Universal Dominates The Box Office Without Any Comic Book Movies

[Jello Biafra]

In a blog piece written at IndieWire.com, the writer points out how Universal has become the top grossing studio of 2015 without putting out one comic book movie (and has none on the horizon despite still having the rights to The Sub-Mariner). The Universal slate of films so far have been varied but really successful as they have 5 of the top 10 grossing movies of the year so far and tend to keep production budgets low enough that it becomes much easier to see their films turn a profit. Here is the list of successes for Universal in 2015:

Jurassic World
Production Budget: $150 million
Grosses:$637,971,480 (domestic) / $968,732,851 (foreign)

Furious 7
Production Budget: $190 million
Grosses:$351,032,910 (domestic) / $1,160,693,295 (foreign)

Minions
Production Budget: $74 million
Grosses:$312,916,835 (domestic) / $648,376,291 (foreign)

Pitch Perfect 2
Production Budget: $29 million
Grosses:$183,785,415 (domestic) / $101,010,41 (foreign)

Fifty Shades of Grey
Production Budget: $40 million
Grosses:$166,167,230 (domestic) / $403,484,237 (foreign)

Trainwreck
Production Budget: $35 million
Grosses: $97,955,120 (domestic) / $13,493,439 (foreign)

Straight Outta Compton
Production Budget: $29 million
Grosses:$60,200,180 (domestic) / $32,839 (foreign)

The Boy Next Door
Production Budget: $4 million
Grosses:$35,423,380 (domestic) / $14,739,723 (foreign)

Unfriended
Production Budget: $1 million
Grosses:$32,482,090 (domestic) / $25,560,320 (foreign)

And they have a fall/winter schedule that features Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak, the Tom Hardy vehicle Legends, Everest, Steve Jobs and the M. Knight Shyamalan horror film The Visit.

Universal is doing big things out here and basically telling super-heroes to .

 

[Soymuscle Mike]

JW/Fast & Furious 7 might as well be superhero movies.

Training Velociraptors to Vin Diesel surviving urrething.

 

[-DMP-]

RIP comic book era. you had a helluva run, standing OVAY

 

[baybulldogs]

So, when those rights on Namor ends?

 

[Ain't That Something]

RIP comic book era. you had a helluva run, standing OVAY

I think the thing to take from is the production cost to profit turn around. I mean when you make 57 milli out of 1 milli it's

 

[NobodyReally]

This is actually pretty cool because it provides a counter narrative to the widespread belief that you have to cave into current trends. I mean, I love the superhero movies, but it's good to see someone going against the grain. They're kinda less fun when the market is saturated with them.

 

[BXKingPin82]

if you are a genuine foreal foreal movie go'er or have kids this isnt fukkIN surprising at all

 

[ciubaca]

i only saw jurassic world out of that list and it was

 

[Won Won]

This is actually pretty cool because it provides a counter narrative to the widespread belief that you have to cave into current trends. I mean, I love the superhero movies, but it's good to see someone going against the grain. They're kinda less fun when the market is saturated with them.

I get what you're saying, but having the top 4 money-makers be sequels isn't exactly going against the grain

Still that F7's foreign gross is almost 3.5x the domestic

 

[AnonymityX1000]

i only saw jurassic world out of that list and it was

Yeah I only saw Pitch Perfect 2 and it was.



I mean it's great they have their own plans that are working but let's not act like they are elevating the game. These seem like blockbuster fluff movies, just of a different type.

 

[Brozay]

This is actually pretty cool because it provides a counter narrative to the widespread belief that you have to cave into current trends. I mean, I love the superhero movies, but it's good to see someone going against the grain. They're kinda less fun when the market is saturated with them.

top 4 earners are sequels

against the grain? really? Jurassic Park, Fast/Furious, Minions, another Pitch Perfect? Thats against the grain?

 

[Jello Biafra]

They aren't being completely original as a lot of their success is just playing on consumer nostalgia but they also are focusing on movies like Trainwreck and Straight Outta Compton instead of trying to rush out a comic book movie to get in on the trend.

 

[Poetical Poltergeist]

I see some people are mad about this news.

 

[MartyMcFly]

I see some people are mad about this news.

Yet this is a board of film lovers so i dont get it. I'm all for less market saturation and they've had a good year and I've enjoyed the movies from them that I saw this year

 

[Jello Biafra]

Even the movies that are seen as disappointing for Universal did pretty well like Ted 2 which has made $175 million globally and cost $68 million to make. Or a shytty movie like Seventh Son which cost $95 million (who the hell greenlit that budget?) was able to make $110 million globally. So while it was a disappointment it wasn't a complete stinker.
I think the only major bomb Universal has had this year is Blackhat which cost $70 million and has only made $17 million worldwide...guess people only want to see Chris Hemsworth as Thor.