Movie Franchise Watch: Superheroes Keep Rolling While Other Sequels Sink Summer Box Office
Underperforming sequels for long-running franchises bear much of the blame for this summer’s box office woes
Jeremy Fuster | August 27, 2017 @ 2:50 PM
Last Updated: August 27, 2017 @ 4:26 PM
As the final weekend of summer draws to an end and the box office numbers continue to sink, it’s time to take a look at the franchises that form the backbone of the summer blockbuster season and see where each one is in its life cycle. Some franchises are finding new life, others are hitting their peak, and some long-running ones have seen their returns fall so low that they have taken the rest of the box office down with it.
The big winners, of course, are the superhero films. “Wonder Woman” was the only film of the summer to gross over $400 million domestically, and at San Diego Comic-Con, Warner Bros. announced a sequel for December 2019. The DC Extended Universe had been critically panned before “Wonder Woman” but has remained a strong moneymaker despite suffering steep drops in holdover weeks. Take “Suicide Squad,” which made $325 million domestically and whose absence has been sorely felt at the box office this month.
But “Wonder Woman” not only outperformed its DCEU peers with American audiences, it is also expected to renew interest in the next DC film, “Justice League,” which will star Gal Gadot as the beloved heroine alongside Batman, The Flash and others. If “Justice League” can be both a critical and commercial success like “Wonder Woman,” the future will be bright for a cinematic universe once believed to be in jeopardy.
Marvel Studios, meanwhile, rejuvenated interest in Spider-Man with “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” much to the relief of Sony Pictures. While Spidey will likely never earn the numbers it made last decade, it did well enough to get Sony to move full steam ahead on a mini-cinematic universe for the webslinger, with two spinoffs in development. A sequel to “Homecoming” is in the works, and it will have the advantage of sporting a plot that builds off of whatever happens to Spidey in the upcoming “Avengers” films.
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” also was a big success, doing something that precious few sequels last summer were able to do: outgross its predecessor. “Vol. 2” made $389 million in the U.S., a 17 percent increase from what the first “Guardians” made in 2014. Meanwhile, on the animated side, “Despicable Me 3” has made $254 million domestically and nearly $1 billion worldwide, making Gru and the Minions the most lucrative animated franchise of all-time.
But while that’s all good news, the bad news is that other franchises that have been running for over a decade have finally run out of gas. In order to sustain the box office totals of summers past, movie theaters needed these sequels to perform well in their opening weekends. Instead, they have produced by far the lowest returns in their respective franchises.
The first was “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” which contributed to the lowest Memorial Day Weekend box office in nearly two decades and only made $171 million domestic. That’s down nearly 30 percent from the last “Pirates” film, “On Stranger Tides” ($241 million).
The other big sequel bust, “Transformers: The Last Knight,” made only $130 million in the States for a staggering 47 percent drop from the 2014 installment “Age of Extinction,” while only making just over $600 million worldwide against a reported $217 million budget. Then there was “War for the Planet of the Apes,” which made $142 million compared to the $208 million made by “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” in 2014.
Combined, these three films made $251 million less than the last installments in their respective franchises. Had these three sequels at least matched their predecessors, it alone still wouldn’t have been enough to push the summer total past $4 billion, but it would have brought it close. According to estimates from comScore and Box Office Mojo, the summer total currently stands at $3.68 billion. Without the drop in performance from “Transformers,” “Pirates” and “Apes,” the box office would be roughly at $3.93 billion, giving it a chance to limp past the $4 billion mark on Labor Day weekend.
Instead, the summer box office will fail to reach $4 billion, as studios will have to consider how to proceed with franchises that haven’t performed as well as “Despicable Me” and “Spider-Man” have. “Transformers,” for example, has a “Bumblebee” spinoff set for release next year, followed by “Transformers 6” the year after. But those sequels were slated before “The Last Knight” showed that “Transformers” is no longer the critic-proof audience magnet it was back in 2009. If some of these franchises do indeed press forward, studios will have to be more prudent about how much money they invest in them.
Of course, “Transformers” and “Pirates” weren’t the only franchises that underperformed. To see where all the sequels and series stand after this summer, check out the gallery below.
Franchise Fatigue Tracker: Which 2017 Summer Blockbusters Are Getting Sequels? (Photos)
Last summer, not a single summer blockbuster sequel was about to outperform its predecessors at the box office. This year, the summer box office did even worse, but the state of the sequel was more of a mixed bag. Let's look at which summer movies this year will return in the future, and which ones might have reached their end.
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”: $862 Million ($389 Domestic)
Previous installment: “Guardians of the Galaxy”: $773 Million ($333 Million Domestic)
Sequel?: YES. “Vol. 3” was announced two weeks before the film’s release, and the Guardians will be a part of next year’s “Avengers: Infinity War.”
"King Arthur: Legend of the Sword": $146 Million ($39 Million Worldwide)
Previous Installment: N/A
Sequel?: NO: "King Arthur" was weaved as an origin tale for possible future Arthurian tales, but it ended up being one of this summer's biggest bombs, as it failed to recoup its $175 million budget.
