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Will the emphasis on comic book sequelry be the savior of the big screen, the end of it, or neither?

Posted by: DTXbro (a.k.a SenJohnBlutarsky) on Apr 27, 09:12

I can't decide whether the reliance on what has become rapid fire sequelization of comic book spectacles will be good or bad for the prospects of large theaters.

Is a trajectory based on Avengers 12, Deadpool 9, Iron Man 13, Guardians of the Galaxy 17, and Batman 21 (not to mention Star Wars 33 and Star Trek 22) sustainable?

These films offer spectacle well-suited to big screens and powerful sound systems; I'd rather watch one of these assault-the-senses movies on a big screen. (Although Doctor Strange was somewhat surprisingly fine on the home system.) So far, many of them are posting strong box office numbers.

The stories are generally sophomoric, however, and repetition could begin to weaken the big screen's ability to compete with the advantages of home theater (streaming, DVD, whatever) on cost, concession quality, and convenience. A home screen can now offer roughly the same dominance of the field of vision that the farthest half of seats in an average theater can provide.

Perhaps Hollywood will move away from downscale product and toward originality and strong writing, or perhaps it won't matter to people looking to get out of the house, but the small screen seems to be outperforming its larger rival in those regards (Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad, for example). Theaters are closing in my town (while some are improving concessions).

I would not applaud the demise or substantial diminution of movies theaters but I also generally to prefer to watch at home. I am becoming less interested in comic book domination of movie schedules. The combination of weak content and disruptive competition (from the couch) is precipitating skepticism concerning about prospects of big-screen movies.

Enough about that. On to the talking racoon, massive fireballs, and scripts filled with familiar, "don't think about it too much" plots!

Will the emphasis on comic book sequelry be the savior of the big screen, the end of it, or neither? DTXbro Apr 27, 09:12

nothing lasts forever. the unknown variable is how long "forever" actually is in this case {nm} slipping jimmy Apr 27, 09:30

(sooner or later some smart exec will see that it's more profitable to make $100+m on a $25m budget than spending $250m to chase $500m) {nm} slipping jimmy Apr 27, 09:38

I think you need to double check your math there my friend ($250m>$75m) {nm} Moviesnob Apr 27, 09:44

but you can make 10 of those for 1 comic movie (not all are going to hit the jackpot every time but singles, doubles, and triples are good) {nm} slipping jimmy Apr 27, 09:48

But sequels/franchise films are the surest way to make money. The risk is greater for originals. Why hit a few singles when every film can Moviesnob Apr 27, 09:53

no risk is great until the model stops working completely. having nothing much else in the pipeline will be fun to watch when it comes slipping jimmy Apr 27, 10:04

the problem with comparing now to the 70's is there's growth in other revenue streams. Studios mitigate their loses through them and through Moviesnob Apr 27, 10:13

that was the DVD model until it died. use the extra revenue from home video to finance the "middle" and mitigate loss from big-budget flops slipping jimmy Apr 27, 10:31

broadcast is the main revenue stream now and DVDs covered loses mostly from mid range flops that the studios have basically stopped making {nm} Moviesnob Apr 27, 10:32

that's a good question or further info is needed. what films are big stuidos afraid of now? lobogotti Apr 27, 11:51