https://variety.com/2024/film/box-offic ... 236103106/

With this and last year's Anyone But You, maybe it'll encourage studios to stop blowing $250 million, when they can make $25 million movies that gross over triple their cost in their opening weekends alone.

I've had a handful of conversations with people I hardly know, and when the subject of movies comes up, it's always "there's nothing out there this summer." Or like last week, when the guy sitting next to us at a restaurant casually dropped, "yeah we're going to see DEADPOOL later. It's the first time we've gone to a movie."

And that's from strangers. I've literally gone 3 times to the movie theater. That's it.

This post-COVID model, it's not working. Hollywood has gotten their big $500-$600 million hit 3 years in a row -- MAVERICK, BARBIE, DEADPOOL -- and then a couple of $300-ish mil grossers (OPPENHEIMER last year, TWISTERS this year), but it's STILL not enough content to help starving theaters.

The way they've structured this, something like this movie -- which I guess is an adaptation of a pretty popular book -- CAN do huge numbers. But it's also the only game in town, and I'm not sure they even want to pipe more content into theaters at this point.

Meanwhile studios are contracting (goodbye Fox, possibly MGM and Paramount hanging on by a thread) so there's less content being made by fewer companies.

AndyDursin wrote: ↑Sat Aug 17, 2024 3:53 pm I've had a handful of conversations with people I hardly know, and when the subject of movies comes up, it's always "there's nothing out there this summer." Or like last week, when the guy sitting next to us at a restaurant casually dropped, "yeah we're going to see DEADPOOL later. It's the first time we've gone to a movie."

And that's from strangers. I've literally gone 3 times to the movie theater. That's it.

This post-COVID model, it's not working. Hollywood has gotten their big $500-$600 million hit 3 years in a row -- MAVERICK, BARBIE, DEADPOOL -- and then a couple of $300-ish mil grossers (OPPENHEIMER last year, TWISTERS this year), but it's STILL not enough content to help starving theaters.

The way they've structured this, something like this movie -- which I guess is an adaptation of a pretty popular book -- CAN do huge numbers. But it's also the only game in town, and I'm not sure they even want to pipe more content into theaters at this point.

Meanwhile studios are contracting (goodbye Fox, possibly MGM and Paramount hanging on by a thread) so there's less content being made by fewer companies.

Well, this summer also had Inside Out 2, but that was such an earthbound sequel to a beautifully done original. (Not to mention somewhat delusional, as that Pixar animated film seemed to indicate that repeating to yourself that you are a good person is the panacea for any crisis in life. Word of experience: it isn't)

What the coronavirus lockdown did was to expose that so much of recent films relied on an unrelenting hype machine of momrntum, buzz on the internet, opening weekends, and interviews. When all that was taken away, what was left was a thin, reedy sight of an industry hanging by a thread. The studios bet heavily on their own streaming services and lost much in the process. TV shows continued to get more attention. Many series have been run into the ground. There is little to no creativity. And the films themselves have become so patronizing. It's a recipe for disaster, and nothing can seemingly stop it.

I hope MGM continues to exist, they were my favorite of the classic era, but I don't know what with Amazon having bought them. I was shocked to hear that Paramount was in such poor shape; theatrically, they have experienced a bit of a comeback in recent years.