Heat is on for Hollywood after glut of summer flops hit box office

HOLLYWOOD studios are facing a financial meltdown this summer after a string of duds following the “Barbenheimer” box office bonanza last year.

- Mike Parker

A stream of sequels, such as Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, prequels and tired rehashes of comic favourites like Garfield: The Movie, have left cinemagoers uninspired.

Experts are now warning the whole industry could be plunged into an “existential crisis”.

Shocking figures, released last week, reveal revenue this year is down 24 per cent against the same period last year and 42 per cent behind 2019, before the pandemic shutdown.

Every week of 2024 is down on its corresponding week last year, according to US analytics firm Comscore, with the smallest gap of 11 per cent managed in March with the release of sequels Dune: Part Two and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

Other hoped-for blockbusters have flopped spectacularly, including last month’s The Fall Guy, starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga starring Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor-Joy.

The post-apocalyptic action prequel was even overtaken by the animated remake The Garfield Movie, which racked-up a mere £11 million on Memorial Day weekend to register the worst holiday box office figures in more than 30 years.