Summer at movie theaters was a true underdog story for Michael Moore and a gang of dodgeball dimwits, who helped propel Hollywood to another season of record revenue, though the number of moviegoers fell slightly....
Teamed with such familiar favorites as "Shrek,""Spider-Man" and "Harry Potter" sequels, "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Dodgeball" helped lift the industry to an all-time summer haul of just under $4 billion from the first weekend in May through Labor Day, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
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The sequels "Shrek 2,""Spider-Man 2" and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" took the win, place and show spots at the box office, with other follow-ups such as "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement" performing well.
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"Spider-Man 2," a reunion for director Sam Raimi and stars Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco, came up short of the $404 million gross of the 2002 original, but the sequel still made a fortune at $370 million. It should finish a bit ahead of "The Passion of the Christ" as the year's No. 2 hit so far.
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Overall, the quality of movies this season proved better than summer 2003, when many moviegoers were disenchanted by a barrage of lackluster sequels, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations.
"This was a pretty good summer. You had a solid mix of blockbusters, some great documentaries and indie films," Dergarabedian said. "This is what audiences want. They're looking for a choice. If you couldn't find a movie you wanted to see this summer, then you should stop going to see movies."
