Current Events > Why are films not doing well in theaters?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Theaters are slowly becoming obsolete.

Rise_Makaveli posted...

Most are going to see one though. Leaning towards Barbie myself honestly.

Yep. In the past (man that sounds long ago when I'm really just talking about before 2020) me and my partner would have gone to see all 3, but times are tough so we're probably just seeing one. Haven't decided what it's going to be yet. I'm leaning towards Oppenheimer, she's leaning toward Barbie. >_>

What is this topic, plenty of movies have done well. John Wick crushed, Mario stomped. The only shit that's bombing is just that, shit.

voldothegr8 posted...

What is this topic, plenty of movies have done well. John Wick crushed, Mario stomped. The only shit that's bombing is just that, shit.

Mario was shit.

Isn't John Wick essentially always the same movie but again?

Too expensive, better to wait for streaming. Also, Rotten Tomatoes has more influence on decisions than people would like to admit.

Because the movies actually have to be good to get people to go out of their homes to spend >$50

TetsuoS2 posted...

Because the movies actually have to be good to get people to go out of their homes to spend >$50

Not historically true. Films that are objectively bad usually still make money.

It's abnormal for any major release to not make money.

History doesn't have Netflix/whatever streaming service and $200 40in 4k tvs. Back then you'd have to deal with 20in crts(or you're rich and can afford to have a giant ass 100kg crt delivered to you) and hope whatever cable's showing is good.

Fact is theatres simply have more competition in getting people to sit there instead of the comforts of their homes.

Avirosb posted...

Isn't John Wick essentially always the same movie but again?

And the original was not a good movie!!!

It had a paper thin plot, bad guys that were too dumb to live, and a hero that is essentially just a: "hey guys don't you wish you could be as cool as Keanu Reeves and his stuntmen?"

I mean... I like a nice cartoonishly excessive action sequence with solid fight choreography, but that's just spectacle. It doesn't make a good movie, just "cool scenes" in a weak story framework. I never felt like there were any stakes, no character development, and no threat or tension offered by the villains.

Rise_Makaveli posted...

That reminds me I got to watch the series on HBO Max while it's there, probably will expire soon.

If you like Ash's character, you will LOVE the show. They did a fantastic job with the "vibe" and the additional characters are all pretty awesome.

bsp77 posted...

That has nothing to do with it

It absolutely does. My family and extended family don't go to any public events anymore due to this. People are very on edge and angry. America is in a sad fuckin state, and we can't even enjoy being in public anymore.

Calamity_Kaiju posted...

It absolutely does. My family and extended family don't go to any public events anymore due to this. People are very on edge and angry. America is in a sad fuckin state, and we can't even enjoy being in public anymore.

You all are not nornal. There are always some people scared of their own shadows, but that is factually not the issue with movies right now. Maybe it is like 1% of the issue.

I think covid reset people's minds in what's worth going to the theatre for. There's some massive hits still like avatar 2. But stuff that you used to go to see just because it was something to do is worth just waiting for streaming. Atleast that's how I've become.

dummy420 posted...

I think covid reset people's minds in what's worth going to the theatre for. There's some massive hits still like avatar 2. But stuff that you used to go to see just because it was something to do is worth just waiting for streaming. Atleast that's how I've become.

This is most certainly true and has affected a lot of people this way. Not me but I recognize how many have become accustomed to just having their home theater

How are they spending so much money on creating these films?

They are nothing special

bsp77 posted...

This is most certainly true and has affected a lot of people this way. Not me but I recognize how many have become accustomed to just having their home theater

Yeah something like guardians of the galaxy 3 I was really looking forward to but was busy for the first 2 weekends so I'm just going to wait. But nothing would have kept me from John Wick 4 on opening weekend and I had to experience Avatar 2.

maybe most people prefer to stream at home rather than overpay for tickets and snacks...

personally tho, i still go to the cinema. went to see a bunch of movies this year so far like John Wick 4, Super Mario Bros Movie, Guardians of the Galaxy 3 and Across The Spiderverse.

i'll continue to go as long as there are movies that interest me.

alphagamble posted...

