This weekend saw the re-release of Avengers: Endgame, or as it’s referred to in the marketing as Avengers Endgame- Encore. For the first time since 2019, Marvel’s biggest cinematic achievement returned to the big screens, not only for the sole purpose of FINALLY retaking it’s crown from James Cameron for the highest grossing film of all time but also to get fans and audiences ready for Avengers: Doomsday, which is schedule to be released on December 18th later this year. While it’s largely the same film that you remember from seven years ago, there have been a few extra scenes added in for the sole purpose of adding some form of connective tissue between Endgame and Doomsday that recent Marvel films couldn’t because well…….Kevin Feige had to abandon his plans for Kang as the main bad guy and pay RDJ extra bucks to come back as Iron Ma…..I mean Doctor Doom. Marvel Studios are treating this as a trip back in time to the good old days while the Russo Brothers have treated this as required viewing before Doomsday.
For those that don’t have the money or time to go a watch a three-hour long movie you already saw in theaters back in 2019, you might be wondering what exactly is in this Encore version that makes it so urgent to watch before Doomsday? What could possibly the Russo Brothers had possibly added to this version that makes it worth spending 15-20 bucks for a ticket to go see in a movie theater once again? Well, not a whole lot but there are at least four new narrative scenes that were included, plus a promised custom intro.
Encore’s four new scenes includes three new post credit scenes that sets up Dr. Doom AND the current status of the multiverse and a slight tweak to the ending of the film that connects Steve Rogers involvement for Doomsday. So, no this is NOT an extended version releasing in theaters like say Spider-Man: No Way Home had back in 2022 but it’s basically just the exact same movie as the original Avengers: Endgame but a slight rewrite to the original ending along with two new mid credit scenes AND one end credit scene. Because of that, I’ll go over into detail what exactly these four new added scenes are and what I believe it means for the future.
1.) The New Ending
Remember that heartwarming dance sequence that Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter shared at the end of Avengers: Endgame? That ending that saw Cap going back in time and FINALLY given his best girl the dance that she has wanted since The First Avenger. With Steve at peace with himself and getting to spend his new life with the woman he loves the most and then it cuts to credits. Well, this new ending sees a man knocking on the door at Steve and Peggy’s house during their dance, with the man wanting to see Steve Rogers. That man is no other than……Loki!
That’s right! The same Loki that we followed in his own Disney Plus series arrives at Steve’s house. Steve hides at first with Peggy opening the door. Loki asks Peggy if Steve is there. Peggy asks Loki, if she can help him with anything, with Loki replying that it’s HE that can help THEM! Steve steps into view and it cuts to credits.
It’s to anyone’s guess what this will lead to but it makes it all the more apparent that Steve’s journey in the MCU is not done yet. Could this be Steve finally facing the consequences of his actions of staying back in time after Endgame, which lead to the multiverse being out of whack and now having to face Doom head on as a result? Who knows, but hey, it’s a new ending that leaves the door open for what Steve’s role in Doomsday could possibly be.
2.) Mid Credit Scene #1
This one is actually not strictly a mid-credit scene for Avengers: Endgame but more so for Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Hear we see Bruce Banner regaining his own self after losing himself as Hulk once again by Jean Grey in Brand New Day. Now, he’s isolated in a deep underground facility, recording a video diary as he works on a certain experiment. After the events of Brand New Day, Bruce has been working on a gamma-suppression serum, most likely to gain the same control as Hulk he did before and to avoid another incident like he just had from happening ever again. However, the feed glitches, with a weird mix of glowing and green runes in the background.
Bruce is confronted by a man. That man being Doctor Doom. Once Doom arrives at the facility, he tells Bruce, “I’m here to collect you!” Banner turns into Hulk and lets out a roar! Once the picture returns to a full screen, both are gone; with Doom’s fingerprints all over the floor at the facility.
