A year after "The Dark Knight," "Indiana Jones" and "Iron Man" drove the box office into record territory, Hollywood thinks it has another smash summer on its hands.
And why not? Along with major franchises opening week after week starting with "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" on Friday, the American public has been soothing its economic agita by going to the movies. (See accompanying story for the summer line-up.)
And boy, have they been going.
Usually, tentpole season bails out the dull post-Oscar lull, both creatively and financially. But this year has so far behaved quite differently, to say the least.
Powered by a 15 percent rise in attendance overall, "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" and "Taken" were simply huge, while Disney Channel alums Miley Cyrus and Zac Efron opened their movies to big numbers. There have already been bona fide blockbusters ("Fast & Furious," "Monsters vs. Aliens"), while even genre fare like "Last House on the Left" and "Knowing" had strong opening weekends.
So does all of this guarantee a great summer? It sure helps. And even if all of the upcoming biggies feel like slam-dunks, you can always count on some major surprise speedbumps.
Here’s TheWrap’s view of the summer just upon us:
UNIVERSAL
Universal has major summer offerings, but not all are slam-dunks. Sacha Baron Cohen returns to outrageous form in "Bruno" (July 10), and the rabid fan reaction to the trailer so far suggests it will be big business in the wake of the $129 million take of "Borat". It also got its R. Curiouser is director Judd Apatow's dramedy "Funny People" (July 31), which stars Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen. The film is about a comedian who reexamines his life after being diagnosed with a fatal disease. Death is a hard enough sell, but there's also the simple the fact that Sandler's recent movies have declined at the box office, with "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry" grossing $120 million in 2007, while last year's "Don't Mess With the Zohan" grossed "only" $100 million. "Public Enemies" (July 1) has the pedigree, with Michael Mann, Johnny Depp and Christian Bale macho-ing it up in the story of John Dillinger, but the majority of Mann's movies just aren't hits: "Miami Vice" ($63 million) and "Ali" ($59 million), performed just so-so. Finally, while "Land of the Lost" (June 5) has a built-in audience thanks to its series run and Will Ferrell's coming off a $100 million hit in "Step-Brothers," "Semi-Pro" grossed a weak $33 million. Tough call.
SONY
Truly a slate full of star power: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, John Travolta and Jack Black all show up, while even Peter Jackson, as a producer, makes an appearance with "District 9." The big question: Will "Angels & Demons" (May 15) match "The Da Vinci Code," which grossed $218 million? More of a genuine worry: Washington and Travolta's "The Taking of Pelham 123" (June 12) is a remake of an awkwardly titled movie that, frankly, wasn't much of a cultural benchmark.
