With films such as " Stuntman ", " Mysterious Friends " and " Mad Max: Goddess of Fury " successively failing at the North American box office market, this year's summer season is undoubtedly off to a bad start. . In the "Hollywood Reporter" magazine published on June 5, an article titled "Summer Crisis: Is the Sky Really Falling This Time?" ” feature article described last year’s Screen Actors Guild strike as being like shutting down oil refineries across the United States, while the Writers Guild of America strike was equivalent to shutting down all oil fields in the United States for half a year. Therefore, the current crisis in the box office market should be completely expected.
According to statistics, North American box office revenue so far this year is only 2.68 billion U.S. dollars, a decrease of 24% compared with the same period last year and a decrease of 42% compared with the same period in 2019. Of course, some people still remain optimistic, believing that by 2025, when everything returns to normal, audiences will still be willing to pay for tickets and go into theaters again. But under the current situation, how long can the theater industry persist?
Over the weekend, six franchise theaters owned by the independent movie theater chain Alamo Drafthouse suddenly announced their closure after their owners filed for bankruptcy. These six theaters are located in Texas and Minnesota and are specifically operated by a limited liability company called "Two is One, One is Zero". Over the weekend, the company declared bankruptcy and its employees were immediately laid off. It is reported that in order to operate these six theaters, they invested US$3.5 million in new funds in 2023 alone and worked hard to cut costs. However, in the end, they still lost more than US$1 million throughout the year and could only declare bankruptcy. .
Alamo Cinemas is a well-known independent theater chain in the United States. After closing the above 6 franchise theaters, there are currently 15 franchise stores and 20 self-owned theaters left. Over the years, they've attracted a loyal following with their extensive menu of cocktails, craft beers, and food, as well as their strict "no talking, no texting during the movie" policy. Even so, it is no match for the overall depression in the theater industry. It is said that the theater chain operators are currently looking for new franchisees willing to take over the above-mentioned 6 theaters, but in the face of the current movie market, it may not be easy.
Regarding the current situation of poor movie box office and regression of the theater industry, Will Smith, the star of the newly released weekend box office champion " Jedi Men: Life and Death ", also has his own understanding. In an interview with the media last week, he said that today’s Hollywood ecosystem is no longer comparable to that of the past. "In the past, you would cut out some explosion scenes and put in a few exciting jokes in the trailer, and people would buy it and be willing to wait and buy tickets to watch it after the release. But it's different now. You can watch it just sitting at home. Wonderful TV programs. In contrast, for some movies, people will never go to the theater to watch them. This also puts forward higher requirements for movies, and they need to show real skills to persuade everyone to go out. "
Stills of "Jedi Men: Life and Death"
In fact, on the same day as "Jedi Men: Life and Death" was released, another new film with a better reputation and a comparable cast in front and behind the scenes was also released to the audience. . However, the location is not in a theater, but in the homes of Netflix users around the world. "Hit Man", which debuted at the Venice Film Festival last year, is famous director Richard Linklater's most commercial work since "School of Rock". It combines elements of black comedy, crime drama and romance. Starring new Hollywood icon Glen Powell. It was such a film that Netflix offered to buy it for US$20 million after its premiere at last year's Venice Film Festival.
"The Hitman" Netflix version poster
Now it seems that such a work with a "Rotten Tomatoes" freshness rating of 97% and a popcorn index of 93% will definitely bring a lot of traffic to Netflix and will make people like to watch new movies at home. of netflix users are satisfied. However, for those who hope to watch movies on the big screen, it will bring considerable losses to the theater industry.So, what about the creators themselves? Linklater, who is famous for his independent films such as "Before Dawn" and "Boyhood", naturally hopes that his hard work can be released into theaters. The problem is that traditional Hollywood studios have closed the door to such works.
Linklater said in an interview with the media, "In my opinion, the goal of independent filmmakers seems to have not changed, it is still the same as before: to make movies and try to find an audience for them. But Hollywood studios have completely changed, They gave up on filmmaking, they were no longer interested in making this type of film, they were no longer interested in making entertainment for adults. There was a chance, but they still rejected us. "
" Moreover, our situation at that time was not a project that had not yet been completed, but it had already been filmed, had its world premiere, and had received applause from the audience and recognition from the critics. . But after watching it, they still shook their heads and felt that it was not suitable for them. So, the real question is that the film companies need to explain to us: What should we film? I think the answer is actually obvious, then. That is, they only want mature IPs. In my opinion, this is a huge change in Hollywood. The traditional major companies already know very well what they will never touch, so this leaves a blank space. Now there is only Netflix. and streaming media have entered this blank space”
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