The moviegoing masses sent clear messages in 2016. They are most definitely not tired of superheroes. The more animated animals, the merrier. Fantasy worlds of any kind, whether underwater or in outer space, are worth the trip to theaters.
But reality? Not so much. Unlike in recent years, when films like "American Sniper" and "The Hangover" broke through, not one movie rooted in a real-life setting was among the top 10 box office performers.
For the box office year that ended Saturday, movie theaters in North America sold an estimated $11.37 billion in tickets, a record in raw dollars and a 2 percent increase over the same period in 2015, according to comScore, which compiles theatrical data. The top three ticket sellers were "Finding Dory" ($486.3 million), the spinoff "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"(at least $440 million) and "Captain America: Civil War" ($408.1 million).
Despite the increase, the year-end results gave ammunition to those who contend that moviegoing in North America is troubled. Higher revenue could be attributed almost entirely to higher ticket prices: Attendance was flat, with about 1.32 billion tickets sold in the United States and Canada. The average ticket price was $8.61, up from $8.43.
The riches were also unevenly spread in Hollywood. Eight of the top 15 performing films, including four of the top five, came from Walt Disney Studios, which includes the Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm brands. That astounding performance — Disney's hits included "The Jungle Book," "Moana," "Zootopia" and "Doctor Strange" — resulted in roughly $2.7 billion in domestic ticket sales, or more than 25 percent of the market.
Warner Bros. took in about $1.87 billion at domestic theaters and had three films in the top 15. (They were "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice," "Suicide Squad" and "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.") On the opposite end of the scale, Sony Pictures and Paramount Pictures finished with less than $900 million in domestic ticket sales apiece.
NEW YORK TIMES
