HOLLYWOOD—Talk about a box-office behemoth, because that is precisely what “Deadpool and Wolverine” delivered for audiences this past weekend with a $211 million haul. That is massive, and the largest opening for an R-rated flick ever. The previous record was held by the first “Deadpool” flick. Yeah, you had plenty of parents taking their kids to see that movie for it to haul that level of receipts at the box office. However, this has got me thinking because summer 2024 wasn’t pretty in May at the box-office. You had flicks like “The Fall Guy,” “Furiosa” and “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” fail to impress at the box-office.
That had plenty, including me, thinking the notion of people going to the movies was truly dying. However, “Bad Boys: Ride of Die” overperformed at the box-office, which resulted in another big weekend with “Inside Out 2” literally becoming the biggest movie of the summer and year so far, and we’ve had countless hits since, including “Twisters” with an impressive $80 million plus haul and now “Deadpool and Wolverine.”
Now, summer is slowly coming to an end with August, there are still movies hitting the theaters, but nothing I would argue could be so big that audiences would be flocking in massive hordes. I guess it is possible that “Alien: Romulus” could be a big draw for audiences as it harkens back to the old realm of the 1979 classic helmed by Ridley Scott. However, after that flick we’re headed into the fall movie season.
This is more a focus on Oscar bait and critical films that are more focused on drama than blockbuster tentpoles. I don’t think that films in the fall are as big of a draw as movies in the summer. There is a big reason for that. In the fall, people are back to their schedules: school, work, less vacation time and you have more holidays that you are celebrating where more family time is spent (Labor Day, college and professional football, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and a few others).
In the summer, kids are out of school, which means it’s more opportunity to go to the movie theater. Adults tend to have more vacation time and free time to take the kids or take in a movie, also in many places across the United States where the heat is brutal, the movie theater is the perfect place to escape to. In addition, the movie studios know what audiences have a taste for when it comes to the summer movie going experience, so they hold those big movies until those months compared to the fall.
The pandemic totally hit us hard America. Theaters were closed; you couldn’t go to the movies and this is where streaming started to take over and it became the norm for moviegoing. People starting watching movies at home and it became so convenient it truly stopped people from wanting to go to the multiplex. However, as I have argued time and time again, the movie theater delivers an experience you just cannot get at home. If you’re seeing a comedy, an audience heightens the laughter.
If you’re watching a big blockbuster, the action and the sound is just so much more invigorating on the big screen. When it comes to horror, nothing compares to a darkened theater where a jump scare is intensified by the people surrounding you because of the ambiance and atmosphere. I feel like we are slowly getting our grip back on going to the movies, but we’re not there just yet. Why?
The fall will be a big testament of where things stand. There are some blockbusters hitting theaters this fall like “Joker: Folie a Deux,” “Smile 2,” “Venom: The Last Dance,” “Red One,” “Here,” “Gladiator II,” “Wicked” and “Moana 2” to name a few. There are big flicks, but not to the degree of the summer where you have a new blockbuster every single week. In addition, the cost to go to the movies is just not as affordable as it used to be. A ticket is anywhere between $12 to $20, then you factor in a drink and popcorn and you’re spending nearly $40 to see a movie.
Most people don’t want to do that, but it allows you to watch a movie without interruptions. At home, you have your phone, internet and a ton of other things that can just force you to lose your focus. There is a hassle some people consider when you go to the movies and that is the unfortunate side effect. It is to be fun, but not everyone sees it that way, but with the right movies that can change it all.
