Report Card: '09 Summer Box Office Results

Well, the summer quickly came and went, which means that it's time to revisit my annual predictions for this summer's box office results.

I'm a little disappointed in my prognostications, as I wasn't very accurate on my top 5 and I outright whiffed at the bottom of the list. I overestimated the appeal of franchises Harry Potter, Wolverine and Terminator (all of whom were at least the fourth movie in a series), as I suppose the long-running brands aren't what they used to be. And while I thought that The Hangover would be a surprise hit, I had no idea it would be such a huge smash. In retrospect, I should have known that there would be at least one comedy in the top 8.

My biggest mistakes were forgetting about Angels & Demons (a glaring omission), thinking Eddie Murphy is still a big draw with kids (Imagine That? Honestly?) and overrating the popularity of Sascha Baron Cohen. I was part of the droves that ignored from Bruno, but I felt kind of sorry for him when the movie bombed. It's safe to say that nobody this summer worked harder at promoting a movie than Cohen, with his outlandish, theatrical premiere appearances and the press interviews performed entirely in character. But these days, savvy movie-goers are less likely to be fooled into heading out to a movie that they won't enjoy.

As for the feathers in my cap, I was spot on with my predictions of Ice Age 3, Night at the Museum and Public Enemies. Not sure what lessons are to be learned, but I'll pat myself on the back nonetheless.