Why Hollywood is Falling Apart... It's Not a Lack of Moviegoers

It appears most moviegoers just want to be entertained.

Pre-pandemic, Hollywood was flourishing. The box office was awash with blockbusters which were making oodles of cash even though they were mainly composed of sequels, remakes, or franchise add-ons.

Flash forward to the present - what happened?  It seems as though the rug was pulled from under the box office. For one thing, during Covid, streaming became a major player in how people consumed entertainment making it now the main source of viewing all forms of entertainment - from sports to movies. But, more importantly, the new, so-called, blockbusters are not at the level of quality that they once were, therefore, moviegoers now wait and stream these 'lesser quality' films at home.

Empty cinemas are a reflection of poor-quality content, and not movie attendance or price. Franchise films were the bread-and-butter for Hollywood but now the majority of franchise films have been on a decline in quality or are too long in release between episodes, i.e. the Avatar movies. 

There currently exists a disconnect between Hollywood executives and audiences. Films keep getting made that audiences do not want. For example, Disney's 'Haunted Mansion' - a remake of a not too great film that had a price tag of $150 million plus marketing and grossed only $59 million. 

Hollywood is plagued by what is called, 'upward failure'. The past is not an indicator for the future in films. What once worked will not work now! Today, audiences are a much harder sell. There has been a shift in audience preferences and Hollywood hasn't reacted or recognize this moviegoer sea-change. For example, A-list actors can't carry a poorly made and constructed movie - audiences won't have it.

The Political Factor

                                 Hollywood has started to get the message from moviegoers.

Like it or not politics has invaded Hollywood. There is an obsession that major films be progressive socially to the point of absurdism. Moviegoers don't want to be preached at or given messages that have no place in the movie being viewed. And these films garner poorer and poorer box office returns.

Gender and race swapping characters for no apparent reason other than trying to push a social agenda is something the film industry is embracing, and it needs to recognize that this doesn't work.

Hollywood has forgotten that escapism is the driving force for most movies that people want to view at a cinema. Audiences want to be taken to another place for 2-3 hours. They want to leave the real world behind and be mesmerized by a great story with great characters and great visuals and sound. 

Now, films are heavily and senselessly politicized, and audiences aren't stupid - they know when political messages and social dictates are infused into a film, and they don't like or condone it.

However, according to Hollywood insiders, it appears that audiences are to blame when a woke product flops - and not the studio, the cast, or filmmakers. Hollywood has reached a point where they don't see film making as an art but view it as a business. That's a mistake. 

By: Jim Lavorato, Entertainment Equipment, Corp.