2015 in film is an overview of events, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies, festivals, and a list of films released and notable deaths.
Fox Film (now 20th Century Fox), Universal City, California and Universal Studios Lot celebrated their 100th anniversaries; The Sound of Music and Dolby celebrated their 50th anniversaries.
Evaluation of the year
Richard Brody of The New Yorker described 2015 as, "one of Hollywood's worst years" but also stated that it was also "a terrific year for movies over all". He emphasized that, "The anticipated Oscarizables have mainly ranged from the blandly enjoyable to the droningly disastrous. Partly, the problem is merely one of scheduling: most of Hollywood's inspired directors, the ones whose images have a natural musical sublimity and complexity, weren't on call this year. My list reflects the unfortunate accident of a calendar year with no release by many of the best American directors working in or out of the Hollywood system, such as Martin Scorsese, Sofia Coppola, Wes Anderson, Miranda July, Terrence Malick, James Gray, David Fincher, Steven Soderbergh, and Paul Thomas Anderson."[1]
Highest-grossing films
The top 10 films released in 2015 by worldwide gross are as follows:[2]
| Rank | Title | Distributor | Worldwide gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | scope="row" style= | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | Disney | $2,068,223,624 |
| 2 | scope="row" style= | Jurassic World | Universal | $1,671,537,444 |
| 3 | Furious 7 | $1,515,341,399 | |
| 4 | scope="row" style= | Avengers: Age of Ultron | Disney | $1,402,809,540 |
| 5 | Minions | Universal | $1,159,398,397 |
| 6 | Spectre | Sony | $880,674,609 |
| 7 | Inside Out | Disney | $858,811,174 |
| 8 | Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation | Paramount | $682,714,267 |
| 9 | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 | Lionsgate | $653,428,261 |
| 10 | The Martian | 20th Century Fox | $630,161,890 |
Star Wars: The Force Awakens grossed over $2 billion, becoming the third film to surpass that milestone, and the third highest-grossing film of all time. Jurassic World, Furious 7, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Minions have each grossed over $1 billion, making them among the highest-grossing films of all time. Spectre and Inside Out grossed more than $850 million.
Minions became the first non-Disney animated film and the third animated film overall after Toy Story 3 (2010) and Frozen (2013) to gross over $1 billion, and is currently the sixth highest-grossing animated film of all time.
2015 notable box office records
Studio records
2015 is the first year that a single studio (Universal Pictures) released three films that each grossed over $1 billion,[3] the first year that a single studio released two films that both grossed over $1.5 billion, and the first year that a single studio released two films that both grossed over $1 billion outside of North America.
- Universal also generated $2 billion and $3 billion in a single year at the international box office faster than any studio before, doing so on June 10, June 14, and July 17, 2015, respectively. The previous records was held by 20th Century Fox when it reached $2 and $3 billion on June 15 and July 30, 2010, respectively. Universal previously grossed $2 billion in 2013, reaching the milestone on September 17 of that year.[4][5] Furthermore, the studio also broke the record for fastest studio to generate $1 billion in the United States and Canada (on June 14, 2015), beating the previous record ascendance achieved by Paramount Pictures on June 22, 2008,[5] and $2 billion (on August 16, 2015), beating the previous speed record of December 25, 2009, held by Warner Bros.,[6] and the fastest to $3, $4, and $5 billion worldwide (It achieved the $5 billion milestone on July 17, 2015, breaking the record previously held by Fox near the end of November 2014).[7][8][9] Universal is also the first studio to achieve $6 billion at the global box office in one year.
- Walt Disney Studios became the first studio to release three films within a single franchise – the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) – that each grossed over $1 billion, with Avengers: Age of Ultron joining 2012's The Avengers and 2013's Iron Man 3. The MCU also became the highest-grossing film franchise with the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron, surpassing the Harry Potter film franchise ($7.723 billion, 2001–2011), and becoming the first franchise to gross over $8 billion. With the subsequent release of Ant-Man, the MCU also became the first franchise to gross over $9 billion.
- Furious 7 became the highest-grossing film ever distributed by Universal, surpassing the 22-year-old record set by Jurassic Park in 1993. However it shortly lost the record to Jurassic World in June, just two months later. It was also the first film distributed by Universal to gross $1 billion in its initial release, since Jurassic Park did so after it was re-released in 2013.
Film records
- Furious 7 became the fastest film to reach $1 billion in ticket sales worldwide, doing so in 17 days; this record was later surpassed by Universal's own Jurassic World two months later, accruing the same amount in 13 days; this record was in turn surpassed six months later by Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which accrued $1 billion in 12 days. Furious 7 also became the first American film ever to gross over ¥2 billion (amassing ¥2.426 billion) at the Chinese box office.
- Jurassic World grossed $524.4 million worldwide in its opening weekend, making it the highest-grossing worldwide opening of all time, surpassing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 ($483.2 million in 2011). Jurassic World also grossed $208.8 million in North America in its opening weekend, beating the previous record held by The Avengers ($207.4 million in 2012). Both records were later surpassed by Star Wars: The Force Awakens in the same year. It also became the highest-grossing film that was not the highest-grossing film of its year, surpassing Iron Man 3.
