2015 may be able to accomplish a feat in the world of film that we have never witnessed before. With all of the big movies being released soon, it looks like there’s a possibility for more billion dollar movies in 2015 than we’ve ever seen in a calendar year. So far, there’s already a film in Furious 7 that surpassed that mark, but we could also see at least two or three more being released over the course of this summer’s run of blockbusters.
If that prediction does come true, the most amazing thing about that would be the fact that there are other films that have a chance to be extremely successful even if they don’t hit the mark that only twenty films have ever reached. As a matter of fact, we already saw our first major success with the wide release of American Sniper in January, but there are plenty of pictures that could definitely join in that field if they can’t quite get to where the largest successes end up.
To discuss this, Ken Murray joins Jaskee Hickman of Cinematic Essential to predict how some of cinemas biggest films may fare throughout the remaining months of 2015. It’s certain that some will meet or surpass expectations, while others may falter such as previous hopefuls in the past. Please feel free to take a look at the many films being analyzed.
The Avengers: Age of Ultron:
Jaskee Hickman: Avengers: Age of Ultron is easily one of the few films of 2015 from a financial standpoint with the potential to legitimately surpass the billion dollar mark. As much as audiences and critics loved the first one, I expect people to rush and see this sequel as fast as possible. Of course, even considering that this could be a failure would be foolish. It will succeed in terms of money, but let’s see if it will be as good or better when it comes to entertainment value.
Ken Murray: This will be the number one movie of the year…till Star Wars opens. The first film was a juggernaut, I don’t see this being any different. Any other year, it’s the biggest release.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens:
Jaskee:This is one of the other blockbusters that should clearly go over the billion dollar mark. After the disappointing films of the series that came before it, I’m sure the fans are certainly expecting some serious upgrades as far as enjoyment is concerned.
Ken: It should top Age of Ultron especially with the world wide box office. The prequels have soured some fans, but with the return of Luke, Han and Leia, diehards will flock to the theater.
Spectre:
Jaskee: Spectre should be just as big if not bigger than Skyfall. It’s reasonable to anticipate some more international hijinks from the popular British agent while filling the seats across the globe.
Ken: Bond is Bond. I’m one of the few people that didn’t like Skyfall, but even I can’t argue with its success. That did $300 million in the US. I expect this to do similarly.
Jurassic World:
Jaskee: I’m expecting to see Jurassic World to see some kind of bounce back for this franchise that’s in need of a proper revitalization. While I can’t see it being at the absolute top of the list of highest grossing films of 2015, it wouldn’t surprise me to see it finish close to the top. Can it be one of the billion dollar movies? I doubt it, but there’s an outside chance of that happening. It’s a popular franchise for people of all ages that has a ton of things working in its favor.
Ken: It’s been over a decade since we’ve had a Jurassic Park film, but is there anyone bigger than Chris Pratt right now? I can see the final Hunger Games topping it, but it should be in the top 5 box office for the year.
Terminator Genisys:
Jaskee: Terminator Genisys should see a decent turn out at the very least, but I doubt it’ll be up there with Furious 7, Age of Ultron, Star Wars or even Spectre. With movies like this, you also have to question the quality that we’re going to see. This could simply be a money grab with nothing more than a flashy name and a bunch uninteresting portrayals of characters became insanely popular over twenty years earlier.
Ken: I’m really curious about this one. The Terminator is a pretty solid franchise, but Terminator Salvation was a major disappointment domestically. With recent bombs like The Expendables 3, Sabotage and Escape Plan, Arnold might not be the box office draw he once was. But I’d be lying if I said hearing the dun, dun, dun, dun, dun music in the trailer doesn’t get me going.
Fantastic Four:
Jaskee: Fantastic Four is something that appears to have been better being released in 2014 since there weren’t as many big movies being released at that time. Not only is it hard to see it doing as well of some of these other films, but it’s hard to even remember that it’s coming out this summer. Who knows? Maybe it will be worth the price of admission, but there doesn’t seem to be much hype surrounding it.
Ken: Should be called Green Lantern 2015. This has bomb written all over it. There is no buzz for the film, no strong reactions to trailers and teasers. I honestly forgot this was opening this year. Why they rebooted a franchise that didn’t do all that well in the first place is beyond me. One of Marvel’s few mistakes.
