Steve’s Box Office Report: January 2016
Top 10 Films for the Month of January:
1. The Revenant – $183,637,894
2. Kung Fu Panda 3 – $143,528,619
3. Ride Along 2 – $91,221,830
4. 13 Hours – $52,853,219
5. The Boy – $35,819,556
6. Dirty Grandpa – $35,593,113
7. The 5th Wave – $34,916,787
8. The Finest Hours – $27,569,558
9. The Forest – $26,594,261
10. Norm of the North – $17,062,449
Honorable Mentions:
1. Room – $14,677,654
2. Carol – $12,711,491
3. Fifty Shades of Black – $11,686,940
4. The Danish Girl – $11,114,018
5. Jane Got a Gun – $1,513,793
January Winners: The Revenant, Ride Along 2, and the Boy
We kick off a brand new year with 2016 and after how strong 2015 ended, it was going to be interesting to see how 2016 started off and if it could keep the momentum going or if it would stall it a bit like we’ve seen most years. One thing that obviously helps is if this category has at least more than one film in it and this year, we do get a few films in this category though perhaps not as many as there should be. The first film that makes it into this category is the epic drama film the Revenant, based on the novel of the same name documenting the life of frontiersman Hugh Glass. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who felt it was a good film mainly carried by the performances of its stars, and it would finish with over $183 million which I will delve into later in the recap. The next film that makes it into this category is the buddy cop sequel Ride Along 2, the sequel to the 2014 film where Ben and James attempt to bring down a drug dealer in Atlanta. The film would receive negative reviews from critics who felt it was on par if not worse than the first film, and it would finish with over $91 million which was a good showing though it was also less than the first film. The last film that makes it into this category is the horror film the Boy, a film about an American nanny who is hired to watch over a doll only to find out it is potentially possessed. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics who felt it was too pedestrian despite the unique plot, and it would finish with over $35 million which was a fine showing for a horror film in January. While we did end up getting three films in this category, it does feel a bit disappointing given that a few films released this month should’ve done better as I will get into later.
January Losers: The Finest Hours and Jane Got a Gun
Normally, this category can have quite a good number of films make it during the month of January since the month is usually dominated by the December films, but this month bucks the trend a bit with only two films making it. Now it comes down to how bad the films did and if they were bad enough to drag the month down, but the fact that there were only two films is itself a plus for the month. The first film that makes it into this category is the action thriller film the Finest Hours, based on the true story of the U.S. Coast Guard rescuing the crew of the S.S. Pendleton in 1952. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who felt it left a lot to be desired despite its commitment to accuracy, and it would finish with over $27 million which netted a fairly big loss for the film. The other film that makes it into this category is the Western film Jane Got a Gun, a film about a woman who recruits her ex to protect her family from a gang of outlaws. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics who felt that the film wasted Natalie Portman’s performance, and it would finish with just over $1 million which was a poor showing for this film. While there were only 2 films that made it into this category, the fact that both did as poorly as they did is not a good sign for how the month will end up doing in the end.
The Surprise/Story of January 2016: The Revenant dominants Kung Fu Panda 3 and takes top spot of light January 2016
So as I mentioned earlier in the recap, January has become predominately owned by the big films that were released in December which holds serve here as Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens was the big money maker for the month. January also sees a couple of award contenders that were released limited in December come out wide here, and the Revenant was at the top of that as it would be the front-runner in terms of money made. When it comes to the actual January releases, the two with the most eyes were Kung Fu Panda 3 and Ride Along 2 and while both those films did fairly well, neither ended up coming close to the Revenant which would take the top spot for the month and pretty much carried the month for the most part.
Overachiever of January 2016: The Revenant
On paper, it seemed like the Revenant would only appeal to a certain section of the audience as it is a film that is pretty much carried by the performance of Leonardo DiCaprio and this film is coming just off the heels of another Western in the Hateful Eight. While the reviews for the film were fairly positive, there was still a belief that a Western had a ceiling and could only go so high, but somehow the Revenant would buck this trend by finishing with well over $183 million and that’s coming off a solid performance on the limited circuit. Coupled with the number of awards that was getting nominated for and you had the recipe for a great showing by this film, and there is no question that this film deserves to be the overachiever of the month and we will see how it stands up against the other overachievers of the year.
