The decline of Marvel

[James Wyrembelski]

At the very least an open dialogue on the subject of terms would be nice.

Being able to split, even if that meant slightly higher percentages would be my ideal. But I'll take anything at this point!!

Means I can still show a fading Marvel franchise and at least pad it.....now everyone's happy.

[Bobby Henderson]

I'm convinced the bean counters and stock day traders running the movie industry don't really understand the industry. It's clear they don't understand the importance of cinemas and cultivating new creative ideas. It just doesn't make any sense why these people have allowed the industry to go into a tailspin. There were already too many negative aspects to visiting cinemas. Rude, selfish, inconsiderate behavior of other movie-goers has been the biggest problem in recent years. These stupidly short theatrical release windows just make it all that more inviting to skip the cinema and watch the show at home. Are the movie studios playing some kind of long game that hasn't become clear yet?

Maybe the movie studio bosses want to bleed the existing theater chains out of business so they can swoop in and take over the venues. Such a plan would be really stupid. The process would not be fast. There would be a lot of collateral damage with letting theater chains big and small fail. Cinema equipment suppliers would be severely hurt or eliminated in such a process.

A significant number of theater locations are already skating on thin ice. Aside from locations not making enough money to cover operating costs quite a few land owners are itching to replace those theaters with buildings that are more profitable. Some big city theaters are not getting their leases renewed. The property owner wants to build luxury condos or something else in that spot. Other multiplex buildings that have been closed are being converted into other things. Here in Lawton our old Carmike 8 building may be remodeled into a medical clinic (a church was looking at the property previously).

If the Hollywood studios are actually thinking about trying to take over the exhibition side of the movie industry they might arrive at that opportunity with far fewer cinema buildings still in operation. Much of the hardware and service ecosystem supporting the cinema industry may be killed off by then. Any related companies still in business, such as QSC, may already be retooled for other things.

The movie studios are clearly on a path where they're just going to be entities selling shit to stream on TV. If the home market ends up being their only market they'll be competing with TV networks, the Internet, social media, gaming, etc. The movie industry's business model will turn to shit in that environment.

[Randy Stankey]

When my girlfriend's father was still alive, I sat in his living room with him and talked about how I wished I could go back to work in movie theaters. He thought it was good that I got out when I did because the movie industry has become a shadow of its former self and, in the not-so-distant future, theaters will be all but gone.

I said that I felt sad that I could no longer have a career doing the one thing that I feel like I was born to do. He said that he understood how I felt because his grandfather owned a movie theater and he worked there, occasionally, when he was young. Still, his answer was, "You'll be better off."

This came from a man who produced and/or directed dozens of TV shows and movies that we all know from the 1960's through the 1980's. The reasons he retired would make for a long, complicated story but the bottom line is that, as sad as I feel about it and as much as I wish things could be different, I think he was right.

In my opinion, if you are thinking about whether you should stay in the movie business, you should probably follow my girlfriend's father's advice and get out, now, while the gettin' is still good.

[Bobby Henderson]

The downturn with all the Marvel stuff as of late should be a pretty big clue to the movie studio bosses (and their media company overlords). They can't keep making and selling the same stuff over and over.

I think there are other issues beyond control of the movie industry that could still negatively affect the movie industry. Consumer credit card debt levels are hitting new all time highs. Price inflation in basic things such as food has been ridiculous. The residential housing industry and commercial real estate industry have both been in severe price bubbles. A reckoning may be coming in 2024. In some past recessions the movie industry has done well. But we're in some uncharted territory compared to the early 1980's, early 1990's and mid-late 2000's.

[Mike Blakesley]

All eyes will be on Aquaman 2 coming up. I know it's not a Marvel movie, BUT the previous installment did very well. Plus this one has a couple things going for it: Prime holiday release time, and it's not 3 hours long! If this movie turns out to be well-reviewed, but tanks, then it's proof positive the bloom is off the superhero rose.

[Marcel Birgelen]

I fail to feel the buzz for Aquaman. The movie also has been in production hell for extended time now, with the Amber Heard debacle unfolding, massive reshoots and it being late to the party. Let's say, they didn't really set themselves up for succes. But heck, maybe they actually managed to produce a somewhat decent movie despite all of this? Let's not forget that most of those other superhero movies that failed miserably were simply awful, uninspired movies devoid of any orginality. Nobody wanted to go out and see that...