Ant-Man:
Jaskee: Ant-Man should be mildly successful. Why? Because it’s Marvel. Because of that, you can expect a nice chunk of change to be made when it’s released this summer, but it obviously won’t be at the pinnacle with the likes of The Avengers as far as being one of the top earners of 2015.
Ken: I don’t expect Ant-Man to be this year’s Guardians of the Galaxy, but I don’t expect it to bomb like Fantastic Four either. I can see it doing Thor type numbers, fans will go see it and I expect it to make money, just not hundreds of millions.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
Jaskee: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 shouldn’t even exist since the final installment of the series should have never been split into two movies. However, I’m sure that this will make far more money than its direct predecessor since everyone who’s interested will get to see some kind of story this time around.
Ken: I can’t stand these films, but they make $300 million plus in the U.S. every year. This will too and will probably be in the top 5 for the year.
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
Jaskee: Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation could be 2015’s Edge of Tomorrow. I’m not saying that because Tom Cruise also starred in that, I’m saying that because something tells me it’ll a fun film that delivers in most ways. It should obviously do better than Cruise’s big release from 2014, but I’m personally more interested in it meeting the entertainment levels.
Ken: Say what you will about Tom Cruise, but the man is a movie star. His last few films haven’t been the blockbusters he once was known for, but MI has a built in fan base. It will do well (especially world wide), but I can see Spectre being the bigger spy film this year.
Minions:
Jaskee: This may end up being the biggest animated film of the summer. It definitely won’t be the biggest of blockbusters, but it will certainly have an audience filled with kids looking for some animated entertainment. Because of that, this should be a fairly successful movie that will satisfy its studio. In that sense, it would be hard to complain about the outcome from their perspective.
Ken: I’m a grown man and I love the Despicable Me franchise. The sequel did more than the original and I can see this film (an entire movie of just Minions) doing $300 million plus. Unless I’m forgetting one, I don’t see another animated movie coming close to it.
Mad Max: Fury Road:
Jaskee: There looks to be a ton of potential in Mad Max: Fury Road. Just going by the trailers that everyone keeps talking about, it should be quite the roller coaster ride. The people behind this are already pretty sure that this will be a success. How do I know this? They’ve already announced that they’re planning a few more sequels with Tom Hardy being cast as the lead role in each.
Ken: Just like with the new Terminator, this is probably the hardest film for me to judge buzz for. I think it looks awesome. Tom Hardy is great. I’m highly looking forward to it despite being a remake (which I usually hate). It’s Rated R so it will be hurt by the teens not paying to see it, but I think it will do well. $300 million in the U.S.? Maybe not, but I can see $200 million plus.
San Andreas:
Jaskee: It’s safe to say that you should be getting prepared for a loud, action packed disaster flick that will when you go see San Andreas. Seeing as it’s one of those rare movie’s in today’s Hollywood that will be carried by its leading man as the sole name attached to it, this will most likely see respectable numbers by summer blockbuster standards. It will do nothing special, but I think the studio will be satisfied with what they get out of it financially.
Ken: Whatever the proverbial “It” is, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has it. But disaster films of late haven’t been super big. Last year’s Into the Storm was a dud. I can see it doing The Day After Tomorrow type numbers $180-200 million, but that’s simply because of Johnson’s box office draw.
Ted 2:
Jaskee: Ted stunned many with the amount of money it brought in when it was released a few years ago. I guess that’s why they’re coming out with another one. You can’t let a surprise hit like Ted just sit there and leave money out there when they can swoop up more with Ted 2. I don’t know if it will do as much as the first, but it should see a solid return on its investment.
Ken: I’m a bit biased against the film, but it’ll hands down be the biggest comedy of 2015. The original was a surprisingly huge hit doing 4 times its budget, but Seth MacFarlane had a huge miss last year with A Million Ways to Die in the West (even though I loved it). It’ll be big, but I don’t know if it’ll be as big as the first.
Tomorrowland:
Jaskee: Tomorrowland is one of those movies that’s kind of rare today in that it’s not something that’s being made from a completely recognizable property that has already been out in some form years or decades earlier. Because of this, it’s difficult to say if it’s going to bring in audiences, but I’m sure it will be able to attract enough people to get a solid return on whatever they spent on it.
Ken: I honestly have no idea what the movie is actually about, but it’s from Brad Bird and stars George Clooney so I’ll see it. This could bomb like John Carter or be a hit like Super 8. This might be my biggest head scratcher because I can see it either way.
