Summer Box Office 2012 Winners and Losers

Which movies basked in the heat this season - and which ones withered?

By Gregory Ellwood Tuesday, Sep 4, 2012 3:14 AM

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This was supposed to be Hollywood's record breaking summer. Potential hits such as "The Avengers," "The Dark Knight Rises," "Dark Shadows," "G.I. Joe Retaliation," "The Bourne Legacy," "Amazing Spider-Man" and "Brave" were supposed to drive attendance and possibly set a summer box office record. For a number of reasons, it just didn't happen. Grosses were actually lower than 2011's dismal frame and Hollywood executives have been left wondering if big releases in November and December can turn things around. However, before we conjecture on the fall and winter box office, let's take a look at some of the winners and losers of the 2012 summer season in the gallery below.

Agree or disagree? Share your thoughts below.

Winners and Losers at the Summer 2012 Box Office

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Brendan

I'm surprised there is no mention of Moonrise Kingdom, the biggest indie hit of the summer, and The Dark Knight Rises which just surpassed the worldwide gross of The Dark Knight.
September 4, 2012 at 3:48AM EST Reply to Comment
- Jared K I agree that the absence of The Dark Knight Rises on this list is really kind of ridiculous, especially given that this was the week it finally broke $1 billion worldwide. Yes, it was expected to make that kind of money, unlike The Avengers. Yes, its U.S. gross might not have been quite as astronomical as some box office pundits were predicting, but $433 million to date is absolutely nothing to sneeze at. If the author is uncomfortable associating the word 'winner' with The Dark Knight Rises, given the tragedy in Aurora, that's absolutely fine. But the film's legacy shouldn't be defined by the actions of one madman. It was unquestionably one of the two most notable movies of the summer, and the final installment of one of the most financially successful and critically acclaimed franchises in movie history deserves recognition on its own terms.
  September 4, 2012 at 7:03AM EST
- scottish_punk Well said, Jared. This summer recap drops the ball. TDKR is a winner, a big one.
  September 4, 2012 at 8:58AM EST
Ankur

Idiot, G. I. Joe: Retaliation will be in cinema in 2013
September 4, 2012 at 7:00AM EST Reply to Comment
Aaron

Yeah I'm sorry but go Joe is 2013. Tdkr surpassed its 2008 predescessor,the avengers is now at the 1.5 billion mark making it the 3rd highest grossing of all time. The dark knight rises is at 1.005 millon as of yesterday. Whoever wrote this article...has no idea wtf your talking about
September 4, 2012 at 8:29AM EST Reply to Comment
s

I'm pretty sure TDKR wasn't included because it was always going to do well and is just too obvious as a Winner. With the Avengers and Spider-Man the guarantee of success wasn't as high.
September 4, 2012 at 11:23AM EST Reply to Comment
DefRef

I think the entries regarding Sandler, Tatum, Vaughn and Stiller attribute success and failure wrongly because it gives the stars credit/blame for the box office take of movies disconnected from whether the movies themselves were any good, even by the low standards of the neighborhood garbage like The Watch and That's My Boy dwell.

The trailers looked AWFUL for both of those films and I swear that when I saw the Jack & Jill trailer, I initially thought it was a spoof like the beginning of Tropic Thunder until the horrifying realization that this was a real movie that someone greenlit and thought was a good idea.

As for Tatum, did anyone see those movies because he was the star or did he just happen to get lucky with being cast in movies that would've made money regardless - gee, a male stripper flick with the guy from True Blood and a sappy romance with Rachel McAdams, co-star of The Notebook - in the antithesis of Taylor Kitsch's misfortune in being stuck in John Carter (not of Mars) and Battleship? I think if Hollywood starts banking on Tatum, they may have another Alicia Silverstone on their hands, albeit in better shape.

I think the days of any old crap being put in theaters with the expectation that "star power" will put butts in seats are over. Box office receipts are down overall as people are realizing that going to the movies for the same half-assed formula is unaffordable in this ruined economy with $4 gas, etc. The audience can't afford to run off to see "new Ben Stiller/Jonah Hill/Vince Vaughn movie" at $10 a head when they'll be able to rent it for a buck from Redbox in only 4 months.
September 4, 2012 at 1:16PM EST Reply to Comment
Daggor

I see two misspellings in this article - how many can YOU find?
September 4, 2012 at 4:39PM EST Reply to Comment

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Summer Box Office 2012 Winners and Losers

Which movies basked in the heat this season - and which ones withered?