Timing is everything. It's true in life, and at the movies. If you need to make $1 billion, you'd better be out sometime in May/June/July unless you're name is "Avatar" or "Star Wars". If you're out for an Oscar, then the Oct/Nov/Dec bracket is your best bet(there's something about the cold weather puts us in the mood for 'serious' films). There are always anomalies like "Silence of the Lambs", which came out on Valentine's Day 1991 and went on to top the box office AND sweep the Academy Awards. A much more recent example like "Deadpool" managed the former(awards are unlikely, though). I've studied release patterns, and it's a pretty reliable indicator of what to expect. It should be common knowledge that January is the dead zone(don't fund ANY film that wasn't playing on AT LEAST ONE screen by Christmas). "Batman v Superman" came out at the end of March. That should have told us something. Marvel and the "Fast" franchise have expanded the summer to include April in recent years. But where does that leave August?
August has seen it's share of triumphs despite it's reputation as the hiding place for films looking to avoid direct competition with the summer's heavy hitters.
August has seen it's share of triumphs despite it's reputation as the hiding place for films looking to avoid direct competition with the summer's heavy hitters.