fastest to $100m (1 day)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Fastest to $150m (2 days)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Fastest to $200m (3 days)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Fastest to $250m (4 days)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Fastest to $300m (5 days)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Fastest to $350m (6 days)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Fastest to $400m (8 days)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Fastest to $450m (9 days)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Fastest to $500m (10 days)
September, 2015 - Biggest September Gross ($626.3 million)
Leaderboard
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 37 records
Jurassic World: 4 records
Fifty Shades of Grey: 2 records
Furious 7: 2 records
Hotel Transylvania 2: 1 record
Inside Out: 1 record
Avengers: Age of Ultron - 1 record
Victor Frankenstein: 1 record (Not one to be proud of)
War movies opening in mid-January generally have a strong track record ('Zero Dark Thirty', 'Lone Survivor', 'American Sniper'), and especially ones based on books ('Survivor' & 'Sniper'). All of those started in limited release however, whereas '13 Hours' is automatically going nationwide. It is a war movie based on a popular book, but with Michael Bay in the director's chair, not many are expecting reviews to be as glamorous as previous films. The marketing is doing a decent job of getting people to know that this movie is out there, and the ones who do appreciate Bay's work will likely turn out to see this. Just don't expect any 'American Sniper'-like opening, as it would take a true miracle for that to happen.
Similar to 2014's 'The Nut Job', 'Norm of the North' will debut in mid-January against a 'Ride Along' movie. While kids may be impressed with the film's kiddy teasers, it doesn't seem that adults are that enthusiastic about it. However, that was the case with 'Nut Job' and that opened to nearly $20 million. While it would be tough to expect something like that from 'Norm', somewhere in the mid-teens would be doable. From here, it just looks like all it would need is decent word-of-mouth and solid marketing.
Following the success of the first 'Ride Along', the sequel brings in more humor, action, and car chases to the franchise than ever before. 'Ride Along' debuted to a stunning $41.5 million in its first three days, easily taking the January opening record (before being absolutely demolished by 'American Sniper' the following year). It held on pretty well for a movie of its genre, and ended with $134.9 million. While a sequel to the surprise hit is almost guaranteed to do as well, comedy sequels generally tend to be off from their predecessors (examples include 'Ted 2', 'The Hangover Part II', 'Magic Mike XXL'). Even the PG-rated 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2' couldn't retain half of the first's audience. Also, the first wasn't remembered to fondly (59% Flixter score) by audiences and critics (18% on RT) alike. Like many other comedy sequels, it should fall off from its predecessor, but the question is by how much.
Unless it's from 'Hunger Games', 'Divergent', or 'Maze Runner', big-budget YA-adapted sci-fi generally doesn't do too well in theaters. Just look at 'Ender's Game' ($61.7m to $110m budget) and 'The Host' ($26.6m to $40m budget). Although Chloe Grace Moretz is becoming increasingly famous due to her recent works ('If I Stay' and 'The Equalizer'), she probably won't be enough to save this one from being the latest YA flop ('Ender's Game' had Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, and Asa Butterfield).
STX Entertainment kicked things off pretty well with 'The Gift' ($43.8m) last year, but stumbled a bit with their second release 'Secret in Their Eyes' ($20.1m). 'The Boy' should have a production budget closer to 'Gift' ($5m) than 'Secret' ($19.5m), so even if it does underwhelm it won't lose that much. Like 'Gift' and 'Secret', marketing isn't that strong now, but 'Boy' should gain momentum once it nears its release. A horror movie about a possessed doll is nothing new, but the latest in the genre was no disappointment ('Annabelle' grossed a solid $84.3m). However, 'Annabelle' had a connection to the 2013 hit 'The Conjuring' ($137.4m), which was probably the main draw for audiences. Expect 'Boy' to finish with around what 'Annabelle' opened to.
Robert De Niro and Zac Efron star in this raunchy R-rated comedy about two relatives who go on a road trip. While both of those stars have their own fanbases that could unite when it's in theaters, both have had their fair share of disappointments. Robert De Niro recently starred in last year's hits 'The Intern' ($75.3m) and 'Joy' ($22.5m and counting), but he had the help of other famous co-stars. When there's not so many draws though, he isn't as reliable as expected ('The Big Wedding' and 'Grudge Match' didn't really connect with audiences). Zac Efron's 'We Are Your Friends' flopped with just $3.6 million. There aren't that many ads selling the movie to audiences either, so expect some underwhelming numbers to go along with its debut.
Following the massive success of 'Fifty Shades of Grey', Open Road Films decided to make a spoof of that movie with Marlon Wayans in the lead. Unfortunately, comedy spoofs aren't exactly booming in business these days ('Scary Movie 5' and 'A Haunted House 2' both bombed with just $32m and $17.3m). Still, seeing a parody of one of the most controversial movies ever is something of a must-see for audiences, and don't be surprised if it ends up close to Wayans' previous spoof 'A Haunted House' ($18.1m opening/$40m finish).
'Star Trek' star Chris Pine arrives in an $85-million Coast Guard adventure that will serve as counter-programming towards an animated sequel, a comedy spoof, and a Western action flick. Now it sounds like the odds are against it. Coming so soon after the big-budget flop 'In the Heart of the Sea', another disaster drama set somewhere in the open ocean, will mute its grosses a bit, and strong casts don't always guarantee strong numbers. Also, its target audience will be split between strong holdovers such as '13 Hours', 'The Revenant', 'The Hateful Eight', and 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'. So basically, Disney is going to have to rely on its animated films, sequels, Marvel and Star Wars movies to gain its money.
Now, if you look at the title you might think this is going to be like a Western comedy. Well folks, it's the complete opposite. Apparently, 'Jane' will be a gritty action drama featuring a bunch of well-known and respected actors and actresses. But like I said for 'The Finest Hours', a strong cast doesn't mean it will be successful. It just gives a reason to be successful. Aside from Tarantino's films and 'True Grit', Westerns haven't been doing too well recently ('Cowboys & Aliens' and 'The Lone Ranger' flopped). So to think that this will outmaneuver those films would be completely out of the question.
Following the underwhelming performance of the first sequel, 'Kung Fu Panda 3' waits a whopping 5 years to get audiences interested in it again. I mean, sure it has no animated competition until 'Zootopia' in March, and animated films that open in late January or early February generally tend to open strong, but this is an abnormally long time to distance an animated sequel to its predecessor ('Toy Story 3' was a Pixar movie, so...). The drop-off from the first to the sequel is obviously a sign that domestic audiences are quickly losing interest in the franchise. Although it should be a much smaller drop this time, 'Panda' will likely decline in domestic grosses once again.
