Even though in numbers, Hollywood has seen the sharpest drop in receipts with 4.6%, which accounts for around 1200 Crores US Dollars (around 85600 Crores INR). In fact, it's the steepest decline in the last five years that Hollywood has experienced.
The biggest reasons behind this fall are due to the disappointment of blockbusters that were expected to be successful, as well as the meaningless efforts of producers in squeezing out the exhausted franchises. We can easily name some of the names falling in this category, such as X-Men: Black Phoenix or Cats: Part Deux.
However, 2019 also marks several huge theatre hits that still remained in the discussion even though they have been aired for months now, including Avengers: Endgame and Joker. So here we're today, looking back at the most successful Box Office hits of 2019, as well as the ones that fail miserably!
This list is not only made on final grossing of each movie, but also based on the viewer's reviews and its impact on Hollywood as well. Without further ado, let's get right into the 5 most successful ones:
The Hits:
1. Avengers: Endgame
Producing expense: 35.6 Crores USD
Ticket sale: 280 Crores USD
Without saying, Avengers: Endgame is definitely the most outstanding box office hits of 2019. The ending of the 7-year-running franchise in Marvel's Cinematic Universe is the one that brings fans not only satisfaction but also sorrows with saying goodbye to some of its most-favorite characters.
Iron Man (starred by Robert Downey JR). Captain America (Chris Evans) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) has made their end in the journey protecting the Earth from inner and outer threats, and even though some of them don't get out alive, they've fought bravely with everything they've got to defeat the big-bad-purple Thanos.
The fact that Avengers: Endgame brought you to different stages of feelings is the main factor that made it to the top of Hollywood, surpassing the record that Avatar has set for nearly 10 years. The movie is worth seeing times and times again without getting tired even though its duration was almost three hours. Respect!
2. The Lion King
Producing expense: 26 Crores USD
Ticket sale: 160 Crores USD
The reimagined version with beautiful CGI effect of Disney's classic - The Lion King has won back almost 6 times what the creators have spent to produce the movie, but that's not the only success that Walt Disney Studio has gathered with this cinema hit.
It's also a loud voice saying that original animated Disney's movies still have a lot of goods in themselves, and the studio will keep squeezing money from them. We've seen Maleficent, Cinderella and Beauty and The Beast to gather decent success, and The Lion King is only another example in Disney's remaking run.
The reason behind this successful trend is mainly the timeless story that is still interesting for viewers of all ages. And if they're not appointed by the old graphics anymore, just make it better. The Lion King has done exactly the thing, bringing Simba's journey to claim his rulership of the wilds back in beautiful image quality while keeping the same feelings we experienced in the original movie.
If you come across kids humming "Hakuna Matata" on the road, you know what they're remembering about!
3. Joker
Producing expense: 5.5 Crores USD
Ticket sale: 160 Crores USD
People expect the classic Joker in DC's Comics to star in this movie, but the director Todd Phillips and the lead actor Joaquin Phoenix has completely smash the images of DC's titular antagonist. Rather than bringing a maniac that kills everyone for some random reasons, Joker (2019) focuses on reimagining the backstory that has driven Arthur Fleck into the Clown Prince of Crimes he is.
People are not obsessed with his bloody crimes in this movie, but the titular laugh that almost won Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar award. While players are overwhelmed by the saddening events that happen to the poor guys desperate for loves and recognition, the movie features a complete twist after Arthur figured out about his past and the fact that his mind is rigged.
Breath-taking and heart-wrenching - that's what most people experienced when watching the movie. And since depression and suicidal thoughts are worsening every day, the movie is a necessary reminder. For Todd Phillip and the crew, it's a golden goose with only 5.5 Crores USD in budgets but brought back almost 30 times that number for benefit.
4. Us
Producing expense: 2 Crores USD
Ticket sale: 25.5 Crore USD
People said when you meet your doppelganger, you're doomed. Us (2019) has proven to us that if you're not doomed that moment, you'll soon be. The thriller-horror hit from the director Peele (the creative mind behind the sensational 'Get Out') brings us to the horror journey of weekend's holiday.
Its atmosphere is hauntingly obsessing, but little know that Universal didn't have to pay much for the producing progress. But with the phenomenal actings from the cast, especially Lupita Nyong'o and Jordan Peele, the movie has succeeded in pulling back 25.5 Crore USD from the ticket sales and won several awards in 2019. But don't underestimate the visual quality of the movie either, as it featured the journey of the family members to untether themselves in disgusting yet attracting actions.
5. John Wick 3: Parabellum
Producing expense: 7.5 Crores USD
Ticket sale: 32.6 Crores USD
John Wick: Chapter 3 -Parabellum is the ultimate rare third installment of a franchise to become the most successful one. The dog-lover John Wick is on his run with a huge bounty on his head by the Table. However, the chase soon turns into the completely opposite direction, as John and his dog turn around to take his revenge.