Despite the reports that Bruce Banner would NOT have a big role in Doomsday, this mid credits scene confirms that might indeed be false. Whether this is a set up for Doomsday or for next year’s Secret Wars remains to be seen but it all but confirms that both Bruce Banner AND Hulk WILL return in the future! Well, at least we know Mark Ruffalo hasn’t been totally blacklisted from Hollywood…..yet!
3.) Mid Credit Scene #2
This one sees a connection back to the Loki series, which the first season aired in 2021 and the second/final season aired in 2023. We see the characters from Loki that include Mobius, O.B. (Ouroboros), Casey, and Miss Minutes at the TVA. There’s a sign that calls Loki, the “Employee of all time.” (Gen Z memes, am I right?!?!) They watch an incursion happen right before their very eyes: Earth-10005 (the Fox X-Men Universe) and Earth-1127 (Anyone’s guess?) colliding and firing on each other. They also see more worlds piling into each other and thousands of universes being terminated. As O.B. says, “The multiverse is collapsing!”
I can make a quip about how this might be a metaphor for the multiverse saga itself collapsing under it’s own weight for Marvel Studios , so much so that they now need the beloved heroes from the past to come back and save them. Besides that, this is clearly an insight as to what’s going on now with the multiverse itself within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that it’s fallen apart and the TVA doesn’t know how to stop it. I sure hope to god this will be made much clearer in the finished film because man, anyone that did NOT watch Loki before seeing Doomsday are going to be COMPLETELY lost.
4.) End Credit Scene
At the very end of the re-release, we see one last tease for Doomsday. It’s at the very end of the credits where the original Iron Man cave-hammer sound-only sting gets replaced. Taking it’s place are quick flashes of Doctor Doom forging and putting on a mask, similar to Tony Stark putting on his Iron Man mask, with the same metal-striking audio playing in the back ground. As RDJ explained during his Doom reveal at Comic Con, new mask, same task….kinda!
I don’t know what this is suppose to add other than including one last little feature for the very end for the heck of it and hint at a potential parallel between Tony Stark and Victor Von Doom for Doomsday but it’s there anyway!
Well, there you have it! Those are the four new added scenes to Avengers: Endgame- Encore. Whether re-releasing the same 2019 film but including an extra two minutes was necessary is up to debate, but when watching it again in theaters, I was thoroughly impressed how swiftly Marvel was able to stick the landing for the Infinity Saga. Coming off in the same year which Game of Thornes and Star Wars badly butchered their endings to their respective series, the fact the Russo Brothers were able to make it all look too easily is extremely commendable. Now, let’s see if they make lightning strike at least two more times now!
Avengers: Endgame- Encore is now out in theaters for Standard, IMAX, and Infinity Vision.
*Warning! This article contains MAJOR spoilers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day! If you haven’t seen the movie yet and/or don’t want anything spoiled, then you might want to click off the article right now! You have been warned!*
Spider-Man: Brand New Day has hit theaters everywhere and it’s expected to make money and a LOT of it, far surpassing initial box office projections and expecting to earn an bat*hit insane $900+ Million worldwide in it’s opening weekend ALONE! If those projected stats hold, that will make it the biggest opening weekend of the year, the biggest opening weekend of the decade, and the second biggest opening weekend of all time, only surpassed by Avengers: Endgame‘s $1.2+ Billion opening weekend in 2019. With what was looking like a very underwhelming summer movie season outside the animated movie involving toys taking on iPad screens, the 20 year-long sequel that could’ve just been a zoom call, and original horror flicks with a beer money level budget, Brand New Day and The Odyssey was able to get the summer box office the kick in the pants it DESPERATELY needed before the kids go back to school! Movies really are coming back, baby! I guess all it took was putting Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Jon Bernthal in more things!
Even taking in Spidey’s insane popularity among worldwide audience, the fact that Brand New Day was able to make THIS level of money without needing the likes of Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire to drive audiences to the theaters is a special kind of impressive. Yes, I know the buzz killers out there will bring up inflation and the ACTUAL number of ticket prices but come on, regardless if this movie came out in 2026 or 2006, this is still an INCREDIBLY impressive opening weekend.
