Welcome to this week’s Wednesday edition of The Backlot. The mid-week newsletters are reserved for deep dives of the latest filmmaking news, interviews with filmmakers, and episodic series on major issues affecting the industry.
NOTE - This mid-week version of the newsletter will be free for a few months before moving to a paid subscription in May…
Here are our topics this week…
🎞️ The Death of the Blockbuster?
🎬 The 2024 Summer Movie Schedule
🗞️ Other Latest News and Updates from the Industry
The Evolution of the Blockbuster Film
A few weeks ago, I was having a conversation with my dad about the current state of movie theaters and the overall moviegoing experience. Yes, this is a common topic at the family dinner table.
My dad was arguing that people don’t want to go to the movies anymore and would rather stream films online from the safety and comfort of their own homes.
And to be honest, he might not be entirely wrong.
A recent HarrisX poll indicates that 66% of adults prefer watching a movie at home as opposed to going to the theater. Although the numbers seem to indicate a trend, producers Barbara Twist and Lela Meadow-Connor pointed out the data was taken from a relatively small sample, during a recent Film for Hope interview.
My father has this perspective, though, because he related the current movie-going trends to his experiences in the 1970s and 1980s when the movies were an epicenter of cultural phenomenon.
People went to the movies because they were events. They went and saw Star Wars in theaters because if you hadn’t seen Star Wars, you were missing out on an important part of the societal experience.
This conversation got me thinking about the current state of “blockbuster” movies and whether that term is still relevant in today’s rapidly changing movie market.
The History of the Blockbuster
The term “blockbuster” is actually coined from a military term referring to munitions bombs that had the potential to destroy entire blocks during World War II.
As for movies, the first use of the term appears to have come shortly after the war, during advertisements for Richard Wallace’s 1945 film Bombardier. The propaganda war film was reviewed and coined “a block-buster of thrill and action” by outlets such as Variety and The Motion Picture Herald.
Hollywood sparsely used the term for years after, but it didn’t use it widely until filmmaking entered the “Blockbuster Era,” in the 1970s. At this point, the term became a reference for any film considered to be massively successful, permeating society on and off the screen.
Steven Spielberg’s 1975 masterpiece Jaws is widely considered the first “true blockbuster,” and kickstarted this new era in Hollywood. The film was a massive commercial and critical success, and its impact was felt across all aspects of our culture.
Soon after Jaws, a number of films took on the ‘blockbuster” mantle. These films were also commercially successful and transformed the fabric of our society, most famously in Star Wars.
On a recent podcast of The Big Picture, they touched on the impact of George Lucas’s science-fiction epic and how the film may have been the most important cultural moment in 1977.
Star Wars changed the filmmaking landscape, altering how audiences viewed science fiction, changing our perspective on merchandising, and introducing the world to the idea of the “film trilogy.”
It also was a spectacle unlike anything ever witnessed. My mother still recounts seeing the film for the first time in theaters and how it opened her imagination by providing a profound experience that transcended the screen.
The Golden Era
After the 1970s, the Blockbuster Era was in full force, with a number of major films becoming trademark pieces of our modern culture and society.
This golden era of blockbusters lasted almost three decades, and included films such as Indiana Jones, E.T., Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, Independence Day, Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Dark Knight.
In this timeframe, we became accustomed to the idea of a blockbuster film becoming a summer event at the local theatre.
In the late 2000s, though, the idea of the “blockbuster” film started changing, largely due to the onset of the Internet and social media.
Films were no longer dependent on hearsay or word-of-mouth, and the interconnectedness of our culture meant that films with a built-in audience could make a lot more money and draw a lot more viewers.
The Streaming Years
The advent of streaming via Netflix in 2007 revolutionized the way we view, discuss, and make movies. Although we still had a large slate of blockbuster films on screen into the 2010s, such as the Avengers films and franchises like The Hunger Games, something had clearly changed.
The success and proliferation of streaming platforms meant that going to see a movie in theaters offered more than one chance to see a film. In addition, the increase in the number of movies and content options available on a Saturday night meant that very few films could impact the masses to permeate the cultural consciousness.
This trend was also changed by the idea of a built-in audience. The new “blockbuster” movies were based on IP (intellectual property), and their cultural impact was already relevant in society.
These films were different from the Star Wars and Jaws films of the past because they didn’t introduce new ideas to the world. They were simply building on old ones whose presence circulated throughout our vast digital society.
We were no longer seeing massively successful films that changed culture—instead, they were based on the culture.
The Death of the Blockbuster
With the onset of streaming, blockbuster films started to lose their cultural presence in our society by the end of the 2010s. The vast majority of the late 2010s blockbusters were sequels or IP franchises.
From 2015 to 2020, only one film grossed more than $1 billion worldwide that wasn’t a sequel or based on existing IP - which was Disney’s Zootopia. In fact, 7 of the 9 films to domestically gross over $500 million in that timeframe were sequels, with the other two being remakes of animated Disney movies (Beauty and the Beast and Lion King)
These films no longer added to the cultural conversation; instead, they were based on conversations that had already been had.
