Another summer has passed, and with it another cluster of super-mega Hollywood blockbusters, a trend that has become attached to the care-free season.
This summer saw more of the same superheroes, giant monsters, and hokey action scenes, all set on the same foundation —franchises.
Here is a list of the top 10 grossing films of the 2015 summer in the U.S.:
1. “Jurassic World”
2. “Avengers: Age of Ultron”
3. “Inside Out”
4. “Minions”
5. “Pitch Perfect 2”
6. “San Andreas”
7. “Mad Max: Fury Road”
8. “Ant-Man”
9. “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation”
10. “Spy”
Of these ten films, only three are originals: ‘Inside Out,’ ‘San Andreas’ and ‘Spy,’ respectively. The rest are sequels, spin-offs, or reboots —products of larger franchise machines.
Recent years of repetitive franchise blockbusters have led many viewers to lament over the loss of originality in Hollywood.
This summer, like all other before, had its winners and losers.
The idea of what makes a film a ‘winner’ or ‘loser,’ however, is complicated. Yes, some movies gain both critical and financial acclaim, and others gain neither. But some of this summer’s films were critical successes yet financial failures, while others drew record-number audiences while garnering a less than enthusiastic nod from critics. And still others landed somewhere in between.
For instance, the greatly anticipated “Jurassic World,” a reboot-sequel of Steven Spielberg’s beloved dinosaur blockbuster franchise, easily topped this summer’s domestic box office by earning $636 million. Critics were not as impressed by Chris Pratt and the mega CGI dinosaur action flick, as the movie earned a mere “59” on Metacritic and a slightly more respectable 71 percent on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes. All in all, average ratings for what now stands as one of the highest grossing films ever.
An example of high critical praise combined with somewhat disappointing box office reception is George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road.”
Critics welcomed the reboot of Miller’s cult-classic with nearly universal praise, giving it an “89” on Metacritic and a very impressive 98 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
However, audiences were less impressed, throwing a mere $153 million its way. While these satisfying numbers earned “Max” a decent profit and placed it seventh on the U.S. top ten list, they were less than expected given the huzzahs over the practical effects, refreshingly original action and balance of both male and female triumph.
While one can debate over the merits of “Max” and “Jurassic,” there is no question in the success of this summer’s hit: Pixar’s “Inside Out.”
By dazzling kids and adults alike with its in-depth look at emotions and the joyous pain of growing up,
“Inside Out” succeeded both critically and financially, bringing in $336 million as well as a “94” on Metacritic and a 98 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. After years of questioning whether Pixar had lost its touch, given middling successes with “Brave” and “Monster’s University,” the studio reclaimed its place as the leader in animation with the success of “Inside Out.”
This summer showed that the saturation of Hollywood with sequels and franchises still works. Even though needless reboots like “Fantastic Four” and “Terminator: Genesys” brought the summer down, successful ones like ‘Jurassic World’ and ‘Mad Max’ held the summer back up.
It’s difficult to change a system that created one of the top grossing films ever as well as critical darlings like ‘Mad Max.’ But, the results of this summer show that the Hollywood franchising bubble hasn’t burst…yet.