In a comeback season for Hollywood, a summer without bombs

Have you noticed something oddly tranquil about this summer movie season? For the first time in recent memory, there hasn't been one major bomb.

Usually by now, there would be blockbuster-sized craters left on the charred summer-movie battlefield, the inevitable toll of Hollywood's most high-stakes season. But this year, summer-movie bomb-watching, long one of the most dependable spectator sports of the season, has gone entirely without the sight of a "Lone Ranger"-sized mushroom cloud.

After the cataclysmic, the-sky-is-falling summer of 2017, when overall grosses slid 14.6 percent from the year before, Hollywood has rebounded. Ticket sales in North America this summer are up 11.3 percent, according to comScore. The comeback is even more pronounced when you factor in that the annual Marvel movie kickoff to summer slid just ahead of the official first weekend of May start, shifting the $678.5 million domestic for Disney's "Avenger: Infinity War" to the spring.

This image released by Paramount Pictures shows, from left, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Tom Cruise and Ving Rhames in a scene from "Mission: Impossible - Fallout." (David JamesParamount Pictures and Skydance via AP)

Amid a remarkably turbulent time for the movie business, this summer has been surprisingly, almost weirdly, steady.

"The studios did what they were supposed to," said Kyle Davies, domestic distribution chief for Paramount Pictures. "This notion that people are tired of going to the theaters, I don't believe it for a second. I think people are ready every weekend: 'Give me a reason to come.'"

Paramount didn't have a lot of releases over the summer but coming off the spring success of "A Quiet Place," Davies said, "Things have turned around." ''Mission: Impossible — Fallout," the sixth installment in the Tom Cruise franchise, is approaching $500 million worldwide, and the Diane Keaton-Jane Fonda-starring "Book Club" has, with $68.6 million, fared better than most comedies this year.

This image released by Focus Features shows Fred Rogers on the set of his show "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood" from the film, "Won't You Be My Neighbor." (Jim JudkisFocus Features via AP)

But even Tom Cruise, despite all his powers, can do only so much to tip the overall box office. So what's behind the bounce back?

MoviePass, the flailing subscription service, has claimed responsibility. Subscription moviegoing has surely had an additive effect, bringing more regular visitors to theaters. But how much? There's no statistical evidence of MoviePass boosting bottom lines, and studio executives downplay its influence as minimal. ("Mission: Impossible," for one, wasn't available on MoviePass.) MoviePass, which this week reduced its plan to three movies a month, says it accounts for 6 percent of all domestic tickets.

Mid-summer, AMC trotted out its own $20-a-month subscription option, attracting 260,000 subscribers in its first seven weeks. AMC on Thursday said that's translated to about 1 million admissions or about 4 percent of U.S. moviegoers at AMC theaters, the country's largest chain.

Jeff Bock, senior box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations, said it's difficult to extrapolate how big a driver subscription services have been, though he credited the copious attention and drama around MoviePass with fueling moviegoing awareness. He's more inclined to point to the improved studio project, specifically sequels like "Incredibles 2," ''Ant-Man and the Wasp" and "Deadpool 2."

"The one thing that was very different from last year's sequels is that people wanted to see these. That's what it comes down to," said Bock. "You can say Hollywood's running on good credit and that's probably one of the reasons people are coming out weekend after weekend."

The difference in Pixar releases alone accounts for a yawning $440 million gap. Last summer, the little-loved "Cars 3" grossed $152.9 million domestically; this year, "Incredibles 2," the summer's biggest smash, has earned $590.3 million in North America.

The season hasn't been without its worrisome blips. Two of the most dependable forces in moviegoing — "Star Wars" and the Rock — both showed that they're mortal. But even those disappointments were measured. "Solo," while cause for real concern for "Star Wars" going forward, still nearly cleared $400 million worldwide. Dwayne Johnson's "Skyscraper," saved by sales in China, managed to gross almost $300 million worldwide.

But the final two weeks of August should only pad the season's lead. After scoring $5 million in its opening day Wednesday, Warner Bros.' "Crazy Rich Asians" — hailed as a watershed moment for Asian-American representation in mainstream moviemaking — appears poised to ride glowing reviews to approximately a five-day $25 million debut. Following last weekend's chart-topping "The Meg," a shark thriller, Warner Bros. will likely account for the summer's only two original, non-sequel no. 1 releases.

"It's content. When you look at last year, there wasn't much beside "Wonder Woman" and "Dunkirk" that really clicked," said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.' distribution head. "When we've had dips, it's when the movies haven't delivered."

On the indie side, business has been slower, though A24 notched its highest grossing release with Ari Aster's acclaimed horror film "Hereditary" ($79.3 million worldwide). Spike Lee's recently released "BlacKkKlansman," for Focus Features, has added a jolt to the often sleepy August period, landing the director his best opening weekend in 12 years.

