Quote of the Day: “These are the ones that are beckoning me to the multiplex.” – City of Kik

At the beginning of the summer movie season, (May 4, 2009 to be exact) a wrote a blog entry about my picks for the movies that were coming out this summer. Now, let’s look back at how they actually performed at the box-office. (All numbers are total, combining international and domestic, courtesy of BoxOfficeMojo.com)

District 9 - $117,611,000
This little movie lived up to the fanboy hype, performing like a blockbuster. Expect an even bigger sequel which hopefully will capture its charm, poignancy, and topnotch special effects, all on a shoestring budget that managed to look like a billion bucks.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of COBRA - $279,858,000
Critically lambasted, this movie’s success surprised a lot of people by making a lot of money – which means we’ll be seeing a lot more of these action figures come to life in the future.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - $917,194,000
J.K. Rowling’s franchise continues to make obscene amounts of cash. The latest film version, despite some controversies like the changed release date or the differences from the printed page to the big screen, was a huge, huge hit.

Inglourious Basterds - $179,085,000
Even though it’s tough to discuss the total worldwide boxoffice impact of movies that were released late in the summer and are still drawing audiences to the film theater, this latest flick from Quentin Tarantino proved to be a big draw and arguably one of Tarantino’s best.

Land of the Lost - $62,490,000
What a disappointment! This ambitious but off-track Will Ferrell adaptation of the cheesy children’s classic turned out to be one of the biggest flops of the summer. It’s a shame, because I was looking forward to this one, but they totally blew it.

Moon - $6,490,000
This small sci-fi flick ushered nice reviews and I hope it builds a bigger audience when it’s released on DVD.

Pandorum – N/A
Due to be released September 25, we’ll see how this science fiction / horror movie does.

Star Trek - $383,569,000
J.J. Abrams did the seemingly impossible and revised the franchise into a mainstream box-office and critical success. It exceeded my expectations and I look forward to the inevitable sequels.

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 - $101,107,000
This remake starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta pretty much broke even.

Terminator Salvation - $371,296,000
Even though it seems like it made enough money, this film was probably the biggest let-down of the summer. If it was meant to be the start of a new Terminator trilogy, let’s hope that the future movie chapters will have a little more substance and impact.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - $830,676,000
This movie’s success surprised even me. Now we will likely see them milk this franchise to death in the years to come.

Up - $415,143,000
Pixar apparently can do no wrong. Even when I think one of their movies will be a failure, they manage to pull off another hit. Bravo!

There were others I mentioned but didn’t add to my list for various reasons. Here’s how they did.

Angels and Demons - $484,378,000
The sequel movie based on the prequel book did a satisfactory job, so we’re sure to see the latest book in the series, The Lost Symbol, adapted for the big screen.

G-Force - $167,783,000
This cute cartoon reached the target family audience it wanted but it didn’t really make a splash on the mainstream market.

Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs - $808,038,000
It continues to amaze me that this computer-generated franchise has reached blockbuster stature.

Imagine That - $18,081,000
It’s a shame to see an Eddie Murphy movie flop, but that’s what happened here. Maybe it will convince him to return to more adult comedy.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian - $404,419,000
Here’s another franchise that surprised me. Now we’ll probably see Ben Stiller go to a different museum every year or two.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - $363,382,000
Despite plenty of controversy before it opened, this film was a very nice popcorn flick.

And still others weren’t even on my radar back in May like The Final Destination, Julie and Julia, The Hangover, Monsters vs. Aliens, Fast and Furious, and others that I just ignorantly failed to mention, like Watchmen, Public Enemies, and many others.