2017-2019 was seen by many to be the absolute peak of cinema history. In recent years, the feverishness surrounding movie theaters has declined. What was once a bustling social-gathering place has started to become desolate.
Between 2017 and 2019, box office sales typically averaged around $40 billion per year. Now, the yearly box office sales are a fraction of that. As 2024 comes to a close, AMC’s stock prices have dropped 90% compared to what it once was. While many are quick to point the blame on streaming services, this may not be the only reason why movie theaters are struggling.
It’s the lack of quality content. There have been some very low-quality films coming out in recent years that have performed miserably at the box office despite having massive budgets. Examples include the Borderlands film depicting the popular video game series, which only produced $15 million with a budget of $150 million or most recently “Joker: Folie a Deux,” with a budget of $200 million and only raking in $50 million.
Film enthusiasts around the world are sharing their frustration as new releases continue to disappoint viewers. “After watching the Borderlands movie, it put a sour taste in my mouth for the film industry. I used to love coming to movie theaters; However, after that movie, I came to despise the film industry due to how bored I was watching the film. It makes me feel pessimistic for the future of films knowing this is the level of quality that Hollywood now puts out,” shared Aedan Burkhart, previous PVHS graduate.
As movies decrease in quality, their budgets have seemed to do the opposite. For films that cost on average over $100 million to produce, their budgets have been steadily increasing over the last few years. This does not correlate with pre-covid film ideologies as typically films with higher budgets normally performed better.
A24, a smaller producer, has an average budget of $15 million, a tenth of the Borderlands films budget. Despite their films’ low production costs, they typically excel at the box office. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” produced by A24 in 2022 had over $110 million in total sales.
“I’ve always loved A24’s movies. They are vastly different compared to big-budget Hollywood films that are meaningless and have no spirit. I love the feeling I get watching their movies as they have so much effort and passion that went into creating it,” said Emma Valentin-Shambo, A24 movie enthusiast.
And it’s not just A24’s films that are seeing success, “Inside Out 2,” produced by Disney, made over $1.6 billion, making it the fastest animated film ever to reach $1 billion in total sales.
As movie theaters struggle to remain competitive with the rise of streaming services, the drop in the quality of movies only exacerbates the problems. While the future of Hollywood may look grim, hopefully, movie theaters will once again become the same popular gathering spot it once was.
