Here is today’s $2,000 clue, found within the category of ‘2014 Cinema’ “These once dominant staples of the American film-going experience brought in a total of only $3.77 billion within the box office during the summer of 2014.” The correct response: “What are blockbusters?”
Now, for some of you, those numbers may not seem very alarming since more than $3 billion ain’t nothin’ to sneeze at. But if that’s the case, then here’s a daily double for you: According to MovieFone, last year’s summer blockbuster season was (adjusting for inflation) the lowest-grossing since 1992.
The top three highest grossing movies of that year were “Aladdin,” “The Bodyguard” and “Home Alone 2,” all of which were massively successful in their own ways. However, none were released during the summer, and none really fit the definition of a “blockbuster” (something massive in size and scale).
The summer of 2014 gave us three Marvel movies, two Michael Bay offerings (unfortunately) and a flick in which Tom Cruise is killed multiple times. If that’s considered a bad summer for movies, then the only thing I can ask is, “What went wrong?”
Granted, the rise of streaming services has been instrumental in the sharp decline in box office receipts. Along with that, movie ticket prices have skyrocketed in recent years, making the affordable alternatives of Netflix and Amazon Instant Video even more appealing.
But if you ask me what I think the main cause behind all of this hoopla is, I would say that it’s mainly a result of overexposure to the same old stuff, combined with a staggering lack of original content.
Many of the movies scheduled for release this summer are comic book/young adult novel adaptations, sequels, prequels, “three-quels,” spin-offs and a fifth “Mission: Impossible” film in which Tom Cruise defies age and physics (again).
I’m not condemning these movies, as I will definitely be seeing most of them when the time comes. All the same, that does not mean that I’m not concerned about the future of American cinema, especially when it comes to blockbusters.
Believe it or not, there will come a time when audiences, including myself, will become tired of seeing endless amounts of Marvel movies, especially if it gets to the point where they have to make one about Namor the Sub-Mariner because they’ve burned out their other properties.
People have already told Michael Bay that they’re becoming tired of his shtick due to the underperformance of both “Transformers: Age of Extinction” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” and despite its recent rejuvenation, the “Fast & Furious” series will eventually become Stale & Predictable.
If moviegoers become tired of the movies being released, and stop going to see them, there’s a possibility that the entire film industry as we know it could collapse in on itself.
I love movies far too much to let that happen. So, I will continue to support them as much as I can. However, it is going to be hard to do that if studios keep treating them like White Castle burgers on an assembly line instead of what they truly are: works of art.
Blockbusters may not be the highest echelon of cinema, but innovators like Spielberg, Lucas and their disciples have proven time and again that they can be smart, funny, sentimental and thought-provoking, all while raising your adrenaline levels to the max.
Maybe one day we’ll start to see more of those in the theaters again. Explosions can light up the silver screen a lot of ways, but a quality movie can make it shine the brightest.