But the most unexpected sensations of the summer have been documentaries. There will be three docs to clear $10 million in box office, an unprecedented high for non-fiction filmmaking. "Won't You Be My Neighbor" is up to $21.8 million for Focus, Neon's "Three Identical Strangers" has hauled in $9.7 million, and Magnolia's Ruth Bader Ginsberg documentary "RBG" has grossed $13.7 million.

"It's a zeitgeist moment, no doubt," said David Linde, chief executive of Participant Media, which co-produced "RBG." ''People go to the theater for a unique experience and that experience is all about a collective experience. That hasn't ever been truer."

Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia on Wednesday vetoed a U.N. resolution sponsored by the United States and Japan calling on all nations to prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race in outer space, calling it “a dirty spectacle” that cherry picks weapons of mass destruction from all other weapons that should also be banned.

The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 13 in favor, Russia opposed and China abstaining.

The resolution would have called on all countries not to develop or deploy nuclear arms or other weapons of mass destruction in space, as banned under a 1967 international treaty that included the U.S. and Russia, and to agree to the need to verify compliance.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after the vote that Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space.

“Today’s veto begs the question: Why? Why, if you are following the rules, would you not support a resolution that reaffirms them? What could you possibly be hiding,” she asked. “It’s baffling. And it’s a shame.”

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia dismissed the resolution as “absolutely absurd and politicized,” and said it didn’t go far enough in banning all types of weapons in space.

Russia and China proposed an amendment to the U.S.-Japan draft that would call on all countries, especially those with major space capabilities, “to prevent for all time the placement of weapons in outer space, and the threat of use of force in outer spaces.”

The vote was 7 countries in favor, 7 against, and one abstention and the amendment was defeated because it failed to get the minimum 9 “yes” votes required for adoption.

The U.S. opposed the amendment, and after the vote Nebenzia addressed the U.S. ambassador saying: “We want a ban on the placement of weapons of any kind in outer space, not just WMDs (weapons of mass destruction). But you don’t want that. And let me ask you that very same question. Why?”

He said much of the U.S. and Japan’s actions become clear “if we recall that the U.S. and their allies announced some time ago plans to place weapons … in outer space.”

Nebenzia accused the U.S. of blocking a Russian-Chinese proposal since 2008 for a treaty against putting weapons in outer space.

Thomas-Greenfield accused Russia of undermining global treaties to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, irresponsibly invoking “dangerous nuclear rhetoric,” walking away from several of its arms control obligations, and refusing to engage “in substantive discussions around arms control or risk reduction.”

She called Wednesday’s vote “a real missed opportunity to rebuild much-needed trust in existing arms control obligations.”

Thomas-Greenfield’s announcement of the resolution on March 18 followed White House confirmation in February that Russia has obtained a “troubling” anti-satellite weapon capability, although such a weapon is not operational yet.

Putin declared later that Moscow has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space, claiming that the country has only developed space capabilities similar to those of the U.S.

Thomas-Greenfield said before the vote that the world is just beginning to understand “the catastrophic ramifications of a nuclear explosion in space.”

It could destroy “thousands of satellites operated by countries and companies around the world — and wipe out the vital communications, scientific, meteorological, agricultural, commercial, and national security services we all depend on,” she said.

The defeated draft resolution said “the prevention of an arms race in outer space would avert a grave danger for international peace and security.” It would have urged all countries carrying out activities in exploring and using outer space to comply with international law and the U.N. Charter.

The draft would have affirmed that countries that ratified the 1967 Outer Space Treaty must comply with their obligations not to put in orbit around the Earth “any objects” with weapons of mass destruction, or install them “on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space.”

The treaty, ratified by some 114 countries, including the U.S. and Russia, prohibits the deployment of “nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction” in orbit or the stationing of “weapons in outer space in any other manner.”

The draft resolution emphasized “the necessity of further measures, including political commitments and legally binding instruments, with appropriate and effective provisions for verification, to prevent an arms race in outer space in all its aspects.”

It reiterated that the U.N. Conference on Disarmament, based in Geneva, has the primary responsibility to negotiate agreements on preventing an arms race in outer space.

The 65-nation body has achieved few results and has largely devolved into a venue for countries to voice criticism of others’ weapons programs or defend their own. The draft resolution would have urged the conference “to adopt and implement a balanced and comprehensive program of work.”

At the March council meeting where the U.S.-Japan initiative was launched, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned that “geopolitical tensions and mistrust have escalated the risk of nuclear warfare to its highest point in decades.”

He said the movie “Oppenheimer” about Robert Oppenheimer, who directed the U.S. project during World War II that developed the atomic bomb, “brought the harsh reality of nuclear doomsday to vivid life for millions around the world.”

“Humanity cannot survive a sequel to Oppenheimer,” the U.N. chief said.

United States Ambassador and Representative to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield addresses members of the U.N. Security Council before voting during a meeting on Non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at United Nations headquarters. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

FILE - U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks on Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Tokyo. The U.N. Security Council is set to vote Wednesday, April 24, 2024, on a resolution announced by Thomas-Greenfield, calling on all nations to prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race in outer space. It is likely to be vetoed by Russia. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool, File)