Steve’s Box Office Report: May 2015
Top 10 Films for the Month of May:
1. Avengers: Age of Ultron – $459,005,868
2. Pitch Perfect 2 – $184,296,230
3. San Andreas – $155,190,832
4. Mad Max: Fury Road – $153,636,354
5. Tomorrowland – $93,436,322
6. Poltergeist – $47,425,125
7. Hot Pursuit – $34,580,201
8. Aloha – $21,067,116
9. Far From the Madding Crowd – $12,236,500
10. I’ll See You in My Dreams – $7,449,681
Honorable Mentions:
1. The D Train – $673,151
May Winners: Avengers: Age of Ultron, Pitch Perfect 2, and San Andreas
We continue on through the year of 2015 and we get to the month of May, meaning that we now kicking off the summer season which is of course the biggest period of the year in terms of the box office. With this year having been a pretty solid year to this point, there was no doubt that the summer looked to be really hot this year and it does get off to a bit of a strong start here. The first film that makes it into this category is the second Avengers film with Age of Ultron, which sees the superhero team battle the newly-created Ultron who believes he must destroy humanity to save the Earth. The film would receive positive reviews from critics and made over $459 million which was a significant step down from the first Avengers film, but still very successful and showed that the MCU was still going very strong. The next film that makes it into this category is the musical comedy film Pitch Perfect 2, the sequel to the first film where the Barden University Bellas compete in a world singing championship against a German musical group. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who felt it was a slight step down from the first film, but it would finish with over $184 million which I will delve into later in the recap. The third and last film to make it into this category is the disaster film San Andreas, a film about a rescue helicopter pilot who tries to save his family when a massive earthquake destroys San Francisco and Los Angeles. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics who felt it lacked a bit of substance amidst the destruction scenes, but it would finish with over $155 million which put it in the top 3 for the month. As we usually see, the month of May is typically made or broken by the big films that come out during the month, and the top 3 films of the month did very well and helped carry the month for the most part.
May Losers: Tomorrowland
We have seen over the last few years that the month of May usually has either a few films that make it into this category or perhaps no films that make it, and that is always a good sign as any time there are no films that make it into this category it is always a positive to how the month turns out. However, that is not the case here as we have one film that makes it into this category which is the sci-fi film Tomorrowland, based on the Disneyland themed land of the same name where an inventor and teenage scientist make their way to an alternate dimension called Tomorrowland. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics who felt it was too ambitious for its own good, and it would finish with over $93 million which led to be one of the bombs of the year and another unfortunate loss for Disney. Regardless of the face that there was one film that made it into this category, the fact that only one film is here is a plus for the month though given how poorly this film did, it will be interesting to see how it affects the month.
The Surprise/Story of May 2015: The MCU rolls on as “Age of Ultron” easily takes top spot of May 2015
3 years ago, the Avengers opened and was an amazing box office success, becoming the first film to gross over $200 million in its opening weekend and it ended Phase 1 of the MCU on a high note, and 2 years ago in 2013 Phase 2 began with Iron Man 3 and it has been a bit of a mixed bag as we come to the release here of Age of Ultron. Now unlike the first Avengers which was the end of Phase 1, this film is not the end of Phase 2 as we have one more film that will come out later this year which we will talk about in a few months. Having said that, Age of Ultron would easily take the top spot for the month of May as even though it wasn’t quite as successful as the first Avengers, it still did very well as it is currently the highest grossing film of Phase 2 while also being the second highest grossing film of the MCU behind the first Avengers film. There is no question that the MCU is still a very viable franchise and we will see if Phase 2 ends on a strong note, but for now it is very clear the month of May belongs to the MCU and would become their main stronghold in the years to come.
Overachiever of May 2015: Pitch Perfect 2
In October 2012, Pitch Perfect came out and was a surprise hit as it is one of the better films of that month and served as good counterprogramming for the other films that came out that month, and now 2 and a half years later we get the sequel which sees most of the cast return from the first film while also bringing in some new names. Much like the first film, this one was to serve as counterprogramming to the other films from this month, but the sequel was going up against much bigger films than the first one did as this film had to go up against an MCU film and a few other major blockbusters. Despite this, the film did finish with over $184 million which was a major success and well ahead of what the first film did, and it did this even with the reviews for the film not quite being up to par with the first film. The question now becomes if the success of this film will result in a third film being made to complete a trilogy, but for now there is no question that this film deserves to be the overachiever of the month.
Underachiever of May 2015: Mad Max: Fury Road
On the surface, the choice for the underachiever of the month might seem like a stretch given how much money it made and I even questioned myself about it a few times, but given the hype and the praise that it received, there is a feeling that it should’ve done a lot better in the long run. The film that I am talking about is the post-apocalyptic action film Fury Road, the fourth installment in the Mad Max franchise which sees a man team up with an outsider to take on a warlord who is hoarding water. The first Mad Max film to be released in almost 30 years, there was a lot of hype behind it and it was critically acclaimed by critics who considered it one of the best of the year, and it’s final take was nothing to sneeze at as it finished with over $153 million which easily makes it the highest grossing film in the franchise. However, there is a feeling that it should’ve done better though it did have some stiff competition to begin with in Age of Ultron, and coupled with the success of Pitch Perfect 2 and San Andreas, the film doesn’t even make the top 3 of the month despite having made such money. Now given the success, there is probably more to come as this film seems to have revived the franchise after being dormant for so long, but there is no doubt that this film deserves to be the underachiever of the month.
May 2015 Awards Watch: Mad Max: Fury Road
As we have seen over the years, May is usually hit or miss when it comes to award contenders as there are some years where the month has quite a few contenders while there are other years where May has no films that make it into this category. In this case, this year has only one film that makes it into this category and that is Mad Max: Fury Road which would win 6 Academy Awards (Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Production Design, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing) while being nominated for 4 more (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects). The film would also be nominated for 2 Golden Globe Awards (Best Film – Drama and Best Director) though it wouldn’t win either, and there is no question as to what the critics felt about this film that a film of its kind would win that many Academy Awards. Despite the success of the film, the fact that only one film that made it into this category is a bit of a knock against the month.
Overall Thoughts of May 2015:
Overall, the month of May 2015 ended up being a pretty great month that is about on par with previous months in the last few years. May usually is a good month that has almost always been a hit with very few misses, and this year keeps that streak going with a lot of strong performances by the big films released this month. We had four films make well over $100 million with the top film of the month making easily over $400 million, and the remaining films of the month were fairly decent though nothing was really standout enough. 2015 has been a pretty strong year to this point as it started good and has maintained that momentum for most of the year, and as we head into the heat of the summer we will see how the next few months play out. As for the month of May 2015, it is a pretty strong month to continue what has been a very good year in 2015.
Final Grade: A-
