2015 has been a good year at the movies

The Hunger Games may not have surpassed Mockingjay Part One, but with the success of Spectre, as well as the surprise hits of Jurassic World and Furious 7, 2015 has been a good year for many at this year’s box office. Universal especially have a good year, with Jurassic World surpassing all expectations to become the highest grossing film of the year so far, usurping the mighty Avengers: Age of Ultron. With Star Wars yet to open, this could hold out to be the biggest movie of the year, as Star Wars will surely add a hefty amount to its run during the opening days of 2016.

Sony has also performed well, as have the Disney corporation, who easily off-loaded the loss on Tomorrowland with Avengers and Ant-Man, notwithstanding the Pixar Studios helping them out this year with two offerings, Inside Out and The Little Dinosaur.

Spectre has really taken off worldwide, which is fast becoming far more important to the Hollywood studios than domestic takings. Previously, it was all about the North American market, but now that American films have caught the imagination of the world (and the recent glut of superhero movies is probably to blame), then studios look at the bigger picture for their hits and misses.

So what are the misses of the year, well Tomorrowland is one big one, based on a Disney theme park ride a la Pirates of the Caribbean and starring George Clooney, this had hit written all over it. We have The Man From U.N.C.L.E, which really should have done better and is Armie Hammer’s second successive loser after The Lone Ranger. Entourage didn’t transport well from the television and another notable miss is Pan, which lived up to its name with the critics.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2’s $100 million opening, though good, is down on part one and this may suggest a feeling of fatigue among audiences for the overblown finales of these type of films. It just worked for Harry Potter, but that franchise was not the norm. With the Divergent series looking to mimic the success of both these franchises, the omens don’t look good. Speaking of fatigue, the Avengers were expected to wipe the floor with the competition this year and it didn’t happen as Jurassic World took top spot. Are we seeing a droop in Marvel’s domination of the superhero genre? Ant-Man, though a hit, was not of Guardians of the Galaxy proportions and next year we have the double DC whammy of Batman versus Superman, and the very intriguing Suicide Squad; a film that could blow the doors off the whole genre. 2016 promises to be an interesting year, but with Star Wars waiting in the wings, everything could be changed.