The 5 biggest winners and losers at the box office so far this year

Disney

“Captain America: Civil War.”

As we hit the midway point of 2016, it’s a good time to take a glance at the domestic box office and see how things are going.

In short: It’s not as bad as you think.

Though the summer-movie season has been filled with lackluster performers, especially sequels, the 2016 box office is tracking higher than this time in 2015, which was a record-breaking year for the movie industry. (Though we should note, it’s just a 1.9% increase from 2015, according to USA Today.) 

A big reason Hollywood has kept things steady was its monster first quarter, with movies like “Deadpool” and “Zootopia” performing better than anyone ever dreamed.

The second quarter saw a dip, with “Warcraft” and “Alice Through the Looking Glass” standing out as two of the most miserable failures in the US (though “Warcraft” has earned over $370 million overseas). 

Here’s a breakdown of the five big winners and five big losers at the box office so far this year.

WINNER: Disney

Universal topped the box office last year with $6.89 billion earned at the global box office. Disney is well on its way to matching or surpassing that in 2016.

Just looking at the studio’s domestic gross alone so far this year is impressive, as it’s already taken in close to $2 billion.

Marvel and the animation houses have been the leaders. “Captain America: Civil War” is its top earner so far this year (and tops all domestic releases in 2016) with over $400 million in the US (over $1.1 billion worldwide).

Close behind is “The Jungle Book” with $359.6 million ($934.5 worldwide). Even the Disney brass must be shocked by how much people took to this live-action adaptation of the classic 1967 cartoon.

Then “Zootopia” has proven that Walt Disney Studios can make movies as well as Pixar, with the title taking in $340.3 million (over $1 billion earned worldwide). But Pixar’s “Finding Dory” is looking to be something special (more on this title to come below). In just three weeks, the movie has earned $380.5 million ($548.3 million worldwide).

LOSER: Sequels

If the summer-movie season has taught us anything, it’s that audiences are beginning to get burnt out with all the sequels.

“Alice Through the Looking Glass,” the latest “Divergent” movie, “Zoolander 2,” “Independence Day: Resurgence,” the new “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle” — all will be black eyes for their respective studios.

But that doesn’t mean they’re going away. Five of the top ten earners at the domestic box office so far this year are part of a franchise. Still, hopefully studios will realize from this season that they can’t just expect major paydays by greenlighting franchises to all movies that do well. 

WINNER: “10 Cloverfield Lane”

What we need more of are “spiritual” sequels like “10 Cloverfield Lane.”

The 2008 found-footage thriller “Cloverfield” showed a group of friends dealing with a creature attacking New York City, and for “Cloverfield Lane,” we are given a different kind of evil that is so clever and connects with the origins of the franchise so well, it’s really a blueprint for how Hollywood can get smart with its sequel problem.

But here’s the clincher: The modestly budgeted movie (around $15 million) earned $72 million in the US (over $100 million worldwide).  

LOSER: “Gods of Egypt”

One of the biggest studio busts this year is this “whitewashed” $140 million gods-versus-mortals fantasy tale. It only took in $31 million in the US (over $100 million worldwide, which will keep it out of the red as far as production costs goes).

It’s the perfect example of where bad CGI and casting Gerard Butler as an Egyptian will get you.

WINNER: “Deadpool”

On paper, an R-rated superhero movie seemed like a fringe hit at best. But 20th Century Fox has laughed all the way to the bank since the release of “Deadpool.” It also might have changed the way we watch our superhero movies.

The film earned over $363 million domestically ($783.7 million worldwide) and became the highest opening ever for an R movie thanks to Ryan Reynolds’ foul-mouthed, sarcastically funny portrayal of Marvel’s “Merc with a Mouth.”

Now many upcoming superhero adaptations are trying to plug in edgy fun and more mature settings for their characters to replicate what “Deadpool” pulled off. We’ll see if it works for the likes of “Suicide Squad” and “Justice League” in the months and years to come. 

LOSER: “Bankable” stars

There was a time when studios just had to make a poster with George Clooney or Tom Hanks or Julia Roberts on it and then wait for the money to flow in. 2016 has proven that’s not the case anymore.

Clooney’s “Money Monster” (directed by Jodie Foster) only earned $40 million ($87.2 million worldwide). Roberts costarred with Clooney in “Monster” and also struck out as one of the marquee names in the ensemble “Mother’s Day” ($32 million, hasn’t shown overseas). And Hanks’ “A Hologram for the King” only made $4.2 million (also hasn’t played overseas yet).

Out of the three, Hanks is still going to earn his coin thanks to the “Toy Story” franchise (and maybe “Sully” will earn him awards buzz), but the aging movie star is facing difficult times. These three as well as stars like Brad Pitt and Sean Penn have to come up with a pivot soon.

WINNER: “Finding Dory”

The long-awaited sequel to the classic Pixar title “Finding Nemo” is doing what most people expected: crushing it. In three weeks in theaters, “Dory” has been No. 1 at the domestic box office, with an estimated $380.5 million.

The movie is not only very close to surpassing the highest domestic gross for a Pixar movie, “Toy Story 3” ($415 million), but is on its way to becoming the highest-grossing animated release of all time. 

“Dory” tops what has been a very good year for animated movies so far: “Zootopia,” “Kung Fu Panda 3,” and “The Angry Birds Movie” are in the top 10 domestic earners of 2016.

LOSER: Universal

After a record-breaking year for the studio at the box office in 2015, Universal is dealing with a big hangover. Two comedies and an adaptation of a giant video game highlight how bad the year has been for the studio.

The biggest hit for the studio is “Warcraft,” based on the “World of Warcraft” video games, and it bombed domestically with $45.8 million (though its earning overseas of $376.2 million could lead to a sequel). Other disappointments include “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising” ($55 million domestic) and “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping” ($9.4 million, with no foreign release as of yet).

WINNER: Thrillers

It looks like the perfect counterprogramming to summer blockbusters is a modestly budgeted scary movie.

“The Conjuring 2” beat out “Warcraft” to win its opening weekend and to date has earned over $96 million domestically ($275.3 million worldwide), which is on track to surpass what the original earned. And “The Purge: Election Year” took down Steven Spielberg’s “The BFG” this past weekend, taking in $34.7 million domestically. 

LOSER: All of us

There are some great movies that have come out already this year and have just not found an audience. It has to be addressed. A case can be made for many more, especially on the independent film side (looking at you, “Sing Street”), but out of studio releases, we really failed “Neighbors 2,” “Popstar,” and “The Nice Guys” ($35.2 million).

All three titles had respectable scores on Rotten Tomatoes, but none has come close to earning even $60 million domestically. Hopefully these titles will find new life when they hit home video and streaming, but if you are in search for movies that have original stories, are funny, and have great performances, you should seek these out.

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