The main question is how did they do it? How did this movie have such mass appeal among fans and moviegoers? What is it about this particular movie that it was able to tip over the edge of not just potentially making more than the No Way Home but nearly guarantee to join the rare two billion dollar club with the likes of Avatar, Titanic, and Avengers: Endgame?!?!
Many will say it has to do with the movie delivering the exact kind of Spider-Man adventure that everyone was wanting after No Way Home! After going from a big bombastic multiverse style adventure which paid off the loose ends of not just Tom Holland’s own respective trilogy but also the likes of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, following that up four and a half years later with a smaller-scale, street level film that’s just about Peter Parker going through his personal needs as Spider-Man along with a couple of MCU friends along for the ride just felt like the perfect route to take! Credit should be fully given to Mr. Holland for that, who has claimed that he scour the internet after No Way Home to deliver the exact kind of Spider-Man film that the fans wanted.
But I think it also had to do with the right amount of twists and turns and surprises that are to be found here, all which work as not just fun fan service and crowd pleasing moments but also plays actual, legit importance of a role to the film’s overall themes and messages. You have the Punisher, the Incredible Hulk, and even Yelena, A.K.A. the new Black Widow, that are present and accounted for here. And of course, you also have the one mysterious character in the movie, played by Sadie Sink, who also just so happens to be *SPOILER ALERT* Jean Grey!
That’s right! After all that bizarre “mystery box” build-up in the marketing/PR press talk from Sony and Marvel, the worst kept secret in a mainstream movie since “Benedict Cumberbatch is totally NOT Khan!” from 2013’s Star Trek: Into Darkness and the worst kept secret in the superhero python since “Jason Todd is totally NOT the Arkham Knight!” from 2015’s Batman: Arkham Knight is pretty much exactly what everyone thought it was going to be. Sadie Sink is now Jean Grey, the well-known red haired mutant from the X-Men, who is almost certain going to be playing a huge role in the MCU moving forward as Marvel Studios begins to re-introduce the X-Men and will probably make an appearance in at least one of the upcoming Avengers movies, Doomsday and/or Secret Wars.
To be fair, if you consider the context of the film, you can understand why Sony and Marvel were so eager to keep Sadie Sink’s character a secret. Having an antagonist involve someone that has the powers to telepath, telekinesis, and possess themselves into someone’s else body no matter who it is does make for an intriguing mystery for our main character. Even if the audience member themselves can see it the reveal coming from a mile away as to who the character herself is, seeing how Peter discovers the identity of this new character does help see his character progress throughout the course of the film.
At the beginning, you see a Peter Parker who now believes that Peter Parker himself doesn’t matter anymore, only Spider-Man does. After Doctor Strange cast the spell that made everyone forget who he is and losing Aunt May, Peter only sees value in himself as Spider-Man, not as Peter Parker. As a result, he has kept himself in an incredibly sheltered life, making zero contact with any old friends and not even attempting to chase any potential life changing college degree. He’s only committed himself to be a full-time Spider-Man, being able to accomplish many tasks through his tenure as a “prime” web swinger, teaming up with NYPD detective Jean DeWolff, to take on the big known crooks in the city he’s sworn to protect. To put it simply, he has nothing left…..except Spider-Man.
However, this mindset starts to change once Peter comes in contract with not just his two best friends in MJ and Ned but also with Jean Grey. Much like Peter, Jean is also out on her own in the world, invading custody from Department of Damage Control (DODC) after they abducted her sister Sara. Instead of following the traditional comic book origin story with Jean unlocking special powers within herself after being involved in a car accident, she developed her powers alongside her sister, based on their mutant physiology rather than by a special radiation or serum.
Throughout the course of the film, Jean is using mind games on Peter, who tries to help the DODC to subdue her before she becomes a very serious threat to New York City. She dares to hope mind herself into those that are close to Peter, most notably MJ, where she is not only the first person to discover post-spell that Peter Parker is Spider-Man but that she is willing to use that knowledge to go after the people he loves and manipulate them.
