Is the Hollywood 'mega blockbuster' model in trouble?

johnny_ultimate

Theatrical anime is doing extremely well too, TBH, including internationally. Demon Slayer, Suzume and The First Slam Dunk have all been huge success stories.

It’s a big shame Pixar went back into cinemas with two weak films, because Turning Red was excellent and Luca, while I wasn’t quite as fond of that, was a more engaging and distinctive film than something ‘bleh’ like Lightyear.

kerplun k

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120825680#Comment_120825680

That’s it Mario and Spidermam. Both huge hits.

The Raging Bile Duct

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120825540#Comment_120825540

Here was me thinking it was a term rooted in the African American civil rights movement about being aware or trying to advance issues of social justice but had been lazily co-opted by conservatives to dismiss everything they disagree with. You learn something new everyday!

Sad Professor

I would be shocked if nearly all these so-called "flops" don't eventually turn a profit thanks to streaming and other merchandising deals. People might not want to bother going to see them in the cinema but they'll still press play on Netflix, buy the toys, etc. That's the safety net that big name franchises provide. It's almost impossible to lose money on them. They can of course be disappointments and a studio can make of that what they will. Even if we only focus on box office it seems like the under-performers are being balanced out by the hits like Wakanda Forever, Dr Strange, Guardians 3 etc.

So no I don't think it's in trouble, not yet anyway.

Silentcorner

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120826687#Comment_120826687

Ha ha haaaa, that's impressive mental gymnastics right there...it was co opted alright, that much we can agree on!

kerplun k

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120825811#Comment_120825811

Pixar have almost trained audiences to watch their movies on D+. They’ll need to lean on one of their huge IPs to get people back into the Cinema to see one of their movies.

johnny_ultimate

Mod warning: Enough of trying to shoehorn in tedious culture war nonsense into the thread. We’ll start issuing thread bans if people can’t discuss the topic without trolling and soapboxing. Thanks.

silliussoddius

This is a YouTube channel I follow. This video popped up yesterday, it looks at how Disney’s business model operates, it looks like they are in for the long game for their IPs.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pXeJtHAa5EM&t=613s

Agent Coulson

Streaming for every major service bar Netflix is a major loss leader.

So I'm not sure if streaming is going to be the saviour for the major studios especially when they continue to up the subscription prices.

Flaneur OBrien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120826886#Comment_120826886

Nope, and I can see piracy increasing when

A: There’s too many streamers, and too many subscriptions.

B: People realise that paying for a streamer is not the same as owning the media, such as when the streamer deletes fan faves from their service.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120826892#Comment_120826892

Look at Paramount ripping Star Trek Prodigy from their own platform

Agent Coulson

Warners binning movies for tax reasons and now they are selling HBO's own classic shows from their service and have licensed them to Netflix.

Why would someone pay for two streaming services when you can see what you want on one.

https://deadline.com/2023/06/warner-bros-discovery-in-talks-to-license-hbo-original-series-to-netflix-1235421444/

Streaming Shocker: Warner Bros. Discovery In Talks To License HBO Original Series To Netflix 

Issa Rae’s Insecure has landed on Netflix.

The HBO comedy drama launched on the streamer service earlier today, after Deadline revealed the surprising move last month.

Netflix has also confirmed that Band of Brothers, The Pacific, Six Feet Under and Ballers will launch on its service as part of the deal.

The agreement is co-exclusive with Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max.

True Blood will also be added to Netflix outside of the U.S.

https://deadline.com/2023/07/hbos-insecure-launches-on-netflix-six-feet-under-others-coming-next-1235429245/

z80CPU

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058304208/is-the-hollywood-mega-blockbuster-model-in-trouble

Yes,

Judging by the advertising campaign on noticeboards in places like Barber shops here as if Indiana Jones is the next "don't think of missing":

All the stops are being pulled out in Dublin at any rate to promote this bomb as if it were the next "Lawrence of Arabia" to arrive on Irish Cinema Screens: Here is a link to a YouTube in which Stephen Spielberg explains why he was captivated by Lawrence of Arabia

https://youtu.be/ayJLeVDOCZ0

The indie films are still the Cinderella's in the eyes of the Irish cinema scene.

