16. The Purge: Anarchy
The ball for this sequel would have started rolling the moment the weekend grosses for last year’s original came in. A wider scope than the first housebound Purge and clever marketing pushed this to a very impressive $70m gross. Given that the budget was a piffling $9m, it is safe to assume that Purges will be an annual occurrence for at least the next four years.
15. Tammy
Melissa McCarthy’s comedy is the first of three films in the top 20 where actresses play title characters, giving further cheer to female audiences traditionally shut out in the teen-pleasing, adrenaline-fuelled summer months. After Bridesmaids, Identity Thief and especially last year’s huge hit, The Heat, McCarthy is clearly an enormous box office draw.
Half-baked material like this might not be the best way to proceed however – £83m in the bank notwithstanding. Don’t forget, Paul Hogan was popular once, until he started making laughter-free comedies like Almost An Angel.