You know, part of me actually hopes this movie also flops, so studios keep receiving the signal that they need to up the ante to stay relevant, that some fundamental change is needed... On the other side, the situation is already dire as it is and the exhibition industry could really need some kind of bright light at the end of this long tunnel...

[Harold Hallikainen]

If this movie turns out to be well-reviewed, but tanks, then it's proof positive the bloom is off the superhero rose.

The superhero rose never bloomed for me.

[Frank Cox]

39% less than the Marvels for its opening weekend.

Sigh....

[Bobby Henderson]

Yeah, I really don't have any desire to see Aquaman do another mid-air Captain Morgan pose. The 36% score on Rotten Tomatoes' TomatoMeter™ looked like enough of a warning. $40 million over the Christmas holiday for a big event movie is not good. Hopefully the week 2 drop won't be a big plunge. I'm only saying that for the sake of theaters, not the movie. The Marvels earned a 61% barely passing grade at Rotten Tomatoes yet still disappointed.

The Iron Claw is the only movie playing in Lawton that I want to see at all. And that's a pretty tragic story based on real people. I've seen a lot of positive comments about Poor Things, but it's in limited release and might need Oscar nominations to get it playing here in Lawton.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

I'm with Harold on this. These movies have never appealed to me, nor did I think they'd last very long. You can bet that 40 mil wasn't even 1/3 of the production budget. Bring back Wallace & Grommet!

[Mike Blakesley]

Well, they actually lasted quite a while. Marvel had about 28 movies or something like that before they had a "disappointment." We have Aquaman coming in on Friday and I'm partially wishing we'd brought in "Migration" instead but even that hasn't been a big deal.

There's going to be a lot of unfortunate press about the movie business being "really finished this time" after this holiday season. Good grief, with the product we've had to work with this year, I don't know of anyone who was expecting a banner year.

RESTORE THE WINDOW, STUDIOS! Everybody needs to yell this real loud at any studio person you get near.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

I always felt the constant release of them might cause them to die out. If memory serves me right I think there were two a year. Not to mention the stupid window, that's too many movies, and too close together.

[Bobby Henderson]

The biggest problem with the Marvel movies is that once Disney got hold of the property they just went into full-on churn-and-burn mode. They insisted on pumping out so many shows on both their TV service and theaters as if the stuff was a commodity like gasoline or corn. You can't take a mass production approach with what is still a creative endeavor. Quality suffered. And there was just too much of the shit. Over-exposure and burn-out took over.

The whole Thanos-thing linked every Marvel movie from Iron Man to Endgame. The story line was confined to the theatrical movies. All of that is gone now. There is no longer anything equivalent to Thanos and the Infinity Stones to tie new Marvel movies together. "Kang" was supposed to be the new Thanos, but that hasn't worked so well both on and off screen.

When Disney started making its Disney+ TV subscription and those TV shows required viewing to keep up with the Marvel Universe a lot of people like me said "no thanks" and got off the train.

A lot of these developments were un-forced errors. They should have been releasing no more than 1 or 2 of these movies a year, if even that. Some early Marvel movies were sub-par, such as Iron Man 2 or Thor: the Dark World. But more often than not the movies were genuinely good. One key to the success was crews having enough time to get their work done.

[Frank Cox]

Movie themes seem to have a surge of popularity that lasts anywhere from a year or two to a couple of decades, and then it disappears due everyone seemingly losing interest and the next theme comes along to replace it.

Musical extravaganzas. Cowboy movies. Police dramas. "Buddy" comedies. Disaster movies. Teenager raunch comedies.

Those themes don't disappear entirely, of course, but they go from being every-second-movie to something that shows up once or twice a year.

Superhero movies have been the go-to must-see thing for the past twenty years so they've had a good run but it looks like it's that time again...

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Yep! And that's a problem Disney hopefully has recognized. Plus they have more or less burried the "Old Disney" completely. This was evidenced on Disney's Christmas morning special. No Mickey, no Mouse ears. The only old Disney thing I saw was Goofy for about ten seconds. Overall, I'd give that special one and a half stars. Children of today have no idea what Disney once was and stood for.