There Have Been 13 Movies In 2023 With A Budget Of 200+ Million Dollars. Only ONE Has Made Money
Indiewire- With animated tale “Wish” (Disney) and Amazon’s historical epic “Napoleon” (Sony) both opening last week on November 22, we now have 13 releases in 2023 that cost $200 million or more; when “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” arrives next month, that number will hit 14. And it isn’t just the budgets they have in common: Nearly every one of these films will struggle to turn a profit.
Of all 14 titles, seven are from Disney, nine are sequels or remakes, and five are MCU or DC Comics. The notion that a film has to be expensive to compete in the marketplace is hardly new, but 2023 (aided by inflation and COVID delays) has taken this to new extremes. Of this current listing, just one has turned a profit so far this year: “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3.”
Yeah, man, it's almost as if going to the movie su-, never mind. I won't act like I am the avid filmgoer I used to be. I haven't been to the theaters since I saw "Oppenheimer" and "Barbie" back to back in July, but I find the film industry to be ever-changing and very fascinating. There's no way that I could direct a movie, but I swear to you, I would be a pretty damn good film executive. I know what people want. And it's amazing to me that most studios do not at this point. Everyone loves to hear about those little movies that could, those small-budget films that end up making a big profit at the box office, but in general, studios live and die by big-budget properties. It's a reason why we get so many sequels, spin-offs, and reboots. That's where the money is at. But that is not been the case in 2023.
What's the reason for this? I think the obvious one to point to is that the superhero craze, especially as it pertains to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is very much dying. I'm not going to say it's officially dead because things can change, but there was a period in which, if you put the name Marvel on something, it would be a disappointment if that film didn't make $1 billion. "Captain Marvel" came out in 2019. I don't know a single fucking person that views that movie as one of the best films of the MCU. I wouldn't say I liked it much at all. It feels like it made zero cultural footprint, and yet it made $1 billion at the box office. It feels like "Spider-Man: No Way Home" while it took place after "Avengers: Endgame" symbolized the true end of Marvel dominance. The hype was different after that.
Suppose there's a lesson to be taken away from so many movies that are underperforming. In that case, I hope Studios realize that a movie can look like a $200 million film without actually being a $200 million film. I'll put this simply; I think the way that movies allocate their funds and use their budget is fucking whack. "Thor: Love and Thunder" had a $250 million budget. I have absolutely no idea where that money went. I understand you have to pay the actors a fair amount, but from a production and effect standpoint, there were moments in that movie that looked like a television show. Just pumping money into something doesn't mean you're pumping money into something wisely.
I know I gargle the balls of the Matt Reeves film "The Batman," but even if you didn't find that movie necessarily engaging, from a cinematography standpoint, that movie is one of the best-looking superhero films I've ever seen. The production budget for that film was only $100 million. Yes, you have to double that when you consider advertising and marketing, but the money was very much on the screen. I think a film like "The Batman" will provide a template for how many blockbusters will be made going forward: smaller budgets, more creative storytelling, and a more cohesive directorial vision. Audiences aren't as dumb as people think.
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The obvious elephant in the room here is that streaming has made going to the movies less prevalent. I won't go down that road, but I stand by many of my beliefs. Most people only find magic in going to the movies if the movie in question is worth seeing, and in general, that has yet to be the case 2023. You have to give credit to both "Oppenheimer" and "Barbie" for being films that had suitable budgets and were products that audiences generally loved. People will see well-made products at the movie theater in the same way that customers will wait for good food. Things are worth the wait; you just have to go about it correctly. In the long run, this will actually be good for cinema. Superhero movies will never die, but I think it's safe to say that the days of superhero movies consistently raking in the dough at the box office are no longer a thing. Executives will have to pivot.