Skip to content

Top Navigation

EW.com Entertainment Weekly EW.com Entertainment Weekly
  • TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • TV Recaps
    • Fall TV
    • Animated
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Mystery
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
  • Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
  • Music
    • Music Reviews
  • Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
  • Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
  • Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Awards
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Order Past Issues this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe

Explore EW.com

EW.com Entertainment Weekly EW.com Entertainment Weekly
  • Explore

    Explore

    • Here are all 70 puppies competing in Puppy Bowl XVII

      Read More Next
    • The best books to keep you warm this January

      Read More Next
    • The Masked Dancer revealed: Every unmasked celebrity on season 1

      Read More Next
  • TV

    TV

    See all TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • TV Recaps
    • Fall TV
    • Animated
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Mystery
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
  • Movies

    Movies

    See all Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
  • Music

    Music

    See all Music
    • Music Reviews
  • Books

    Books

    See all Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
  • Theater

    Theater

    See all Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
  • Events

    Events

    See all Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Awards

    Awards

    See all Awards
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Order Past Issues this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow us

  1. Home Chevron Right
  2. Movies Chevron Right
  3. Here are the winners and losers of the summer 2018 box office

Here are the winners and losers of the summer 2018 box office

By Joey Nolfi
August 31, 2018 at 09:30 AM EDT
Skip gallery slides
Save FB Tweet

1 of 13

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Who sank and who swam at the summer box office?

Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures; Sanja Bucko/Warner Bros.; Jaimie Trueblood/Universal Pictures; Barry Wetcher/Warner Bros.; Quantrell D. Colbert; Lionsgate

From dinosaur epics to cute-and-cuddly canine rom-coms, moviegoers had plenty of creature fare, action-heavy spectacles, and specialty Oscar hopefuls to choose from at the summer 2018 box office. But not every multiplex offering found its way to a fresh patch of green this season. Check out who soared and who flopped (hard) in the gallery ahead.

1 of 13

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 13

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

LOSER: The Star Wars expanded universe

It's difficult to imagine a world where a $213.6 million domestic haul is considered a major disappointment, but in the Star Wars universe, it ranks ninth among 10 franchise entries — just one spot higher than The Empire Strikes Back’s 1980 gross of $209.4 million (unadjusted for inflation, to boot). With a budget reportedly close to $275 million and a global take of just under $400 million, Solo’s gross reflects major series fatigue for Disney, which has distributed four Star Wars films in two and a half years.

2 of 13

3 of 13

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

LOSER: Dogs

Credit: Jacob Yakob/LD Entertainment

Whether they're true-to-life house pets (Dog Days), mechanical warriors (A.X.L.), or prehistoric wolves (Alpha), 2018's movie canines have served their human companions faithfully — but audiences have stayed away, with each of the aforementioned titles fetching measly returns. When comparing budget-to-gross ratio, Dog Days’ $6.6 million leads the pack, while Alpha struggled to make back its $51 million budget with a paltry $22.5 million, and A.X.L. will close its theatrical run well below recouping its $10 million production costs.

3 of 13

Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

4 of 13

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

LOSER: The Rock

Credit: Frank Masi/Warner Bros.

A time-tested box office draw, Dwayne Johnson has flexed his bankable biceps across franchise heavy-hitters (The Fate of the Furious) and standalone, high-concept comedies (Central Intelligence). But the 46-year-old hit a rough patch this year across two effects-driven tentpoles: Rampage ($99.3 million) and Skyscraper ($67.2 million), both of which failed to match the domestic successes of Johnson's previous outings. Overseas, however, both pictures fared better, banking a sturdy $426.2 million and $293 million, respectively.

4 of 13

Advertisement

5 of 13

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

WINNER: Documentaries

Credit: The Fred Rogers Company

Though movies often provide an escape from the doom and gloom of real life, audiences responded to nonfiction masterpieces en masse in 2018, lifting the grosses (and Oscar prospects) of films like the Mister Rogers-focused hit Won't You Be My Neighbor? ($22.4 million), the Ruth Bader Ginsburg chronicle RBG ($13.9 million, distributor Magnolia's highest-ever gross), and the twisty Sundance doc Three Identical Strangers ($11.2 million and counting).

5 of 13

6 of 13

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

LOSER: Dinesh D’Souza

Credit: Death of a Nation/Facebook

Given the past popularity of his controversial right-leaning documentaries (2016: Obama's America bagged $33.4 million in 2012, while America and Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party more than doubled their roughly $5 million budgets in 2014 and 2016), conservative filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza's latest offering should have been a slam dunk with his target audience. But with a Republican in the White House, D'Souza's base has less to rail against in mainstream politics, as the receipts for his latest effort, Death of a Nation ($5.7 million on a $6 million budget), attest.

