The Box Office Thread

And while No Way Home makes 120 million dollars movies like West Side Story and Nightmare Alley pull a measly 1 million each. A world where only superhero movies make money and Disney seems actively disinterested in marketing anything else fills me with despair. Especially since it's not like West Side Story or Nightmare Alley are esoteric ruminations on existence. They're genre movies. The former is an exuberant Old Hollywood musical made by a director even the most general of publics know is a reliable hand, the latter is a twisty conman movie with a star-studded cast (from a director whose last movie was a Best Picture winner which grossed almost 200 million worldwide).

I like superhero movies, I like most Marvel movies, but when almost nothing else can find a foothold with audiences it's hard not to be a little despondent.

But, let’s be real, even without the pandemic, I still think a remake of West Side Story was never going to light up the box office.  Even one directed by Steven Spielberg.  As for Nightmare Alley, that’s tougher to say.  Now, I totally get your perspective and fear for what Spider-Man’s and (ugh) Venom 2’s success could mean down the line for adult oriented movies, but the bottom line is that these movies are showing that audiences are still willing to turn up to see movies in theaters, and as a lifelong movie fan, I can still take comfort in that.

On that note, my experience seeing No Way Home on Friday was a pleasant reminder of why I love going to the movies in the first place.  It was a nearly sold-out audience (at a 1:30 matinee, no less), all of whom were INTO IT and the energy fed into the overall experience.  It was an EVENT, and I really do value these kinds of movie experiences.  I didn’t participate in all the whooping and cheering that happened throughout, but I’m not gonna lie, I enjoyed that aspect of the screening and the movie supported/justified it.

So, yes, I love me my well done Marvel and other superhero movies, would rank No Way Home among my favorites of the year so far, period, alongside adult-skewing fare like The Last Duel and Last Night in Soho, and I also make sure to support films like West Side Story and (pretty soon) Nightmare Alley.  But I’m choosing to look at it from a glass half full perspective: people are coming to the movies, and ENJOYING going, and that’s awesome, especially now.

I agree. That's part of my point. That this isn't just rooted in the pandemic but reflects a larger trend of indifference towards mid-budget adult fare in the theater and this notion that the only movies worth seeking out are big tentpoles you don't want spoiled for you on the internet. And seeing it happen over and over again all year is draining.

"Well of course In the Heights flopped, it isn't based on a recognizable IP."
"Well of course The Last Duel flopped, who wants to see a movie about rape?"
"Well of course Last Night in Soho flopped, it's too weird and artsy for mainstream audiences."
"Well of course Nightmare Alley flopped, it's too dark for the holiday season."


I don't doubt Spider-Man is a fun time, and more so at the theater. I'll probably enjoy it, I certainly liked the other two well enough. And I don't begrudge the people who went out to see it as soon as possible with immense excitement (you know my ass will be doing the same in March when The Batman drops) it's just disappointing to see almost everything that isn't a $200 million dollar tentpole met with complete indifference time and again. I'm not mad at anyone, certainly not you PhantomKnight, but watching the colossal gulf between Spider-Man and everything else does make me a little sad.

Disney has zero interest in marketing or optimally releasing holdovers from Fox pre-merger.

I saw this one in the comments.

Video essay on Journal for Jordan?! I’m hyped.

Understood, man, no worries.  And I admit my post was a bit reactionary, but yeah, I still get it.

To be fair, my despair (and reservoir of arguments) was no doubt motivated by the fact that I've been working on this for the last several weeks.