Well, it looks like Disney has not just one, but two box office busts on their hands recently. Elemental and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, two films from the House of the Mouse, were released just a couple of weeks apart from each other and both films are simply not pulling in the numbers you would expect. In fact, it does seem like this is trend not only affecting Disney but other movie distributors. Other movies, such as Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Shazam: Fury of the Gods, have not exactly kept the ticket register ringing. Just a few years ago, you would bet the farm that these movies would rake in a ton of money in a single weekend. Now, it seems to be getting more and more difficult which big movie will actually hit it big.

But what’s changed? Why are movies which are supposed to be huge box office draws simply underperforming these days? Well, I’m not movie analyst nor someone with any credentials on the topic. I’m just a one of the mill geeks who still enjoys going to see movies in the theater and all I can give are my thoughts as to why this is happening.

First off, I do have to clarify that, while a lot of people are yelling most of the big blockbusters being released today are box office bombs, they’re technically not. Take the recent movie from DC and Warner Bros., The Flash. By the way it’s being reported, you would think The Flash is just another victim of the so-called superhero fatigue that’s been plaguing superhero films these days. You would think it a huge box office bomb and no one went to see it, right? Well, the film went on to gross roughly $250 million worldwide as of this writing. That’s not a figure to sneeze at, is it?

Despite selling a lot of tickets, The Flash will still be lucky to break even as the movie is reported to have a budget of around $250 million. That’s not including marketing costs and other miscellaneous fees that’s not part of the equation. This does lead neatly into the first reason why big blockbusters are failing: they just cost too much! I’m not really too sure who’s to blame for the ballooning budgets for these projects. It could be the studios just throwing money at problems in the hopes it’ll fix any production issues or it could be the creative minds who demand more money to keep their artistic vision intact. Whatever the case, this does not seem healthy for the movie industry. A little restraint would help here.

We also do have to account for how streaming services have changed the way most people go see movies today. If you’re reading this in the far future, go open up a history book or whatever you’re currently using to research historical time periods and marvel at a time during the start of 2020 when the entire world shut down. People weren’t allow to leave their homes for months on end, which seemed like the doom of all social activities, including going to the movie theaters. Well, it was around this time when streaming services became more important than ever as this was the way we could watch movies. As the months passed, we all got used to watching even new releases on services like Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max and the like.

Eventually, the world started to open up and things started to normalize. People could go out and watch movies at their local cinema like they used to. But the problem is a lot of us got used to simply waiting for the new films to pop on the aforementioned streaming services. And it seemed like movie studios were more than happy to oblige as, while it would take a couple of months for new releases to be ported over for home viewing, they would show them either a couple of weeks after the movie’s theatrical release or even on the same day it started showing on the big screen! Movies like Marvel’s Black Widow and DC’s Wonder Woman 1984, two films that were delayed due to the world shutting down, fell victim to this practice. If I can watch it on Disney+ or HBO Max from my home, why drive all the way to the cinema?

Speaking of Marvel, there was a time when none of their releases would be considered box office failures. Fans attributed their success to the “Marvel Formula.” While it can be very hard to define specifically, the Marvel Formula is, in essence, telling an action packed story but never really get too serious. You have to add a little levity into the proceedings to make the characters come off as likable and whatnot. This worked for them for a long time but, along the way, someone messed with the formula and it seems like Marvel goes overboard with the jokes.

However, this revised version of the Marvel Formula isn’t the problem, per se. The actual problem is that there is an overreliance on a formula in the first place. And it’s not just a Marvel problem. It’s a DC problem. And a Warner Bros. problem. And pretty much every Hollywood movie studio problem. I get the movie business is a multi-billion dollar industry and they want to cast the widest net as possible to appeal to everyone. However, at some point, things just started to feel a little safe. Their goal was to feed us the same product over and over again. And, in the process, a lot of moviegoers got sick of what was being shoved down our throats.

This is why, even when you look at this year’s biggest box office hits, practically all of them belong to some franchise or nostalgic property. As of this writing, the biggest hit when it comes to ticket sales for 2023 is the Super Mario Bros. Movie. Now, I loved that movie a whole lot but I can’t really say if I would be as interested in watching it if it wasn’t a Super Mario. Bros movie. I mean, I loved it because I know Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and the rest because I’m familiar with the games. If it were, say a totally unknown character transported into a fantastical land where he has to save his brother from some evil monster, would I watch it at the cinema? Maybe, but that’s because I still like going to the theater. I can’t say the same for the average Super Mario Bros. fan who wouldn’t want the hassle and just wait for it to come out on one of the streaming platforms.

With all of this said, is there any possible remedy for the anemia we’re seeing in the box office? I honestly think so. After all, it’s not all gloom and doom. There are still movies like the aforementioned Super Mario Bros. Movie as well as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. So it’s not like every big movie is going to crash and burn.

However, I’m not an industry veteran and I can’t really say what will get people to drop their hard earned cash and sit in a dimly lit room with a bunch to strangers to watch something they can just watch at home a few weeks later. Heck, even I can’t say what grabs my attention to make me want to do see a specific film! I guess, if you really put my feet to the fire, it’s seeing a trailer for a movie and I have no idea where it’s going to go. That’s why I went to see The Menu, a film which didn’t have much buzz before its release. I don’t know if that’s what everyone else wants. But that’s just me.

Also, I hope Hollywood ease up on the exorbitant budgets as they’re just setting themselves up for failure. If your movie costs more than a quarter billion dollars, then you’d need to make at least that much to break even. And that’s just insane. This goes for both the studios and the creative minds behind the camera. Work up solutions that don’t cost too much because you’re only hurting yourselves.

Hopefully, this series of box office flops is just a phase as I really don’t want the movie theater to die out. I have so many fond memories of going out to the cinema and having a good time there. And I bet you had some of your own. So, if there is a movie you’re curious about, please take the time to go see it. It doesn’t have to be this big tentpole movie. It could be this weird low budget film that looks interesting. Because, if this isn’t a phase, we might not have movie theaters for long.

Why do you think there are so many so-called blockbusters not making bank anymore? Let me know in the comments section below!