Steve’s Box Office Report: September 2015
Top 10 Films for the Month of September:
1. Hotel Transylvania 2 – $169,700,110
2. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials – $81,697,192
3. The Intern – $75,764,672
4. The Visit – $65,206,105
5. Black Mass – $62,575,678
6. The Perfect Guy – $57,027,435
7. Sicario – $46,889,293
8. Everest – $43,482,270
9. A Walk in the Woods – $29,504,281
10. The Transporter Refueled – $16,029,670
Honorable Mentions:
1. The Green Inferno – $7,192,291
2. Grandma – $6,980,524
3. The Captive – $2,583,301
September Winners: Hotel Transylvania 2, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, the Intern, the Visit, the Perfect Guy, and a Walk in the Woods
We continue on through the year of 2015 as we come out of the summer and into the fall, and needless to say the summer of 2015 was a pretty hot period and the box office clearly has a lot of momentum. Typically, September can either continued that momentum or stifle it a bit as we hit this weird period of flux before the holiday season, but this year has some potential to be strong. The first film that makes it into this category is the animated film Hotel Transylvania 2, the sequel to the first film which sees Dracula struggle to become a grandfather when his daughter and human husband have a child. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics who felt it was about on par with the first film, and it would finish with over $169 million which I will delve into later in the recap. The next film that makes it into this category is the next film in the Maze Runner series with the Scorch Trials, which sees Thomas and the Gladers try to outrun the WCKD soldiers in the desert. The film received mixed reviews from critics who felt it was a step down from the first film, and it would finish with over $81 million which again I will delve into later in the recap. The next film that makes it into this category is the comedy film the Intern, a film which follows a 70-year-old widower come out of retirement to become a senior intern at a fashion website. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics who felt it was a fine film though could’ve done more with its premises, and it would finish with over $75 million which was a solid take for the film. The next film that makes it into this category is the horror film the Visit, a film about a pair of siblings who visit their estranged grandparents only to learn a shocking truth about them. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who felt it was a return to form for M. Night Shyamalan, and it would finish with over $65 million which was a strong showing for the low budget film. The next film that makes it into this category is the romantic thriller film the Perfect Guy, a film about a man who become obsessed with a woman after she breaks up with him and moves on with another man. The film would receive negative reviews from critics who felt the film was a typical cliché thriller film, and it would finish with over $57 million which was a fine showing for the film despite the reviews. The last film that makes it into this category is the comedy-drama film a Walk in the Woods, based on the novel of the same name of an author who is joined by a companion as they hike the Appalachian Trail. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics who felt it was a fine film though believed it played too safe, and the film would finish with over $29 million which was a good showing for the film. It is not often that the month of September has this many films that make it into this category, and it is going to be interesting how the remaining categories affect the final grade for the month.
September Losers: None
Since I started doing these recaps, there have been certain months that have had no films in this category and September was one of the few months that always seemed to have one film make it into this category. But this year actually continues the trend as this year has no films in this category following the previous year, and looking at the slate of films released this month they all did just enough to ensure that they didn’t make it into this category. We also have another note here as this is the third month from this year that has no films in this category which I believe is a record, and it is going to be interesting to see if any of the three remaining months from this year also have no films in this category.
The Surprise/Story of September 2015: Moviegoers return to Transylvania as “Hotel” sequel easily takes top spot of September 2015
Going into this month, the majority of the films were geared towards adults with only one film being targeted at families and one focused on young adults, and with schools starting up again this was a chance for one of the adult-oriented films to make some money and take the top spot. Instead, the opposite happened and Hotel Transylvania 2 dominated the month by making well over $169 million, and it just goes to show that families still go to the movie theater even with school in session. Coupled with the second Maze Runner film taking the second spot and it just proves that point, and given the last few Septembers have been mainly dominated by animated films, it’s going to be interesting to see if that theory holds serve in future years.
Overachiever of September 2015: Hotel Transylvania 2
Three years ago in 2012, the first Hotel Transylvania came out and was an unexpected hit as it was the top animated film for the fall and proved that Adam Sandler was still a viable commodity despite some recent failures, and given the success of the first film it seemed inevitable that a sequel was destined to come out. Sure enough, we get the sequel here which mixes things up a bit by having Dracula become a grandfather and wanting to bring out the vampire in his grandson much to his daughter’s dismay, and the majority of the cast from the first film returned to this one with a few new voices being added as well. The critic reviews for the film were about on par with the first one with some thinking it was better than the first and some thinking it was worse, but the main thing is that this film outperformed the first film by finishing with over $169 million which about $20 million more than the first film. Due to that success, one has to believe that we might get a third film which would turn the series into a trilogy, and we will see if that film continues the trend for this series or if it ends the series on a low note. But there is no question that Hotel Transylvania 2 easily deserves the title of overachiever of the month much like the first film did 3 years ago, and we will see if a third film comes out if it makes it a clean sweep.
Underachiever of September 2015: Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
One year ago in 2014, the first Maze Runner film came out and was a decent success making over $102 million as it seemed like we have a new YA franchise in the making since the end of Harry Potter and Twilight, and one year later the Scorch Trials comes out as they try to strike while the iron was hot by not spacing out the releases of the films. However, unlike the previous year where the first Maze Runner didn’t have strong competition, the Scorch Trials had to deal with Hotel Transylvania 2 which dominated the month and this film ended up underwhelming with just over $81 million. It was a significant step down from the previous film not just in money, but also in critical reviews as the second film received more negative reviews than the first film. We will see if this deters them in releasing the third film or if they decide to wait some time instead of releasing them back-to-back-to-back, but there is no question that this film deserves to be the underachiever of the month.
September 2015 Awards Watch: Sicario and Grandma
When it comes to the month of September, it usually has no films that make it into this category or only a few films that make it into this category, but it is very rare that this month produces a lot of award contenders. This month doesn’t buck the trend as we end up only having two films from this month make it into this category, and the first one is the action thriller film Sicario which sees an FBI special agent enlisted by a special government task force to bring down the leader of a powerful drug cartel. The film would receive critical acclaim from critics who felt it was one of the best of the year and it finished with over $46 million, and it would be nominated for 3 Academy Awards (Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Sound Editing) though it wouldn’t win any. The other film that makes it into this category is the comedy-drama film Grandma, a film about a widow who tries to help her granddaughter raise money so she can get an abortion. The film would receive critical acclaim from critics and it would finish with over $6 million which was a fine showing for the small film, and it would be nominated for one Golden Globe Award (Best Actress – Comedy or Musical) which it didn’t win. Even though this month typically only has a few films that make it into this category, it seems for the most part that the films end up being critically-acclaimed films that are considered the best of the year.
Overall Thoughts of September 2015:
Overall, the month of September 2015 ended up being a pretty solid month that was carried by some good performances and this might be one of the best Septembers in recent memory. We have seen over the last few years where September is either a strong month or a weak month, and that usually dictates how the fall ends up going heading into the holiday season and if it stifles the momentum from the summer. We did have one film from this month that made over $100 million and the rest of the films were pretty solid for the most part, and there was nothing from this month where anything bombed or even underdelivered to the point that it would drag the month down. 2015 has been a pretty strong year to this point as there haven’t been many down spots to this point and as we head into the holiday season, we will see if the year is able to end on a high and make the year one of the best of the decade. As for the month of September 2015, it is a pretty solid month to continue the momentum from the summer.
Final Grade: B
