Why are studios still releasing blockbusters in summer months despite it being oversaturated? (Analysis)

Don't give them clicks..

Since 1975 and Steven Spielberg's Jaws, the summer has been inextricably linked with blockbusters.

This was further compounded in successive years, from 1977's Star Wars all the way up to this very year. Since the '70s, the amount of films released by studios, large and small, have increased exponentially. Since 2000, the amount of films released has increased roughly by 47%. In 2000, 478 films were released. In 2015, the figure was 701.

In this time period, the top-grossing films and their earnings has also increased hugely. The top-grossing film of 2000, Mission: Impossible II, earned $546 million worldwide. Captain America: Civil War, the current top-grossing film of the year, earned $1.15 billion and could likely be surpassed by Rogue One in December. The increase in earning potential from films has been dramatic, but studios are still clinging to the idea that calendar months have anything to do with it.

Again, taking it from 2000, the split between summer blockbusters and winter releases in relation to who earned how much is completely even. Eight of the films were released in winter months, i.e. October to December, and the rest fell typically within summer months. Since Iron Man, however, the summer blockbuster season has been slowly beginning earlier and earlier. What was originally May to August is now spreading out to April and, in some territories, March.

The logic behind summer blockbusters and why studios schedule their blockbusters for this time is simple. Schools are off, people have more leisure time and cinemas are air-conditioned and comfortable from the increased heat. Maybe not so much here in Ireland, but you get the general idea.

From 2001 to 2003, each of the top-earning films of the year were released in winter months. 2013's Frozen opened in November and earned $1.2 billion during its run worldwide. Star Wars: The Force Awakens, released in December, earned $2.06 billion. Both were critically lauded as well as being commercially successful. Between these two sits Transformers: Age of Extinction, which earned $1.14 billion and was released in June of 2014. Roundly panned by critics, the fourth Transformers film nevertheless performed admirably and collected close to $320 million from the Chinese box-office alone.

Looking over the data, it seems clear that there's very little to suggest that a film released in the summer months is more likely to perform better than a film that isn't. The deciding factor overall seems to be, believe it or not, how audiences respond to it. With the exception of four films, all of the top-grossing films since 2000 have scored favourably with both audiences and critics.

While audience reach is important - as in, how many people are physically available to go to the cinema - is important to studios, it seems clear that audiences are prepared to turn out for a film if it's actually good enough. Cramming as many films as possible into a three-month window and oversaturating cinemas with blockbusters doesn't seem to work anymore. Moreover, with the advent of Netflix and other streaming services, the availability of films on-demand means that audiences are more perceptive and educated than ever.

The thing that brings out an audience isn't the ability to go see it or the fact that it's in a particular season, it's actually whether the film is any good or not.

/r/movies Thread Link - e1.ie