A year ago, Hollywood was desperately watching Oscar-oriented movies like “Lycorice Pizza” and “Nightmare Alley.” Flat at the box officeIt seemed the day had finally arrived when prestige movies were no longer showing in theaters and streaming changed cinema forever.
However, the studio remains hopeful and has decided that November 2022 will give it a better read of the market. By then, coronavirus will not be such a complicating factor. This fall is, as some say, “the last stand,” a chance to show that it can achieve more than just superheroes and sequels.
It was a carnage.
Growing number of movies for adults could not find an audience Big enough to justify the cost. “Armageddon timecost approximately $30 million to produce and market, and grossed $1.9 million at the North American box office. “tarIt cost at least $35 million, including marketing. Ticket sales totaled $5.3 million. Universal spent about $55 million to manufacture and sell it.”she said‘ also earned $5.3 million. “dedication‘ cost well over $100 million and generated $14 million in ticket sales.
Even the charm of box-office king Steven Spielberg got off to a mediocre start. “favermansBased on Mr. Spielberg’s Adolescence,” raised $5.7 million in four weeks of limited play. That budget, excluding marketing, was his $40 million.
what’s going on?
The problem is not quality. Reviews are very good. Rather, “people started watching these movies in the comfort of their own homes,” said David A. Gross, a film consultant. Newsletter About box office numbers.
Ever since Oscar-oriented movies began appearing on streaming services in the late 2010s, Hollywood has worried that such movies will one day disappear from multiplexes. The declining importance of the big screen was underscored in March when he won his first award for his Apple TV+ streaming film CODA. Academy Award for Best Picture.
It’s not just about money. Hollywood sees the change as an affront to his own identity. Movie magnates have long clung to the illusion that the world of culture revolves around them, as if it were his 1940s. Come see the movies they appreciate the most. Hollywood equates this with cultural apathy.
Sure, the cinephile core crowd is still coming out. “tofocused on Mamie Till Mobley, whose son Emmett Till was murdered in Mississippi in 1955, raised $8.9 million in the United States and Canada. That’s nothing for an emotionally challenging film: “Banshees of Inisherin,” Dark’s comedy with emphasis on dialogue, earned $8 million, with international ticket buyers bringing in another $20 million. donated.
“While it is clear that the theatrical specialty market has not fully recovered, Banshees of Inisherin continues to perform well and create buzz among moviegoers,” Searchlight Pictures said in a statement. says. “We firmly believe that theaters have a cinematic location that can offer audiences a wide range of cinematic experiences.”
Still, crossover attention is almost always the goal, as highlighted by how much film companies spend on some of these productions. It cost at least $33 million.
And remember: theaters keep about half of ticket revenue.
hope is,”queen“The Woman King,” starring Viola Davis as the leader of an all-female African warrior group, grossed nearly $70 million in domestic theaters ($92 million worldwide). It cost her $50 million to manufacture and tens of millions more to bring it to market.
Oscar-oriented dramas rarely become blockbusters. Still, these films did very well at the box office. The World War I film 1917 made him $159 million in North America and $385 million worldwide in 2019. In 2010, “Black Swan,” starring Natalie Portman as a ballerina with dementia, raised $107 million (her $329 million worldwide).
Most studios, regardless of ticket sales, either declined to comment on this article or offered lethargic statements about how proud they were of their recently released fame drama.
The unwillingness to publicly engage on the issue may reflect the annual awards race. Hmmm.
Ask 10 professional film executives to describe their box office success and you’ll get 10 different answers. Too much drama in theaters these days has led to cannibalization. Viewers had to look for streaming service options. Everyone was busy watching the World Cup on TV.
Some people still blame the novel coronavirus. But it doesn’t hold water. While initially reluctant to return to theaters, for the most part, older audiences have come to view theaters as a virus-safe activity, according to box office analysts, citing research. According to Pictures Entertainment, nearly 60% of “Woman King” ticket buyers were 35 and older.
Hollywood considers people over the age of 35 to be “old”, and this is who usually comes to watch dramas.
Maybe it’s more subtle? Older audiences are back, one longtime studio exec suggested, Sophisticated Older audiences are not. Part of the reason some of my favorite arthouse theaters have closed and I don’t want to mix with the multiplex masses. (He was serious. “Too many people and too many chances of encountering a sticky floor.”)
Some people think there is a problem with the content. Most films that struggle at the box office come at a time when audiences want to escape and are pessimistic. Consider the successful spring release of his hilarious “Everything, Everywhere All at once,” which raised his $70 million in North America. Baz Luhrmann’s dazzling “Elvis” hit his $151 million ticket sales domestically.
Film scholar Jeanene Basinger says, “People like to call it ‘escape,’ but it really isn’t. ‘It’s entertainment. By the way, it can be a serious topic. Too much introspection and, like many Oscar-winning films today, audiences will be forgotten.
“Let me just laugh! The thought of going to see the misery, the depravity, the racism and all the other problems that are going on in our lives makes me too depressed to put my coat on. Oral History, co-written with Sam Wasson, arrived last month.
Some studio executives argue that box office revenue is an outdated way of evaluating whether a movie will make a financial return. rice field. The company’s films, including “Tár” and “Armageddon Time,” hit theaters in just three weeks, and are now available for rent on video on demand at a premium price. (Previously, movie theaters had exclusive windows of about 90 days.) The revenue generated by premium in-home rentals is substantial, says Focus, but the financials back up that claim. Refusing to provide information.
The concern in Hollywood is that such efforts are still inadequate. Conglomerates that own specialty film studios will decide there isn’t enough of a return to continue releasing prestige films in theaters.Disney owns Searchlight. Comcast owns Focus. Amazon owns United Artists. The CEOs of these companies like to be invited to the Oscars. But they prefer profit above all.
Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek addressed fame at a public event on Nov. 8, saying, “The good news is we have a very big streaming business now. , that content can be redirected to those channels.” movie. (Robert A. Eiger, since Returns to Disney management, may feel different. )
Others continue to advocate patience. Gross points out that ‘The Fabelmans’ will hit more theaters next month, hoping to capitalize on the awards buzz and year-end holidays that make it a front-runner for Best Picture at the 2023 Oscars. Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon,” a drug-and-sex fever dream about early Hollywood, is slated for wide release December 23rd.
Mr. Spielberg recently said, “I think movies will come back.” told the New York Times. “It’s true.”