Early 2024 has been an interesting time for films. While it’s clear that the 2023 strike has impacted the film business, there’s also been some surprising flops at the box office this year. While films like The Beekeeper and Bob Marley: One Love have been a nice recoup for the movie business, it’s been huge blockbusters like Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and Dune Part II that has kept the theaters thriving.
In a time where audiences are demanding new content, why is that well received films like Lisa Frankenstein, Abigail, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, or Boy Kills World fail to ignite a spark in the mainstream? Original films have been front and center for the early portion of 2024 and that experiment proved to Hollywood that they’re right to bank of established IP.
The Original Films Weren’t Mainstream Content
There’s a reason why blockbusters have a certain criteria that filmmakers must abide to. The purpose for every film is to make money. However, the reasoning is also beyond that. The success and failure of a selection of films determines the trend that executives should follow going force. This has been a thing since sound was introduced in 1894. Film Noir, Westerns, Superheroes; these genre became a huge period during their respective eras because it’s what was in demand. In truth, audiences are demanding that content that’s familiar. It’s the giant reason Disney won’t stop doing live-action adaptations despite their recent failures.
Going back to the original films mentioned above, though those movies were critically favored, they weren’t made for the mainstream. Horror films tend to have more freedom when it comes to creativity, but Abigail or Immaculate weren’t particularly an eye catching experience despite their fun concepts. A little girl in a ballerina outfit terrorizing a group of strangers is something wildly original, but the weirdness of the premise could’ve actually turned audiences off.
When it comes to films like Lisa Frankenstein, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Boy Kills World, Civil War, or Challengers, they all represent a different demographic. These were never films that were expected to make $500 million worldwide. That’s the general advantage of making a low budget feature is that you don’t have to cater to a specific audience. But the drawback is that you could be turning away some members because your premise just isn’t worth the ticket price.
Movie Tickets Are Too High
Even when tickets were cheap, films like Fight Club, The Shawshank Redemption, and Heathers still bombed at the box office. However, it would be foolish to think that modern ticket prices aren’t a reason that films goers don’t want to head to the theaters. The advantages that a movie like Dune or Godzilla x Kong: The Empire has is that the nostalgia factor plays a crucial role in each. For Dune, it’s the original source material or even the David Lynch films. For Godzilla, it’s the decades of the previous films. Audiences know what they’re getting with these movies are gladly willing to shell out the big bucks for it.
When have something that’s never been seen before, it’s more of a mystery because you don’t know what you’re getting. The economy isn’t easy in these modern times. Rent, gas, food, and other essentials are all high. People have to work crazy amount of hours just to live paycheck-to-paycheck. The average ticket prices is around eleven dollars. Add in the cost of snacks (which are insanely high) and the other expenses then you could be spending upwards $50 on your trip to the theaters.
Cheaper prices would likely spark an incentive for movie goers to take a risk on an unknown film Boy Kills World or Abigail, but the theaters have gotten greedy. Why spend that much on those movies when Ku Fu Panda 4 or Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is right around the corner?
Streaming Has Killed Some of The Buzz For Original Content
The coronavirus pandemic changed the movie industry forever. Audiences became more reliant on streaming services and that hasn’t changed. When spend so much money on the film that you could end up hating when it so much cheaper to watch it at home for a low $9.99. For better or worse, streaming is here to stay and audiences are perfectly fine with waiting for a film to move to the digital space. It’s not just the fact that the cost is cheaper, but streaming is firing on all cylinders when it comes to content.
Early 2024 has been packed with great shows like Shogun, The Gentlemen, Fallout, and Invincible. A six to eight hour binge of media that can easily rival films is a strong contributing factor to why some people would rather spend their time at home. There’s no telling what the next breakout original film will be. Given that the top two films of 2023 were Barbie and Oppenheimer, there’s still a demand for original films. It’s just going to be harder to get to that level of success without a big name attached.
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