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鈥淭ed 2,鈥� the sequel to the Seth MacFarlane comedy about a talking teddy bear and his human sidekick (Mark Wahlberg), comes to theaters today.

Will it be as big a box office hit as the first movie? The first 鈥淭ed鈥� film came out in 2012 and became the ninth-highest grossing movie of the year, according to the website .

It remains to be seen whether 鈥淭ed 2鈥� will perform like the first film, but what made the first 鈥淭ed鈥� a hit? Fans knew MacFarlane, who directed, co-wrote, and starred in the film, from the animated series 鈥淔amily Guy,鈥� and others may have come to the movie out of curiosity or were drawn by reviews that were middling but said that if you were looking for shocking humor, this was the place.聽

This summer is actually somewhat unusual in that several R-rated comedies are on the schedule for the multiplex. Summer is currently the place for superhero films or other tentpoles 鈥� see this May鈥檚 鈥淎vengers: Age of Ultron鈥� or this month鈥檚 鈥淛urassic World鈥� 鈥� or animated films like Pixar鈥檚 鈥淚nside Out.鈥� There are usually a few big-budget R-rated comedies like 鈥淭ed 2鈥� released each summer, but not many that hit it big. Looking at the summer movie season as beginning on May 1 (Marvel certainly does, having released 鈥淯ltron鈥� on that date), this summer has had 鈥淗ot Pursuit鈥� (not R-rated, however) starring Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara, and 鈥淧itch Perfect 2,鈥� which was also rated PG-13 and is something of a hybrid of its own 鈥� a comedy that will also bring in audience members who just want to hear a cappella covers. 鈥淓ntourage鈥� is also its own animal, being based off a TV show. The most prominent example is Melissa McCarthy鈥檚 comedy 鈥淪py,鈥� a rated-R venture that opened in June.聽

In comparison, action-based tentpole movies released this summer so far have included 鈥淯ltron,鈥� 鈥淢ad Max: Fury Road,鈥� 鈥淭omorrowland,鈥� and 鈥淪an Andreas.鈥� More comedies are coming, though, with 鈥淢agic Mike XXL,鈥� Amy Schumer鈥檚 鈥淭rainwreck,鈥� and the National Lampoon remake 鈥淰acation.鈥� There are so many coming out this summer that Relativity Studios recently moved its comedy 鈥淭he Bronze鈥� to October because of what writer Brent Lang called an 鈥渙nslaught鈥� of R-rated comedies coming out this summer.聽

This represents a shift. In recent years, the summer season has often been dominated by one or two hit comedies, but not many. According to聽, 2014 was the year of 鈥淣eighbors,鈥� the comedy starring Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne as a married couple living near a fraternity house, and 鈥�22 Jump Street,鈥� the sequel to Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill鈥檚 adaptation of the 鈥�21鈥� TV series. MacFarlane鈥檚 鈥淎 Million Ways to Die in the West,鈥� McCarthy鈥檚 movie 鈥淭ammy,鈥� and the comedies 鈥淪ex Tape,鈥� 鈥淟et鈥檚 Be Cops,鈥� and 鈥淲alk of Shame鈥� fizzled.聽

In 2013, McCarthy and Sandra Bullock鈥檚 comedy 鈥淭he Heat鈥� was the big headline of the summer, as was 鈥淲e鈥檙e the Millers,鈥� starring 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥� actor Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston. 鈥淭his Is the End,鈥� an apocalypse comedy with actors including Rogen and James Franco, did fairly well, and 鈥淭he Hangover Part III鈥� did okay, though not as well as the previous two films. But other comedies like Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn鈥檚 鈥淭he Internship鈥� tanked.聽

2012 was the summer of 鈥淭ed鈥� and 鈥淢agic Mike鈥� and 2011 was 鈥淏ridesmaids鈥� and 鈥淗orrible Bosses.鈥� 2010 was the Will Ferrell comedy 鈥淭he Other Guys.鈥澛�

With action-based movies like "Ultron" or "Jurassic," studios may figure that audiences are getting an all-in-one package 鈥� action, a little romance, and one-liners courtesy of wisecracking Robert Downey Jr. and Pratt, who cut his teeth in the NBC sitcom "Parks and Recreation." Why give audiences one genre when they can have many?

But this summer may be a perfect storm of proven comedy hitmakers all deciding to go with the summer for a release date. McCarthy worked summer magic with 鈥淭he Heat鈥� and 鈥淏ridesmaids,鈥� while MacFarlane scored with 鈥淭ed.鈥� The first 鈥淢agic Mike鈥� was a hit and 鈥淰acation鈥� has been a successful franchise in decades past.

Will the amount of options mean some movies will gross less than they would have normally? It鈥檚 certainly possible. Studio executives may be watching this summer to see how they should plan in the future for warm-weather comedies.