Box-office lessons from this summer's movie season

Summer school is over – so what has Hollywood learned?

All the counting and the re-counting is finished, and the summer proved that people still go to the movies in droves. Attendance hit 594 million and box office receipts set a record at $4.4 billion, according to analysts with Hollywood.com and other sources. However, that includes an extra week because of the late Labor Day.

It’s clear that movies are at least recession resistant, if not recession proof. The season, though, represented a drop in attendance from the record-breaking splurge in the winter and spring of this year, which were up 16 percent from the year before. People flocked to Liam Neeson thrillers, Nicolas Cage quickies, endless horror remakes and “Paul Blart: Mall Cop.” For a while, it appeared that people would go see anything just to get away from the news of bank collapses and job layoffs.

The rose wilted in the heat of summer, however, and Hollywood enters the serious awards season with serious doubts. People have shown a particular reluctance to go to sophisticated, important, topical movies. Silly time wins out every time.

We emerge from the summer with no likely Academy Award winner. The most eagerly awaited upcoming movies are “Where the Wild Things Are,” “The Twilight Saga: New Moon ,” “2012” and “Disney’s Christmas Carol.” No best picture award is likely for any of them.

Bring on the cold weather and, hopefully, some important, serious, even adult movies. People with good sense are waiting. Must we trot out a copy of “Casablanca”?

THE LESSONS OF SUMMER

Big stars might be in danger.

Movies that star nobodies are doing as well as the films with the big stars. It appears that the concept and execution of stories are more important than the names on the marquee. Will Angelina Jolie be shopping at Walmart before long?Women can make a hit all by themselves, if they stick together and perhaps drag a few men with them.

On the heels of the 2008 hits “Mamma Mia!” and “Sex and the City,” this summer found a hit in “Julie & Julia,” about Julia Child’s kitchen adventures. It never reached No. 1 but grossed about $89 million. It shows that Meryl Streep (also the star of “Mamma Mia!”) can be a major box office draw and that mature women need not be mere character actresses.

Don’t fire all your big guns too early.

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” “Star Trek,” “Terminator Salvation” and “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” all opened in May to avoid “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” They all opened big, but they probably hurt each other. Plus, the summer’s end was left with lesser titles. Why not spread it out, guys?

3-D is here to stay, like it or not.

“Star Trek,” “Transformers” and “Night at the Museum” took in extra bucks via special 3-D releases. There are still, shall we say, issues. Not enough theaters are equipped for 3-D, so studios can release one only big 3-D movie at a time. There is the extra cost of the glasses. The studios keep telling us 3-D is a phenomenon, but we haven’t jumped on the bandwagon.

Overseas markets may end up ruling what we see.

Note that “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” took in $194 million on this continent but $614 million overseas. “Angels & Demons” was a disappointment in the U.S. with $133 million but took in more than $350 million abroad. It’s a global economy, and global tastes will be taken into consideration.

SUMMER'S BEST & WORST LIST

The top five box office hits of the season “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” “Up,” “The Hangover” (pictured above), “Star Trek”

The big surprise “The Hangover,” which also was the best comedy

Stars who flopped Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Adam Sandler, Johnny Depp and, to some degree, Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and even Tom Hanks, below

Surprise comeback Sandra Bullock in “The Proposal.” Welcome back, girl.

Second-biggest surprise ''District 9” (proof that sci-fi can make sense)

Biggest flop “Year One,” followed closely by “Land of the Lost,” “Imagine That” and “Funny People”

Biggest disappointment “Transformers,” followed by the latest edition of “X-Men” and “Terminator Salvation.” And, yes, we have to include Johnny Depp’s “Public Enemy.”

Surprise hit documentary “Valentino”

Most notable throwback to the sex bomb traditions of old Hollywood Megan Fox

Best epic “Star Trek,” by far the best of the series and, with the Academy allowing 10 nominations this year, a possible nominee for best picture

Worst performances Will Ferrell in “Land of the Lost,” Jack Black in “Year One,” Megan Fox in “Transformers,” Adam Sandler in “Funny People”

Biggest breakout stars Chris Pine in “Star Trek,” Megan Fox in “Transformers,” Zach Galifianakis in “The Hangover”

Best sequel “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”

Best family movie “Up,” above

Movies that deserved more audience than they got “(500) Days of Summer,” “The Hurt Locker,” “Adventureland,” “Taking Woodstock,” “Food, Inc.,” “Moon”

Mal Vincent, (757) 446-2347, mal.vincent@pilotonline.com