I’ll let you in on a little secret: The May and early June box office was downright orderly. For the first time in months, there was actually room to breathe. If a pic didn’t work, or didn’t reach its full stride, a glut of product wasn't the reason.

This runs contrary to a Los Angeles Times article suggesting that Disney sequel “Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” opening May 16, got upstaged because it was sandwiched between “Iron Man” (May 2) and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (May 22). 

I think not. 

“Prince Caspian,” rated PG, is a pure family movie. “Crystal Skull” may have gotten some families, sure, but it’s rated PG-13 and appeals heavily to older moviegoers growing up on the “Indiana Jones” franchise. “Iron Man,” rated PG-13, isn’t a family film in any form. 

None of this to say that "Caspian" didn't work. It may not have performed as well as Disney had hoped, but it’s still the third-highest grossing movie of the summer to date, with a cume of $126.7 million through Monday. 

If the summer release calendar has been managemable so far, that’s about to change. From here on out, there’s going to be two or more wide releases every weekend that, in many cases, overlapping in terms of audience. 

Yet glut or no glut, films ultimately have to stand on their own merits.