Analysis of this summer’s box office can properly be dubbed a postmortem, so gruesome were the overall numbers.
Ticket revenue was down at least 12 percent, and ticket sales were at their lowest point for the season in 10 years. Audiences did not want to see remakes of old TV shows (bad news for “Baywatch” and “CHIPs”). They did not want to see badly reviewed franchise entries (the take for the latest “Transformers” installment was way down). It was a great, $400 million summer for “Wonder Woman,” but not for all women — “Snatched” and “Rough Night” fared poorly. Late summer has been a particular drag on revenue. Somehow, Hollywood ran out of franchise/sequel blockbusters and had to make do with — gasp! — original content. Sometimes that didn’t work out too well — “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” cost more than $100 million to make, and made only $40 million.
But well-made, well-reviewed original material usually did quite well. Edgar Wright’s “Baby Driver” topped $100 million. “Girls Trip” moved past $100 million last weekend — a notable feat for a movie starring four African American women. “Girls Trip” has become the first studio movie produced, written, and directed by African Americans and featuring all top-billed black talent to hit that mark. The movie is at $114 million and climbing, and cost just $19 million to make.
Analysts think some of this has to do with SMU, which now refers to Social Media Universe, and the way stars and celebrities who are active on social media can collectively market a movie and pull followers into theaters. According to Deadline.com, Queen Latifah and Jada Pinkett Smith marketed aggressively to their 30 million followers and along with other cast members pushed the movie to a surprise $30 million opening.
