So far, 2023 has proven to be a very good year for movies. There have been a lot of great films that have been released over the first two-thirds of the year, ranging from blockbusters likeSpider-Man: Across the Spider-VerseandGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3to smaller films likeAre You There God? It’s Me, MargaretandAsteroid City,as well as new releases such asBarbie,Oppenheimer,andTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
However, amid all these great new films, there have been substantial and noticeable changes happening as well. Thestrikes from both the WGA and SAG-AFTRAare already having a major impact on the industry, and that effect will continue to be felt over the next few years. On top of that, there has also been a shift in the winds of audience tastes. General viewers are beginning to make it clear that Hollywood cannot rely on producing the same old schlock as they have for the last couple of decades. This change has become apparent through four different avenues:
Underperforming Franchise Flicks
First of all, many movies that were expected to be massive grossers at the box office have beenunderperforming dramatically. This trend was already becoming noticeable early in the year, but it has become impossible to ignore throughout the summer movie season. Some of the biggest examples from early in the year were the superhero flicksAnt-Man and the Wasp: QuantumaniaandShazam! Fury of the Godsfrom Marvel and DC, respectively.
The thirdAnt-Manfilm was billed as the massive event film that would kick off the events of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase Five, but it quickly became apparent that audiences just didn’t care. The movie dropped off substantially after its already middling $100 million opening weekend, and it became one of the franchise’s lowest-grossing entries. It failed to gross more than either ofthe two previousAnt-Manfilms, which were already considered some of the weaker box office performers in the MCU. As forShazam!, the movie failed to build off the success of its predecessor, and it crashed with a mere $132 million at the global box office, whereas the first film pulled in $363 million (and still wasn’t considered a massive success).
From there, most of the massive Hollywood franchises have continued to disappoint at the box office this year. The latestMission: Impossibleis on track to be one of the lowest-grossing in the series, the newIndiana Jonesfailed to excite audiences whatsoever and DC had another disaster withThe Flash, which the studio had hoped to be a massive success. Even the newestFast and Furiousmovie,Fast X, had the lowest domestic box office gross sinceTokyo Driftwas released in 2006.
Related:4 Reasons Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is Underperforming
The “Barbenheimer” Effect
While many of the biggest Hollywood franchises have been underperforming this year, the biggest films of the year have consistently been new stories with clear creative visions. The breakout double-feature of the summer consisted ofBarbieandOppenheimer, which are both outstanding films that do not rely on any previously existing films to build anticipation. While Greta Gerwig’sBarbiemay be built around an immensely famous IP, the movie itself is an original story that challenges its audience with heavy thematic material while also generally being a ton of fun to watch. Meanwhile,Oppenheimeris making waves as a three-hour dramatic biopic with a complex narrative, all because of the filmmaking talent behind the camera and the name recognition of Christopher Nolan.
The wild success of these two films is a clear indication thataudiences are looking for something new. Both movies fueled the fourth-biggest movie going weekend of all-time, and the largest since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. They managed to get general audiences actually excited about going to the movies just when the industry was beginning to think that things would never really go back to normal.
Granted, the highest-grossing movie of the year so far isThe Super Mario Bros. Movie, which is built around one of the most recognizable and beloved video game properties of all time. However, even that movie falls in line with this trend. That’s because theMariomovie also doesn’t rely on audiences having seen any previous films or even having played the games it’s based on. It’s a completely standalone movie that prioritizes giving audiences a fun experience first and foremost.
A Revolution in Animation
Speaking of animated films, there is also a very exciting trend that has begun to show up in that medium this year. That trend is the overall shift in the visual style of animated films. For decades now, the standard look of an animated movie has been the three-dimensional computer-animated style that was pioneered by Pixar in the late ‘90s. Since then, Pixar, Disney, DreamWorks, and essentially every major animation studio in Hollywood has embraced this visual style.
However, the first major hint that the Pixar-style could be on its way out came in 2018 with the release ofSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. That film merged the visual aesthetics of 3D-animation with the hand drawn look of comic-books. The result was one of the most visually-stunning animated features of all-time, and those visuals became a massive selling point for the movie. While things seemed to go back to normal with animation fairly quickly after the release ofInto the Spider-Verse, 2023 has shown major studios embracing this style on a wide scale.
The first instance of this came with the release of DreamWorks’Puss in Boots: The Last Wishin December 2022, which then played in theaters for the first few months of 2023. That film incorporated a visual flair inspired bySpider-Verseinto many of its action sequences, which breathed a new life into the visuals of theShrekspin-off. Then, in addition to the sequelSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which expanded upon the impressive visual style of its predecessor, there has also been the newTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
The visuals of the new animatedTMNTmovie are also directly inspired bySpider-Verse, except its approach ismuch grimier and less pristine, which gives it its own personality. Finally, Disney seems to be attempting its own version of this with the upcoming filmWish, which appears to be merging the studio’s recent 3D-animated style with the look of its classic 2D-animated films.
Related:Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Why Seth Rogen Is the Perfect Fit for the Franchise
The Continued Dominance of Streaming
Finally, one of the biggest trends in Hollywood that has continued into 2023 is the dominance of streaming services over the entire industry. Streaming has seen substantial growth over the last ten years, and it has now reached a point where it is as crucial an avenue for a film’s release as theaters are. There are more movies released direct-to-streaming every week than there are films given a wide-release in theaters. Many of these movies fly under-the-radar and don’t receive a lot of attention, which is a real tragedy when they deserve to be seen by a much larger audience. One recent example of this isthe Netflix filmThey Cloned Tyrone, which is yet another great original movie to be released this year.
This shift toward streaming has been in motion for years now, but it was sped up dramatically with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The releases of many major films throughout 2020 and 2021 were adjusted to prioritize streaming. This added a lot of fuel to the growing desire for audiences to watch films at-home rather than in theaters.
Now, in 2023, we can see the long-term effects of this setting in, as many people are opting to wait and watch a movie at-home when it is released on streaming rather than going out to a theater and see it during its initial cinematic release. This has also shortened the theatrical runs of many major films, as movies likeFast XandThe Super Mario Bros. Moviewere made available on digital at-home only a few weeks after their theatrical debuts.
