I’m sure you have noticed that it feels like every movie is the same these days. It’s like they all follow the superhero method to movie making. And it does feel like movies are all the same these days, but do you know the reason why?
If movies are all the same format now there has to be a logical reason right? Like why is every movie a superhero movie?
It’s all about money and in theory, the lack of. I’m sure you’re thinking how can movies lack money.
What has changed in the movie model in the past 10 years or so?
No one is buying DVDs anymore. Studios use to make money at the box office and then get another financial bump when people bought the DVD.
That model is dead now that everything can be streamed for a monthly fee. There is no more extra revenue from DVD sales to help the studios.
Now everyone is copying what makes the most money because well, the studios want to make money. Before they could do a period piece movie or some romantic comedy because even if it didn’t do too well in the theaters, they could always recoup that money in DVD sales.
And making movies is expensive these days with all the special effects and elaborate set designs. Not to mention the cost of marketing and promotion, ads and everything else that goes into promoting a movie.
So instead of studios taking risks on films that may not be a huge blockbuster, they’re sticking to the model that makes them the most money. And that is the super hero model.
You know, the big explosions, the small plots, but all the cool effects.
Do you think studios would make “The Notebook” today compared to 10 years ago? Probably not.
And you’re right if you think that movies are just being remade over and over and over. Why? Because the studios know you will pay to see them.
Do we need 8 John Wick movies? Of course not, but that won’t stop the studios from trying. Even if John may or may not have died.
And studios aren’t going to risk tens of millions of dollars on unknown directors these days. They want people that the audience knows so they will want to see the movie.
Oppenheimer might be the exception to the super hero model. That doesn’t mean that the studios didn’t take a huge risk on a 3 hour biographical thriller. Who has the attention span to sit for a 3 hour movie these days let alone 110 minutes? The risk paid off, mostly due to the genius that is Christopher Nolan. His visions as well as his movies are revolutionary.
That being said, I wouldn’t hold my breath on fresh and creative scripts making their way into production any time soon. Not unless there are a lot of guns and explosions.
Photo by Ahmet Yalçınkaya on Unsplash