It’s only after a long game of cat-and-mouse and a very entertaining fight sequence with the Incredible Hulk that we haven’t seen on screen in nearly a decade where Peter is finally able to subdue Jean and turn her in. Before losing consciousness, Jean mentions someone by the named Sara, who she has been aiming to find since she got taken by the DODC. Although the head of DODC, Bill Metgzer, claims that Sara was a recently deceased colleague Jean learned about while possessing his mind, we later find out that is a load of bollocks and that Sara is actually referring to Jean’s sister. And the one message that she was given in her head to remember her sister, is that of V-Max.
After we see Jean being interrogated by Metgzer at the DODC, we see that V-Max fading text appear once again. However, that text doesn’t actually represent where Sara is but what her last fading memory was before she died. Yep, the exact kind of interragtion that Jean herself is being through is the one that killed her sister!
Much like how Peter react after the Green Goblin killed Aunt May, Jean has gone full unhinged, wanted to tear apart Metgzer lime from lime. And much like with Peter in the film, the unlocked rage and trauma unlocks even stronger abilities in Jean, including more powerful telekinesis and a large-scaled psychic “bubble” effect that can freeze people’s minds across a wide variety of area, which in the film results in good chunk of NYC. Despite Sara being killed by the same experiments that the DODC is using on Jean, she can now those same experiments to return the favor to Metgzer.
As I mention in my review, this was the moment where the film become CLOSE to losing me. While Jean’s origin story is indeed tragic and makes her character sympathetic, this did NOT feel like the right place or film to introduce her character to. With a near 10 minute long stretch where we don’t even see Spider-Man, this is where the film felt like it was going to completely fall apart, proving the naysayers right that this film is just an advertisement for the MCU’s X-Men and nothing more. However, things take a different turn once we cut back to Peter here.
I should mention that throughout the film, Peter is the one person who is strong enough to resist Jean’s powers to enter his mind. Whether it’s because of Peter’s newly gained abilities or his strong “will”, he’s still himself when he comes in contact with Jean. But that confrontation is put to the test towards the climax, which see Peter making his way toward the DODC to stop Jean but has to come against a large group of ninjas, A.K.A. the Hand, in order to get to her. It’s at this moment where not only the film regains it’s footing but also ties everything together beautifully, proving that this is indeed Spider-Man’s movie first and everyone else’s second.
Throughout the whole film, we see Peter struggling to return to his former self as Peter Parker and not just as Spider-Man. The inhibitor that he gain from Bruce Banner has been keeping his new powers and his own mental state in check…..until this very moment. As the Hand starts to overwhelm to the point where he’s coughing up blood and Jean is on the verge of just not killing the man who murdered her sister but also getting fully inside Peter’s head, she proceeds to ask our hero one distinct question that perfectly describes the theme of the movie in a nutshell:
“Are you Peter Parker or are you Spider-Man?”
Peter willingly replies: “I’m both!”
It’s at that moment that Peter finally lets go, accepts his new abilities, and defeats the hand to get to Jean Grey. Not just because he’s Spider-Man but he’s also Peter Parker. He’s able to have full control of himself and NOT let what he has suffered throughout the course of the film get to him. This is Peter regaining his duology once again!
After resisting all movie long, Peter finally lets Jean into his mind, where she finds an old memory of Aunt May on the day that she discovers that he is Spider-Man. It’s a brilliant scene that shows May accepting her nephew for who he is and loved him for himself. Regardless if Peter is Spider-Man or not, Aunt May will always love her nephew. It’s with this moment that Jean understands what it’s like to experience loss, realizing she is not alone and discovers once again what it’s like to connect with someone.
But then, Frank Castle tries to take a shot a Jean Grey from outside but ends up getting Peter in the process, sustaining him with a near-fatal wound that has him on the near death bed. Jean is able to use her powers to help keep Peter alive, refusing to lose him just like she lost her sister. In the aftermath, Jean that has been consumed with guilt leaves the city on her own, the DODC is under investigation from the NYCP along with the disappearance of Metzer, and with the citizens of NYC right by his side, Peter realizes that he doesn’t need to be alone to be Spider-Man, he can be Peter Parker as well.
