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Ryan Kyle: Every single one of these four titles we have written glowingly about and are all major successes with sequels to all of them already in the pipeline. I'm not sure how anyone can call Fifty Shades disappointing when a romance film about S&M makes $570 million worldwide off of a $40 million budget. Universal is having an unbelievable run that puts their studio in a great position to take some more risks with all of the cash they have raked in.

While Minions is a spin-off, unlike Puss-in-Boots, the Minions are the most loved part of the Despicable Me movies and always the forefront of the marketing campaigns. I think it will perform much more like a sequel and wind up somewhere between the first and second film ($300 million?). Ted 2 will be hurt a bit by the mass appeal of Jurassic World, which could conceivably still be at the top of the box office when it opens. Ted has a lot of love behind it and I think the sequel will open big, given that there hasn't been a giant comedy this summer yet with Spy not being a heavy-hitter, but will taper off much faster.

Universal still has a stocked summer, though, with Trainwreck en route to make it into the $100 million club and Straight Outta Compton looks like it can also make a serious dent.

Come September, things look a bit shakier with really no surefire hits through the New Year, although interesting pics like Steve Jobs, Crimson Peak, By the Sea, and Everest can buoy things and Sisters looks like it can pack a punch.

Kim Hollis: I think everyone's lavished enough superlatives on Universal for their amazing year, so I'll just skip ahead to Minions and Ted 2. I think most of us are really underselling Minions. I mean, Gru and his daughters are nice and all, but people go see Despicable Me for the Minions. They will go see the Minions again. The marketing has absolutely killed and there's no way this is a mild success like Puss in Boots. It will be huge.

I wasn't really sure about Ted 2, but I think the ads and trailers have been pretty great (and I say that as someone not always inclined to like Seth McFarlane's stuff). I don't think it's going to reach the heights of the first film, but it will be a solid performer.

David Mumpower: I'll add one more note about Universal. That's one of the finest four-film combos I can ever recall in terms of return on investment. What they've accomplished in less than six months is truly historic. I agree with everyone that there is a clear upper and lower tier, as well. 50 Shades of Grey is a blockbuster hit that also suffers due to the opportunity cost of being a lousy movie that left fans disappointed. Pitch Perfect 2 is a spectacular success in every manner possible, and the only reason why it's downgraded is because we're comparing it to two films that will end being among the top six global box office performers of all-time. As for Jurassic World versus Furious 7, I'm cheating here, because I'm answering after everybody else. I know from the daily numbers for Wednesday that it's pacing ahead of The Avengers. Any film that does that is the greatest success story.

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