Summer Blockbuster Season 2012 is almost at an end, and so I thought I would revisit some of the highlights of the season's biggest hits, biggest surprises, and the rest.
It goes without saying that anyone thinking about this season will think about two movie at first thought -- "The Avengers" and "The Dark Knight Rises". "The Avengers", with an incredible, unforeseen dominance this season with an unthinkable $614+ million domestic take ($1.5+ BILLION worldwide take) has become the #3 movie of all-time everywhere...and "The Dark Knight Rises" is poised to shatter its records. With early figures estimating an opening day of $85 million ($30.6 million from midnight showings), it's possible that "The Dark Knight Rises" will break the 3-day record "The Avengers" set back in May. (Due to the tragic shooting in Colorado, Warner Bros has announced they will not release the actual figures of the opening weekend until Monday.) And in terms of critic and audience reception, there hasn't been a movie that has made both crowds unite like these two films.
And then there's the rest...yeah.
Look, the argument can be made that "The Avengers" was never estimated to become the juggernaut it did (pun is partially intended), so no other studio saw is that big of a risk. Sure, no one released another major release the week of its debut, but that's standard for a movie of this magnitude. However, the numbers don't lie. Releasing an action movie between "The Avengers" and "The Dark Knight Rises" has clearly been a mistake of catastrophic proportions. In fact, it seems releasing ANY movie during that time has resulted in diminished results. Don't believe me? Let me show you...
**NOTE: All figures listed in this article are as of 7/19/2012**
*THE SUCCESSES*
"MEN IN BLACK 3" (May 25, 2012) Domestic: $175+ million, Worldwide $614+ million
Fifteen years after the original "Men in Black" showed us that aliens exist all around us, "Men In Black 3", the sequel we never thought we'd need, has made its mark on the box office in a big way, and is the only successful action movie between "The Avengers" and "The Dark Knight Rises". Not only does it bring our favorite odd couple Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones back to the big screen, but, with a story that neatly (and poignantly) ties back to the original two movies, made viewers realize how much they loved the series to begin with. As an added note, this was the first film in its first three weeks since its May 4th debut to knock "The Avengers" from the #1 spot at the box office.
"MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE'S MOST WANTED" (JUNE 8, 2012) Domestic: $206+ million, Worldwide: $476+ million
It seems animated films haven't felt the affects of the aforementioned one-two combination of the season, and "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" is a good example of this. Granted, I haven't seen any of the movies since the first one (because I hated the first one), but, once again, the numbers don't lie. "Madagascar 3" caused one of the biggest upsets of the season: stealing the weekend from the poised king "Prometheus". And "Prometheus" hasn't even come close to recouping from losing that weekend either. Of course, with a unique story from the other two (the animals join a traveling circus and wind up in Europe), it's clear that if you give your audience something new, they'll come in droves.
"BRAVE" (June 22, 2012) Domestic: $202+ million, Worldwide: $249+ million
Disney/Pixar's newest release "Brave" was poised for success from day one. The first original story since 2009's "Up", "Brave" had mass appeal with critics, audiences and families, giving young girls a new role model with Merida (think a Scottish Katniss Everdeen) and Pixar it's next $200 million maker. Since last year's "Cars 2" was the first film of theirs to fail to do that, "Brave" shows that Pixar is still king of the animated film.
"TED" (June 29, 2012) Domestic: $170+ million, Worldwide: $202+ million
When an R-rated comedy can stand out among giants like "The Avengers", you have to take notice. Especially in a year when other R-rated comedies "The Dictator" and "That's My Boy" bombed big time, "Ted" comes in, stealing the #1 spot from second-weekend favorite "Brave" and making money similar to "The Hangover". As "Brave" proved, you give your audience a solid, original story, and audiences will come. Of course, it didn't hurt that this was the first live action debut from "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane and featured a foul-mouthed, pot-smoking teddy bear. Priceless.
"THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN" (July 3, 2012) Domestic: $217+ million, Worldwide: $538+ million
What started as the much-maligned, least-wanted reboot of Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" franchise turned into a sensation to beheld. "The Amazing Spider-Man" has defied the odds and quickly became a hit film. Starting back from the beginning, showing a new spin on the Spider-Man story where we see Peter Parker's parents leaving, his relationship with Gwen Stacy, and merely hinting at Norman Osborne's presence rather than making him the villain in its first outing, "The Amazing Spider-Man" is a force to be reckoned with. Andrew Garfield is the perfect Peter Parker, giving fans the Spider-Man they deserve. Much like "Batman Begins", the figures for this film are not even close to the original franchise's grosses. But, since this is a "dreaded reboot", the sequel will more than likely do a lot better. Hell, look at "The Dark Knight".
