Axiom's Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy

The Summer Blockbuster season is all but over as September eases in and the more “thoughtful” movies (that is, the ones that won’t make as much money) get a chance on the big screen. Theater owners are pretty happy with the final tally from the hot months, though, as the Summer movies brought in over $4 billion in revenue and increased receipts by 5% from the prior year. So now it’s time to take a look at how well Science Fiction and Fantasy movies performed at the Box Office this past season. We have compiled the rankings of all the genre movies that opened from May 1st through August 31st based on their cumulative revenues through the Labor Day weekend. Following is the summary of the results and you can see the full list at this link.

The Blockbusters:

Sequels ruled in this category as all but one of the Top 10 Summer Science Fiction and Fantasy movies was a follow-up to a previous movie or a prequel. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen took the top spot based on domestic Box Office Revenue with $400.7 million followed by Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince with $297.6 million. That order is flip-flopped, though, when you include the international receipts with Harry Potter topping $917.2 million and Transformers earning $830.2 million. Rounding out the Top 5 based on domestic revenue are Up ($290.9), Star Trek ($257.2) and Ice Age: The Dawn of the Dinosaurs ($194.3).

Among all of the genre movies, Ice Age performed best when comparing its gross revenue to its budget. That movie, which was an even bigger hit internationally, made $808.1 in total gross compared to a budget of $90 which means it pulled in nearly nine times what it cost to make. So expect yet more entries in this franchise at a theater near you quite soon. In contrast, while movies like Terminator: Salvation and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra did pretty darn good based on their receipts ($371.3 and $279.9 million respectively) they did not perform as well in comparison to their hefty budgets ($175 and $150 million respectively). Still, they ended up in the black (and that’s before the DVD sales start rolling in), so expect more from those as well.

The Non-Blockbusters:

Of course you don’t have to pull in blockbuster-type receipts to be counted as a success. Several Science Fiction and Fantasy movies had lower tallies, but still turned a notable profit. Last month’s District 9 may have only pulled in a total gross of $117.7 (chump change by Hollywood standards), but it recouped its relatively modest budget of $30 in its opening weekend, so you have to count it as a winner. Others that would count in this category would include Drag Me to Hell ($80.5 million total vs. a budget of $30 million), Halloween II ($26.9 million total so far vs. a budget of $15 million), and Final Destination ($82.9 total so far vs. a budget of $40 million). I would like to include Moon in this category as well, but I’m not sure it would quite make it. That thoughtful, low-budget science fiction throwback movie cost only $5 million to make and grossed $6.5 million in its limited theatrical release. It topped its budget, but I don’t know that it covered the additional costs associated with marketing and distribution. Still, that one will eventually turn a profit once it hits DVD which keeps it from consideration in the next category.

The Clunkers

Every Summer season has them, and this year gave us a few more to garner this dubious distinction. The Will Ferrell led Land of the Lost was probably the highest profile entry on this list. That one cost $100 million to make and launched with an extensive marketing campaign but only pulled in $62.5 million worldwide. Even with DVD sales, this one will most likely fail to make it to the black. Imagine This also crashed and burned in the theaters and couldn’t even come close to recouping its modest budget of $55 million with its pitiful take of $18.1 million worldwide. This solidifies Eddie Murphy’s status as a Box Office jinx these days in non-animated movies. Aliens in the Attic is still in the theaters, but looks unlikely to reach its $45 million budget as it currently stands at receipts of $33.6 million and is sinking fast. Summer opener The Battle for Terra also misfired as it could only scrape up $2.8 million worldwide.

Check out our full ranking of the Summer Science Fiction and Fantasy movies and keep up with the weekly Box Office results (usually on Tuesdays) here at the Axiom’s Edge site.

Check out our Preview of the Fall and Winter Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Movies.