Summer doesn’t officially wrap until Sept. 21, but Hollywood is already thinking Oscar season.
- Prestige movies!
- Award-bait performances!
- Endless speeches!
What better time to look back at the summer movie season?
The theatrical experience came roaring back earlier this year, thanks to “Project Hail Mary,” “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” and other mega-hits. Summer poured gasoline on that fire, starting with your friendly neighborhood webslinger.
We knew “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” would draw a crowd. But this crowd? This large? It’s already earned a whopping $2.2 billion at the global box office, and last weekend earned $39 million in the U.S. alone.
Staggering. Stunning. What superhero fatigue?
Except the summer’s biggest bust also featured a hero in tights. Milly Alcock did her best Rachel Zegler impression in the weeks leading up to “Supergirl’s” June 24 debut.
How does that shoe leather taste?
The movie made $126 million at the global box office, well below whatever the official production budget actually was. The James Gunn DC makeover is already in trouble just two films in.
Other summer winners and losers?
WINNER: ‘Toy Story 5’
Yes, the shine is finally coming off the once-impregnable franchise. There’s still enough charm, humor and nostalgia in the saga to draw in audiences, witness that $1.12 billion global haul for “Toy Story 5.”
The newest installment shrewdly added electronic toys to the equation, giving parents another reason to cheer on the franchise.
The irony? Team Disney dialed down the woke messaging in recent months, but part 5 featured an emasculated Buzz Lightyear as if it were 2020 all over again.
LOSER: ‘Moana’
The original “Moana” came out just 10 years ago, but Disney bean counters insisted we needed a live-action version to pad the studio’s coffers.
Wrong call.
Yes, “Moana” and its animated sequel printed money for the Mouse House. It’s a modern Disney classic, full stop. There’s still something icky about these live-action adaptations, and movie goers sensed it.
The critics were far tougher on the update than audiences, but the latter group still preferred other summer treats.
WINNER: ‘The Odyssey’
Christopher Nolan did it again. The man who supplanted Steven Spielberg as Hollywood’s hottest director made a classic Greek poem into the top-grossing R-rated movie … ever.
He could do a live-action “Barney” film and still break the $1 billion mark at the box office. He’s that in-demand.
Nolan pushed past his own curious casting decisions, and the actors’ woke bromides in the weeks before the film’s release. A Christopher Nolan movie is now an event, one meant for the biggest screens possible.
Case closed.
WINNER: ‘Obsession’
Who needs money, recognizable stars or a famous horror villain?
Director Curry Barker took $1 million (or possibly less) and made “Obsession,” the most profitable Hollywood hit since “The Blair Witch Project.” Barker’s simple tale of a wish gone awry defied box office logic en route to a stunning $263 million stateside haul.
The shocking themes resonated with young audiences, coaxing them back to the theater and ensuring they told more than a few friends, too.
Hollywood beckons for the young Barker, but he may never be able to duplicate his stunning debut.
LOSER: ‘The End of Oak Street’
This “Twilight Zone”-style thriller gave us the best Dino-scares since “Jurassic Park.” And movie goers love the “Jurassic World” franchise.
So, instant franchise, right? Nope. The film opened to a wobbly $21 million (US) and fell 57 percent in its second weekend. Blame the film’s hurried ending or a title that didn’t know what kind of movie it wanted to project.
Either way, streaming audiences will be in for a treat when “Oak Street” debuts at home in a few short weeks.
LOSER: ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’
“Star Wars” needed a hit, not a drab reboot of a show that peaked in season one.
The most inexplicable part of this box office dud? The director behind the camera. Sure, Jon Favreau isn’t perfect (cough, cough “Cowboys & Aliens”) but this may be the worst title on his glowing resume.
Stilted, poorly acted and generic to the core, this “Star Wars” extension suggests the franchise is in freefall.
WINNER: ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’
Anne Hathaway may have starred in two box office disappointments this year (“Oak Street” and “Mother Mary”) but she also headlined this fashionable super-sequel.
The Oscar-winner had heady company, including Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci, but the formula behind the saga stayed intact.
That was more than enough to draw the demographic back in droves. Now, will Hollywood learn the lesson that women want girly-girl movies following “Prada 2” and “Barbie?”
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