Now that the summer bonanza of blockbusters is officially over, it’s time to see what hit big–and what failed miserably.
Happily for the studios, the summer of 2004 is heading towards being the biggest moneymaker in history. By Labor Day, analysts say, the domestic box office should surpass $4 billion, which tops the previous record-holding summer of 2002. The biggest movie that summer was Spider-Man and not so oddly enough, one of the biggest releases this summer was Spider-Man 2, which has earned over $300 million so far.
No fewer than nine movies released this summer have passed the cha-chingin’ $100-million mark, which remains the blockbuster bell to ring, even in a time of filmmaking in which movies, like Spider-Man 2, cost an average of $250 million just to produce and market.
We take a look at a handful of this summer hits, misses and those blockbusters somewhere in between.
Hits
Sequels, controversial documentaries and a nasty dodgeball game were all the rage this summer.
Shrek 2
Total gross: $436. 4 million
Budget: $75 million
Box office analysis: It pays to be green, mean and married to a princess. Although it may not have held the same kind of magical surprise the original 2001 smash hit did, Shrek 2 still hit a chord with fans as well as the younger audiences, propelling the sequel into the upper stratosphere. It became the third highest grossing film of all time as well as the biggest animated film ever. Not too shabby for an ogre, a talking donkey and a cat wearing boots.
Spider-Man 2
Total gross: $367.8 million
Budget: $200 million
Box office analysis: You knew this was going to be big hit–it just had to be after the phenomenon that was Spider-Man. In the second installment, Peter Parker/Spider-Man wrestles with his inner spider and luckily provides an even better story, with a way cooler villain and tons more depth. Now, let’s see what they do with Spider-Man 3 (due out in the summer of 2007).
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Total gross: $247.5 million
Budget: $130 million
Box office analysis: Sometimes change is good. After directing the first two installments, Chris Columbus handed the reins over to Y Tu Mama Tambien director Alfonso Cuaron for the third Harry Potter–and suddenly, we were thrown into a darker, edgier world of witchcraft and wizardry, filled with more teenage angst than an episode of Dawson’s Creek. And Potter fans ate it up. Although Prisoner of Azkaban is the lowest grossing of the three Potter movies domestically, its worldwide numbers ($725 million to date) are keeping it strong.
Fahrenheit 9/11
Total gross: $117.4 million
Budget: $6 million
Box office analysis: All hail Michael Moore! The Oscar-winning filmmaker has single handedly taken the documentary format and made it a viable moneymaker. As the highest grossing documentary ever, Fahrenheit‘s subject matter, a rant against the Bush administration, plus the extra publicity it received, including its Palme d’Or win at the Cannes Film Festival, helped boost its exposure at the box office. Think they’ll give Moore another Oscar for this? Not!
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
Total gross: $122 million
Budget: $20 million
Box office analysis: Who would have thunk a crazy comedy about a down-and-dirty dodgeball game would bring in the masses? But then again, star Ben Stiller is on fire these days.
The Bourne Supremacy
Total gross: $157.7 million
Budget: $75 million
Box office analysis: Forget about James Bond–obviously moviegoers were ready for a more intelligent spy thriller. Based on the popular Robert Ludlum books, the 2002 Bourne Identity did surprisingly well, taking in a healthy $121 million, thus establishing Jason Bourne as the new super spy/assassin. The sequel was bound to follow suit.
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The Middle Ground
Tidal waves, ultra-cool assassins and hunky men in short skirts all scored relatively well at the box office, but some of these were summer tentpoles that fell short of the mark.
The Day After Tomorrow
Total gross: $186.1 million
Budget: $125 million
Box office analysis: If done correctly, disasters can play big–and Day After Tomorrow was one mother of a disaster movie. Even though it got mostly panned by the critics, that didn’t stop audiences from flocking to see what an environmental meltdown pushing us into an ice age would look like. Looked pretty cool.
