How To Improve The Success Of Theatrical Releases - Opinion
From Shane Conto
What has happened to the theatrical landscape of film? We are seeing some of the biggest films in the cinematic world crashing and burning at the box office. Post COVID, that is a scary thing for both the film exhibition industry as well as the studios that supply them content. Sure, humanity is finding a new equilibrium post pandemic but there are some serious issues that need to be remedied to make Top Gun: Maverick more common than The Flash. But what are those steps that the film industry needs to take? I am no expert but as a cinephile who sees around 700 new releases every year…here are some thoughts.
The biggest issue? Bring back the middle class of films and move away from $150 to $200 million dollar films. There used to be a time where studios made good money on films that only cost $40-$60 million but now everything has to be the biggest thing. Even films around $100 (which is still a lot of money) are rare. Escalation has caused film budgets to bloat up and the effects are alarming. To make that money back, ticket prices have skyrocketed. It is so expensive for most people to see a movie now (especially when you are going as a family). It is so hard to make money on a film that costs $200 million and then $100 million more to promote it. Studios need to be more efficient and focus on being more mindful with their money. If you can make films like Joker that cost around $60 million and then went on to make $1 billion…that is a wake up call. Even The Super Mario Bros Movie had a more modest $100 million budget and blew past that $1 billion box office benchmark.
What will this also help with? Diversifying. Where are the comedies? They have just become streaming fodder at this point which is a shame. The same goes for romance. Unless you are A24 or Neon or IFC, you are a studio who is mostly steering clear of mature adult films. But when every weekend has multiple big budget blockbusters that are all action adventure films, not everything is going to make money. There are just too many giant CGI heavy films that hit the same boxes and not enough films that hit different demographics. There are groups of film goers who are missing out. Theaters are pushing smaller films out because they think the endless blockbusters will keep getting them money. Unfortunately, 2023 is starting to show the cracks as we are getting +$200 million blockbuster floundering at the box office more common than ever.
What trait do these studios need to start showing? Patience. Marvel Studios is the prime example. There are WAY too many films coming out in the MCU and they are being rushed…and it is starting to show. The effects are not great and the stories feel like they are first drafts instead of a film that has gone through a real creative process. With patience brings another huge benefit. Legs. You are not seeing the legs for films in theaters anymore. They make the bulk of their money in 10 days and then are rushed out to fit in the next big thing. We were getting Marvel films (just one part of one studio) every three months. Those films should be eating up the box office for 4-5 months but this rat race is convulsing everything. Quality is hurting and the film market is becoming too diluted. Take your time. Tell your story right. Make it the best film it can be. Gain the benefits. Hello, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. We can get over the waits. The anticipation will build up the box office anyway.
But what is the biggest threat to the theater experience? Streaming. Sure, Netflix has been in competition for a while. But it is not Netflix that is causing the real issue. It is the studios themselves devouring their own box office potential but rushing films to streaming. The audience is picky now. If a film is going to come to streaming only 17 days later…why take the time to schedule a trip to their theater, pay so much for the food and tickets, sit through 30 minutes of extra ads at the start, and then have to make the commute. That is a big ask. Pixar has become a Disney+ mainstay since COVID and now families expect them there. It will take a while until Disney can undue that expectation that they set themselves. This is why Elemental opened to sub $30 million. These studios need to diversify. They need content for streaming and content for theaters. Wait to drop the theater content on streaming until it gets a real opportunity. 6 months is a lot harder to overcome waiting compared to 17 days.
But what is the real key? Make movies people want to see! Put in the effort to make the best films you can. Either make them so great that people have to run out to the theaters because of the buzz around it (Top Gun: Maverick), make them such a spectacle that they must be seen on the biggest screen possible (Avatar: The Way of Water), or make the film so fun that the whole family can enjoy even if it isn’t the deepest film out there or of the highest artistic quality (The Super Mario Bros Movie). This is a complex and industry threatening moment happening right and these are just a few things that could make a difference.
