why movies bomb

[CaptainEurope]

I think there has been some backlash against Zachary Levi AFTER the movie came out.

No, his "Pfizer world conspiracy" tweets came before the movie and made me not watch it.

[Mister Mets]

I'm not saying you're wrong about that, but at the same time, what were the studios supposed to do? It was an unprecedented situation for them, and I've heard that sometimes it costs the studio more money NOT to release a film than it would shunting it out on streaming.

At the time they were doing day and date, there were relatively few theaters open. By also releasing the films on streaming, the studios could get more people watching their services, more subscriptions paid, and then may recoup additional costs by releasing on home media a few months later.

That said, I wonder how much money they truly made on that. When I was with AT&T, my phone plan came with a free HBO Max subscription. Other phone companies offered free subscriptions to other services. That had to take a large chunk of money out of what they ultimately got.

I get that studios had limited information, but there are some additional wrinkles.

Plenty of studios have wanted to shift to a streaming model well before Covid. It's a consistent revenue stream if you can pull it off, while the theatrical model is less predictable. The studio can also hold on to a higher share of revenue. If someone watches Lightyear at the theater, much of the money is going to the theater chain.

One problem is that these movies used to make money in different ways. First, it's at the theater. Then, it's physical media and premium cable channels. Then it's reruns on broadcast TV, basic cable, etc. Streaming could replace one of these areas (probably physical media and it's tied to the premium cable channels) but not all. A further issue is that movies in streaming are siloed, so people don't talk about them as much, and if it's a big hit, it could be completely forgotten in weeks. A theatrical run serves to get more interested in checking out the movie in streaming. The Batman was the biggest hit on HBO Max, and part of it is that because it was in theaters exclusively for at least a month, it felt like an event.

There is also a bit of neuroticism around Covid, among a professional class overrepresented in Hollywood. Well-run theaters are not associated with Covid spread, if you have people in masks facing forward. That was known for a while. And frankly some of the efforts to release films on streaming were sketchy, taking advantage of ambiguities in contracts to avoid paying talent.

Some releases were delayed, and that was the right decision for something like Top Gun: Maverick. Most movie releases could be delayed by two years. The main exceptions would be something that might have an immediate sequel, although that wasn't the case with Turning Red.

Anyone interested in Hollywood box office should check out the Bulwark Goes to Hollywood podcast, where host Sonny Bunch talks about the business of Hollywood.

[Mister Mets]

I think Barbie's marketing did it right- show the world of Barbie, then show her having to go into the real world (without explaining why)... and that's it. No mentions of the full plot, just a tease of what's to come.



I remember seeing the second trailer for John Carter (which was the one Disney pushed hard) and thinking that the movie looked terrible. It wasn't until after it bombed and I was reading an article on the marketing of the movie that I got a link to the original trailer that Disney had quickly pulled- and it was like night and day. That trailer was SO much better, and got me interested in the movie to the point that, if that had been the trailer selling it on the way to theaters, I might have actually paid to see it.

Another victim of marketing (and something that really started a trend for trailers that is still in use today) was Suicide Squad. That Bohemian Rhapsody trailer was PHENOMENAL, but it put such high expectations on that film that it couldn't possibly live up to them. Of course, then having the trailer company cut the movie didn't help, either.



See, that makes me miss the days of sneaking food into the theater. I had a long leather duster that had a tear on the interior lining- before going to the movies, I'd buy a bottle or two of soda and some candy, slip it in between the lining and the coat, fold it over my arm and walk on in with no problem. One night, me and a friend snuck in Burger King the same way. Good times.


I think there has been some backlash against Zachary Levi AFTER the movie came out.

Marketing certainly matters.

An advantage for Barbie is that it's familiar, but not overexposed in movies.

It's starting to occur to me that the debut of Doctor Doom is really important to Marvel. He's the biggest MCU character to never be done well on film.

I don't think the Zachary Levi backlash was that big.

I think the biggest factor these days is just plain overspending. Unless you know for a fact without a doubt your movie is going to make bank you should not be spending upwards of 150 million plus on anything. Honestly the sweet spot still seems to be somewhere in the 100-130 million range if you want to give yourself the best chance of at least breaking even. Everyone at Disney knew the latest Indiana Jones movie was going to flop. There was no way it couldn't. It was the follow up to a movie many people thought was bad and it had such a bloated budget it never stood a chance. That is the case with alot of these movies with bloated budgets. The studios are already figuring out to write off the loses before the film even premiers because they know there is a 99% chance this is going to be a mess. Same with Flash. There was no way it was going to be a hit no matter how many times they pushed Michael keaton to the front of all the advertising.

There is also the bad marketing. Most trailer house lately seem to be just run by people with no clue what they are doing. The Dungeons and Dragons movie to me was probably one of my favorite movies of the year, but man the marketing on that missed the point so bad. They marketed it more as a straight action movie instead of and action comedy which is what it was. That and Studio houses seem to think just slapping a Led Zeppelin or other big older song on a trailer is all they need to do, and that troupe is tired as hell. Personally I never want to hear another Led Zeppelin song in a trailer again.

There's an obvious trend that people want to see something new, and studios undercut it with cliched ads.

I don't think the Indiana Jones movie was doomed to failure, but they made some bad decisions. The dumbest decision is killing off his son. That's just depressing. I do suspect that some of the reason the Solo movie flopped was because it came after A Force Awakens where Han Solo's arc did not come to a satisfying end. "You just watched your favorite swashbuckler get murdered by his son. Now see where the adventures begin!"

It's important for studios to consider what audiences want to see. Top Gun: Maverick knew exactly what the audience wants to see, and then gave it things they didn't expect "It's a movie about planes, but with thirty minutes to go, one of those planes is going to crash, so Tom Cruise can run for his life. And you were expecting modern planes, but what if Pete Maverick can steal an A-14 so that for the final showdown, he is going to be immensely outclassed. And he has to keep his best friend's son alive."

[Username taken]

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/l-jg5cScVE8


Perhaps Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken bombed, because it was a copy of Pixar's Turning Red which also flopped.

Both Ruby Gillman and Turning Red have teenage girls going through puberty and dealing with family issues, not realizing their true heritage until the course of the film. Both girls discover their heitage and eventually discover their real identity, who they are. Then they come to terms with their family issues and embrace their heritage and newfound self-identity.

By the way, I have not seen either of these movies.

I thought Turning Red was never fully released.

[Kirby101]

I thought Turning Red was never fully released.

It was never released at all in the US or most countries.
And for the few countries it was released in, it did quite well.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt8097030/