Troy
Total gross: $133.2 million
Budget: $185 million
Box office analysis: Although it reportedly cost $250 million to make and may look like a loser at the box office domestically, the action-packed take on the Trojan War, with its beefcake display, lead by the king of six-packed abs Brad Pitt, made up its numbers worldwide with a positively heroic $489 million.
I, Robot
Total gross: $140 million
Budget: $105 million
Box office analysis: If I, Robot wasn’t the smash hit Fox paid Will Smith $28 million to deliver, it still opened with a hefty $52.2 million. Hint: Leave the Fresh Prince to Men in Black sequels, not cool, dark, existentialist sci-fi.
Collateral
Total gross: $65million
Budget: $80 million
Box office analysis: Tom Cruise rarely goes wrong. Although this film didn’t have a huge promotional push behind it, just the pairing of him with Oscar-nominated director Michael Mann was intriguing enough to lure audiences in–who could then tell their friends to go see this terrific drama layered with as many shades of gray as the newly dyed hair on Tom‘s head.
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Misses
You can’t win them all, not if you’re looking for mythical creatures living in the woods, see with silver eyeballs or just have your eyes on the White House.
The Village
Total gross: $110.5 million
Budget: $60 million
Box office analysis: Despite a huge $50 million opening, the highly anticipated M. Night Shyamalan film about a 19th-century village living in fear of the mythical creatures surrounding them is more a disappointment than a hit. The hype to make Shyamalan the next great thing since Wonder Bread backfired when the film turned out to be not what–or as good as–people expected. Oh well. Better luck next time (oh, and there will be a next time. Shyamalan isn’t going anywhere).
The Manchurian Candidate
Total gross: $59 million
Budget: $80 million
Why studios continue to believe remaking classic old movies is a surefire recipe for success is anyone’s guess. This update of the 1962 film starring Frank Sinatra was proof positive that some movies just don’t need to be remade. Paramount’s other remake this year was the disastrous Stepford Wives–studios might heed the warning, it pays to come up with original material rather than rehashing the old.
Van Helsing
Total gross: $160 million
Budget: $120 million
What was supposed to be a hearkening back to the Universal monsters of yore ending up being a monster of a laugh, with giggle-inducing dialogue, a frenetic, nonstop pace and video gamey F/X. Uni can thank god for Hugh Jackman, who is the only reason this flick wasn’t more than a $40 million loser.
The Chronicles of Riddick
Total gross: $57.6 million
Budget: $110 million
Box office analysis: OK, this just solidifies one thing. Vin Diesel really isn’t the box office draw everything thought he’d be. I mean, come on, Pitch Black was a tense little horror indie but did it necessitate this huge, Dune-like sequel? Apparently not. The best thing to come out of this disaster is the kick-ass video game.
King Arthur
Total gross: $52 million
Budget: $90 million
Box office analysis: This rendition of the Arthurian tale tried to put a historical spin on the legend–and it just didn’t work. Even if star Keira Knightley looked awfully fierce as the arrow-slingin’ Guinevere, people still want to see Camelot. It also didn’t help that Arthur came on the heels of Troy–moviegoers were tired of sword clashing.
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D’oh!
Every summer has its big-time losers, and 2004 was no exception.
Catwoman
Total gross: $39.3 million
Budget: $85 million
Box office analysis: What is up with Halle Berry? She won an historical Best Actress Academy Award for her performance in the little-seen Monster’s Ball–and then everything just went to hell. Pretty much all of her efforts since then, including the dismal Gothika and now Catwoman, have failed miserably. Someone get her a new agent, pronto.
Around the World in 80 Days
Total gross: $23.9 million
Budget: $110 million
Box office analysis: Disney’s long, hot summer was really more of a meltdown. Along with The Village and King Arthur, the Mouse House also had 80 Days–a colorful adaptation of the Jules Verne novel about an eccentric scientist and his Chinese sidekick traveling the world, as well as a remake of the equally colorful 1957 Best Picture winner. Disney probably thought with Jackie Chan on board, it would be more successful. They were wrong.