How are they spending so much money on creating these films?

They are nothing special

I do know that many were filmed during Covid and the protocols and shutdowns and scheduling issues caused problems. For instance, The Little Mermaid had an initial budget of $200 million but Covid issues pushed it $50 million higher. I don't have specifics for other movies but it did cause problems. Mission Impossible I know got pushed a lot higher but not sure where it would have been if not for Covid.

Hollywood definitely needs to figure out its budget problem. A movie that costs about $150 million needs about $400 million worldwide to break even. But one that costs $300 million needs about $750 million to break even. That is a huge difference.

Indiana Jones, Fast X and Mission Impossible are all $300 million or more. Guardians and The Little Mermaid are around $250. Only Guardians has justified that cost so far. I hope Mission Impossible will be able to.

But this is all out of line.

bsp77 posted...

You all are not nornal. There are always some people scared of their own shadows, but that is factually not the issue with movies right now. Maybe it is like 1% of the issue.

Right. I'd just rather not participate in society when there's a chance someone will randomly start shooting lol. We've found that spending more time in nature and homesteading is FAR more fulfilling. But, you know, enjoy all the random mass shootings! AMERICA!

Calamity_Kaiju posted...

Right. I'd just rather not participate in society when there's a chance someone will randomly start shooting lol. We've found that spending more time in nature and homesteading is FAR more fulfilling. But, you know, enjoy all the random mass shootings! AMERICA!

You do you. And nature is great. I can't argue with you there.

However, I spend a couple of hours every week studying the box office and what has been causing the slump with the industry and with certain movies. There are quite a few reasons affecting the industry as a whole, many of which have been brought up here, and also many reasons affecting individual franchises and genres and such. Gun violence has nothing to do with it or if it does, it is so miniscule to not be worth commenting on.

Just live your life and don't worry about things that have an exceedingly small chance of ever affecting you directly.

Much more likely to be killed driving to the movie theater than by a bullet in the movie theater. That is a fact.

Calamity_Kaiju posted...

Right. I'd just rather not participate in society when there's a chance someone will randomly start shooting lol. We've found that spending more time in nature and homesteading is FAR more fulfilling. But, you know, enjoy all the random mass shootings! AMERICA!

Statistically, you probably won't get shot. I don't think it's reasonable to prohibit yourself from so many things just because there's a chance something with a low overall likelihood might happen. Unless you already didn't really like doing those things.

Still, it's a fucking disgrace and tragedy we have so much gun violence in this country.

To me, it's just the technology taking over theaters. You gotta think, back in the day, the only way to see a movie was to go to the theater. Wasn't until the 80s we got home video. And now, after the pandemic, people are finally believing that it's a way better deal to stay home and watch something rather than pay a million dollars to go out and see just one film. Home video one.

Movie budgets are getting unrealistically large. Not every movie can make Avatar money. Not all of these movies are big events.

My local Cinemark has tickets for 12.xx for the big XD theatre and 9.25 for a normal theatre. That isn't expensive but it isn't the 5 dollar Tuesdays we remember, though cinemark may have a club to get cheaper tickets if you go a lot.

But money is tight an right now. Inflation. So I do get why people may not go because of cost even if it doesn't look expensive

Yeah, Mario made $1.25 billion. The audience is there, the movies just aren't hype enough.

The ones that flop recently try to hard in a certain category that people are just fucking tired of.

AI_TechGam3FAQS posted...

The ones that flop recently try to hard in a certain category that people are just fucking tired of.

Which is?

GrandConjuraton posted...

Which is?

Remakes of classics nobody asked for
Superhero shit
Sequels featuring fossils who's character should have been retired long ago

Apparently, Dreamwork's new movie just flopped hard.

Requiem posted...

Apparently, Dreamwork's new movie just flopped hard.