Having the opportunity to screen in Irish cinemas for the indies right now is grabbing the crumbs that fall from the table.

I feel that the Irish cinema networks market movies like Indiana Jones & the dial of destiny ( or dunk of destiny )just as I see adverts for the Nvidia Rx 4060 ( being nicknamed as a Nvidia 4050 ) in my nvidia driver download.

silverharp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120826930#Comment_120826930

Im always suspicious when I see articles say a studio did something for tax reasons apart from where they make movies to get tax rebates. When a movie is made they always claim the cost back at the time against their taxes. In the studio's financial accounts they hold the movie as an asset and write it back over time against the income they receive. Most likely they have to report to their shareholders that some of the content has no value early as they are not generating subs, plus they get to avoid paying residuals which is actual cash going out the door.

silverharp

not quite mega blockbuster , but another expensive film by Disney that's unlikely to get its money back, .......sure it will be out on D+ in no time

https://twitter.com/ERCboxoffice/status/1685678683032629248

CastorTroy

I remember seeing that listed in upcoming releases and thinking it was a rerelease of the Eddie Murphy one.

Looking it up now, that was nearly 20 years ago.

DownByTheGarden

More often than not now when I go to the cinema i am constantly distracted by the lights on phones going on lots of times during the films. They usually dont even ring, but the lights and the texting are enough to pull me out of the movie. I just dont enjoy the cinema anymore because of the distractions in it.

I go to the cinema to escape into another world and this is not working for me anymore, so im not going to bother with the cinema anymore. This is someone who used to go see movies in the cinema twice a week.

Another distraction I see in almost every movie now is a social commentary. Can I not just have a movie thats a movie without me seeing a scene at some point that is so obviously put in as a social comment or a lesson. That draws me right out of the movie too. Up pops the scene or line, and immediately my brain says "There it is. Another one.", taking me right out of the movie again.

silverharp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120919466#Comment_120919466

the only cinema I like going to is the Stella in Rathmines, otherwise cinemas are kind of a chore, they are generally in the arse end of some shopping complex

~Rebel~

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120919466#Comment_120919466

Really have to be very selective with cinemas and screening times nowadays alright. It's still well worth it for me, but it means mostly evening weekday screenings - or even during the day if i can manage it!

On the latter point though, that's always been the case. There have always been 'switch your brain off' movies, but the best movies have always subtextually had something to say beyond the story of the movie itself. I don't think movies are necessarily doing that any more than they ever did really, though the craft of how that's done is definitely not always up to scratch alright.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120920617#Comment_120920617

Yeah, there is a difference in making you think about Vs trying to force a message.

DownByTheGarden

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120920617#Comment_120920617

Yeah its like they get a script of a good movie together now and then it gets approved. But then they geta checklist of **** they must put into the movie and then shoehorn it in to the detriment of the movie. When watching when these scenes, l;ines etc come up, they take you right out of the film because you are thinking "Oh that one is to tick "x" box". And it happens so many times during a movie now its painful. Some movies can actually do it without you realizing the ticked some boxes, but you could count the amount of them on one hand over the last few years.

Too many sh!t writers and producers around right now. A few directors need to be dropped too. Hollywood needs thinning out and only the best to remain. Then we might get back to good movies.

dublinman1990

Indiewire had reported recently that Peacock, the streamer owned by NBC Universal, had lost a huge ton of money over the last 3 months. It's losses were slightly above $650m during it's financial period from April to June of 2023. I sat there thinking....are those losses really sustainable for the TV/Film industry in Hollywood?