The final sequences contains Peter visiting his Aunt May’s grave once again to bring their arc to a full circle, a last-minute added scene with Peter reconnecting with Ned and doing their classic handshake together, giving Ned a hint that he might remember who Peter is, and a rather bizarre post credit scene where the spider tracker is tracking Spider-Man off of planet Earth, potentially hinting at Spider-Man’s role in either Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars.
On paper, Spider-Man: Brand New Day seems like an act of desperation. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe far pass it’s hay days, you would think a Spider-Man movie that feels the need to shoehorn in a bunch of fan favorite Marvel characters such as the Punisher, Hulk, Yelena, and having to introduce Jean Grey to get folks excited for the X-Men coming would be as cynical and cash-grabbing as it gets. But, even when you argue their placement in terms of plot isn’t entirely necessary, they still connect well to Peter Parker and the film’s overall thematic arcs.
The Punisher serves to help Peter’s isolation with an isolation of his own, the Hulk serves to help Peter fight the inner demons that’s inside of him, MJ & Ned are there to show that Peter isn’t the only ones who feel like something is missing in their lives, Yelena is there because she also feels lonely and needs connection with someone else. And of course Jean Grey is there to serve as a mirror to Peter’s arc, as both “special” beings who have lost loved ones and are conflicted on how to handle the “special” powers within themselves.
I was worried when I heard that all these characters are going to be in it but this is perhaps the most natural uses of fan favorite characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Much like Andrew and Tobey in No Way Home, their presences only serve to GROW Tom’s Spider-Man and not shrink him in any way. The movie remembers to put Tom’s Spider-Man front and center. And even when there comes moments where it SEEMS like it is losing track of it’s lead protagonist, those moments always ends up coming right back to him when it is needed.
It might’ve took four films but Brand New Day feels like Tom Holland finally being able to carry the Spider-Man mantle on his own two feet with no assistance from the previous versions required. Even with the returning Marvel characters that are here and the newly introduced one that will certainly come back in other Marvel movies later on down the road, it doesn’t take away the fact that Tom Holland has now become his own definite Spider-Man, providing a different kind of special sauce that neither Andrew Garfield or Tobey Maguire had in their versions. I don’t mean this to downplay the previous Spider-Men but more to WELCOME them to the library as well.
I’m so happy Tom Holland fought for so long and hard to make Brand New Day the best Spider-Man movie he could possibly make. He no longer needs the training wheels, he can now push the lovely bike down the road and never look back! Go Spidey go!
There was a time when you went to cinema to see the next big blockbuster, it didn’t just feel like you were in for a new movie, it felt like you were in for a new experience. Whether you loved the movie or hated it, there was a magical feeling of being in the cinema for the next big movie with a sold out crowd on opening night or weekend. I will never forget the experience of watching Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame on the very first night with the crowd being on cloud nine the whole way through. To experience all the laughs, cheers, excitement, and even tears to come from the crowd was something truly special and will always be a lasting memory for me! However, as we approach the end of 2023 and see where cinema is in it’s current state, there is a strong argument to be made about how the magic of watching films in cinema is long gone.
To say that 2023 has been a brutal year for Hollywood and cinema would be an understatement. Not only with the handful of strikes that have gone on for the majority of the year but the way that new franchise installments have underperformed vastly and bombed spectacularly at the box office. It’s not only in terms of flicks involving Disney and superheroes like the media has made it out to be but almost every notable franchise out there minus a few exceptions. And it’s not only one or two specific reasons that stand out for these movies tanking but there are MULTIPLE factors here. Multiple factors that honestly has been years in the making!
Because of that, let’s go over ever single logical factor here! Every single concrete reason as to why cinema is in the state that is in right now and why major changes need to happening if cinema will continue to evolve in the comfort of movie theaters everywhere!
