Between budget cuts, writer strikes, box office bombs, and non-stop cancelations, it seems that the film industry is floundering. This is the result of countless variables—from how the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way people spend their money to the after-effects of the streaming boom.
Since the streaming era, movies and television feel less special, labor conditions have plummeted, and turbulent mergers and layoffs call into question which legendary institutions will still stand in another ten or twenty years.
The movie industry is in trouble, too. People spend more time and money on video games than on movies and more time watching YouTube than any other TV network. Big media companies are merging with or buying other big media companies. Some of the companies that were bought may soon be sold.
The death of cinema and its eventual shift into modern media, can be traced back to the early 2000s – as we saw the transition from film cameras to digital ones. It appears digital technology was cheaper, quicker, and easier for the film industry than the traditional equipment.
Nowadays, Hollywood churns out movies that are carbon copies of one another. Whether it's sequels, such as “Top Gun: Maverick,” true stories, such as “Blonde,” or movies based on literature, such as “Where the Crawdads Sing,” there's no denying that Hollywood is losing its originality.
A federal district court in New York eliminated the studios' ability to sell blocks of films, but it also let the studios keep their movie theaters. Both sides appealed the case to the Supreme Court. In its 1948 ruling, the court effectively dismantled the Hollywood studio system.
While this official blacklist eventually died out, the concept remains in use today. Now it generally refers to anyone who has been barred from working in Hollywood for an array of factors from prominent drug use to angering the wrong person.
The pandemic disrupted both film production and exhibition, shelving movies for years and keeping people out of cinemas. But beyond the pandemic's direct disturbances to theaters, North America still has way more movie screens than it needs.
Streaming may have been blamed for a drop in box office revenue and declining TV ratings, but it turns out it just forced the industry to adapt. Streaming has been blamed for the death of theaters and broadcast television, but as the streaming industry grows it's become evident that's not actually the case.
The rise of streaming services has contributed to the decline of turnout in theaters. Going to the movies is a beloved experience for many, but has become less popular as of late. In 2021, a notably high 61% of Americans skipped out on the moviegoing experience.
The industry is expected to recover further to roughly $8.5 billion to $9.5 billion in 2023 as the film slate picks back up to pre-Covid levels. But it would still be a far cry from the $11.4 billion of box office in 2019, the last year before the virus hit the U.S., Comscore data show.
This can be due to Hollywood accounting practices that manipulate profits or keep costs secret to circumvent profit-sharing agreements, but it is also possible for films to lose money legitimately even when the theatrical gross exceeds the budget.
According to The Guardian, in 2019 the number of women working in the film industry reached an all-time high, but men still outnumbered them four to one in key roles on film sets.
Why are they striking? The industry-wide shutdown follows a row about pay and the impact of artificial intelligence with film studios and streaming services. The two unions failed to reach an agreement on a fairer split of profits and increased safeguarding around Artificial Intelligence (AI) rights.
Someday, Hollywood films will be almost entirely franchise based and the people they hire to act will be those with strong connections to the industry rather than talented actors who are not as well connected. People who are interested in working as entertainers will find more success working for themselves.
Barry Diller says streaming services killed the movie business as he knew it. Media companies have spent billions each year on content, in an effort to create exclusive shows and films that push users to subscribe to their services.
The movie theater industry is consolidating in the wake of the pandemic. Since 2019, the number of total screens in the U.S. have decreased by around 3,000. Surviving theaters have been forced to innovate, even as Hollywood production returns to normal and studios have more content to offer.
Overall, the future of cinema and theatrical distribution is likely to be shaped by a combination of these and other factors. The industry will need to be innovative and adaptable to meet the changing needs and preferences of audiences.
Not likely. There's still a pretty high demand for the theatrical experience, especially now with the pandemic. If the steep prices on those digital rentals of recent films that were originally supposed to be shown in theaters aren't at least some indicator of that fact, I honestly don't know what is.
Streaming services: The rise of streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ has made it more convenient for people to watch movies from the comfort of their own homes. This has led to a decline in theater attendance, as people may prefer to watch movies on their own schedules and at a lower cost.
As the streaming wars settle, there is no doubt that the decline in theater admissions, accelerated by the pandemic, will continue. The most successful theatrically released films this year have been mostly teen- and family-oriented mega-sequels opening on thousands of screens at the same time.
Kirk Douglas helped end the Hollywood blacklist, but he wasn't alone. He and director Otto Preminger gave barred screenwriter Dalton Trumbo credit for their respective 1960 movies, "Spartacus" and "Exodus."
The movie and television industries are very cut-throat. One wrong move, step or action can ruin a career in the blink of an eye. While there is no official Hollywood “blacklist” per se, there are a number of people whose careers seemed to fall off a cliff, and not because of a lack of talent.
Bruce Willis is “stepping away” from his acting career after being diagnosed with aphasia, which leads to the loss of ability to understand or express speech, his family said in a statement posted to social media.
