It’s Official: Disney Owns The Summer Box Office
After last weekend moved Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy back into the No. 1 slot in theaters, which means Disney can officially claim ownership of the summer box office. The Walt Disney Company, which owns Marvel Studios, released three powerhouse films this summer including Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Maleficent and Guardians of the Galaxy.
According to Deadline, Disney and Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier tops the summer’s box office with a take of $259.7 million domestically. Marvel’s apparent domination of any and all competitors seems as assured just like its superheroes winning out over their arch-villains.
Disney’s Maleficent surprised everyone. Not that it wasn’t going to do well, but that it was going to do well to the tune of $237 million domestically for the summer. Angelina Jolie is always a big draw. Her, combined with the memories of Maleficent – the villain from Disney’s animated feature, Sleeping Beauty – brought audiences and their kids into the theaters in droves.
And now Guardians of the Galaxy. After falling to the number two box office spot in only its second week, (just behind Megan Fox and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) doom and gloom predictions started to settle in on the franchise. What was laughable about that was Disney’s Guardians of the Galaxy had already broken the August opening record in its first weekend. Now the film is making a comeback, clawing its way back to the top spot with over 17 and a half million dollars in its fourth weekend according to Box Office Mojo. In that, the film is reminiscent of Disney’s Frozen, which fell out the top slot only to move back up in its sixth week. After last weekend, Guardians of the Galaxy’s total summer take thus far – $251 million.
Disney and Marvel were always confident in Guardians of the Galaxy. So confident, in fact, that the studio announced the date of the Guardian’s sequel at San Diego’s Comic-Con in July, a solid week before Guardians of the Galaxy was released.
Disney currently can’t seem to lose. In recent years, Disney has added to established track record of live-action and animated movies by purchasing Marvel Comics/Studios and Lucasfilm, which holds the rights to the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. Marvel Studios has plotted out a release schedule for comic book movies until 2019. Star Wars will begin a new film trilogy with Star Wars: Episode VII, scheduled to be released December 18, 2015; one-off Star Wars character films set to be released every other year; and an animated series titled Star Wars Rebels.
It seems that Disney is poised to not only dominate this summer, but several summers to come.
images via Chicago Now, Patheos, & Hitflix
