Today's typical movie production is all about going big. With many budgets reaching eight and nine digits, luring audiences to theaters and landing a blockbuster hit has become more important than ever. Here is what is in store for the new year and the companies that stand to benefit the most.
Coming attractions
After a disappointing summer movie lineup and slow ticket sales, 2017 was adding up to be a bad year for studios. Then hits like Disney's (NYSE: DIS) Thor: Ragnarok and Star Wars: The Last Jedi happened, raking in hundreds of millions at the box office.
Image source: Disney.
The domestic box office totaled about $11 billion in 2017, down 2.7% from the all-time high of the prior year and lower than the 2015 number, too. 2018 could see gross sales return to growth, though, as the industry has put together a lineup of big-budget productions focused on sequels to past successes, new installments in fictional universes, and remakes of classic stories.
| Studio/Distributor | Movie |
|---|---|
| Disney (NYSE: DIS) | Black Panther |
| Solo: A Star Wars Story | |
| Avengers: Infinity War | |
| Ant Man and the Wasp | |
| The Incredibles 2 | |
| Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) | Tomb Raider |
| Ocean's 8 | |
| Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald | |
| Aquaman | |
| 21st Century Fox (NASDAQ: FOXA) | Maze Runner: The Death Cure |
| X-Men: The New Mutants | |
| Deadpool 2 | |
| The Predator | |
| X-Men: Dark Phoenix | |
| Sony (NYSE: SNE) | Alpha |
| Sicario 2: Soldado | |
| The Equalizer 2 | |
| Venom | |
| Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF-A)(NYSE: LGF-B) | The Commuter |
| Robin Hood | |
| Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) | Fifty Shades Freed |
| Pacific Rim Uprising | |
| Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom | |
| Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA)(NASDAQ: VIAB) | God Particle |
| Mission: Impossible 6 | |
| Bumblebee |
Movie information from Box Office Mojo.
Movie fans may decry the lack of originality at the silver screen, but studios have a formula dialed in to maximize audience size. The studios are looking to capitalize on past sci-fi, fantasy, and action-adventure films, hoping to draw in crowds again. As long as that keeps working, don't expect the trend to change.
Image source: Universal.
Who stands to benefit
Disney looks to do well at the box office again in 2018. The company has had the top-grossing movie three out of the last five years, and that could happen again with multiple new chapters in its Marvel superhero universe and another Star Wars film. If its bid to purchase 21st Century Fox goes through, it could end up being a real landmark year.
Another standout could be Comcast's NBC Universal studio, which is releasing the second chapter in the new Jurassic World trilogy. The previous film released back in 2015 is one of the highest-grossing films ever, pulling in $1.67 billion in ticket sales on a $150 million budget.