The Covid-19 Pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic changed the lives of every single life form on planet Earth. A worldwide plague that forced everyone to quarantine for the majority of 2020 along with parts of 2021 and 2022. Because of that, entertainment around the world was put on hold. Theaters were closed, films were delayed, and productions of basically all forms of entertainment were put on hold. Coming right after a massive year of the box office in 2019, where there were NINE films that grossed over a billion dollars worldwide (SEVEN of them disturbed by Disney), this could not have occurred at a worse time for Hollywood.
This led to many of the big movies that were to come out in 2020 and 2021 being sent to streaming with some occasional theater showings for some of them. With over half the theaters around the country being closed and streaming services being more popular than ever, of course most chose to stay at home and watching the upcoming movies on streaming services. However, that line of thinking of just waiting to watch movies in the comfort of your own homes has clearly played an impact on the way movie goers chose to watch films in the 2020s.
With a handful of exceptions, most new franchise installments that always tended to make a guarantee profit have underperformed or bombed in this post-Covid timeline. A large reason for that has to do with the fact that most audiences would rather wait for new movies to be able for digital or streaming services then shelling a few extras bucks on concessions and theater seats when new movies come out in cinema. The theatrical experiences for most big movies nowadays is just not worth it in the eyes of the consumer.
Strikes-a-palooza
2023 was a year that was litter with strikes going on in Hollywood, with some that either is still happening or most likely to happen soon. You have the writers strike that lasted for nearly five months, you have the actors strike that lasted for four months, there’s a strike going on at the moment with the VFX artists from Disney and Marvel, and if reports are to believe, you can bet that a strike within the gaming and animation industry is likely to occur sooner rather than later.
The strikes involving the writers and actors caused a halt in production of films along with the promotion and marketing of upcoming films being practically non-existent. This caused films like Dune: Part Two to be delayed and films that have been released during it such as The Marvels to suffer severely at the box office. While we might not have felt the direct impact of upcoming films in production that were halted because of the strike, we will certainly feel it in the next two to three years. Just as we all felt the impact of the previous writers strike with films that came out in 2009 or 2010. If the impact wave of Covid is about over, a brand new wave involving all the strikes is about to come. Surfs up!
Too Many Mid-icore Movies
While the other two reasons mentioned is a great argument of the amount of money studios spend on their movies and the amount of moment audience will spend to watch them, maybe the big reason as to do with the actual quality of the motion picture. Maybe it has to do with audience no longer wearing their rose-colored glasses and seeing how it’s become quantity over quality for a lot of franchises right there. Movies that just exist for the sake of existing and not because it’s something the audience actually want to see.
That would explain greatly how films like Barbie, Oppenheimer, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse have been the most notable successes at box office in 2023. Not just because they were names from a familiar brand but because of the strong impact they had on mainstream audiences which led to repeat theater viewings and strong worth of mouth. While not quite the most successful films of all time, it was able to exceed expectations, and possibly even surpass them due to how good those movies actually were. The same thing can’t be said about the other big movies that came out in 2023.
Fast X was seen as more of the same, over-the-top nonsense that has become accustomed to this franchise at this point. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts was seen as a passable if not disposable entry for a franchise that is still dealing with the aftermath of the overblown Bayformers flicks. The Flash was seen as a ugly CGI mess made solely for course correcting and the hope that having Michael Keaton back as Batman along with Sasha Calle’s Supergirl would be enough to overcome any shortcomings. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was seen as an unnecessary and forgettable finale to a series that already had two definite finales beforehand. The Marvels, Shazam: Fury of the Gods, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom might have been considered “good enough” when superhero movies still felt like events but not in the year 2023. And Wish was seen as lackluster of an 100th year anniversary film for Disney that you could possibly imagine. While two or three of these might be enough to guarantee a solid three out of four stars ratings, they all did not receive the best reviews or the strongest word of mouth to make any of these worth buying a ticket for. Because of that, they were not able to make their money back or break even.
Even Good Movies Are Bombing
I’m sure most of you reading this thinks that the easy solution would be just to make better films and more people will be more eager to see them in theaters. While there have definitely been films this year that have accomplished just that, there have been other notable critically successful films that suffered at the box office regardless of it’s high quality.
