Universal has made $5.5 billion this year without a single superhero movie.
Universal has announced that they have made $5.5 billion dollars at the worldwide box office in 2015 so far, setting the record for a single studio’s earnings in a year.
Since then, Universal’s rap hip-hop drama Straight Outta Compton made a $60 million dollars during opening weekend and last weekend made $100 million.
Universal is showing the world that Hollywood is not dead. But, it is important to point out that Universal did all this without a single superhero movie or a movie based on a young adult fiction book, the two genres the other studios base their movies on.
Universal Studios is different
Last year, Guardians of the Galaxy and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 were on track to beat Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper. As far as 2014’s box office went, it was surprising to see a Marvel movie starring a team of heroes and the Jennifer Lawrence young adult novel adaptation making big money in the Box Office. But, Universal’s success at this year’s box office is not based on copying other movie studios but by creating movies based on original ideas.
Furious 7 was a HUGE hit
The success of Furious 7 in April was the start of a huge summer. The ethnically diverse cast and the action scenes was a perfect formula that attracted audiences within the Untied States and internationally. Furious 7 would earn over a billion dollars outside the United Staes.
Is Star Wars in trouble?
Disney’s Age of Ultron did pretty well for Disney in May, but Jurassic World beat all expectations earning $209 million during its opening weekend. Now many critics believe that Disney’s Star Wars will not be able to compete with Universal’s control of the box office.
Minions is Universal’s secret weapon
But, the secret to making a ton of money in Hollywood may be animated movies. Universal’s Minions, a movie featuring animated creatures that don’t even speak english is expected to make over $1 billion in 2015.
The Future of Hollywood
But, we can’t even forget the mid-sized movies that did well this year. Pitch Perfect 2, Unfriended, and Fifty Shades of Grey are expected to perform better than expectations. Meanwhile, Disney’s Age of Ultron actually earned less money in the sequel than the first Avengers which is a bad sign for a franchise that is constantly making superhero movies from now until 2020. In addition, Ant-Man didn’t make as much money as the other superhero movies.
Universal still has Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak and Danny Boyale’s Steve Jobs to release this year and many believe these two movies will be box office hits.
Many people believe that superhero movies and young adult novels are the best way to dominate Box Office numbers. But, this year, fast cars, ethnically diverse casting, and animated cartoons earned Universal $5.5 billion dollars.
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