I skipped writing a "most anticipated movies" list this year. I also refrained from predicting the top ten grossers of the summer back in April. Everything felt too up in the air, and after watching so many films get pushed back and pushed back, I'm still wary about the announced release dates being as firm as they seem to be. Looking forward seemed to be a sketchy prospect in general.
And now we're halfway through the summer movie season already, and the box office is slowly but surely coming back to life. There have been a couple of hits and a couple of flops. However, we're nowhere close to seeing revenues return to the same level that they were pre-pandemic. Part of this is by design. The rollout of all the films that were delayed by the pandemic has been slow, and many of them like "Cruella" and "In the Heights" have been released via a hybrid model. Theaters in the U.S. are mostly open, but they're still closed in other parts of the world, and even where they are open there's plenty of reason for potential audiences to remain cautious.
Hollywood and the exhibitors have been nervously watching the box office returns week after week, and there's a palpable worry that we're simply not going to see attendance levels ever return to what they were. Streaming and VOD options have taken a big bite out of potential viewers, as distribution models seem to have permanently shifted in favor of online options. Theatrical exclusivity has taken a significant battering. The long-delayed "Black Widow," once poised to be one of the biggest box office hits of 2020, will be available in theaters and Disney+ simultaneously through their Premier Access service. Wait three months, and anyone with a Disney+ subscription can watch it from home. When "In the Heights" underperformed in theaters, Warner Bros. was quick to point out that the issue was lack of audience interest across all platforms, as the film also wasn't getting much attention on HBO Max.
I still haven't been back to theaters, despite living in an area where there's not much risk. It has less to do with any lingering pandemic worries and more to do with simply not having much interest in the current offerings. "F9" was really the first highly anticipated big blockbuster to be released this year, at the very end of June. To be fair, I've been less and less interested in the usual blockbuster fare over the last few years, but the only summer films I feel would be worth taking a trip to the theaters for this year are David Lowrey's "The Green Knight," "Free Guy," and maybe "Shang-Chi" on Labor Day weekend for Asian solidarity. Other films I'm interested in like "Black Widow," PIXAR's "Luca," "Gunpowder Milkshake," "Suicide Squad," "Reminiscence," "Annette," and Sundance favorite "CODA" are all going to be available through streaming services. I was expecting a big glut of delayed films hitting theaters that just doesn't seem to be there.
It's not until October - traditionally prestige movie season - that it feels like theaters will have the better offerings: the new James Bond, "The French Dispatch," "The Last Duel," "Last Night in Soho," and I guess we'll see who wins the fight over "Dune." Really, "Dune" is the only film out of all of these that I think is vital to see on the biggest screen possible, so I'll show up to the theater anyway. The latest "Hotel Transylvania" movie also just moved into an early October berth, where it's expected to get into a fight with the "Addams Family" sequel. Studios still seem to be holding some of their bigger films back, hoping that the box office will recover more before releasing titles like "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" and "Top Gun: Maverick," both slated for November.
It feels less like we're waiting for the pandemic to wrap up, and more like we're all in an adjustment period to acclimate to the new normal, whatever that may be. Some of the theaters will unfortunately stay closed. The streamers are not going away soon. I expect that Disney and Warner Brothers are going to cut back on the big films available for day and date PVOD purchases, but they'll continue to have an impact going forward. All the movies that have been delayed will come out eventually - though it'll take some longer than others. For now, a lot remains up in the air and uncertain, but I don't mind the wait so much anymore. Summer will be over before we know it.
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