The 2015 movies that unexpectedly succeeded at the box office
Sure things like 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' hit it big, but there were some films that did better than expected to become winners at this year's box office.
Sure things like 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' hit it big, but there were some films that did better than expected to become winners at this year's box office.
This year saw expected champions like 鈥淎vengers: Age of Ultron鈥� and 鈥淭he Hunger Games: Mockingjay 鈥� Part 2鈥� top the box office, but it also witnessed slightly more unexpected hits make their way to victory.聽
The 鈥淛urassic Park鈥� film series was always a hit, but Marvel and other properties could have conceivably kept the dinosaurs from rampaging all over the box office. Nevertheless, the newest 鈥淛urassic鈥� movie in 14 years, this summer鈥檚 鈥淛urassic World,鈥� became the highest-grossing movie this year domestically, far outpacing previous entries in the series.
Similarly, two franchises that are traditionally strong performers had some of the best results ever for their movies. Pixar often does well at the box office, but this summer鈥檚 鈥淚nside Out,鈥� the animated tale of a young girl named Riley and the forces living inside her mind, became the second-highest-grossing film in Pixar鈥檚 history.
And the newest installment in the 鈥淔ast and the Furious鈥� franchise starring Vin Diesel, 鈥淔urious 7,鈥� became the highest-grossing film in the series.聽
The increasing status of Pixar as the place for all-ages viewers who want a great story and of the 鈥淔ast and the Furious鈥� series as a place to find a diverse cast may have contributed to the success of these films.
The science fiction tale 鈥淭he Martian,鈥� which is based on the novel of the same name by Andy Weir, became one of the highest-grossing movies this year after it debuted in the fall, showing audiences still want sci-fi.聽
And while the first 鈥淧itch Perfect鈥� movie performed well, its sequel left it far behind, becoming one of the biggest success stories of this year.
It was a good year for animation at the box office even if the movie didn鈥檛 come from Pixar. 鈥淢inions,鈥� which was the newest installment in the 鈥淒espicable Me鈥� series; 鈥淗ome,鈥� which tells the story of a young girl who befriends an alien; and 鈥淗otel Transylvania 2,鈥� the follow-up to the movie about a hotel owned by Dracula, all performed well.
No doubt families all flocked to these, particularly in less busy times at the multiplex 鈥� 鈥淗ome鈥� came out in March and 鈥淭ransylvania鈥� in September, so they were able to set themselves apart for family audiences at a time when, for example, neither a Pixar or Disney film was available.聽
While it was practically a given, Marvel was a presence in the box office rankings even beyond 鈥淯ltron鈥� 鈥� the movie 鈥淎nt-Man鈥� did well also.聽
Other sure things that did great were the new James Bond movie 鈥淪pectre鈥� and the newest 鈥淢ission: Impossible鈥� installment, 鈥淢ission: Impossible 鈥� Rogue Nation.鈥