2015 #BoxOffice Mid-year Report

How has the 2015 box office performed compared to 2014? Read on to find out.

Story by Matt Cummings

From late 2014, critics and writers were ready to proclaim the 2015 box office as the most successful in history. We too felt a certain sense of destiny, with so many great films arriving throughout the year. We even wrote about it here, here, and here. Then January arrived, and one dud after another came with it, including Blackhat, Mortdecai, The Boy Next Door, and Project Almanac. February was actually worse, with Jupiter Ascending and Seventh Son dropping stinking loads at our door before running off. But within that mire of disaster, we also saw great films, including Paddington and Kingsman: The Secret Service, both of which kept many theaters from turning into mausoleums. You can read our QUARTER 1 REPORT here.

As we pass the half-way mark of 2015, it's time to compare this year's box office to 2014, and to determine if everyone was right about this year's supposed dominance. Before we begin, let's establish a few rules: our analysis is based on movies that were released from Jan. 1st and later, thus eliminating the massive run of Oscar candidates that survived into February. So, no American Sniper or Mockingjay Part 1, both very successful but not released in 2015. Finally, we compared the top 10 highest performers of 2015 with last year's list, both at the six-month point.

The Numbers

With that in mind, we're happy to report that 2015 has been the most successful in recent years, and should go on to be the top grossing year of all time. Here's the list from both 2015 and 2014:
2015 (Jan. 1- Jun. 30)
1 Jurassic World $460,541,000
2 Avengers: Age of Ultron $451,248,000
3 Furious 7 $351,032,910
4 Cinderella (2015) $200,025,513
5 Pitch Perfect 2 $180,040,000
6 Home (2015) $174,344,711
7 Fifty Shades of Grey $166,167,230
8 The SpongeBob Movie $162,994,032
9 Inside Out $147,807,000
10 Mad Max: Fury Road $145,788,000
Top 10 TOTAL: $2,439,988,396

2014 (Jan. 1- Jun. 30)
1 Captain America 2 $257,114,221
2 The LEGO Movie $256,956,996
3 X-Men: Days of Future Past $222,407,427
4 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 $200,094,341
5 Maleficent $199,539,534
6 Godzilla (2014) $196,755,173
7 Divergent $150,489,120
8 Neighbors $147,039,595
9 22 Jump Street $135,744,534
10 Ride Along $134,938,200
Top 10 2014 TOTAL: $1,901,079,141

As you can see, we're way ahead of the totals reached by this time in 2014. A couple of interesting notes:
1. Universal has ruled the roost this year, with an impressive 4 films in the top 10 (Jurassic World, Furious 7, Pitch Perfect 2, 50 Shades). This time last year, they had only two (Neighbors and Ride Along.) Universal also holds 3 of the top 5 spots (Jurassic, Furious 7, Pitch Perfect 2).
2. Three films in 2015 have already made more than the six-month winner of 2014, Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
3. The 10th film on 2015's list (Mad Max: Fury Road) has made more money than 2014's number 10 film Ride Along.
4. Animated/family films have made a strong showing in 2015, holding 5 of the top 10 spots. In 2014, only two movies made that list (The LEGO Movie, Maleficent).

Destiny Fulfilled?

But how does 2015 compare to other recent years? In a word, impressively. We looked at the total box office performance for each of the past five years and found 2015 to be superior as well:
2015: $5,559,000,000
2014: $5,226.600,000
2013: $5,297.000,000
2012: $5,409.800,000
2011: $4,931.900,000
2010: $5,358.800,000

A Record Year, Indeed

One last comparison to share: the top 10 performers for all of 2014 are about to get beat by 2015. At $2,439,988,396, only one movie needs to make $300m in order to eclipse last year's $2,736,384,725. And it's gong to happen soon: will the knockout punch come from Ant-Man, Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation, or perhaps Minions? Also, keep in mind 2013's incredible total year performance of $10,923,600. Given the films ahead of us for July-December, that record could easily fall.

However it turns out, one thing is clear: a slow beginning to a year can be easily made up if the right films show up to plug the holes. And we haven't even mentioned Star Wars The Force Awakens or The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2, each of which should easily make $400m. Until then, we'll drop by again to see if 2013's record can in fact be broken.

Discuss this story with fellow SJF fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @SandwichJohnFilms, and follow author Matt Cummings at @mfc90125.