Other franchise films, such as Jurassic World or Star Wars, were building on audiences that had been cultivated by original blockbuster films.
The idea of the blockbuster as a successful film that drove conversation in society was becoming outdated, and studios were opting to take swings on films they knew would land, meaning we saw fewer revolutionary films like E.T. or Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Then we had that whole worldwide pandemic thing, and movie theaters shut down, putting the whole moviegoing experience on hold.
And, until very recently, we hadn’t quite recovered. Even now, we're still figuring out what a blockbuster means in the post-pandemic era—or if it’s even still a thing.
Is the Blockbuster Dead?
This brings us to our question - is the “blockbuster film” really dead?
Well, to be honest, if you asked me at this time last year, I would’ve said yes. Despite the overwhelming success of films like Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water, few films have seemed to truly permeate our culture, and even those were based on pre-sold franchises.
That is until last summer’s big weekend with Oppenheimer and Barbie. And although Nolan’s Oscar-winning film was a major success, I believe Barbie is the closest thing we’ve had to a true blockbuster film in decades.
Now, I don’t really want to reopen the whole “Is Barbie an adapted screenplay” conversation because, well, it’s time to move on, but in a way, let’s not forget that Barbie is pre-sold. The film is based on the dolls, and there is cultural awareness of the property, but the movie itself is a completely original story.
The success of Barbie is why I don’t believe blockbuster films are done; they’re just changing. Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s massively successful film has permeated every aspect of our society. From talk shows to dinner tables, everyone who is actively participating in the culture is aware of this film.
The important designation, though, is that this film has sparked conversation and dialogue and is, for the most part, original. It has reexamined our cultural perspectives and introduced discussion in a way we haven’t seen in quite some time.
To me, this film's success says a lot about the state of blockbuster films. After the success of the previous decades, these films lost their ability to influence culture and instead became influenced by culture.
Now, in this post-pandemic era, the blockbuster idea is clearly evolving to include films that are more culturally sensitive, commentating, and forward-thinking.
This trend is evident with the growing success of indie films and even A24. The culture has shifted its ideas of relevance and is now looking for films that spark conversation and make us reexamine our society.
Once upon a time, summer blockbuster films such as Star Wars or Back to the Future provided these same types of innovative new ideas or concepts that fostered conversation. Now, it seems, we are returning to those roots.
For these reasons, I don’t believe the era of the “blockbuster” is over. I think it’s just evolving into something more intelligent, provocative, and built on the very foundation of how it was originally started—as a driving force in the cultural conversation.
The Summer of Movies
Heading into the summer, a number of films are aiming to cement themselves as the must-see event of the summer, but none really stand out at the moment, and almost all are sequels.
Two promising releases sure to provide large box-office returns and critical success are Furiousa, the new Mad Max movie with Anya Taylor Joy and Chris Hemsworth, and Inside Out 2, the sequel to the Pixar animated movie.
Then, there are a few that are going to be just fun releases that allow for the mindless viewing we’ve come to love. These include Twisters, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, and Borderlands.
The biggest film of the summer is arguably Deadpool & Wolverine, which may have the entire future of the comic-book film industry resting on its shoulders.
And then, we’re getting a slew of horror films that will likely drive great genre viewership, including Longlegs, Maxxxine, The Watchers, and the most likely to be a hit, A Quiet Place: Day One.
Overall, none of the summer movies really fulfill the idea of movies driving cultural conversation for the masses, but then again, we’ve already seen this year’s mega-hit in Dune: Part Two. In addition, as the year goes on, we’re going to start really feeling the after-effects of the strikes and a slow-to-restart film industry.
Mid Week Updates
This week’s updates from the world of filmmaking…
Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis held its first screenings in Los Angeles this past week. The film, which was 30 years in the making, was funded by $120 million of Coppola's own money.
Joker 2: Folie à deux has been given an R-rating, following the precedent set by the Oscar-winning first film. The film has been called a “jukebox musical” by those with screeners.
Jake Gyllenhaal’s Road House shattered records for a Prime Video original film, amassing more than 50 million global viewers in the first two weekends, reports Deadline.
The Hollywood Reporter talked to sources who indicated that Netflix's new Head of Film, Dan Lin, is looking to change the film division, focusing on mid-sized films with some bigger releases and award contenders.
Tickets for Sydney Sweeney’s Immaculate are on sale today for $6.66, an incredible marketing tactic for the successful horror film.
Alex Garland, the director of Ex-Machina and Men, has indicated he is done directing films after his recent film Civil War, which opens next week.
On Sunday, we’ll be taking a look at the idea of setting career goals and picking a story that’s best for you…
🎞️ Setting Career Goals for 2024
🎬 Which Story is Right for Your Idea?
🗞️ Three Movie Recommendations