Keanu Reeves has continued to bring his manly charm to the gun-fu stunts, and as the franchise still has a lot of potentials to offer, it's not a surprise that John Wick 3 turned into a box office hit. The biggest obstructions that the filming crew had to overcome might be the marches of wild "f-king" cats in the filming scenes in Morrocco.
Maybe it's time for the cats to join in John Wick's adventure!
The Flops
1. Dark Phoenix
Producing expense: 22 Crores USD
Ticket sale: 25 Crores USD
25 Crores USD is not a shame for the ticket sale record of a blockbuster, but considering the money that producers have to spend to make the movie, it's nothing to compare with movies above. In fact, Dark Phoenix is very lucky to still keeps its profit higher than the expense, and the reasons for that are nothing else but the people want to see how their favorite franchise ends.
The X-Men series has seen a lot of successful titles like Apocalypse and Days of Future Past but ended up in the most miserable way possible. Dark Phoenix is a total disaster that lost almost 12 crores USD to the marketing progress but only resulted in negative reviews for every aspect. You can check our detailed review here.
It's such a bad news for Disney and Marvel now as they've inherited the publishing rights of X-Men, and they need to prepare a really good idea before bringing Professor X's School for Gifted Youngsters back to the cinema again.
2. Cats
Producing expense: 10 Crores USD
Ticket sale: 1.09 Crores USD
It seems that characters with fur can't make their way to the big-screen that smoothly. We've seen how the appearance of Sonic the Hedgehog was criticized at first and then end up with the director revamping his visuals, but Cats couldn't share the same luck.
I've never seen a feline character looking that creepy in a movie. It might be understandable if that's a horror or thriller movie, but sorry, a musical adaptation? How should it fit in? With creepy character design, poorly-written plot and the music going absolutely out of the track, Cats was hit by tons of negative criticism and even considered as the worst film of the whole decade.
If you like seeing celebrities in Snapchat filters, feel free to see the movie. For me, the trailer is more than enough!
3. Terminator: Dark Fate
Producing expense: 18.5 Crores USD
Ticket sale: 26 Crores USD
Dark Fate is the example of the desperate effort of squeezing money from an exhausting franchise - Terminator. Terminator Genisys has already seen a decrease in viewer's interest in the franchise, and Paramount should postpone their plan to make another movie to prepare for a better plot. But in fact, we've got Dark Fate, and you already know what has happened.
To be honest, Dark Fate didn't fail that horribly like the two candidates above, and its story, as well as image quality, is still decent. However, with the concept that already passing its expiration date, even Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton cannot save the movie from the failure. They can only help sell more tickets to regain the producing money back, and that's not enough to breathe the fresh wind into the fading series.
4. Charlie’s Angels
Producing expense: 4.8 Crores USD
Ticket sale: 5.7 Crores USD
Charlie's Angels were the series that everyone would love to see, but that's the story in the past. Something good should just stay in its best state, and reviving it again might not be a great choice. Great respect to the director Elizabeth Banks and the writer for the efforts, but it's not enough to make the movie a successful strike.
To be more specific, Charlie's Angels (2019) has included a lot of good elements such as a decent plot twist revealed with good timing, a lot of humorous jokes that suit the modern taste and the satisfying actions of the beautiful but tough angels. It even packs some female empowerment as well, but that has backfired especially in a man-dominated industry like Hollywood.
Even though the producers have called for people to go watch the movie to encourage the fight for feminism all over the world, such issues might not catch the eyes of viewers, since it doesn't fit in the concept of the original franchise, as well as people just doesn't want to promote something they are not aware of.
5. Gemini Man
Producing expense: 13.8 Crores USD
Ticket sale: 17.3 Crores USD
2019 seems to be a sad year for Paramount Pictures, as the movies that it expected to do well in the box office have ended up so-so, and Gemini Man is an example. Spending the whole lot of 13.8 Crore USD in the producing progress and also featuring two Will Smith - one is real, one is the cloned version, Gemini Man could not steal viewers' attention.
Featuring intense sci-fi action with bike racing and blood-shedding gunfights and explosions, the movie is not bad at all visuals-wise. However, its story is nowhere close to what the quality of the image the movie has provided. Just the adventure of wiping out clones is too frustrating, which is just a waste of time since viewers can probably guess what happens next.
Conclusion
Viewers are more and more demanding and kinky about what they want to watch, and it's harder and harder for producers and directors to satisfy their needs. Decent movies need both outstanding plots and beautiful visuals, and failing in only one of them can cause the whole project to fall, too.
Hopefully, our lists will help you decide what to watch in this Year-end holiday, and if you're more into Hindi Bollywood movies, please check our list of the bravest ones here. Happy New Year!