• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

2

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

3

Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026

1

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

2

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

3

Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
Arts & EntertainmentHollywood

Hollywood Is About to Post Its Worst Summer Box Office in Recent Memory

By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 29, 2017, 4:26 PM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Hollywood’s dismal summer season is set to limp to a close this weekend with a Labor Day slate that features exactly zero major new domestic releases.

While Labor Day weekend is rarely a haven for big studio releases, Hollywood really could have used a strong finish to a summer that has been extremely short on hits. Media tracking company comScore expects the North American box office to finish the traditional summer season with a nearly 16% decline in revenue for the period, more than 2014’s huge 14.6% drop-off, to become the industry’s biggest year-over-year domestic revenue decline in “modern times,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Once known for providing a plethora of box-office topping blockbusters, Hollywood’s summer box office has cooled down a bit in recent years, as the glut of expensive action movies, sequels, and franchise reboots has pushed more big-budget films outside of the traditional summer movie season. But, even taking Hollywood’s shifting release schedule into account, this summer was particularly disappointing, especially with regard to the large number of high-price sequels and reboots that fell flat with audiences over the past few months.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Movies like Warner Bros.’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword ($146 million in total box office gross on a $175 million production budget) and EuropaCorp’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets ($172 million global gross on a $177 million budget) highlighted some of the summer’s biggest flops, according to Box Office Mojo. But, Hollywood also suffered from disappointing performances by franchise stalwarts such as Walt Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Paramount’s Transformers: The Last Knight, both of which fell well short of the performance of previous franchise installments. Universal Pictures also stumbled out of the gate with The Mummy, the Comcast-owned studio’s first attempt at a monster-based cinematic universe, which made only $80 million domestically despite starring A-list actor Tom Cruise.

The summer of 2016 also had its share of big-budget flops—Fox’s Independence Day: Resurgence reboot and Paramount’s attempt at a Ben-Hur remake come to mind—but, last summer also saw a fair number of bonafide box-office hits. Disney led the way last year with mega-hits Finding Dory and Captain America: Civil War, while Universal also scored with the animated The Secret Life of Pets.

This year’s summer movie slate did feature solid hits such as Warner’s Wonder Woman and Sony’s Spider-Man: Homecoming reboot, while Disney kept up the superhero goodwill with another strong turn for the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel. But, as of yet, none of those movies managed to top $900 million in worldwide ticket sales (Universal’s animated sequel Despicable Me 3 is the only summer movie to do so, at more than $970 million), whereas two summer movies (Finding Dory and Civil War) made more than $1 billion in 2016.

Hollywood’s saving grace this year has been the international box office, where revenue is up slightly over 2016. Movies like the latest Pirates of the Caribbean ($620 million in foreign ticket sales, or 78% of its total haul) and The Mummy ($327 million and 80%, respectively) were able to salvage their theatrical runs somewhat by pulling in enough money overseas to prop up what were otherwise disappointing domestic releases.

To date this year, Hollywood’s domestic box office is off almost 6% from last year, which means the movie industry will need an especially strong fall slate to top last year’s record box office performance. Box office revenue has ticked upward to record levels in each of the past two years, thanks partly to rising ticket prices, as physical movie ticket sales have begun to shrink slightly as the rise of streaming movies and TV has been a boon for at-home entertainment at the expense of theaters and studios.

There is hope for the 2017 domestic box office on the horizon, though, led by new installments from two huge Disney franchises: Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok hits theaters in November, and the superhero movie should follow in the footsteps of its Marvel brethren to become a box-office success. That same month, Warner unleashes its first DC Comics film since the success of this summer’s Wonder Woman, as its Justice League team-up movie should also score big at theaters as long as it avoids the toxic reviews earned by predecessors like 2016’s Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad.

But Hollywood’s real savior might not arrive until Dec. 15, when Star Wars: The Last Jedi soars into theaters. The latest sequel in the space opera franchise has been the subject of non-stop buzz since its predecessor, 2015’s The Force Awakens, broke box-office records as the highest-grossing domestic movie of all-time ($936 million). A similar showing from The Last Jedi, along with some more help from the rest of Hollywood’s fall movies, could help erase the stink of what has been a summer to forget at the box office.

CORRECTION: This article has been corrected to show that France’s EuropaCorp produced the film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (which was distributed in the U.S. by STX Entertainment and in the U.K. by Lionsgate).

About the Author
By Tom Huddleston Jr.
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
SuccessCareer Advice
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 24, 2026
13 hours ago
Matt Freese stopping a soccer ball entering the goal
SuccessCareers
Team USA’s goalkeeper passed on Manchester United, the club that helped shape David Beckham’s career, for Harvard—and has zero regrets
By Preston ForeJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
mex
North AmericaWorld Cup
After FIFA priced them out of their own World Cup, many Mexicans take their TVs to the street
By Megan Janetsky and The Associated PressJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
gg
CommentaryWorld Cup
CPJ: press freedom must endure the American World Cup
By Gypsy Guillén KaiserJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
toy
Arts & EntertainmentBox office
A $1 million horror film and a 30-year-old franchise are saving Hollywood’s summer
By Jake Coyle and The Associated PressJune 22, 2026
2 days ago
duck
North AmericaMexico
Mexico City’s unofficial duck soccer mascot stole the presidential press briefing
By The Associated PressJune 22, 2026
2 days ago

Most Popular

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
Success
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
Economy
The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
By Jacqueline MunisJune 24, 2026
13 hours ago
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of gold as of June 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of June 23, 2026
By Danny BakstJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
Texas and Charlotte used to build huge McMansions—now they're copying the California design tricks they once mocked
Real Estate
Texas and Charlotte used to build huge McMansions—now they're copying the California design tricks they once mocked
By Sydney LakeJune 22, 2026
2 days ago
Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
Banking
Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
By Jim EdwardsJune 23, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.