After a disastrous summer at the movies, Hollywood will have to figure out a way to revive the fall box office.

The industry is currently on pace to have one of the worst years ever. The following takes a look at some of the trends that occurred during the summer.

Franchise Fatigue

This was, by far, one of the reoccurring themes of the summer. For years, studios have counted on sequels powering up the box office and becoming the biggest sellers during the summer. With exception of "X-Men: Days of Future Past," "22 Jump Street," "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" and "The Purge: Anarchy," most sequels failed to live up to their predecessor's box office.

"The Amazing Spider-Man 2" may have had a huge opening during the first weekend of the summer, but it quickly declined due to comparisons with "Spider-Man 3." It also scored the worst reviews of the series and that also affected its box office potential.

Meanwhile, "How to Train Your Dragon 2" had a hard time reaching audiences. While it was a critical darling, audiences felt the sequel was unnecessary. Additionally, it came out four years after the original, which was a long time for the wait.

"Transformers: Age of Extinction" tried to reinvent the series with a new cast but ended up flopping critically. Audiences and critics felt that movie offered nothing new but the same types of explosions. It also did not help that the trailers failed to showcase a clear plot.

A number of smaller series had the same fate, including "Think Like a Man Too," which generated less business than the original, and "Step Up All In" and "The Expendables 3." The latter two capsized at the box office, obtaining atrocious opening weekends.

"Planes: Rise & Rescue" proved that the first film was a fluke and that audiences were not really interested in another gimmicky animated film that scored negative reviews.

This weekend will also see the continuing trend as most pundits predict that "Sin City: A Dame to Kill" will underperform.

The interesting trend, however, was that all of these flopping sequels had some of the best international sales in their respective franchises. That has caused the studios to continue to make these films even if domestic audiences are no longer interested.

Women-Driven Films Can Make Money

For years, Hollywood has undermined the power of women in films and has failed to provide female-driven narratives. Last year during Cate Blanchet's Oscar acceptance speech, she noted that "Blue Jasmine" was a huge box office hit and that it proved women-driven films were no longer risks.

This summer continued to hold true, as that genre of films proved important to revive the slumping the box office.

For example, "Maleficent" starring Angelina Jolie went on to make $236 million. That film grossed more than "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," "X-Men: Days of Future Past," "Godzilla" and "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes." Interestingly enough, "Maleficent" only opened with $69 million, which was far less than these other giant blockbusters.

"The Fault in Our Stars" also surprised as it made $112 million and opened at number one, beating out the Tom Crusie starrer "Edge of Tomorrow." While it was based on a popular novel, Shailene Woodley was one of the biggest draws that made teenage girls go see the movie.

Scarlett Johansson is by far the queen of the box office this year, as she has had four straight hits. However, this summer, "Lucy" became a giant hit making over $109 million. While it opened alongside Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's "Hercules," Johansson's star power proved victorious as her movie opened at number one.

To conclude the summer, "If I Stay," starring Chloe Grace Moretz, is predicted to open at number one, beating out the comic book movie "Sin City" and the football sport drama "When the Game Stands Tall." This once again will prove that Hollywood should continue to make women-driven films.

Original Ideas Are Hit or Misses

Once in a while, the studios decide to take a chance on an original concept instead of making a franchise film. This year proved a bit chaotic.

"Guardians of the Galaxy" was by far the most successful of these films. The movie not only had a record August opening, but it is also on track to become the biggest box office hit of the year. Marvel's fan base and strong marketing as well as good reviews led to solid results.

"Lucy" was also among the biggest risks. The movie scored mixed reviews and was heading into the weekend against "Hercules," which starred box office draw and ex-WWE champion Johnson. "Lucy" proved a juggernaut at the box office.

However, a number of films with blockbuster potential fell flat. The July fourth weekend was amongst the worst in recent times. Relativity counted on "Earth to Echo" being a huge family film. It was promoted as the new "ET" for this generation, and Relativity believed that the holiday weekend was enough to make it a big hit. However, the science fiction feature only scored $37 million.

Despite the great reviews and huge marketing push, Warner Bros had a hard time with "Edge of Tomorrow." The movie not only opened at number three behind "Maleficent" and "The Fault in Our Stars" but it also failed to make the $100 million mark. The film proved that Tom Cruise was no longer a bankable figure and that audiences didn't care about sci-fi films. As a result, for the DVD release Warner Bros has renamed the feature "Live Die Repeat," since it was the slogan that really stuck with audiences during the release.

Seth MacFarlane tried to relive the magic of "Ted" with "A Million Ways to Die in the West." However, not only did it score terrible reviews, but his A-list cast couldn't sell the film. A lack of a coherent marketing campaign and an emphasis on "Ted" really dissuaded audiences from spending the money.

Indie Films Can Be Hits, But Can Also struggle

The art house film has always been as a special type of film that only the most sophisticated audiences go see. This summer proved to be a mixed bag.

The biggest hits were "Chef," "Belle," "Ida," "Snowpiercer," "Boyhood" and "A Most Wanted Man." All these films had a combination of great reviews, good word-of-mouth and good marketing campaigns. While they were not promoted with big billboards, the use of social media was an important piece to making these films the hits they were. Additionally, premieres at festivals helped build buzz.

One of the movie that was not mentioned in this list was "Begin Again." The movie was one of the biggest Indie film grossers as it made $14 million by the end of it run. However, the Weinstein Company spent $7 million in acquiring the film at Toronto and spent a hefty $20 million in marketing.

In comparison, the company spent little on marketing "The Immigrant" and was able to make $2 million on pure word-of-mouth. Both these films could be considered failures as they were both released during time periods when moviegoers were more interested in big action films.

Other Indie films that fared poorly despite great reviews included "The Rover," "What If," "The Railway Man," "Obvious Child" and "Land Ho!"

Meanwhile, the summer box office also proved that reviews are important when it comes to Indie fare. "Magic in the Moonlight" had a promising box office when it opened in limited release but eventually went on to underperform when it expanded nationwide.

Focus Features had a number of misfires with "Walk of Shame," "Wish I Was Here" and "The Signal." All these films showcased big stars that could easily sell the movies. "Wish I Was Here" also had a lot of buzz because it was Kickstarter-funded. Regardless, reviews were not positive and that resulted in flops.