Amy Poehler and Maya Hawke speak joy and fear, respectively, in Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2.”
Disney | Pixar
A large part was missing from the box office: family films.
A handful of kid-friendly hits – Universals “Super Mario Bros.” The most important of them boosted ticket sales. But many family films debuted after the pandemic either on streaming platforms instead of the big screen or were released so far apart on the calendar that ticket sales momentum soon faded.
In recent months, more and more family-friendly films have been released in cinemas. Each release builds on the success of the last, reinvigorating the box office and giving cinema operators hope for a stronger second half of the year. Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” delivered a particularly big shock, grossing $155 million in its opening weekend – a performance that helped restore the animation studio’s reputation in the industry after a difficult period.
“Momentum is a huge factor” in ticket sales, said Chris Johnson, CEO of Classic Cinemas, a theater chain in the Midwest.
So far in 2024, the domestic box office is down 23% from last year and is down 40% from 2019. It currently stands at $3.08 billion, according to Comscore.
More kid-friendly hits like the upcoming “Despicable Me 4” could be one of the keys to a box office resurgence.
The genre of “family-friendly” films is broad. The definition varies even among box office analysts, as some say that the film’s rating is crucial, while others believe that it depends on the content of the film itself.
“Family films come in all shapes and sizes,” said Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory. “We as observers sometimes limit the description to animated films or films with a certain rating or those that are literally about a family of characters. However, they summarize a wide variety of stories.”
Robbins noted that family films often include superhero films, live-action adventure films and comedies.
“Think of how many families it took for Star Wars, the Marvel Universe, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and ‘Barbie’ to earn as much as they did,” he said. “The bottom line is what is friendly, accessible and understandable to as many populations as possible.”
So while some families that came out for Inside Out 2 might consider the likes of Universal’s Twisters or Warner Bros.’ Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a family-friendly offering coming later this year. Others might prefer to stick with Sony’s “Harold and the Purple Crayon.” Paramounts “Transformers One” or “The Wild Robot” from Universal. The highly anticipated “Moana 2” arrives on Thanksgiving and a third “Sonic” film hits theaters in December.
“No matter how you define it, the family film genre, more than any other, was arguably hit the hardest by the pandemic, with parents understandably reluctant to go to a movie theater at the height of this unfortunate situation,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “Fast forward to 2024 and family films have undeniably been the bright spot to a very challenging summer.”
Before the pandemic, more than two dozen family films were released in theaters in 2019, with Disney’s “Aladdin,” “The Lion King,” “Toy Story 4” and “Frozen II” being four of the top 10 highest-grossing films in the world that year .
Less than a dozen family films were released in 2020. Due to production shutdowns due to the pandemic and two Hollywood worker strikes, the number of releases remains well below 2019 levels.
“2023 was actually a record year for us, but it could have been a lot better,” Johnson said, pointing to the lack of family-friendly menu options. “You can’t ignore the family audience and its importance.”
Much needed momentum
Johnson said he felt “reinvigorated” after the opening performance of “Inside Out 2.”
The film brought in another $22.2 million on Monday, 14% of its weekend and the second-best Monday ever for a Pixar film.
While it was clear there was an appetite for the sequel, Johnson noted that she had benefited from recent releases Of highest importanceis “IF,” which opened to $33 million, and Sony“The Garfield Movie,” which grossed $24 million.
Families who attended screenings of these films likely saw posters and cardboard cutouts announcing the upcoming release of “Inside Out 2” and likely saw a trailer for the film as part of the theater’s upcoming attractions.
“‘Inside Out 2’ was certainly its own entity and would do well,” Johnson said. “But I think these introductions helped. I think the dynamics of the box office and the similar genre does.” [have an] I can’t wait for it to make its way into Despicable Me 4.”
According to Comscore, Despicable Me 4, out July 3, is expected to gross between $60 million and $80 million in its debut, in line with previous installments in the series. Dergarabedian agreed that the success of “Inside Out 2” could increase the potential for “Despicable Me 4.”
– Disclosure: Universal Pictures, which distributes “Despicable Me 4,” is owned by NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.
Don’t miss these exclusives from CNBC PRO
Source link
2024-06-19 11:00:01
www.cnbc.com
