Steve’s Box Office Report: 2015
So we have finally reached the end of the year and I believe that it is only fitting that we do a final recap of the year in general. The way this will work is that I will first take all the films that were number one in their respective month and rank them by the amount of money that they made. I will then include a list of films that all made over $100 million in their run into a separate list that will be considered honorable mentions. Next, I will list all the winners and losers from each respective month and after calculating the profits and net losses, I will rank the top 10 winners and losers of the year. Next, I will list all the stories/surprises from the year and list my top 3 for the year, and then I will list the overachievers and underachievers before forming a top 5 of the year for both based on box figures and personal opinion. After that, I will list all the films from each month that were nominated for the big 3 awards (Academy, Golden Globe, and Golden Raspberry) and then list the films that won each of those awards (number of awards won by number of awards nominated for). Finally, I will give my overall thoughts of the year in general and rank the months by grade before giving a final grade for the year.
The Number One Films of 2015:
1. Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens – $936,662,225 (December)
2. Jurassic World – $652,270,625 (June)
3. Avengers: Age of Ultron – $459,005,868 (May)
4. Furious 7 – $353,007,020 (April)
5. American Sniper – $350,126,372 (January)
6. Minions – $336,045,770 (July)
7. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 – $281,723,902 (November)
8. The Martian – $228,443,663 (October)
9. Cinderella – $201,151,353 (March)
10. Hotel Transylvania 2 – $169,700,110 (September)
11. Fifty Shades of Grey – $166,167,230 (February)
12. Straight Outta Compton – $161,197,785 (August)
Honorable Mentions:
1. Inside Out – $356,461,711 (June)
2. Spectre – $200,074,609 (November)
3. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation – $195,042,377 (July)
4. Pitch Perfect 2 – $184,296,230 (May)
5. Ant-Man – $180,202,163 (July)
6. Home – $177,397,510 (March)
7. The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water – $162,994,032 (February)
8. San Andreas – $155,190,832 (May)
9. Mad Max: Fury Road – $153,636,354 (May)
10. Daddy’s Home – $150,351,137 (December)
11. The Divergent Series: Insurgent – $130,179,072 (March)
12. The Peanuts Movie – $130,178,411 (November)
13. Kingsman: The Secret Service – $128,261,724 (February)
14. The Good Dinosaur – $123,087,120 (November)
15. Spy – $110,825,712 (June)
16. Trainwreck – $110,212,700 (July)
17. Creed – $109,767,581 (November)
2015 Winners:
January: American Sniper, Taken 3, Paddington, the Wedding Ringer, Selma, and the Boy Next Door
February: Fifty Shades of Grey, the SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, Kingsman: The Secret Service, McFarland, USA, The DUFF, and the Lazarus Effect
March: Cinderella, Home, the Divergent Series: Insurgent, Get Hard, and the Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
April: Furious 7, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, Woman in Gold, and Unfriended
May: Avengers: Age of Ultron, Pitch Perfect 2, and San Andreas
June: Jurassic World, Inside Out, Spy, Insidious: Chapter 3, and Max
July: Minions, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Ant-Man, Trainwreck, Magic Mike XXL, Vacation, Southpaw, Paper Towns, and the Gallows
August: Straight Outta Compton, War Room, the Gift, and No Escape
September: Hotel Transylvania 2, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, the Intern, the Visit, the Perfect Guy, and a Walk in the Woods
October: The Martian, Goosebumps, and Bridge of Spies
November: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, the Peanuts Movie, Creed, Spotlight, and Brooklyn
December: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, Daddy’s Home, Sisters, the Big Short, and Krampus
The Top 10 Winners of 2015:
1. Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (December)
2. Jurassic World (June)
3. Avengers: Age of Ultron (May)
4. Inside Out (June)
5. Furious 7 (April)
6. American Sniper (January)
7. Minions (July)
8. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (November)
9. The Martian (October)
10. Cinderella (March)
2015 Losers:
January: Strange Magic and Mortdecai
February: Jupiter Ascending and Seventh Son
March: Run All Night, the Gunman, and Unfinished Business
April: None
May: Tomorrowland
June: None
July: Terminator Genisys
August: Fantastic Four and the Man from U.N.C.L.E.