These include the likes of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning- Part 1, Blue Beetle, and Killers of the Flower Moon. All four of these films were ones that gained mostly very good reviews from critics and received a certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes but still lost money. While plenty will argue it had to do with awkward release dates or going ridiculously overbudget, it still doesn’t change the fact that these were all very good films in the eyes of critics and folks that went to see them but still underperformed or flopped at the box office.
This just goes to show you that even films that are well-acclaimed are not guarantee to be box office hits either. Sometimes a movie bombing has nothing to do with it’s overall quality, it’s that audience didn’t have the interest or knowledge of it’s existence to check them out while it was playing in theaters. There are plenty of good to great films in recent memory in the past that have been guilty of that: Dredd, Edge of Tomorrow, The Nice Guys, Blade Runner 2049, Annihilation, and Doctor Sleep just to name a few. While I’m sure all four of the 2023 films mentioned will find or already has found it’s audience through digital or physical media, the fact they were unable to gain them at the time it came out in theaters goes to show how even well quality films have suffered from other dire consequences.
Overbudgeting At It’s Finest
This is the one that everyone and their mother has pointed out but it’s certainly worth pointing out again. The amount of money that is being spend on these big movies is beyond ridiculous. Going past the traditional of $150 to $200 million budgets to big blockbusters in favor of now $250 to $300 million budgets. You have Elemental and Wish costing $200 million to make, The Flash costing $220 million to make, The Marvels costing $275 million to make, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning- Part 1 cost $291 million to make, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny costing $300 million to make, and even Fast X costing $340 million to make. And that’s not even including the amount of money that was spent on trailers and marketing which you could add at least a few more million with. The overconfidence in box office has certainly been Hollywood’s weakness throughout the entirety of 2023.
I’m sure many people will point out how the larger budgets may have to do with Covid-19 halting many of these projects while they were in development but that doesn’t excuse how others movies released this year which made either just as much, more, or even less than any of the big movies were able to be a financial hit. You have John Wick: Chapter 4 which made a franchise record, 432 million worldwide, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse making over 600 million worldwide, which is a record for Sony Animation, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 making over 800 million worldwide, and The Super Mario Bros Movie making over 1.3 billion worldwide.
When looking at the movies mentioned from this year, only Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was able to have a budget over 200 million dollars and was able to be a financial success. The rest of the movies either underperformed or flat out bombed at the box office. It makes you wonder how in the world movies such as The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Across the Spider-Verse were able to have a cheaper budget than Elemental despite having more impressive animation and more well known celebrities in the cast. Even so, it goes to show you how easy it is to make back your money on movies if you keep your expectations and budget in check without going too overboard.
If a movie making half or 3/4 of a billion dollars is considered underperforming, the studios need to take a good, hard look at themselves and figure out what has allowed that to happen. If you need to make at or near a billion for your big movie to make a profit, then that just speaks volume how little connection you have with yourself or the general public. Even if Covid was a factor in some extra money being spent, that can’t be the only factor to do it.
It must be no coincidence that the three highest grossing films of the year in Barbie, Mario, and Oppenheimer were all films that only cost 145 million or less. Take a hint, Hollywood!
Theater and Concession Prices Are Ridiculous
Is it me or has the prices for movie tickets and concessions skyrocketed quite a bit to the point of insanity? No matter what time or day it is, it seems like movie tickets nowadays cost a total of at least 12 to 15 dollars with 15 to 20 dollars involving food and beverage. That’s at least 25 to 35 dollars spent on one night at the movies, possibly more if you are going with friends or family members. That is just insane!
While there are certain theater companies out there that offer paid monthly subscriptions that helps save money with going to the movies such as Regal, not all theater companies are like that. At best, you will get a five or ten dollar discount after spending 50 to 100 dollars worth on your local theater and that’s basically it. And if you don’t find yourself using any of those subscriptions, that’s just a few extra bucks you got to fork over just for one or two times at the cinema.