6 of 13

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

7 of 13

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

WINNER: Mid-range comedies

Credit: MetroGoldwyn Mayer Pictures/Pantelion Films

Tight budgets and simple concepts kept these star-studded genre affairs afloat. Anna Faris' Overboard remake tallied a handsome $50.3 million on a tiny $12 million budget, and its fellow female-centric comedy Life of the Party saw Melissa McCarthy going back to college to the tune of $52.9 million ($65.7 million worldwide) against a $30 million price tag. Meanwhile, Tag ($54.4 million) and Uncle Drew ($42.3 million) didn't exactly light the box office on fire, but they still laughed all the way to the bank on budgets in the $18 million-$28 million range.

7 of 13

Advertisement
Advertisement

8 of 13

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

WINNER: Early Oscar contenders

Credit: David Lee/Focus Features

With the glint of gold in their eyes, several potential Oscar contenders made an early case for awards season glory. Money talks in Hollywood, and the grosses for Glenn Close's The Wife ($27,071 per-screen average on opening weekend), Toni Collette's horror hit Hereditary ($44 million), and Spike Lee's historical drama BlacKkKlansman ($33.6 million and counting on a small $15 million budget) speak volumes about these films' potential to stick around for the conversation when the Academy reflects on the year's standout films.

8 of 13

Advertisement

9 of 13

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

LOSER: Oddball comedies

Credit: Hopper Stone SMPSP/STXfilms

With moderate budgets and popular stars such as Melissa McCarthy and Mila Kunis bolstering their zany concepts, films like the violent, raunchy muppet romp The Happytime Murders and the colorful caper The Spy Who Dumped Me tried but failed to connect with North American audiences. Both films remain on course to finish their run with less than $35 million, perhaps due to lackluster reviews and an oversaturated market chock full of mid-range genre entries.

9 of 13

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

10 of 13

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

WINNER: Women (especially ladies over 40)

Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Women of a certain age turned Hollywood standards upside down this summer, as Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen's comedy Book Club earned a cool $68.6 million at the North American box office, making it one of the season's surprise hits. Cate Blanchett, 49, and Sandra Bullock, 54, also pounded the patriarchy with Ocean's 8 ($139 million) and its all-female cast, as did Crazy Rich Asians ($86.2 million after only two weekends and counting), led by Constance Wu and Michelle Yeoh. On a smaller scale, Debra Granik's latest directorial outing, Leave No Trace, lit up movie critics' reviews and the specialty box office to the tune of $6 million, and Toni Collette's Hereditary flexed its girl power to scare up an impressive $44 million, becoming distributor A24's second-highest-grossing release to date.

10 of 13

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

11 of 13

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

LOSER: Remakes

Credit: Bob Mahoney/Sony

In an age of sequels and reboots, remakes seem like a safe bet for an influx of Hollywood green. But Director X's Superfly ($20.5 million) and the Charlie Hunnam-starring Papillon ($1.5 million and counting) aren't making a strong case for the popular trend.

11 of 13

Advertisement
Advertisement

12 of 13

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

WINNER: Specialty stunners with buzzy concepts

Credit: A24

This summer, moviegoers enjoyed venturing back to Eighth Grade ($65,949 per-theater opening, the highest of the May-August summer stretch) with Bo Burnham and Searching ($43,197 per-screen average debut) for John Cho's daughter amid a plot told entirely through webcams and social media videos. Boots Riley's bold directorial debut, Sorry to Bother You, also turned heads with its timely, topical story and subsequent $16.7 million gross — nearly six times its $3 million budget.

12 of 13

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

13 of 13

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

WINNER: Sequels

Credit: Paramount Pictures

If it isn't broken, don't fix it (and keep doing it again and again and again). Hollywood has long subscribed to this golden rule, and 2018 was no exception. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom proved the 25-year-old series still has dino-sized legs, grossing a massive $413.2 million, while Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible — Fallout added $196.6 million (and counting, plus $353 million overseas) to the series' ballooning combined total. Disney-Pixar's Incredibles 2 also earned a heroic $597.7 million (more than doubling the original's $261 million take to become the highest-grossing animated release of all time). Smaller-scale sequels held their own too, as Denzel Washington's Equalizer 2 posted just under $100 million, The First Purge cleared $68.9 million four films into the series, and Super Troopers 2 amassed a surprising $15.2 million on its opening weekend en route to a $30 million total (on a $15 million budget).

13 of 13

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

  • By Joey Nolfi @joeynolfi

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 13 Who sank and who swam at the summer box office?
2 of 13 LOSER: The Star Wars expanded universe
3 of 13 LOSER: Dogs
4 of 13 LOSER: The Rock
5 of 13 WINNER: Documentaries
6 of 13 LOSER: Dinesh D’Souza
7 of 13 WINNER: Mid-range comedies
8 of 13 WINNER: Early Oscar contenders
9 of 13 LOSER: Oddball comedies
10 of 13 WINNER: Women (especially ladies over 40)
11 of 13 LOSER: Remakes
12 of 13 WINNER: Specialty stunners with buzzy concepts
13 of 13 WINNER: Sequels

Share options

Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message
EW.com Entertainment Weekly

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
  • Sitemap

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en EspaƱol this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
© Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://ew.com

View image

Here are the winners and losers of the summer 2018 box office
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.