Box office rebound this year has industry optimism booming

Comic book heroes lead super-powered rescue of cinema box office, set to continue with Avengers: Doomsday

Comic book superheroes specialise in saving the world, but they’re also proving to be the cinema industry’s saviour, fuelling a super-powered box office rebound that’s set to continue until the end of the year.

Comic book superheroes specialise in saving the world, but they’re also proving to be the saviour of the cinema industry, fuelling a super-powered box office rebound that’s set to continue until the end of the year.

Led by Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which has earned an astonishing $3.6 billion at the global box office, the slate of movies so far this year has seen Hollywood record its biggest Northern Hemisphere summer result in the all-important US domestic market.

Closer to home, Brand New Day’s nine-week Australian theatrical run to date has generated a total of nearly $88 million, good enough for fifth spot on our list of highest grossing films of all time.

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Sitting at No.6 on that list, by a whisker, is another superhero movie, Marvel’s 2019 hit, Avengers: Endgame, which is currently adding to its box office total courtesy of an “Encore” version re-release.

Endgame’s return to theatres opened to a staggering $120 million globally in what must be a major fillip to Marvel and parent company Disney’s hopes for Avengers: Doomsday, out December 17.

The film sees Robert Downey Jr return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, trading his Iron Man suit for that of the villain, Victor von Doom.

Having watched his demise in Endgame in a scene that left nary a dry eye in the house, Downey Jr’s reappearance as an entirely different character is only possible because of the MCU’s hit-or-miss Multiverse concept.

After a number of MCU flops, the billion-dollar success of 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine revived optimism in the Multiverse, and Doomsday will see it pushed to the limit, with the inclusion of X-Men such as James Marsden’s Cyclops, the Fantastic Four with Pedro Pascal and our very own Chris Hemsworth reprising the role of Thor.

EVT general manager of Film Entertainment Claire Gandy said the industry had high hopes for the film.

“We believe its all-star ensemble cast will draw audiences to cinemas in significant numbers,” she said.

It’s a fair assumption given Disney revealed last week Doomsday had surpassed more than $1 million in ticket presales within the first 24 hours, marking the biggest opening day of presales for any film in Australia this year, and the highest 24-hour result in five years.

The cinema has always been a welcome option for parents during the school holidays, with Perth parents Mitch and Karina Schultz taking five-year-old daughter Hallie and son Samson to see Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie at Event Innaloo.

Even that film has raked in more than $220 million globally.

Also driving the box office rebound this year are The Odyssey ($2.5b), Toy Story 5 ($1.65b), Michael ($1.46b) and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie ($1.45b), as well as movies such as The Devil Wears Prada 2 ($998m) and Project Hail Mary ($985m).

Even relatively low-budget movies are contributing to the boom, with Gen Z viral horror flicks Obsession and Backrooms combining for $1.2 billion.

Hoyts customer engagement general manager Bradley Eaton said the public’s renewed loved for cinema is being felt particularly through the increased demand to seek out “premium and immersive” viewing experiences for blockbusters, such as SCREENX, D-BOX and Xtremescreen.

“The response to Spider-Man has also demonstrated the continued strength of superhero films and the appetite for major action releases, which can attract audiences across a broad range of demographics,” Mr Eaton said.

“It will be interesting to see how audiences respond to Avengers: Doomsday and how the film contributes to the wider Marvel story.”

Cinephiles who prefer their movies sans caped crusaders also have a lot to look forward to.

Sony Pictures Australian Managing Director and Executive Vice-President Stephen Basil-Jones is still buzzing from Brand New Day, but is also keen for audiences to see Facebook biopic The Social Reckoning (out next Thursday), the follow-up to the David Fincher classic, The Social Network.

This standalone sequel sees Succession star Jeremy Strong play Mark Zuckerberg, and The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White as real-life Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz, who worked with a Facebook whistleblower (played by Oscar winner Mikey Madison) on a brutal expose of the company’s practices.

“It’s absolutely addressing all the issues we have with algorithms, all the issues we have with social media — it’s a really important thing,” Mr Basil-Jones said.

The Social Network grossed $325 million, which is a high bar for the sequel’s acclaimed screenwriter and director, Aaron Sorkin.

Previous success is not an indicator of future performance when it comes to investments, but it’s usually a pretty good predictor at the box office.

“We’re optimistic about the range of major releases still to come this year, including The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (Nov 19) and Dune: Part 3 (Dec 16),” Mr Eaton said.

The Dune franchise has earned $1.64 billion across two previous instalments, while The Hunger Games has amassed over $4.75 billion.

Other billion-dollar blockbuster franchise instalments coming this year include Jumanji: Open World (Dec 26) and Focker-in-Law (Nov 26), but Obsession and Backrooms proved you never really know where the next hit will come from.

Contenders for sleeper hits include Jenna Ortega in Klara and the Sun (Oct 22), Primetime (Oct 29) and Godzilla Minus Zero (Nov 5).

“There’s no doubt there will be a few surprise breakout hits that capture audiences’ attention and outperform expectations because of how their characters and storyline translate to the big screen,” Ms Gandy said.

“It’s those unexpected successes that help round out the year and create real momentum at the box office.”