- Terminator Genisys became the first American film to earn $400 million worldwide without also grossing $100 million in North America. The only other production to hit that threshold before was the French film The Intouchables (2012).[10]
- Minions became the fastest animated film to $1 billion in 49 days, surpassing Toy Story 3 (75 days). It also becomes the first Non-Disney animated film to gross over $1 billion, and is the highest-grossing spinoff film, as well as the highest-grossing prequel.
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens broke all pre-sale ticket records and grossed $529 million in its opening weekend, making it the highest-grossing worldwide opening of all time, surpassing Jurassic World ($524.4 million on 12–14 June 2015). The Force Awakens also grossed $248 million in North America in its opening weekend, beating the previous record held by Jurassic World ($208.8 million).[11][12] The film subsequently became the first to exceed $800 million in the domestic box office on January 9 and $900 million on February 5. It also became Disney's first film to gross over $1 billion at the foreign box office, as well as the third film to ever gross over $2 billion worldwide. This makes it the third highest-grossing film of all time.
- 2015 is tied with 2018 for the greatest number of films to gross more than $1 billion with five,[13][14] surpassing 2012's record of four,[15] but later was surpassed in 2019 to have nine films with that milestone.[16] It has also set the record for the greatest number of films crossing the $1.5 billion mark with three.
Events
- January 22, 2015 – Pacific Data Images shuts down as part of DreamWorks Animation's restructuring plans following the box-office underperformance of Mr. Peabody & Sherman and Penguins of Madagascar the year prior, cutting off 500 jobs.[17]
- December 16, 2015 – Steven Spielberg, Reliance Entertainment, Entertainment One and Participant Media launch new production company Amblin Partners, which would produce films using the DreamWorks Pictures, Amblin Entertainment and Participant Media banners. On the same day, they also announced a five-year distribution deal with Universal Pictures, where the films will be distributed and marketed under either the main Universal label, or its specialty label, Focus Features.[18][19]
Award ceremonies
Festivals
Awards
Palme d'Or (68th Cannes Film Festival):
- Dheepan, directed by Jacques Audiard, France
Golden Lion (72nd Venice International Film Festival):
- From Afar (Desde allá), directed by Lorenzo Vigas, Venezuela
Golden Bear (65th Berlin International Film Festival):
- Taxi (تاکسی), directed by Jafar Panahi, Iran
2015 films
By country/region
- List of American films of 2015
- List of Argentine films of 2015
- List of Australian films of 2015
- List of Bangladeshi films of 2015
- List of Brazilian films of 2015
- List of British films of 2015
- List of Canadian films of 2015
- List of Chinese films of 2015
- List of French films of 2015
- List of Hong Kong films of 2015
- List of Indian films of 2015
- List of Assamese films of 2015
- List of Bengali films of 2015
- List of Bollywood films of 2015
- List of Punjabi films of 2015
- List of Gujarati films of 2015
- List of Kannada films of 2015
- List of Malayalam films of 2015
- List of Marathi films of 2015
- List of Tamil films of 2015
- List of Telugu films of 2015
- List of Tulu films of 2015
- List of Indonesian films
- List of Italian films of 2015
- List of Japanese films of 2015
- List of Mexican films of 2015
- List of Pakistani films of 2015
- List of Russian films of 2015
- List of South Korean films of 2015
- List of Spanish films of 2015
- List of Turkish films of 2015
By genre/medium
- List of action films of 2015
- List of animated feature films of 2015
- List of avant-garde films of 2015
- List of comedy films of 2015
- List of drama films of 2015
- List of horror films of 2015
- List of science fiction films of 2015
- List of thriller films of 2015
- List of western films of 2015
Deaths
Film debuts
- Anthony Bajon – Les Ogres
- Jon Bass – Ratter
- Zazie Beetz – James White
- Brian Patrick Butler – Bullets, Fangs and Dinner at 8
- Kiersey Clemons – Dope
- Thomas Cocquerel – Kidnapping Freddy Heineken
- Jamie Demetriou – Bill
- Maya Erskine – Frankenstein
- Jack Dylan Grazer – Tales of Halloween
- Nicholas Hamilton – Strangerland
- Brian Tyree Henry – Puerto Ricans in Paris
- Miguel Herrán − Nothing in Return
- Kirby Howell-Baptiste – Textbook Adulthood
- Hannah John-Kamen – Star Wars: The Force Awakens
- Sofia Lebedeva – The Dawns Here Are Quiet
- Abbey Lee – Mad Max: Fury Road
- Gabriel Leone – Garoto
- Billie Lourd – Star Wars: The Force Awakens
- Brigette Lundy-Paine – Irrational Man
- Charlotte McKinney – Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser
- Daisy Ridley – Scrawl
- Géza Röhrig – Son of Saul
- Eugenia Suárez – Abzurdah
- Angela Yuen - Are You Here
References
- ^ Brody, Richard (11 December 2015). "The Best Movies of 2015". The New Yorker. Condé Nast. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ "2015 Worldwide Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Archived August 18, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
- ^ McNary, Dave (August 28, 2015). "'Minions' Hits $1 Billion at Worldwide Box Office". Variety. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
- ^ Busch, Anita (June 11, 2015). "Universal Pictures International Has Fastest Climb To $2B At Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. (Penske Media Corporation). Retrieved July 11, 2015.
- ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (June 14, 2015). "Universal Reaches $1B Domestic, $3B Global Box Office In Industry-Record Time". Deadline Hollywood. (Penske Media Corporation). Retrieved July 11, 2015.
- ^ Kilday, Grigg (August 15, 2015). "Universal Hits New North American Box Office Record". The Hollywood Reporter. (Prometheus Global Media). Retrieved August 16, 2015.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 17, 2015). "Universal Sets Record As Fastest To $5 Billion, 'Jurassic World' Hits $600M At Domestic B.O.". Deadline Hollywood. (Penske Media Corporation). Retrieved July 18, 2015.
- ^ Ford, Rebecca (July 17, 2015). "Box-Office Milestone: Universal Zooms Past $5 Billion Worldwide". The Hollywood Reporter. (Prometheus Global Media). Retrieved July 18, 2015.
- ^ Busch, Anita (August 5, 2015). "Universal Pictures Has Highest-Grossing Box Office Year In Industry History". Deadline Hollywood. (Penske Media Corporation). Retrieved August 9, 2015.
- ^ Scott Mendelson (August 30, 2015). "Box Office: 'Terminator Genisys' Crosses $400 Million Worldwide". Forbes. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
- ^ "'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' tickets break records". CNBC. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
- ^ "'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' breaks presale records". Reuters. 2015-10-20. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
- ^ Child, Ben (January 4, 2016). "Global box office hit all-time high of $38bn in 2015". The Guardian. Archived January 4, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
- ^ "2018 Worldwide Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Archived August 1, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
- ^ Levine, Nick (March 4, 2013). "The Hobbit becomes 15th movie to make $1 billion worldwide". NME. Archived January 14, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
- ^ McClintock, Pamela (January 10, 2020). "2019 Global Box Office Revenue Hit Record $42.5B Despite 4 Percent Dip in U.S.". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived May 22, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
- ^ Graser, Marc (January 22, 2015). "DreamWorks Animation Cutting 500 Jobs; Dawn Taubin and Mark Zoradi Exiting". Variety. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
- ^ Lang, Brent (December 16, 2015). "Steven Spielberg, Jeff Skoll Bring Amblin Partners to Universal". Variety. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
- ^ Cieply, Michael (December 16, 2015). "Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks Studios in Deal to Form New Company". The New York Times. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
- ^ Jacobs, Matthew (December 11, 2014). "Golden Globe Nominations For 2015 Spotlight 'Birdman,' 'Boyhood' & 'The Imitation Game'". Huffington Post. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
- ^ "Michael Strahan to Host '20th Annual Critics Choice Movie Awards' Thursday, January 15 on A&E". Zap2it. December 8, 2014. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
- ^ "PGA Awards Sets 2015 Timeline". Deadline Hollywood. April 21, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
- ^ "Submissions For 21st Annual SAG Awards Nominations Are Now Open". SAG-AFTRA. July 7, 2014. Archived from the original on September 30, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
- ^ "Guldbagge Awards". guldbaggen.se. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
- ^ "Birdman leads the flock in AACTA International Award noms". Inside Film. Archived from the original on May 17, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
- ^ Richford, Rhonda (12 January 2015). "France's Lumiere Awards Nominations Unveiled". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- ^ "Selma Press Release". African American Film Critics Association. AAFCA. December 8, 2014. Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
- ^ "Marian Álvarez, Blanca Suárez y Kike Maíllo anunciarán las nominadas a los Goya 2015". Antena 3. 2014-12-23. Retrieved 2015-01-13.
- ^ "Magritte: Pluie de nominations pour les Dardenne et Lucas Belvaux" (in French). La Libre Belgique. January 7, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
- ^ "BAFTA Film Awards". 31 July 2014.
- ^ "Satellite Awards". www.pressacademy.com. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
- ^ "César 2015". lefigaro.fr. 12 December 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
- ^ "Independent Spirit Awards". spiritawards.com. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
- ^ "The Academy Selects 2014 and 2015 Show Dates". The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
- ^ "MTV Movie Awards". MTV.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
- ^ Press Trust of India (3 May 2012). "Nat Film Awards ceremony to be held on May 3 every year: Soni". Business Standard. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
- ^ "62nd National Film Awards' winners: 'Haider' wins five, Kangana Ranaut's 'Queen' two". Express News Service. New Delhi: The Indian Express. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
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- ^ Morales, Manuel & García, Rocío (26 May 2015). "Filmmaker Vicente Aranda dies at 88". El País