Giving animation fans a reason to cheer, a record number of animated features landed in movie theaters this summer but many have performed below expectations.
Giving animation fans a reason to cheer, a record number of animated features landed in movie theaters this summer: Blue Sky’s Epic, Pixar’s Monsters University, Illumination’s Despicable Me 2, DreamWorks’ Turbo, Sony’s The Smurfs 2 and DisneyToons’ Planes. But, according to a report by Forbes, despite the successes of Despicable Me 2 and Monsters University many animated releases performed below expectations.
The magazine notes that Turbo, Smurfs 2 and Planes are each on track to gross less than $100 million at the domestic box office, despite production costs well upward of the $50 million mark, but also provides some perspective:
While big summer tent pole films tend to earn the vast majority of their money in the first few weeks, kids movies have longer legs. They’ll keep earning at the theater as kids go back for second helpings or parents belatedly check out movies that have been around for several weeks. Despicable Me 2 is still in the top 10. And while Epic only earned $33.5 million in its opening weekend, it’s gone on to earn roughly $250 million at the global box office.
That overseas revenue can often make up for a weak U.S. start. Smurf 2, which opened July 31, has earned 70% of its $156 million take internationally. The movie won’t be a major loss for Sony.
Check out the full story at Forbes.
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
