The summer box office got a much-needed boost from "Bad Boys: Ride or Die," starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as Miami cops. Pulling in $56 million domestically, it landed on the higher end of expectations. However, despite this injection of energy, the overall summer season still lags behind last year, trailing by 26%, according to Comscore.
Analysts don't pin the decline on "Bad Boys 4" but rather on the lack of excitement surrounding other releases. Films like Sony’s animated “The Garfield Movie” ($10 million), Paramount’s fantasy comedy “IF” ($8 million), and Disney and 20th Century’s sequel “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” ($5.4 million) fell short in comparison. Even though “IF” and “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” had been in theaters for weeks, they struggled to make an impact.
Comparing this year to the same weekend in 2023 reveals a stark contrast. Last year, titles like “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” dominated the box office, leaving this year's lineup struggling to keep up. Paul Dergarabedian, a senior Comscore analyst, sums it up, saying, “There was simply not enough collective box office horsepower to move the needle versus the very tough comparisons a year ago.”
The slow summer isn’t solely due to lackluster films. Last year’s labor strikes delayed many big releases, leaving a gap in this year's schedule. According to David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research, “We haven’t refilled the release schedule yet. It’s going to take time.”
Despite fewer releases compared to pre-pandemic summers, this year's crop hasn't been able to match the quality of 2023's films. Dergarabedian emphasizes, “Quality is more important than quantity.” However, hope remains as upcoming releases like Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” and “A Quiet Place: Day One” are expected to generate momentum. Additionally, blockbusters such as “Despicable Me 4,” “Twisters,” and Marvel’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” aim to inject some much-needed excitement into the summer season.
Login