Million Dollar Movies Are Flopping: Are Movie Theaters A Thing of The Past?
Every year we get a few hundred films released by major Hollywood film studios with huge budgets, most are more than 100 million dollars. Something has changed in the recent years in the movie and theater industry. Movies are flopping and not generating half of what they cost to make in ticket sales. Major movies like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, The Marvels, and Elementals were all expected to make good money with their theatrical releases but never came close. These were just some examples of many movies who struggled, with Elemental having the second worst opening weekend sales in Disney history. Worse than that, The Marvels is Marvels’ worst performing movie of all time.
Aside from the movies I mentioned, even some of the highest grossing films of the year weren’t covering the cost of making the film. There even some films, such as The Covenant starring Jake Gyllenhal and made by Guy Ritchie who made the hit movie Aladdin, didn’t even make more than 22 million dollars in sales. This just goes to show that even movies with big names attached to them aren’t assisting in a film’s ability to do well in a theatrical release. Of course, in this year alone some of Hollywood’s biggest names have been on strike. With the writer’s strike and actors strike, among other occupations striking, it has had an effect on movies, specific to their ability to be advertised as well and the dates they even are released. Alongside the strike, the film industry is experiencing other unprecedented setbacks that continue to be problems in the future.
Streaming has been one of the biggest detriments to the film industry’s lifeline through theaters. Movie theaters all around America have been experiencing decreases in ticket sales, and it especially hasn’t recovered to Pre-Covid-19 statistics. People all around are choosing to stay home to stream and this has benefits and pitfalls. It’s also negatively affecting television networks, which are taking a big hit in viewership but alternatively, it has aided independent filmmakers to receive funding for their projects. To put all the pieces together, films are becoming more and more expensive to create but less and less people are attending theatrical releases to opt for a more convenient streaming experience. An even fresher threat is the growth in AI intelligence and usage in the past years.
One of the important demands of the writer strike was that Hollywood studios promise to not utilize artificial intelligence to create movies. The use of the software would almost eradicate the need for human writers and artists. These laborious positions are what can make and break a movie and overall film quality. Aside from the actors, they are huge components that must be respected for the blood, sweat, and tears they give. This helps us remember that the money that a movie earns does not directly define the quality and craftsmanship in a film. Even in my personal experience I, the author, have loved movies that get ridiculously terrible reviews. In this way, streaming has helped movies that were once dubbed failures to get a second wind and help the hidden gems become fan favorites. For instance, in January of 2022, Disney’s Encanto was topping charts with over 1.4 billion minutes viewed on Disney+.
In the end, streaming has a complex relationship with movies that cannot be defined as good or bad. Despite this, the effects on theaters all over America is something that could end theatrical releases all together if trends continue to increase. These large film studios are not companies we should be shedding tears for even if they are losing money on movies. They still make a lot of money on merchandise, home video sales, movies you watch on airplanes, and many other avenues all put money into these major studio’s pockets. We should however try to support independent film creators and their projects, as they can be struggling college students just like you and me.
1. Makuch, E. (2023, December 19). 10 biggest box office bombs of 2023. GameSpot. https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/10-biggest-box-office-bombs-of-2023/2900-4983/ 2. McClintock, P. (2022, February 25). “Encanto” extends winning streak for disney+ on Streaming Chart. The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/encanto-top-streaming-chart-home-team-1235099093/ 3. Nielson National TV Panel. (2024, January 8). Streaming TV: Top 10. Nielsen. https://www.nielsen.com/data-center/top-ten/ Legrand, R. (2022, November 15). New study measures the sales decline of the 2021-22 season. AMERICAN THEATRE. https://www.americantheatre.org/2022/11/14/new-study-measures-the-sales-decline-of-the-2021-22-season/