Why Hollywood Isn't – And Can't Be – Solely About Blockbuster

Studio execs frequently recall the good old days when their companies frequently released mid-budget films that did well at the box office. These films included star-studded rom-coms, adult comedies, and mid-tier erotic thrillers.

This isn’t just nostalgia.

Consistent commerce was aided by mid-priced films. When people wanted to hang out with friends or go on a date, going to the movies became a habit because there was always a varied selection of new films in theaters.

Hollywood needs to release films of all sizes and genres, not just the $200 million action spectacles and tiny horror flicks that have taken over cinema screens in recent years, as evidenced by the last couple of months’ box office results.

No one would consider Lionsgate’s $100 million action sequel “John Wick: Chapter 4,” which debuted with $73.5 million domestically, to be a mid-budget film. Actually, neither is MGM’s “Creed III,” which reportedly cost $75 million to produce. But both of these franchises began with comparatively inexpensive movies.

In order to generate new intellectual property and draw in audiences who aren’t interested in the ongoing superhero universes, the film industry needs to take chances on mid-level films, which are typically described as having budgets between $20 million and $80 million.

But recently, the industry hasn’t been set up to consistently create these types of films at the rate it used to, at least not for movie theaters.

Having multiple release windows (theatrical, home video, and television), which enabled films to make money and remain in the public awareness for a long time, was one of the practices that made midsized films economically feasible for a while.

In order to draw in customers, the streaming industry places a premium on volume, with each movie receiving a minimal, if any, marketing effort. Because of this, it is challenging for any one movie to leave a lasting impression.

According to independent producer and former Amazon Studios film executive Ted Hope, “We have completely gotten out of that mindset of how to provide a regular cadence of cost-efficient movies, so that you have that thing that gives legs to everything else.” And along with that comes the annihilation of the elements that gave something an enduring quality.

Some of the most harmful practices from the era of streaming are beginning to disappear. Studios are reverting to conventional, though condensed, windows. According to a recent Bloomberg story, tech giants Apple and Amazon are both supporting conventional theatrical releases.

But for the time being, Hollywood’s industry is still very much barbell-shaped.

A thin middle market of movies results from a heavy concentration of business moving toward large studio productions on the one hand, with increasing budgets and stakes for creating multidimensional worlds, and a dizzying array of tiny productions on the other.

In contrast to the average of 36% from 2015 to 2019, the best 10 films made up 55% of the domestic box office last year, according to a report released on Sunday by Cowen & Co. analyst Doug Creutz. Just 14 movies were released in theaters in 2022 that cost more than $100 million, but they accounted for 55% of ticket purchases in the United States and Canada.

That does not preclude the possibility of commercial success for mid-budget movies. “80 for Brady” and “Cocaine Bear” were successful because they targeted particular groups and had strong marketing hooks. However, the more distinguished adult-oriented fare, the kind Hope staked on while working at Amazon, is still difficult to produce.

We’ve previously discussed the difficulties faced by high-caliber middle-brow films that frequently receive Oscar consideration, such as “Tár” and “The Fabelmans.”

Distributors have become more cautious as a result of the box office slump and the streaming services’ financial difficulties, while Netflix and Apple have raised expectations for what an independent picture can bring in at the box office.

“Eileen,” a big Sundance release with a ton of star power and which was adapted from a well-liked book, was only recently picked up by Neon.

The industry requires a robust indie market to foster the development of new talent, just as Hollywood needs mid-budget films to launch new franchises.

The culture of “no budget” indie films, where new directors adopt a punk-rock, do-it-yourself approach to filmmaking and distribution, therefore, intrigued me. This was covered in a recent Esquire article. They follow the “14 Commandments” of low-budget writing and production, which were established some 30 years ago by Hope and James Schamus, in many respects.

This is made possible by the cheaper cost of the essential filmmaking tools and the simplicity with which filmmakers can upload their work to the internet.

Max Cea, a journalist and director, uses “Jethica,” a “superb $10K stalker-ghost movie,” and Jess Zeidman’s $120,000 queer coming-of-age drama “Tahara” as examples in his article. We’re All Going to the World’s Fair and Skinamarink are two examples of minimalist films that have managed to garner critical and commercial praise.

This kind of activity has been going on for a while and is reminiscent of how the digital revolution affected the music business, where the ease of online distribution caused a surge in the release of music outside of the established distribution channels.

In a recent study of movie costs from 2000 to 2016, researchers from the University of Minnesota discovered that the number of films with budgets between $100,000 and $5 million increased by roughly 350%.

Joel Waldfogel, a business professor at the University of Minnesota, said that digitization has created a completely new distribution channel that enables completely different kinds of products to innovate and find markets.”

Some of these low-budget films are able to recoup their costs. However, this aspect of the industry appears to be primarily focused on recapturing some of the rebellious spirit that distinguished independent filmmaking in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before the festival circuit became overtly commercial and overrun with expensive streaming agreements.

It’s harder for those challenging films like, heaven forbid, you make a political film and have a festival screen it — like something without stars and a new voice that questions the status quo — it’s never been harder for that, according to Hope. “However, I think that as a consequence, things will change. You will witness the emergence of new objects and the fall of the powerful.

Why Hollywood Isn’t – And Can’t Be – Solely About Blockbuster

Studio execs frequently recall the good old days when their companies frequently released mid-budget films that did well at the box office. These films included star-studded rom-coms, adult comedies, and mid-tier erotic thrillers.

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