Hollywood Summer Blockbusters Fail To Top $300M Mark For 1st Time Since '01
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Are movie audiences suffering from superhero fatigue?
That's the diagnosis from some industry analysts as Hollywood languishes through its worst summer movie season in 8 years, with no film crossing the $300 million mark in the U.S. for the first time since 2001.
Despite the release of big-buzz sequels like "X-Men: Days of Future Past" and "Transformers: Age of Extinction", the summer box office is expected to finish down 15 to 20 percent compared to 2013, marking the worst year-over-year decline in three decades, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Even "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" - which ultimately netted t $706.2 million globally - earned about $200 million less domestically than 2013's "Iron Man 3", falling short of expectations from both studio executives and analysts.
Hollywood Reporter Executive Editor Matt Belloni told KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO moviegoers could be growing weary of titles featuring characters in spandex.
Hollywood Reporter Executive Editor Matt Belloni
"Have we reached a superhero and fantasy spectacle overload? If you look at the box office in April May and June, it was 'Captain America 2', it was 'Spider Man 2', it was all of these similar types of films opening weeks after each other," Belloni said. "At some point, the audience is likely gonna say, 'OK, I've seen this before.' "
In fact, it was smaller-budgeted films such as "Neighbors," starring Seth Rogen and Zac Efron, and the female-friendly "The Fault In Our Stars," which ended up as some of the summer's biggest surprises, Belloni added.
According to Belloni, only "X-Men" stands out as the sole tentpole that has pulled in more U.S. box office business than its predecessor, "X-Men: First Class," which grossed $146 millon in 2011.
