美国国家公共电台 NPR Hollywood Suffers Worst Summer Box Office In A Decade

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KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

2017 has been a record year in Hollywood, but it's not a good record. This has been the worst summer at the box office in a decade. NPR's Neda Ulaby reports even hits like "Wonder Woman" and the latest "Guardians¹ Of The Galaxy²" could not save a summer of flops⁴.

NEDA ULABY, BYLINE⁵: To be clear, we've seen some terrific movies this summer. Still, films like "Girls Trip," "Baby Driver" and "The Big Sick" are not exactly tent poles.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DUNKIRK")

FIONN WHITEHEAD: (As Tommy) Where's the bloody⁶ air force?

ULABY: Even the epic⁷ World War II drama "Dunkirk," already getting buzz for best picture, was not enough to rescue a box office down 16 percent over last summer. This is partly due to what we can only call sucky sequels about mummies or...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES")

JAVIER BARDEM: (As Captain Salazar) Pirates.

ULABY: Few people it seems were that invested in the ongoing⁸ travails⁹ of Captain Jack¹⁰ Sparrow of the "Pirates Of The Caribbean" or even the big, noisy robots of "Transformers." But these movies still made plenty of money abroad, says media analyst¹¹ Paul Dergarabedian of comScore.

PAUL DERGARABEDIAN: Yeah, well, the international marketplace is different than North America. The novelty factor I think of these big, bombastic¹² American-made films - that hasn't worn off. Although, we are seeing a little erosion of that popularity.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WOLF WARRIOR¹³ 2")

WU JING: (As Leng Feng, foreign language spoken).

ULABY: Partly because places like China are coming up with massive summer blockbusters of their own. A fast-paced action movie called "Wolf Warrior 2" has made about as much money worldwide as anything the U.S. produced this summer.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WOLF WARRIOR 2")

DERGARABEDIAN: A good movie is a good movie anywhere, and a terrible movie is pretty much a terrible movie no matter where you find it.

ULABY: And that's why relying on subpar sequels to be international hits is not a smart long-term studio strategy, Dergarabedian suggests. Even though this summer's box office has tanked, he says Hollywood need not panic.

DERGARABEDIAN: This is a cyclical business. It's going to come back. We - every few years, we go through one of these big downturns, and everyone proclaims that the - you know, the movie theater is over. That's not going to happen.

ULABY: Just in the next few months, we'll see the new "Blade Runner 2049"...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "BLADE RUNNER 2049")

HARRISON FORD¹⁴: (As Rick Deckard) You're a cop. I had your job once.

ULABY: ...and "Justice League" and the new "Thor" movie and the latest "Star Wars" plus all those Oscar contenders. Paul Dergarabedian says 2017 may well redeem¹⁵ itself. That said, it might be time to re-evaluate some weaker sequels. In the "Pirates Of The Caribbean" flop³, Johnny Depp faces an executioner who asks him...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES")

JOHN REYNOLDS: (As Hangman Executioner) How would you like to die, pirate - hanging, firing squad¹⁶?

ULABY: The answer might be the box office. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF DRAKE SONG, "PASSIONFRUIT")