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Post by ThisIsNotAnID on Dec 25, 2023 4:38:37 GMT
I'd say it's in a much better state now than it was 5 years ago. Franchises with gargantuan budgets ($200m+) have been more consistently underperforming if not outright flopping, smaller and foreign films are getting better broad distribution, more diversity in theaters as far as genre and non-IP works, investment in the theatrical model is getting boosted as studios recognize the near-impossibility of making streaming profitable. But what about the broader picture? Everything you listed seems to be an improvement within the film industry itself. Outside of it, has theatergoing recovered among the general public since the pandemic, or much less increased from where it was before? Is the next generation as interested in film as the current or previous? How do filmmakers plan to compete with short form content, videos games and Esports, for the attention of younger people? I don't see film ever regaining that central place it once had (even 'Barbenheimer' was more about the event and opportunity for people to take part in something and sharing on social media and viral memes than about the films in particular) but you have to wonder when the slowdown will end.
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Post by mikediastavrone96 on Dec 25, 2023 5:27:31 GMT
I'd say it's in a much better state now than it was 5 years ago. Franchises with gargantuan budgets ($200m+) have been more consistently underperforming if not outright flopping, smaller and foreign films are getting better broad distribution, more diversity in theaters as far as genre and non-IP works, investment in the theatrical model is getting boosted as studios recognize the near-impossibility of making streaming profitable. But what about the broader picture? Everything you listed seems to be an improvement within the film industry itself. Outside of it, has theatergoing recovered among the general public since the pandemic, or much less increased from where it was before? Is the next generation as interested in film as the current or previous? How do filmmakers plan to compete with short form content, videos games and Esports, for the attention of younger people? I don't see film ever regaining that central place it once had (even 'Barbenheimer' was more about the event and opportunity for people to take part in something and sharing on social media and viral memes than about the films in particular) but you have to wonder when the slowdown will end. Theatergoing probably hasn't fully recovered since the pandemic, but that will likely continue to take time as the industry continues to adjust with its distribution models with both stream and VOD options. As for the next generation, that's also a big question but it's one that films have had to deal with literally since the advent of television and an issue other once central mediums (books, theater, orchestras) persistently face. The good news in that is the appetite for visual media has not died down even if it is transforming, so movies will continue to be part of the equation and more reliably in one's media diet than I can assume anyone is going out to see a local black box production. If the bar for movies being at a good state is whether they are consumed more than TikTok and video games, then I imagine your answer is going to be more pessimistic, especially in the short-term as studios continue to recover from the pandemic and the strike set back several productions leaving next year's releases a bit more bare. I think the long-term health of the medium will persist, though, even as the economics of it change.
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