SUMMER movies list
Sequels dominated the top 10 movies of this summer, led by “Avengers: Infinity Wars”
With summer officially over tomorrow, I present to you the Top 10 films (domestically) for summer 2018:
1. “Avengers: Infinity Wars” – (PG) $700 million 2. “Incredibles 2” – (PG) $679 million 3. “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” – (PG) $606 million 4. “Deadpool 2” – (14A) $318 million 5. “Mission Impossible - Fallout” – (PG) $216 million
6. “Ant-Man and the Wasp” – (PG) $215 million 7. “Solo: A Star Wars Story” – (PG) $214 million
8. “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” – (G) $165 million
9. “Crazy Rich Asians” – (PG) $150 million
10. “Ocean’s 8” – (PG) $139 million
Honorable mention needs to go ✦out
to two other films. Coming in at number 11, “The Meg” with $137 million and number 12, “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” with $120 million. Both films are still in release and stand a reasonable chance of breaking into the top 10 list. Eight of the top 10 films are sequels (nine if you count “Solo: A Star Wars Story”) — which I find both intriguing and disturbing at the same time. Intriguing, as I am personally surprised at the success of so many sequels — often they do not perform as well. I am disturbed with the reliance on sequels, because when and if fatigue settles in, what will draw people to the cinema? Only one original film, “Crazy Rich Asians,” had enough traction to draw big crowds this summer. I do love when Hollywood attempts originality — it’s just that we, as patrons, do not always reward originality with our wallets.
The burgeoning box office numbers can partially be attributed to surcharges — I note that seven from this list were released in 3D — certainly bolstering their box office take with the 3D premium charged. When this is combined with technologies such as 4D, Imax, AVX, D-Box and Prime/reserved seating, one gets a sense at how easy box office figures can inflate in a hurry.
I believe there were a few disappointing notes for Hollywood. First was the lack of performance from a couple of films starring the larger-than-life Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, as both “Rampage” with $99 million, and “Skyscraper” with $68 million, failed to crack the $100-million success benchmark. Secondly, we saw that not everything Disney touches turns to gold, as evidenced by the less-thanexpected success of “Christopher Robin,” currently playing, with only $95 million.
One final note, for those of you looking to still catch these films in theatres — numbers 2, 3, 6 and 12 are currently playing at the Movie Mill, with numbers 5,8, 9 and 11 expected in the coming weeks. See you at the movie theatre! Please feel free to contact me with your comments or feedback — even an idea for an article — len@moviemill.com.