It is an irrefutable understatement to point out that the film industry was forever changed by the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Productions were halted, films were delayed indefinitely, casts and crew members from all over were sent into isolation, and the streaming world naturally took over as the entertainment savior of lockdown. There were a couple of failed attempts at resuscitating theaters during 2020, and it wasn’t until March 2021 that moviegoing started showing signs of life again. Even then it wasn’t until well into 2022 that the box office was back to relative normalcy.
This period of turbulence greatly exasperated the already prominent uncertainty about the future of cinema. Big IPs were crowding out most indies, originals and auteur-driven projects, and streaming services prompted concerns about keeping a sizable portion of potential moviegoers at home. As the end of 2023 approaches, however, it seems that the opposite has started to take effect. The likes of once-mighty franchises and brands such as Marvel and DC are no longer guaranteed to simply break even due to an over-a-decade-long oversaturation of obviously corporate-driven products. Rising prices and mediocre content libraries, as well as the obvious fact that people are no longer required to stay inside, have significantly hindered the once-meteoric growth of streaming with many companies losing billions due to the now-questionable sustainability of the business.
Accordingly, audiences seem to be pickier than ever when considering what to spend money on at the theater, and fortunately, it seems that there is now a greater interest in more unique cinematic offerings. Now, even superhero movies need a solid hook on top of superlative reviews to succeed. There has been one genre, however, that has consistently drawn in viewers throughout the past three years, and that is horror. The versatility and easy-to-pitch concepts of horror films, as well as some of the most reliable and devoted fanbases in the entire pop culture landscape, have allowed for a genre that was always incredibly successful but often put on the wayside when recounting the most impactful films of any given year (save for moment-defining hits such as “It” and “Get Out”) to fill the gaps left by the overly commercialized products that are starting to lose their “surefire hit” status.
The COVID-19-produced backlog of major tentpoles also allowed for smaller-scale films, especially horror, to come out of the shadows and gain traction. Think of originals like “Barbarian” and “Smile,” two of the biggest and most surprising sleeper hits of last year, both of which opened amidst a lack of theatrical output. This year’s originals have also thrived alongside a more crowded schedule. “M3GAN” and “Cocaine Bear” were able to translate online virality to legitimate crowd-pulling, and A24’s “Talk to Me” connected far beyond the arthouse fanbase to become the distributor’s biggest horror film yet. Even venerable franchises refused to burn out, either continuing their killer streaks from before the pandemic (“Halloween” and “Conjuring”) or revamping their formulas to financial and critical success (“Evil Dead,” “Scream” and “Saw”), with many of these films being able to perfectly coexist alongside monumental blockbusters such as “Spider-Man” or “Super Mario Bros.”
Lately, there has been lots of handwringing about the effects the recent screenwriting and acting strikes have had on the promotional prowess for many studio films, but the consistent wins that horror, and a diversified slate of films in general, have been able to pull off give solid proof that it all comes down to whether or not the film is appealing. That might seem like a crudely evident statement, but given how much blame is being unnecessarily put on the strikes for adversely affecting marketing campaigns, it is more important than ever to recognize this. In an ever-complicated new world where the pandemic aggressively sped up the progression of the film industry and caused everlasting consequences for everyone and everything involved, it is fascinating and perhaps essential to understand the kinds of films that are attractive now.
Gone are the days when a superhero or beloved icon from the ‘80s would automatically earn hundreds of millions of dollars in profit. We now live in an era where audiences are consciously disillusioned by much of the excessive commercial pandering that populates the multiplex. They are sooner to make a dialogue-driven three-hour character study like “Oppenheimer” a bigger hit than a fan-devoted comic book epic like “The Flash.” The fifth “Insidious” or 10th “Saw” are now more likely to not only be more profitable but also satisfy audiences more than a fifth “Indiana Jones” or seventh “Transformers.”
Horror isn’t only lucrative because of its comparatively low production costs but also because it is one of the few specific types of film that still evokes intrigue and excitement simply by being itself. It is encouraging that audiences still constantly go out to seek thrills and chills in this radically altered theatrical world.
Cinema was never in danger of dying out, even if the directions it could possibly get pulled in understandably cause worry and confusion, but if looking at what’s been keeping theaters alive recently after an extended dark age is any indication, it seems like it’s heading back towards the light.