Whether this is due to Covid-19 or the power of inflation, the increase of price in tickets and concessions has to play an effect on the way audience select the upcoming blockbusters they want to see. The movie going experience is more expense now than ever before, almost approaching the level of the expenses of gaming and sporting events. Because of that, it’s obvious the mainstream audience are mostly picking and choosing at random which movies they want to see on the big screen and which ones they would rather wait to watch in the comfort of their own homes. They’ll go see their Barbie and Oppenheimer but they will likely rather wait for The Marvels and Killers of the Flower Moon to come to streaming.
Maybe, just maybe, if theaters and cinema would have the urge to lower the prices on tickets and concessions or offer more events like Cinema Day, perhaps folks might be more willing to check films out in cinema when they arrive on the big screen.
Movies Are No Longer Events
To repeat what I said at the start of this article, remember when going to a movie of a big franchise felt like a cinematic event? Almost as if you are about to witness a moment in history you would be eager to tell your kids and grandkids many years later down the road? Is it me or has the movie theater experience lacked that hype and event feeling at least since 2020 rolled around?
There have been exceptions of course. You have the likes of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Top Gun: Maverick,Avatar: Way of Water, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Barbie, and Oppenheimer that were able to achieve that cinematic feeling for most moviegoers out there. But, those are really only exceptions compared to other franchise films that have come out since then. Instead of the feeling you are about to watch the cinematic equivealant of the World Series in theaters, it now feels like you are watching the cinematic equivalent of a Spring Training game.
When I saw The Marvels and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes in theaters, the things that took me off guard the most when watching them was how uncinematic it felt watching those in theaters, especially compared to the series prior installments. I remember theaters being mostly packed when I saw the first Captain Marvel and the other Hunger Games films when I saw them in theaters, with the feeling that the hype and anticipation of so many folks was about to pay off. When I saw the newest installment of Captain Marvel and Hunger Games, I can only count on hand about eight to ten other folks with me in the theaters, which made about less than a quarter of the whole theater. If that’s not a sign how far the feeling of being in a movie theater has fallen, then I don’t know what is.
I could also give other examples, most recently with Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom set to be an absolute bomb despite the first film being the highest grossing DC film of all time, but the examples I just mentioned really gave me that depressing feeling about how the theater experience isn’t the same anymore and likely never will be.
This is likely because of how most franchise installments nowadays don’t feel like events anymore. Whether that’s due to Covid-19 or being oversaturated with them or just the overall declining quality with most of them, they just don’t feel as grand or rewarding as they used to be. Because of that, what’s the point of going to theaters anymore when you can just wait a couple of months to watch them in your own homes where you will save yourself extra cash? It’s like they said, vote with your wallet and that’s what many moviegoers have done since the pandemic rolled around.
How To Fix This?
There has been plenty of discussions going around on what Hollywood needs to do to fix their current problems. I’ll tell you right now that there is no simple solution to fix all of this. They have dug themselves into massive hole that it will take years to come even close to climbing out of it. If I were to give a simple bit of advice, it’s to probably go back to the “old school” ways of making films.
Don’t feel the need to go overbudget, don’t overthink every single bit of detail, don’t needlessly overwork your VFX artists, use every old fashioned camera trick and editing technique in the book, work at a reasonable time and pace, and most importantingly, make them all feel like films that deserve to be seen in movie theaters. Also, lowering the prices on tickets and concessions would help as well!
Of course, this won’t solve every single problem that Hollywood is currently having, especially with the amount of strikes that are likely gonna occur in the future, but at least it would give a reason as to why the theatrical experience should still be a thing in the year 2023 and onwards. Why going out to theaters to see the newest blockbuster when it comes out is important instead of just waiting a few extra months to watch on streaming or demand!
All of those things and much more need to happen if the theatrical experience is to thrive in the future. Otherwise, streaming and digital media will be the absolute future with no need for theaters and physical media.
Thanks a lot, Trolls: World Tours! You destroyed cinema!
