As the temperatures cool, it’s a good time to look back on the summer slate of films that delivered major box office wins, and discuss the impact of the Hispanic audience, which generated $307 million in opening weekend revenue this summer – an impressive 22% of the total draw.
The importance of the Hispanic audience to film studios continues to grow. Box office spending was up by a healthy 4.7% year-over-year among both Hispanics and total market, which is even more impressive considering there were fewer films released in 2015 than the year prior (44 in 2015 versus 47 in 2014). Opening weekend is the most important gauge of how successful a film will be, and U.S. Hispanics helped generate near-historic numbers at the box office by getting to theaters early and often. Leading the way this summer was none other than Jurassic World, the fourth action-adventure film in the Jurassic Park franchise, starring Chris Pratt. Hispanics accounted for 21% of the total audience on opening weekend, delivering $44 million at the box office. In terms of highest Hispanic audience share (%), four of the top five movies were horror films, with the top spot going to Insidious: Chapter 3 which garnered 28% Hispanic viewership, and a $6.4 million contribution on opening weekend. The success of these two films reinforces the notion that the movie franchise audience is increasingly Hispanic.
It has thus far been a banner year for Hollywood, driven in large part by U.S. Hispanics. The focus will now turn to Award Season releases, and family features ahead of the holidays, including The Peanuts Movie, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, and the latest in George Lucas’ Star Wars franchise, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Given the trends in Hispanic audiences supporting family-friendly and action/adventure films, Hollywood is well-positioned for a strong fourth quarter.
Source: Nielsen Entertainment Hispanic Box Office Estimation, 5/1/15-9/04/15.