I’m going through my watch list of original films from 2024. It certainly doesn’t look like a quality problem.
The Substance, Cuckoo, A Real Pain, Heretic, The Piano Lesson, The Wild Robot (does being based on a book count?), Conclave, Here, Thelma, Your Monster, Oddity, Strange Darling, Hundreds of Beavers, Blink Twice, Rebel Ridge, Didi, Kinds of Kindness, Wildcat, In a Violent Nature, I Saw the TV Glow, Civil War, Sasquach Sunset, Love Lies Bleeding, Monkey Man, Riddle of Fire, Lisa Frankenstein, Orion and the Dark, and Drugstore June.
Out of that entire list, the only one I had heard of is The Wild Robot. Maybe the problem is marketing?
Yeah in my top ten list (of which only one I saw at home rather than in theaters), the only movies that were based on existing IP were Dune Part Two, The Wild Robot, and Godzilla Minus One.
does being based on a book count?
Yes, The Wild Robot is technically an IP owned by the author Peter Brown.
People on the Internet often say that they want more original movies, but the box office proves that this isn’t always the case.
This is why Hollywood keeps making sequels, reboots, and adaptations, because they make more money than original movies.
And for that matter, original movies are still being made - they’ve just skipped theaters and moved to streaming (again, because they’re not as profitable as preexisting IP).
People have voted with their wallets. This is what the general public wants, whether we like it or not.
The box office isn’t the internet , so 👋
The number of people on the internet making that statement is a much smaller number than the number of people who go to the movies. For every person saying they want more original content there are Hundreds if not thousands of people who don’t care and just go see the latest blockbuster that feels like a safe bet.
I’d argue the problem is that Hollywood has lost the ability to make cheap movies, and thus if it doesn’t gross a billion dollars, it’s a flop.
A stupid example, I’ll admit, but I think most people will agree was good: The Breakfast Club. It had a $1 million budget, which isn’t shit even adjusted for inflation (about $3 million).
Maybe they should find people who can make a movie for less than a hundred million and see if they come up with any winners?
What you’re describing is called a “mid-budget movie”, and you’re right that there doesn’t seem to be much of them nowadays.
They make them but they aren’t intensely marketed. They rely on word of mouth but they don’t get as much word of mouth as A24 movies so they often fall by the wayside.
Ain’t nobody talking about Small Things Like These, which is why despite a minimal $12.4m budget it only made $8.9m back.
@TheImpressiveX
What this proves is that theaters do better with big spectacle films (like franchise films tend to be). When I watch a trailer, I decide if I want to watch it at home or at a theater and I only really go to the theater for movies like Twisters or Deadpool & Wolverine. Smaller films are better enjoyed on the couch at home. Just my take.
