Money is the root of box office boredom.
Movie audiences are complaining about the lack of originality in Hollywood. So many movies are big budget reboots, franchises and sequels. “Why can’t Hollywood show us something new and original?”
The latest Avengers film rules the world. But superior big-budget films like Interstellar or Gravity do, well, just okay.
There are two reasons for this.
Reason 1: These same complaining movie goers (myself included) shell out big bucks for reboots, franchises and sequels a lot more than we do original flicks without an established fan base. Original movies, when they’re hits, do only fair to middling business at the box office. But even if a current franchise’s latest chapter “flops” it still usually pulls in big bucks, and the studios can always reboot the reboot later for guaranteed box office. Hollywood knows a franchise with a built-in fanbase can be counted on for at least one big weekend’s receipts.
Reason 2: Ticket prices are so high we’re gun shy about paying big bucks to see something new and unfamiliar. So when Hollywood puts the blame on us for not turning new, original movies into hits, we can point the finger right back at the movie and theater industry for high ticket prices.
Seems to be a vicious cycle. So the question for producers AND moviegoers: How do we get out of this rut?
ArcherVox 