What's Wrong with the 2016 Movies?

No matter how much "fun" I had in the hot summer of 2016 with my loving family, the same can't be said for these blockbuster movies that had such promise. Why is it that the only films, besides Captain America: Civil War, Finding Dory, The Secret Life of Pets and Suicide Squad, that were very successful are mostly in the spring (Deadpool, Zootopia, Jungle Book)? What has happened to those that unfortunately didn't bring much excitement like they have before? Is it the poor marketing? Or is it the vaguely tiring storylines in franchises that either overstayed their welcome or they were not supposed to be from the very beginning? Right now, the only films that I'm glad/ok with that they lost money at the box office are the entirely unnecessary Ice Age: Collision Course and the Ben-Hur remake, as well as the expected-to-flop Gods of Egypt and the critically-divisive all-female Ghostbusters reboot. For Universal/Legendary/Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft, I had a feeling that it wouldn't be a huge hit, except in international states like China, given its lack of box office draws and my unfamiliarity with the World of Warcraft video game concept. Here are the 2016 movies (some of which I enjoyed or thought I did enjoy, or never seen but heard of) that I didn't expect them to end up as critically and/or financially disappointing flops that could trigger possible consequences:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
RT: 38% / CinemaScore: A-
Budget: $135 million
Current Box Office Run: $242.5 million ($82 million in U.S.)
Predecessor: TMNT (2014) (Worldwide: $493.3 million/U.S.: $191.2 million; RT: 22%, CinemaScore: B)

The Divergent Series: Allegiant
RT: 13% / CinemaScore: B
Budget: $110 million
Current Box Office Run: $179.2 million ($66.2 million in U.S.)
Predecessor: Divergent (Worldwide: $288.9 million/U.S.: $150.9 million; RT: 41%, CinemaScore: A) & Insurgent (Worldwide: $297.3 million/U.S.: $130.2 million; RT: 28%, CinemaScore: A-)

The Nice Guys
RT: 91% / CinemaScore: B-
Budget: $50 million
Current Box Office Run: $36.3 million (U.S. only)
Predecessor: n/a

Kubo and the Two Strings
RT: 96% / CinemaScore: A
Budget: $60 million
Current Box Office Run: $27.6 million ($24.9 million in U.S.)
Predecessor: n/a

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
RT: 50% / CinemaScore: A
Budget: $50 million
Current Box Office Run: $69.4 million ($52.9 million in U.S.)
Predecessor: n/a

X-Men: Apocalypse
RT: 48% / CinemaScore: A-
Budget: $178 million
Current Box Office Run: $541.1 million ($155.4 million in U.S.)
Predecessor: X-Men (Worldwide: $296.3 million/U.S.: $157.3 million; RT: 81%, CinemaScore: A-), X2 (Worldwide: $407.7 million/U.S.: $214.9 million; RT: 86%, CinemaScore: A), X-Men: The Last Stand (Worldwide: $459.4 million/U.S.: $234.4 million; RT: 58%, CinemaScore: A-), X-Men: First Class (Worldwide: $353.6 million/U.S.: $146.4 million; RT: 86%, CinemaScore: B+), & X-Men: Days of Future Past (Worldwide: $747.9 million/U.S.: $233.9 million; RT: 91%, CinemaScore: A)

Star Trek Beyond
RT: 83% / CinemaScore: A-
Budget: $185 million
Current Box Office Run: $243 million ($151 million in U.S.)
Predecessor: Star Trek (Worldwide: $385.7 million/U.S.: $257.7 million; RT: 95%, CinemaScore: A) & Star Trek Into Darkness (Worldwide: $467.4 million/U.S.: $228.8 million; RT: 86%, CinemaScore: A)

Alice Through the Looking Glass
RT: 30% / CinemaScore: A-
Budget: $170 million
Current Box Office Run: $294.5 million ($77 million in U.S.)
Predecessor: Alice in Wonderland (2010) (Worldwide: $1.025 billion/U.S.: $334.2 million; RT: 52%, CinemaScore: A-)

Independence Day: Resurgence
RT: 32% / CinemaScore: B
Budget: $165 million
Current Box Office Run: $382.4 million ($102.9 million in U.S.)
Predecessor: Independence Day (Worldwide: $817.4 million/U.S.: $306.2 million; RT: 61%, CinemaScore: A)

Oh, what the heck. I think I'm glad that it didn't do well at the box office! Maybe Roland Emmerich should not have thought about making a sequel (or two) to Independence Day 20 years ago! At least Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Jurassic World paid better respect to their long-time predecessors!




So in conclusion, I believe that this year would have probably gotten better movies if neither of them were sequels or remakes to movies that nobody's crazy about or are vastly underrated films that have intriguing originally-conceived concepts yet aren't heavily-marketed enough, based on these disappointing financial figures. Can't believe that this summer, while could have been more fun than last year, is coming to an end. But I hope that my new Fall Semester classes at George Mason will bring back the fun and happiness that I always had!