Moviegoers Have to Make Better Choices
If you don't like studios only creating remakes and sequels, you might have to see something other than a remake or a sequel.
Black Bag is a good movie that did not have a good weekend at the box office. The film reportedly cost $50 million to make, but only pulled in $7.5 million this past weekend (it was a bad weekend overall, with the top performer, Novocaine, only making $8.7 million). Analysts believe the box office will rebound, but that’s only because we’re due for a remake (Snow White) and an adaptation of a popular video game (A Minecraft Movie).
I don’t expect moviegoers to bear every film that might be a little tough for them. I’ll happily trot out to see almost four hours of The Brutalist (twice!), but I’m a weirdo. Even a movie like Anora could be a bridge too far. I want to be sympathetic to the fact that life is challenging, movie tickets are expensive, the theatrical experience can be poor at the major chains, there are plenty of other entertainment options, and films quickly arrive on VOD.
And yet, Black Bag feels like the perfect answer for people supposedly worn out on IP-driven blockbusters. It’s a brisk 93 minutes, features a great cast, and a tight plot, and it’s immensely entertaining. Director Steven Soderbergh sometimes makes challenging movies, but this isn’t one of them. He’s firmly in crowdpleaser mode here, and audiences still thought, “Yeah, I’ll just wait until I can stream it.”
That’s a poor choice for audiences because it signals to studios that the only thing that can pull them into theaters is an IP-driven blockbuster. Any film that doesn’t meet that expectation could be in trouble. Maybe if you’re Christopher Nolan you can woo audiences based on your name recognition, but everyone else is now in a bizarre frame where they understandably feel like they should just shuttle their work off to streaming if that’s where audiences want to be anyway.
However, the marketplace needs diversity to thrive. There’s no way studios can afford a blockbuster every weekend. Snow White carries a price tag of almost $270 million and Minecraft costs $150 million (and this is before marketing either movie). I know I recently said that audiences shouldn’t be accountants for theatrically distributed movies, but I mention these budgets to point out that there’s no way you can keep theaters afloat on films that cost so much money. You’re not only creating more risk with larger gambles, but you’re also conditioning the audience to believe that smaller movies like Black Bag aren’t worth their time. Theaters become a place only for spectacle even if the spectacle looks like garbage.
I don’t want to be a “vote with your dollar” guy because it confuses citizenship with consumerism. But I do know that studios react to market forces. They make more successful things and avoid making more of the things that flop. When audiences skip Black Bag, it says that despite any protestations about IP-based blockbusters, they’re not interested in anything outside that realm even if the reviews are glowing. And hey, if you only want the comforts of a brand you know, then go for it. Just don’t complain when that’s all that’s available at your local movie theater.
Recommendations
I’m a bit biased since I contribute to Decoding Everything on the regular, but I thought Dave Chen’s piece on the sad passing of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa was excellent. One of the things society will need to recognize, especially as social security is under attack, is how vulnerable the elderly are among us, and how we treat them (or ignore them) is only a sign of the treatment we’ll receive when we reach our later years. I’m not surprised our society values youth (Americans love things new, shiny, and disposable), but if one of our most acclaimed and beloved actors suffered a tragic end in his old age, then that’s not a great sign for the rest of us.
What I’m Watching
Last week, I was laid up with the flu, so I watched a bunch of old Simpsons episodes for comfort. It’s funny going through Seasons 2 and 3 and seeing the introduction of so many characters who would become staples throughout the series like Comic Book Guy, Hans Moleman, and Dr. Nick. It’s also interesting to see Bart painted as a troublemaker, which he is, but as an adult, I have a greater appreciation for how clever and witty he is. It reminded me a bit of Calvin from Calvin & Hobbes in that both young boys are seen as academically slow, but that schooling doesn’t appreciate their other gifts. It’s also good writing to show these characters as difficult but not as bratty or mean.
What I’m Reading
Here are some recent articles that caught my attention:
Most Men Don't Want To Be Heroes (And That's Okay) by Toby Buckle [Liberal Currents] - I’ll probably write something at some point about the “masculinity crisis” but right now, I think this is a terrific article about how conservatives misunderstand masculinity. There’s a lot wrapped up in men resenting gains made by women and feeling like society is taking something away from them, but honestly, as Buckle points out, it’s a pretty great time to be a man as long as you’re not so thoroughly duped into a narrow role that won’t make you happy anyway.
Tesla’s Gamble on MAGA Customers Won’t Work by Amanda Mull [Bloomberg] - There’s something fascinating about how Elon Musk, because of all of his deep-seated insecurities, became quickly whisked away by the online right in the desperate hope that strangers online would find him cool and funny, and all it cost him was a successful car company whose share price is plummeting faster than his rockets. The thing about tech guys (and even though Musk’s businesses don’t always fit neatly into tech, he is a creature of Silicon Valley) is that they’re prime examples of how market forces don’t matter if the CEO is a goon. The market dictated that Musk should have kept his mouth shut and just made money. Instead, we’re all now waiting to see if there’s a margin call on Tesla stock, which is what Musk used as collateral for his overpayment on Twitter. Way to stick it to the libs, I guess.
My Cool Friend Michelle by Mara Wilson [Vulture] - When Michelle Trachtenberg passed away a few weeks ago, the outpouring wasn’t muted, but there was also a sense that no one knew exactly what to say. This wasn’t like the passing of Gene Hackman where we could all point to a long career and incredible performances. Trachtenberg was a child star, and I think it’s lovely that her fellow child star, Mara Wilson, wrote this touching obituary about her friend. While Wilson notes how child stardom has drastically changed (kids now have to work across multiple disciplines to try and keep their star aloft), the piece largely focuses on the kind of person Trachtenberg was and what made her special.
What I’m Hearing
Peacemaker won’t return until August, and I’m not sure if it will even be any good (it’s certainly going to be weird to see it right on the heels of Superman), but the soundtrack for the first season was incredible, and I couldn’t help but spin it up again.
What I’m Playing
I got all the trophies in Dredge, and so I’ve moved back to trying to get the Platinum trophy for The Last of Us: Part II Remastered before the new season of the HBO series drops on April 13th.
