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Summer Movies in Review

As the weather cools, it’s time to look back and see how we did on our Summer Movie predictions. We’re all about the money and 2009 was the biggest summer in Hollywood history. Movies are an international obsession so we prefer to look at international box office instead of merely the domestic totals. The reason… international box office now accounts for about 60% of theatrical revenue and is crucial in determining a film’s profitability. Angels and Demons is a great example, having had so-so business domestically but cleaning up in the foreign markets.

Leading the box office charge was Harry Potter. No real surprise there as most Potter films are at or near the top of the standings each year. The big surprise was the success of Ice Age 3 which nabbed the second place spot ahead of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Sorry Michael Bay! The cute characters in Ice Age 3 earned more than $869 million in ticket sales and became the most popular animated film ever abroad.

Angels and Demons came in fourth and in another surprise, The Hangover was the number five movie of the summer as well as being the third-biggest R-rated movie ever made. Nobody saw that coming. There were still plenty of flops. Land of the Lost, Year One, Public Enemies, Funny People and Bruno were all disappointments. However, the numbers for the last two are solid enough for the comedy genre.

Here are the top ten movies of the summer, and by comparison, what we thought would top the charts back in May:

1. Harry Potter ($925 million)
2. Ice Age 3 ($869 million)
3. Transformers 2 ($831 million)
4. Angels and Demons ($484 million)
5. The Hangover ($453 million)
6. Up ($416 million)
7. Night at the Museum 2 ($404 million)
8. Star Trek ($384 million)
9. Terminator: Salvation ($371 million)
10. Wolverine ($363 million)

Our predictions:

1. Harry Potter ($900 million)
2. Transformers 2 ($750 million)
3. Ice Age 3 ($600 million)
4. Star Trek ($500 million)
5. Night at the Museum 2 ($500 million)
6. Angels and Demons ($450 million)
7. Wolverine ($400 million)
8. Terminator: Salvation ($300 million)
9. Up ($300 million)
10. Public Enemies ($250 million)

How did we do? We correctly guessed the top film of summer and went 9 out of 10 overall, missing only on The Hangover. Who knew? Not bad for the unpredictable world of entertainment.