The year is 2002 \u2026 sorry, 2025. But it very well could be the early 2000s by the looks of the movie titles in theaters over the summer.<\/p>\n
From a live-action reboot of the original animated classic \u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d to another installment of \u201cJurassic Park,\u201d Hollywood, known for breaking the rules, opted for the safer route to success: nostalgia. Did it work?<\/p>\n
Wins<\/p>\n
Disney\u2019s live-action \u201cLilo & Stitch<\/b><\/a>” hit the $1 billion mark at the global box office. It was the first movie of the year to do so, setting the bar high for other summer releases. Disney leaned on the franchise\u2019s existing and very devoted fan base to show up to theaters, but the film wasn\u2019t exactly critically acclaimed. Viewers complained the reengineering took away the magic, as the Deseret News previously reported.<\/a><\/p>\n The Warner Bros. \u201cMinecraft\u201d<\/b><\/a> movie, inspired by the 2009 block multiplayer game, came close to making $1 billion worldwide<\/a>, sitting at $955 million despite the poor reviews and early skepticism. The game\u2019s fan base proved to be powerful.<\/p>\n \u201cJurassic World: Rebirth\u201d<\/b><\/a> also performed well. This film reset this fictional universe while building on the previous six movies and generated nearly $850 million. The same can be said for the latest \u201cSuperman,\u201d<\/b><\/a> which lagged behind the billion-dollar mark but still proved to be a success, producing a little over $600 million in global sales.<\/p>\n And last but not least on this list of sentimental movie titles is \u201cFreakier Friday.\u201d This feel-good Disney film closes the summer out by crossing $116 million in global sales despite its niche appeal. It didn\u2019t try to reinvent the wheel and created something new and charming, according to the reviews<\/a>. <\/p>\n Losses<\/p>\n What didn\u2019t do so well? Several big studio originals didn\u2019t meet expectations.<\/p>\n Marvel\u2019s “Thunderbolts<\/b>*”<\/a> and \u201cThe Fantastic Four: First Steps<\/b>“<\/a> are two good examples.<\/p>\n But their decline can be attributed to Marvel superheroes fatigue. This cinematic universe\u2019s complex, interwoven story arcs make it tough for viewers to jump in without watching previous films. The studio spent more than $400 million to make these two movies.<\/p>\n Globally, \u201cThunderbolts*\u201d made $382 million. It follows a new generation of antiheroes who team up and continue the storyline of the past \u201cAvengers\u201d movies. Meanwhile, \u201cThe Fantastic Four: First Steps\u201d did slightly better \u2014 $492 million \u2014 but this Marvel movie is a reboot of an iconic superhero team first introduced in 1961. Nostalgia strikes yet again.<\/p>\n