Let’s take a poll: if I were to ask you the last three movies that you saw in theaters this summer, could you provide an answer? Now, if I were to ask the last three shows that you’ve marathoned on Netflix in the past couple of months, would that be something a little easier to recall? If so, you’re not alone; the aggregate domestic box office total dropped nearly 15 percent between this summer and last summer.
So what is happening here? What accounts for this drop in movie-going attendance? Is it that the quality of content is dropping? Are people choosing the more convenient alternative of streaming content right from the comfort of their own home? The answer is not immediately apparent.
To begin, let’s examine the content that movie studios are generating. The top five grossing in the summer of 2014 were: Guardians of the Galaxy ($280.5 million), Transformers: Age of Extinction ($244.4 Million), Maleficent ($238.7 Million), X-Men: Days of Future Past ($233.4 Million), and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (205.5 Million).
What do all of these films have in common? Not a single one of them is an original production. All of these are adaptations of earlier works or are sequels. Guardians of the Galaxy and X-men are both movies that have been adapted from super-hero comic books, a trend that has taken over Hollywood in recent years as more of these movies have sprouted up than weeds on an unkempt lawn.
True, while some of the most all-time commercially successful projects have been birthed from this genre (The Avengers, $623 Million), enough is enough. The plethora of super-hero movies has saturated the demand and as much as we all love spandex, it is becoming unbearable (think the Green Lantern).
The number six top grossing movie of the summer (yup, you guessed it): The Amazing Spider Man 2 (202.8 Million). The remaining films are all rooted in another story — Maleficent made her fist appearance back in the 50’s opposite Sleeping Beauty, Transformers started out as a game for kids in Japan and we all remember Charlton Heston cursing the Apes back in the late ’60s.
So why is Hollywood having such an issue generating original content of quality? Well, it certainly is easier to adapt an idea and format it than come up with a new one. Plus, these franchises already have built-in fan bases that movie studios assume will translate into immense box office numbers. However, in the process, they’re robbing movie-goers of one of the premiere features of cinema, the excitement of the unknown.
As the current trend of movie subjects continues to leech off the merits of the past, where can the public turn to for original content? Television! While TV has traditionally been viewed as inferior in quality to cinema, relatively recent innovations such as premium cable programming and exclusive website programming have been completely changing the game.
Shows such as Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, The Wire and more recently, True Detective, have completely revolutionized the connotations associated with television. In recent years, TV has been able to generate fresh and original content that pushes the boundaries of all previously held conventions.
From meth-kingpins to centaurs, television has a vast range of characters that are constantly transcending the platform to the next level. Premium networks and the internet have freed these shows from the censoring that plagued television in the past. Plus, the best part, you don’t even have to make the trek to the movie theaters and shell out 20 bucks for a ticket and box of greasy popcorn; you can enjoy the quality of your favorite television show from the comfort of your La-Z-Boy.
Additionally, television shows provide viewers with a lengthy narrative that they can follow along with and become more invested in. The bottom line: if movie studios don’t begin to lay off recycling tired ideas and begin generating quality content, Premium TV shows may just become the new cinema.