September: None
October: Pan, Crimson Peak, the Last Witch Hunter, the Walk, and Our Brand is Crisis
November: Spectre, the Good Dinosaur, and Victor Frankenstein
December: Point Break and In the Heart of the Sea
The Top 10 Losers of 2015:
1. Fantastic Four (August)
2. Spectre (November)
3. Tomorrowland (May)
4. Terminator Genisys (July)
5. Pan (October)
6. The Good Dinosaur (November)
7. Jupiter Ascending (February)
8. Point Break (December)
9. Strange Magic (January)
10. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (August)
2015 Stories:
January: “American Sniper” snipes through the competition and easily takes the top spot of January 2015
February: Grey slightly edges out yellow as “Fifty Shades” sneaks past “SpongeBob” to take top spot of February 2015
March: Live action “Cinderella” remake outduels “Home” to win top spot of March 2015
April: Seventh installment of “Fast and Furious” easily slides into the top spot of April 2015
May: The MCU rolls on as “Age of Ultron” easily takes top spot of May 2015
June: Dinosaurs dominate emotions as “Jurassic World” takes top spot of June 2015 and Pixar’s losing streak continues
July: Minions assemble as “Despicable Me” spinoff easily takes top spot of July 2015
August: Hip-Hop dominates superheroes and horror as “Straight Outta Compton” easily takes top spot of August 2015
September: Moviegoers return to Transylvania as “Hotel” sequel easily takes top spot of September 2015
October: “The Martian” makes landfall and dominates October 2015
November: The Hunger Games franchise ends on a bit of a whimper as “Mockingjay Part 2” takes fairly loaded November 2015
December: The Force is strong with Star Wars as Episode VII breaks numerous records and dominates December 2015
The Top 3 Stories of 2015:
1. The Force is strong with Star Wars as Episode VII breaks numerous records and dominates December 2015
2. Dinosaurs dominate emotions as “Jurassic World” takes top spot of June 2015 and Pixar’s losing streak continues
3. The Hunger Games franchise ends on a bit of a whimper as “Mockingjay Part 2” takes fairly loaded November 2015
Overachievers of 2015:
January: American Sniper
February: Kingsman: The Secret Service
March: Cinderella
April: Furious 7
May: Pitch Perfect 2
June: Jurassic World
July: Minions
August: Straight Outta Compton
September: Hotel Transylvania 2
October: The Martian
November: Creed
December: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
The Top 5 Overachievers of 2015:
1. Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (December)
2. Jurassic World (June)
3. Minions (July)
4. Creed (November)
5. Cinderella (March)
Underachievers of 2015:
January: The Boy Next Door
February: Hot Tub Time Machine 2
March: Chappie
April: Ex Machina
May: Mad Max: Fury Road
June: Ted 2
July: Pixels
August: Fantastic Four
September: Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
October: Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension
November: Spectre
December: The Hateful Eight
The Top 5 Underachievers of 2015:
1. Fantastic Four (August)
2. Mad Max: Fury Road (May)
3. Pixels (July)
4. Ted 2 (June)
5. Chappie (March)
2015 Awards Watch:
January: American Sniper, the Wedding Ringer, Selma, the Boy Next Door, Foxcatcher, Inherent Vice, and Mortdecai
February: Fifty Shades of Grey, Jupiter Ascending, Still Alice, Seventh Song, and Hot Tub Time Machine 2
March: Cinderella
April: Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 and Ex Machina
May: Mad Max: Fury Road
June: Inside Out, Spy, and Love and Mercy
July: Pixels, Vacation, and Amy
August: Straight Outta Compton, Fantastic Four, and Shaun the Sheep Movie
September: Sicario and Grandma
October: The Martian, Bridge of Spies, Pan, and Steve Jobs
November: Spectre, the Peanuts Movie, the Good Dinosaur, Creed, Spotlight, Brooklyn, and Trumbo
December: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip, the Big Short, Joy, the Hateful Eight, and Concussion
Awards Winners:
Academy Awards: Mad Max: Fury Road (6 out of 10), Spotlight (2 out of 6), Bridge of Spies (1 out of 6), the Big Short (1 out of 5), Inside Out (1 out of 2), Amy (1 out of 1), the Hateful Eight (1 out of 3), Spectre (1 out of 1), and Ex Machina (1 out of 2)
Golden Globe Awards: The Martian (2 out of 3), Steve Jobs (2 out of 4), Joy (1 out of 2), Creed (1 out of 1), the Hateful Eight (1 out of 3), Spectre (1 out of 1), and Inside Out (1 out of 1)
Golden Raspberry Awards: Fifty Shades of Grey (5 out of 6), Fantastic Four (3 out of 5), Jupiter Ascending (1 out of 6), Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (1 out of 3), and the Wedding Ringer (1 out of 2)
Overall Thoughts of 2015:
Overall, the year of 2015 ended up being a pretty strong year and as we hit the halfway mark of the year, it could be argued this is one of the best years of the decade to this point. 2012 would probably be the closest to it because it had the first Avengers film which dominated that year, but it’s pretty clear that the Force Awakens has overtaken the top spot as the dominant film of the decade. The year as a whole has been good as it started a bit slow, but got hot during the spring and really peaked in the summer, and after a bit of a dip in the fall we saw a huge rise at the end of the year. After a fairly decent 2014, 2015 was a big step up and as we head to the second half of the decade, we will see how those years end up compared to this year. As for the year of 2015, it is a pretty strong year and as mentioned, it could be in contention for the best of the decade.
Final Rankings of Months of 2015:
1. July – A+
2. December – A
3. June – A
4. May – A-
5. November – B+
6. August – B+
7. September – B
8. March – B-
9. April – C+
10. October – C
11. February – C
12. January – C-
Final Grade of 2015: B