“Alien: Covenant”: $232 million ($74 million domestic)
Previous Installment: “Prometheus” $403 million ($126 million)
Sequel?: JURY’S OUT: Director Ridley Scott has said in interviews that he has plans for more “Alien” films, but after “Covenant” made 43 percent less than “Prometheus,” 20th Century Fox has not announced another installment.
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” $789 Million ($171 Million Domestic)
Previous Installment: “On Stranger Tides: $1.04 Billion ($241 Million Domestic)
Sequel?: JURY’S OUT: “Pirates 5” is by far the weakest grossing of the “Pirates” sequels, yet a post-credits scene teased a sixth. It comes down to whether Johnny Depp and the rest of the cast are game for another voyage, and whether Disney thinks the franchise’s growing interest in China outweighs its rapidly falling domestic numbers.
“Baywatch”: $177 Million ($58 Million Domestic)
Previous Installment: N/A
Sequel?: UNLIKELY: Producer Beau Flynn said a sequel was being discussed, but that was before “Baywatch” contributed to the worst Memorial Day weekend box office since 1998 and required international markets to save it from “bomb” status.
“Wonder Woman” $806 Million ($406 Million Domestic)
Previous Installment: N/A
Sequel?: YES: Of course the movie of the summer was going to get a sequel. “Wonder Woman 2” was officially announced at San Diego Comic-Con for a December 2019 release, and director Patty Jenkins is said to be close to a deal to return.
“Cars 3” $324 Million ($149 Million Domestic)
Previous Installment: “Cars 2”: $562 Million ($191 Million Domestic)
Sequel?: PROBABLY: Even though “Cars 3” didn’t blow the box office away, it’s still a merchandising behemoth for Disney. Don’t be surprised if Pixar announces a “Cars 4” sometime in the future to introduce new characters…and new toys.
“Transformers: The Last Knight” $603 Million ($130 Million Domestic)
Previous Installment: “Age of Extinction” $1.1 billion ($245 Million)
Sequel?: YES: A Bumblebee spinoff and “Transformers 6” are slated to roll out over the next two years, but after “The Last Knight” took a huge fall from its predecessors, it’s clear that this franchise has lost its critic-proof status. Paramount reported a budget of $217 million for this film. Don’t expect that for the next one.
“Despicable Me 3” $971 Million ($254 Million Domestic)
Previous Installments: “Despicable Me 2” $970 Million ($368 Million Domestic) and “Minions” $1.15 Billion ($336 Million Domestic)
Sequel?: YES: With a combined $3.5 Billion grossed between four films, “Despicable Me” is now the highest grossing animated franchise of all-time. That should continue with “Minions 2,” which is coming out in July 2020.
“Spider-Man: Homecoming” $737 Million ($318 Million Domestic)
Previous Installment: “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” $708 Million ($202 Million Domestic)
SEQUEL?: YES: A 2019 sequel is on the way, along with spinoffs “Venom” and “Silver and Black.” Now that Spidey has new life as a high schooler, Sony is going to take advantage of it for all it’s worth.
“War for the Planet of the Apes” $347 Million ($141 Million Domestic)
Previous Installment: “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” $710 Million ($208 Million Domestic)
SEQUEL?: JURY’S OUT: While critically acclaimed and managing to both provide a satisfying conclusion and leave room open for a fourth film, “War” has been the weakest of the three reboot “Planet of the Apes” films at the box office. With director Matt Reeves moving to WB to work on the next Batman film, Fox will likely need to find a new director if they want to green light a fourth “Apes” film that continues the story after Caesar’s role in it ends.
“Girls Trip” $120 Million ($108 Million Domestic)
Previous Installment: N/A
SEQUEL?: PROBABLY: “Girls Trip” is the only comedy with over $100 million, and it only cost $19 million to make. Stars Queen Latifah and Tiffany Haddish have said they would gladly make a sequel, so all it needs is the ok from Universal.
"The Dark Tower" $88 Million ($45 Million Domestic)
Previous Installment: N/A
SEQUEL?: UNLIKELY: With poor reviews and tepid numbers, a "Dark Tower" sequel is unlikely. But MRC is pushing forward with a TV series that will continue the story.
“Annabelle: Creation”: $215 Million ($78 Million Domestic)
Previous Installment: “Annabelle” $256 Million ($84 Million Domestic) and “The Conjuring 2” $320 Million ($102 Million)
SEQUEL?: PROBABLY: This “Annabelle” prequel has pushed the “Conjuring” universe past $1 billion in combined grosses. Horror franchises always produce sequels until the wheels fall off, and that isn’t coming anytime soon for this creepy doll.
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“Wonder Woman” will definitely get a sequel. “Alien: Covenant”? Jury’s still out.
Last summer, not a single summer blockbuster sequel was about to outperform its predecessors at the box office. This year, the summer box office did even worse, but the state of the sequel was more of a mixed bag. Let's look at which summer movies this year will return in the future, and which ones might have reached their end.
