CEDA reviews role of reforms in diversification of economy and surge in non-oil revenues    79 hospitality facilities in Makkah and Madinah face penalties for closure order violations    Saudi Arabia hosts large-scale iftar banquets in Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, and Malaysia    Saudi Arabia records 23,865 violations in nationwide residency and labor law inspections    S&P upgrades Saudi Arabia's credit rating to A+    Trump orders 'decisive' military action against Houthis in Yemen    US Senate passes Republican spending bill to avert government shutdown    Zelenskyy says territorial control key to peace talks, rejects recognition of occupied regions    Pakistan says train hijacking death toll rises to 30, accuses India and Afghanistan of supporting militants    Al Nassr climbs to third with dominant win over Al Khaleej, Al Qadsiah slips after loss to Damac    Power bank likely caused South Korea plane fire, investigators say    Makkah Lanterns Festival returns for the eighth year as part of Ramadan activities    Crown Prince receives Yazeed Al-Rajhi after historic Dakar Rally 2025 victory    SR17 million fines slapped on 16 individuals and companies convicted of violating Capital Market Law    Saleh Al-Shehri's late penalty rescues Al Ittihad against Al Riyadh    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Man lives for 100 days with titanium heart in successful new trial    Argentinian court begins trial of seven healthcare professionals over Maradona's death    Singer Wheesung who wooed Korea with his ballads, found dead at 43    Prince Frederik of Luxembourg dies from rare disease    Real-life shipwreck story wins major book award    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Superheroes, for once, don't rule Hollywood's summer
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 07 - 09 - 2015

a href="/myfiles/Images/2015/09/07/minions_big.jpg" title="A scene from the animated film, "Minions." - AP"
A scene from the animated film, "Minions." - AP




NEW YORK - After a lackluster 2014 summer, Hollywood has bounced back with one of its best seasons ever. But the most surprising part of the turnaround is that superheroes aren't the ones who saved the day.

Instead, Hollywood's summer was led by a banner season from Universal Pictures, the lone major studio with nary a cape in its cupboard. With a record-setting $5.3 billion-plus in revenue so far this year, Universal has powered Hollywood to a near record summer with a diverse string of hits including the season's top film “Jurassic World” ($1.6 billion worldwide), the top animated hit, “Minions,” and one of the most successful sequels, “Pitch Perfect 2.”

After the summer limps to a close over Labor Day weekend, the North American box office will have tallied about $4.4 billion in ticket receipts, according to box office data firm Rentrak. That's second only to the record $4.75 billion summer of 2013 and an improvement of about 7.5 percent from last summer's downturn.

And the superhero-less Universal led the way.

“It's a lot of hard work, but it's also an indication that we're tapping audiences in different ways with the different kind of movies we're releasing,” says Nick Carpou, distribution head for Universal. “I think our diverse slate doesn't tend to tire people out.”

If superhero domination is slipping at all, it's not by much. “Avengers: Age of Ultron” was the summer's second highest grossing film in North America with $457.7 million, and Marvel has already staked out prime summer release dates for years to come, the billions sure to follow.

But this was the first summer since the final “Harry Potter” chapter in 2011 that a comic book movie didn't top all films.

“Ant-Man” (seventh place with $170.1 million) was bedeviled by creative differences and fell well short of Marvel's last irreverent entry, the mammoth summer 2014 hit “Guardians of the Galaxy.” And Fox's “Fantastic Four,” which the director Josh Trank, himself, suggested was marred by studio overreach, was the biggest superhero debacle in at least a decade. Its $25.7 million opening sent analysts back to the likes of 2004's “Catwoman” to find a comic book disaster of similar proportions.

It will probably go down as merely a dent in the superhero movie's armor, but it's also possible that the summer of 2015 will later be seen as a turning point. As Steven Spielberg reminded in a recent interview, these things are cyclical: “There will be a time when the superhero movie goes the way of the Western,” he said.

More important, perhaps, is that the movie business is generally quite healthy — robust, even. Despite clamors over the effect of digital media and the competition of television, films are finding success in a variety of ways. The summer proved that many of the characteristics that have long driven hits — a reputation for quality (Pixar's “Inside Out“), the allure of top-flight stunts (“Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation“), a sense of cultural timeliness (“Straight Outta Compton“), blinding B-movie thrills (“Mad Max: Fury Road“) — still work just fine.

Though the summer failed to set a record, Dergarabedian believes 2015 may still set new overall highs, potentially surpassing $11 billion in North America and $40 billion worldwide. The fall boasts some of the year's biggest films, including “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the latest James Bond film, “Spectre,” and the final “Hunger Games” installment — none of which, it should be noted, happen to feature superheroes. - AP


Clic here to read the story from its source.