When I look at it in hindsight; it is a massive amount of money to lose from one streamer that isn't Netflix. Netflix do have form to lose even bigger amounts of money when compared to other streamers even years before Covid came to town.

https://www.indiewire.com/news/business/peacock-lost-651-million-dollars-comcast-q2-earnings-1234887557/

There is also some recent online talk emerging about movies appearing on NFT's as well.

I have seen one website which offers a very small selection of NFT's of WB movies in America in the last week or two. This is because The Flash movie is now offered to people who own an NFT. It offers a huge number of interactive bonus features to go along with the main film which is streamed in 4K UHD on people's devices. The site had the Christopher Reeve Superman movies on there as well. One other thing you have to do to watch these NFT films is to own an Apple TV box with an official account from the website to watch the film at home.

If movies on NFT's are beginning to take hold as an emerging trend say within the next year or two. I am not sure that they will become a huge success here in an Irish context in the short to medium term. They may become a huge fad like people who would watch movies in 3D at the cinema or on 3D TV's at home.

johnny_ultimate

NFTs are already a failed technology, built solely for crypto evangelists to try to justify their evangelism. Studios are trying to jump onto the train long after it has derailed and crashed, as is the case when companies try to chase a trend but are laughably late in actually implementing it. Any film-related NFTs are dead on arrival. And thank Christ for that - every existing technology offers an infinitely more convenient way to access films.

LambshankRedemption

Speaking as a life long Marvel fan, I feel overwhelmed by Marvel movies.

Funnily enough, the Marvel movies I have enjoyed the most were characters I had no interest in or little knowledge of from the comics.

Why did I enjoy them more? Because the writers had free reign on those characters and stories.

The Mega Blockbusters were single stories. Ignoring the 4+ sequels, Die Hard was a blockbuster. Single story. One off.

Independence Day, one of my favourite movies, is IMO a great popcorn, Blockbuster. It didnt need a sequel.

Hollywood has run out of ideas for fresh material. The last few years have been sequels, reboots, prequels.

I hated the new Ghostbusters movie, not because it was an all female cast but because it tried to clone the original movie, and insert female characters. and in my opinion, it just didnt work,

It really is not that hard to write a blockbuster.

silliussoddius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120928256#Comment_120928256

NFTs!! What next, mini discs?

BorneTobyWilde

People like real people, in real movies, Hollywood seems to have forgotten this.

Agent Coulson

The July box office in the US was the second biggest July of all time with $1.37B taken at the domestic box office there

Streaming revenue in the UK jumped by 20% last year according to Ofcom and had doubled in the last 3 years

Seems we all want to watch movies both on the big and small screens

Flaneur OBrien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120932982#Comment_120932982

comparable to what though? Ticket prices are more expensive than they’ve ever been. Anecdotally speaking, the cinemas are far quieter when I go compared to when I went 10 years ago. It’s rare to see queues at ticket stands and a busy day for the sweet stand in Galway is 4 or 5 people deep.

Shoog

The problem with Hollywood is it is so formulaic - its rare that you come out of the cinema surprised or challenged. But do you really want to see effectively the same movie over and over again ? Then there is the problem that everything costs so much these days that the ticket price has to be so high it becomes a real luxury occasion. Ladled on top of this is the fact that most America films are paid propeganda for USA PLC which really doesn't work in a globalized world. i will probably only go and see two movies this year - DUNE and Oppenheimer, both blockbusters but hardly formulaic.

When money rules - quality leaves the building. I would say that Hollywood needs to drop the cocaine habit and get back to some good old psychedelics like they did in the 70's.

Electric Nitwit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120932982#Comment_120932982

I assumed that was mostly due to Barbie and Oppenheimer, but not really, they're only about a quarter of the total...

Barbie $366.4M

Oppenheimer $181.4M

Sound of Freedom ($151.3M)

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ($143.9M)

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One ($140.4M)

Insidious: The Red Door ($78.5M)

Elemental ($64.6M)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ($47.1)

Haunted Mansion ($26.4M)

No Hard Feelings ($26.1M).