*THE MISSES*
"DARK SHADOWS" (May 11, 2012) Domestic: $77+ million, Worldwide: $234+ million
Timing is everything, people. It's not that "Dark Shadows" was a bad movie. In fact, far from it. But it was the first film to be released the week after "The Avengers" when people thought it would be a hit, not the #3 highest grossing film of all time. Therefore, "Dark Shadows" was relegated to the shadows and forgotten about. This is tragically not the only time this season Tim Burton and writer Seth Grahame-Smith will suffer from bad timing.
"THE DICTATOR" (May 16, 2012) Domestic: $59+ million, Worldwide: $156+ million
After hits "Borat" and "Bruno", Sacha Baron Cohen released "The Dictator" seeing a hat-trick. What actually happened was uglier than a Middle East peace talk breakdown. This proves that Cohen's schtick of foreign accent-offensive movie is losing its appeal, and perhaps people are getting sick of him. Sad, though, seeing that this by far his best movie of the three.
"BATTLESHIP" (May 18, 2012) Domestic: $64+ million, Worldwide $301+ million
"Miss!" Sorry, I couldn't resist.
But that's the best way to sum it up really. Though it was a fair success oversees, the truth of the matter is simple: taking a board game with no real plot to speak of and making a movie of it by simply adding aliens is a really bad idea. I haven't seen audiences reject a movie this quickly since "Batman and Robin".
"PROMETHEUS" (June 8, 2012) Domestic: $124+ million, Worldwide: $299+ million
Pardon my giggling, but, by writing this, I can already hear the fanboys bitching that I'm calling this a miss-fire.
But sorry, fellas! Numbers don't lie! In a year that a talking teddy bear can amass over $170 million domestic in only 3 weeks, "Prometheus" is a bomb, pure and simple. What was supposed to be a "thinking man's movie" only made audiences think "Why did I just spend my money on that?". If this season has taught us anything, it's that a solid original story will triumph over a stale one. And when the filmmakers tried too hard to force this to be the prequel to "Alien", it only makes audience reject it quicker.
"ROCK OF AGES" (July 15, 2012) Domestic: $37+ million, Worldwide: $49+ million
As much as I would love to defend this movie here, the numbers make it very difficult to do so. As hilarious as it was to watch Tom Cruise adorn a crystal demon head codpiece and sing "Wanted Dead Or Alive" and "Poor Some Sugar On Me", the rest of the film didn't have a lot to offer for everyone. It was too silly to be taken serious, but a few serious scenes made it so people couldn't take the film at face value. Not to mention the film was completely mismarketed. Fans of the original musical didn't show up because they made the film more family friendly, but the film itself is far from family friendly (did I mention Tom Cruise wears a crystal demon head codpiece?), making it hard to find any audience at all.
"ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER" (June 22, 2012) Domestic: $36+ million, Worldwide: $65+ million
Timing truly is everything, people. Producer Tim Burton and writer Seth Grahame-Smith failed to find an audience again with the adaptation of Grahame-Smith's New York Times' Best-Seller of the same name. Granted, they changed many things in the book (including the ending, which was a personal tragedy for me), but the truth is simple: it went up against "Brave", and everyone knows that Pixar will win about 90% of the time. Most audiences were expecting a satire on US History with its title, but that's not what this was at all. This is an earnest action movie with great performances, wonderful action sequences, and a hell of a lot of heart. Too bad audiences didn't see it.
However, fear not. Considering Kevin Smith on his new show "Spoilers" gave this film a glowing review, it will most likely have a cult following by the time it comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray.
"SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD" (June 22, 2012) Domestic: 7+ million, Worldwide: 7+ million (was not released oversees)
It pains me to list this movie as a miss. What is easily one of my favorite of the season (not to mention the year), "Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World" was simply too dark and honest of a movie to connect with domestic audiences. I guarantee if this film would've received a release oversees, it would have been a hit on foreign shores. Though the film bombed here, I wouldn't be surprised if this became a hit when the Awards Season comes around. At least critics see what I saw in this.
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