Editorial: Off-peak months are profitable too

It's an unspoken rule in Hollywood that the summer blockbuster season (May-August) and fall holiday season (November/December) are the best and most lucrative opportunity to release a splashy big-budget tentpole due to kids being out of school and money to spend. Problem is, studios are leaping to claim the best spots 2-3 years ahead of time. More recently, studios like Disney, Fox, and Sony have jockeyed to book spots for their sequels and future animated films all the way up through December 2018 -- over five years early.

Another increasing problem is the overcrowding summer is becoming, like this season's crop of films. Five pricey films (After Earth, R.I.P.D., Pacific Rim, White House Down, The Lone Ranger), in addition to being badly received by audiences, are dropping off faster simply due to the overload of options in the marketplace. People only have so much to spend on movies nowadays… and occasionally these movies can benefit during typically slower months. 

As Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore puts it eloquently, "This […] certainly showed that the summer alone cannot sustain this number of tentpoles. The one thing that everybody has to re-evaluate is looking at the calendar and discussing when you have the best shot at being successful during non-peak times."

It's not like studios have just realized this recently, but it's been a gradual process during the past couple years. Warner Brothers first realized the potential of a big tentpole movie during the off-season when 300 made a whopping $456 million in March 2007 (before then March was mainly relegated to animated films). Disney piggybacked off that with Alice in Wonderland, which became the first $1 billion film to open in March 2010. Other studios got into the act, like Universal's The Lorax, Lionsgate's The Hunger Games, and Disney's Oz: The Great and Powerful. All three made blockbuster-sized coin during March Madness, but some were bigger than others.

Even a summer-to-spring date change shift was a benefit when Paramount moved G.I. Joe: Retaliation from its June 29, 2012 date to March 28, 2013. The lack of competition during the spring (instead of being placed between The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises), plus 3D surcharges, benefited both movie and studio. In the end, Retaliation made more than its predecessor did back in August 2009… $60 million more. 

April is also gaining steam as another potential off-peak month. After releasing the third Fast & The Furious film in summer 2006 to middling returns, Universal Pictures scheduled its fourth and fifth installments for early and late April. To date, those two are the top highest-opening films in April domestically ($70 million and $86 million) and have grossed a collective $989 million worldwide. Even Marvel Studios and Disney are getting in the act, scheduling Captain America: The Winter Soldier for April 2014 in hopes of a similar-sized payday.

For the higher-ups, they'd think it silly that the whole calendar year is up for grabs, but a decent and reasonably budgeted film can turn a nice profit during iffier months like February, September, and October. (January is a trickier beast due to winter weather and robust December holdovers.) But for February, enticing counter-programming to chick flicks, like Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Safe House and Shutter Island, all made a good profit. 

September can be a notoriously difficult time to make money, but Sony Pictures caught on when its animated Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and Hotel Transylvania each made over $240 million worldwide. Followups to both hit this year and 2015 on the same weekend, and two untitled Sony Pictures Animation projects are also penciled in for September 2016 and 2017 respectively.

October is mostly known for its horror films and the start of Oscar hopefuls, but audiences dig variety as well. DreamWorks Animation made a tidy profit on Puss in Boots, which opened to the tune of over $500 million worldwide. And the sequel effect also helped Taken 2, grossing a terrific $376 million against a $45 million budget. Older audiences cottoned to the geriatric action-comedy RED when it opened, turning it into a sizable $199 million hit. 

There's no real concrete answer to this problem, but bottom line is: Studios shouldn't feel pressured to fit their biggest movies into all the popular spots, but choose what's best for each movie individually. And better control over budgets, obviously.