Underachiever of January 2016: Kung Fu Panda 3
Looking at the films released this month, coming up with a film that deserved to be in this category was a bit of a challenge, but I ended up deciding on the third film in the Kung Fu Panda trilogy which sees Po reunite with his biological father while helping the Furious Five and the panda village stop an evil spirit warrior. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who felt it was a fine third film in the series, and it would finish with over $143 million which made the lowest grossing film of the series. One could say part of the problem was that this film was released in January as opposed to the summer which is when the other films came out, but you could also say that this was a prime spot for it to do well given the lack of family films out at this time. As a result, this film does end up being the underachiever of the month and we will see what happens with the Kung Fu Panda franchise if it continues or decides to go a different direction.
January 2016 Awards Watch: The Revenant, Dirty Grandpa, Room, Carol, Fifty Shades of Black, and the Danish Girl
As we come to the start of the year, we are hitting the home stretch of the awards season and it is during this time that the big contenders come out, and this year is no exception as we have multiple films from this month make it into this category. The first film that makes it into this category is the Revenant which would win 3 Academy Awards (Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Cinematography) while being nominated for 9 more (Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Production Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, and Best Visual Effects). The film would also win 3 Golden Globe Awards (Best Picture – Drama, Best Actor – Drama, and Best Director) while being nominated for one more (Best Original Score) which solidified its place as one of the top films of the year. The next film that makes it into this category is the comedy film Dirty Grandpa, a film about a man who takes his grandfather to Florida for Spring Break, and the film would receive negative reviews from critics who felt it was one of the worst of the year as it finished with over $35 million as it would be nominated for 4 Golden Raspberry Awards (Worst Film, Worst Actor, Worst Supporting Actress, and Worst Screenplay) though it wouldn’t win any. The next film that makes it into this category is the survival drama film Room, a film about a mother who escapes captivity with her son who was born while in captivity and she lets him experience freedom. The film would receive critical acclaim from critics who considered it one of the best films of the year and it would finish with over $14 million, and it would win one Academy Award (Best Actress) while being nominated for 3 more (Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay). It would also win 1 Golden Globe Award (Best Actress – Drama) and was nominated for two more (Best Picture – Drama and Best Screenplay), and this would also solidify it’s spot as one of the best of the year. The next film that makes it into this category is the romantic drama film Carol, a film about an older woman going through a divorce and having an affair with a younger female photographer. It would receive critical acclaim from critics and would finish with over $12 million as it was nominated for 6 Academy Awards (Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, and Best Costume Design) though it wouldn’t win any. It was also nominated for 4 Golden Globe Awards (Best Picture – Drama, Best Actress – Drama twice, Best Director, and Best Original Score) which it didn’t win any, but again it showed how well it was received. The next film that makes it into this category is the parody film Fifty Shades of Black, a parody of Fifty Shades of Grey where a businessman introduces a shy college student to his idea of romance. The film was critically panned by critics who felt it was a terrible parody of a film that was already not well-liked and it would finish with over $11 million, and it would be nominated for 2 Golden Raspberry Awards (Worst Supporting Actress and Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off, or Sequel) though it didn’t win either. The last film that makes it into this category is the romantic drama film the Danish Girl, based on the novel of the same name focusing on two Danish painters, one of them being a transgender woman. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics and would finish with over $11 million as it would win one Academy Award (Best Supporting Actress) while being nominated for 3 more (Best Actor, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design). The film would also receive 3 Golden Globe nominations (Best Actor – Drama, Best Actress – Drama, and Best Original Score) which it didn’t win, and it is fair to say this month racked up a lot of nominates though only a few wins amongst them.
Overall Thoughts of January 2016:
Overall, the month of January 2016 ended up being a fairly solid month that falls about right in the middle, and that itself is a very good showing considering how many previous Januarys have been absolute garbage. We are a far cry from Januarys like in 2007 and 2010 where they were just complete throwaway months, and while this year’s is not a top-tier month like other months in the year, it is still pretty solid. We did have 2 films make over $100 million which itself was strong given it is rare that we even get one let alone 2, and the rest of the films did fairly decent with only one or two major underperformers. After a strong end to 2015, this was a fine start to 2016 and we will see how the rest of the year plays out as on the surface, it doesn’t look like anything will match up to the Force Awakens. As for the month of January 2016, it is a solid enough month that wasn’t great, but wasn’t terrible either.
Final Grade: C+