To be fair, it looked awful. I have 4 daughters and I don't even care about showing it to them.

Nimona, on the other hand, which just debuted on Netflix, is supposed to be great and we are watching tonight.

Many theater movies just scream "this will be streaming in about a month".

The Flash, for instance. Thats gotta be on HBO pretty soon already seems like.

I feel like they've trained us in this manner.

spanky1 posted...

Many theater movies just scream "this will be streaming in about a month".

The Flash, for instance. Thats gotta be on HBO pretty soon already seems like.

I feel like they've trained us in this manner.

Truth. I remember when I was little, it took 6 months from the time a movie left the theater until it came out on VHS. Now, the film is out on DVD while it's still in the theater....

alphagamble posted...

How are they spending so much money on creating these films?

They are nothing special

v(._.)v
People need jobs I guess?

I think in Indys case, part of the problem is that Crystal Skull just poisoned the well so hard that the millennial/gen x audience who would have been excited for an Indy sequel are extremely skeptical. In addition to all the over budget and streaming reasons rightfully bright up itt

Part of it is insanely inflated budgets. No reason an Indiana Jones movie should cost $300 mil. Little Mermaid made over half-a-billion but some dumbass exec approved a $250 million budget so it is barely gonna break even

lilORANG posted...

Part of it is insanely inflated budgets. No reason an Indiana Jones movie should cost $300 mil. Little Mermaid made over half-a-billion but some dumbass exec approved a $250 million budget so it is barely gonna break even

To be fair, they approved $200 for Little Mermaid and Covid issues pushed it to $250.

Regardless, your point still stands.

People no longer have the attention span to sit in a movie theater for long periods of time.

lilORANG posted...

Part of it is insanely inflated budgets. No reason an Indiana Jones movie should cost $300 mil. Little Mermaid made over half-a-billion but some dumbass exec approved a $250 million budget so it is barely gonna break even

Cost of paying all the people involved, cost of transportation of cameras and crew to locations for filming, cost of building sets, cost of promotional material, cost of translating the film for foreign release, cost of feeding everyone, etc.

Im sad to see how many think theaters are obsolete. To me seeing a movie in a theater is still awesome, nothing beats that giant screen, great sound, and hearing other people react along with you is often fun. Plus, besides the price, the theater experience has gotten SO much better than it used to be, now that there's reservable seats with reclining chairs and everybody spaced out instead of everybody sitting on top of each other.

The films are straight up garbage who is going to spend $20 for a ticket and $20 for some popcorn for some crappy movie

TyVulpine posted...

Cost of paying all the people involved, cost of transportation of cameras and crew to locations for filming, cost of building sets, cost of promotional material, cost of translating the film for foreign release, cost of feeding everyone, etc.

Yeah. It costs money. But shit like Joker and Deadpool cost like $60M, look great, and made tons of money. Approving budgets where you need to make damn near a billion dollars to turn a meaningful profit is insane.

I'm so confused by this topic, are we talking about why theaters as a whole aren't doing well or individual movies?

They've gotten too expensive compaired to streaming services.

They will adapt. This is just an adjustment period because most of this was greenlit with giant budgets when every blockbuster was easily doing over a billion before 2020. The Rise of Skywalker did over a billion and people hate that movie.

Some got confident again after No Way Home and Maverick because they were outperforming pre-pandemic numbers, but those were outliers.

ChrisTaka posted...

I'm so confused by this topic, are we talking about why theaters as a whole aren't doing well or individual movies?

The proliferation of the latter is causing the former :)

The-Apostle posted...

They've gotten too expensive compaired to streaming services.

$12 was the average ticket price in the US in 2022 (yes, I know, we should be using median).

Ivynn posted...

-theater tickets are more expensive now so people are more selective of what movies to see. can't really just see a movie on a whim right now.

A ticket and snacks definitely costs more than Netflix for a month and Netflix feels pricey. People just dont have the money to go to theater. Especially dont want to risk that on a movie that might suck.