5 takeaways from the first half of 2018 – Variety

The box office is booming, and all thanks to the Mighty Heroes of the Earth, the Merc with a Mouth and the crime family preferred by all. In mid-2018, domestic ticket sales increased by more than 8%, reaching nearly $ 6 billion in the first six months of the year, according to ComScore. It's the sooner that he has ever reached that figure.

"If you had to summarize the year up to now, you could do it in one word – the superheroes," said Shawn Robbins, chief badyst of BoxOffice.com.

In fact, this year's three most profitable films – "Avengers: Infinity War," "Black Panther," and "Incredibles 2" – are all costumed heroes. There are many reasons to be optimistic, unless, of course, to hate BD movies. The box office badysts believe that this summer could be the second biggest result in history and predict that companies could end the year with more than $ 11 billion in revenue. It's a return to form after a bad year 2017; a year that has suffered declines in fat and attendance. Much of the improvement is attributable to the performance of summer popcorn movies. Last year, big films such as "The Mummy" and "Transformers: The Last Knight" collapsed at the box office, bringing in revenue with them. This year, with the exception of "Solo: A Star Wars Story", most blockbuster hopefuls have delivered the goods.

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"We are seeing a nice recovery from one year to the next," said Eric Handler, an badyst at MKM Partners. "There seems to be more depth this summer – it's really great results."

Handler argues that it's not just big winners like "Jurbadic World: Fallen Kingdom" that drive up revenues and flirt with more than $ 1 billion in revenue. Films such as "Oceans 8", "Book Club" and "A Quiet Place" are in contact with audiences, often older crowds, and help spread the richness in films that may not have protagonists.

"When the films are delivered, people want to go to the theater," said Paul Dergarabedian, Senior Media Analyst at ComScore. "In 2018, Hollywood and the studios gave people a very good reason to go to the movie theaters."

Here are five takeaways from the first half of 2018:

The fatigue of comics is an illusion
Marvel shows no signs of slowing down. The cartoonist continued to attract large crowds and managed to hit the zeitgeist with "Black Panther" by exciting the audience to see the first superhero movie with a cast that was almost entirely composed of actors of color. In the process, the company also unveiled a new Avenger Escape, ensuring that the team of vigilant costumed will be able to withstand the departure of Robert Downey Jr. when he decides to hang the helmet from Iron Man when Marvel enters phase 4. Not to be at the top of the list: "Avengers: Infinity War" was the global juggernaut that everyone had predicted, though some critics complained that it was drunk of characters. Tracking next summer will likely be just as important, consolidating Marvel's status as the most powerful brand in the movies.

Now all eyes will turn to DC. Marvel's rival struggled to produce well-received films without Wonder Woman, but a reshuffle in the ranks of the company's management could mark a new approach in how she brings her costumed heroes to the big screen . This fall brings "Aquaman", who will try to ban all thoughts of "Justice League" with his depiction of underwater battles, trident fighting, and Jason Momoa's abs. But DC has a lot of ground to catch up with if it wants to match the kind of year that Marvel has experienced. And Marvel is not even finished yet. July brings the debut of "Ant-Man and the Wasp", which is currently in the process of opening at a high of $ 75 million.

Comedies do not deliver laughter or dollars

Once upon a time, the studios could not get enough comedies, especially the R. "Trainwreck", "Bridesmaid", "Ted" and "Hangover" vintage. as some of the torrid offerings that turned the jokes that pushed the borders into big profits. Not anymore. The big-name comedy of 2018 is "Game Night," a modest success that reached $ 69 million. It's a solid result, but it's far from the $ 100 million and more that comedies could once count on. Other comedies such as "Blockers", "Life of the Party" and "I Feel Pretty" have faded from past successes, ending their races with smaller ones. Part of the problem is that movies such as "Deadpool 2" now offer the kind of provocative humor that was once a staple of comic stars such as Amy Schumer and Melissa McCarthy, but tie them into a bundle of superheroes . Perhaps the downward spiral of the genre will reverse this month of August with "Crazy Rich Asians", an adaptation of the bestseller of the same name that will make history like one of the first films supported by the United States.

Disney / Fox will be Hollywood Tower

If Disney succeeds in buying most of Fox's movies and TV channels, the combined business will cast a shadow on the cinematic business landscape. There is simply no competition with the film production machine that will result from the union of the two studios. At present, Disney and Fox hold 48.5% of the national market share. Their closest rival, Warner Bros., controls a little more than 10%. And the combination of the studios means that Disney will control not only Pixar, Star Wars and the Avengers, but also Avatar, X-Men and Deadpool. This is the row of blockbuster movies of a murderer. No wonder Comcast was so desperate to keep Fox out of Disney's clutches.

Help! Help! Star Wars in trouble

Before getting carried away by Disney's ability to beat money, it's worth noting that one of the pillars of his film empire seems powerfully wobbly. The story of "Solo: A Star Wars" is not a mere flop of film, producing a dismal $ 354.8 million on a budget of over $ 250 million (not including the costs of marketing). This is the kind of failure that obscures the long-term prospects of Disney's attempts to create a Star Wars cinematic universe to rival that established by Marvel. Since "The Last Jedi" inspired many fan complaints for deviating too wildly from the Jedi orthodoxy and for its two hours and 32 minutes, there are reasons to worry that the glow erases the franchise. It's up to J.J. Abrams to regain excitement with the upcoming Star Wars: Episode IX. Right now, Disney and Lucasfilm are sending signals that they will pump out the spinoffs, at least until they find a way to make the prospect of Another Star Wars adventure is more like an event than a money grab.

Get ready for a holiday season without sizzling

The first half of 2018 was one for record books. The second half can be one to forget. When it comes to the box office, the end of the year is filled with many question marks, and a blatant lack of things sure. "Mary Poppins Returns", "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald", "The Predator" and "The Grinch" are perhaps the favorites of the public, but they will struggle to compete with the last four months of 2017. Because As the year was considered a skid at the box office, it is hard to remember that it ended on a high note. "The Last Jedi", "The Biggest Showman", "Thor: Ragnarok", "It", and "Wonder" were all gathered in autumn and winter. With the exception of some unexpected surges, 2018 will struggle to make this kind of results.