These 5 box office failures are very worrying for the future of cinema

Hollywood cinema is not doing very well. But for what reasons? Is it because of the model of large connected universes that Disney has imposed with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Star Wars license?? Is the explanation rather to be found in the emergence of Netflix-type platforms that have permanently changed the habits of viewers? Hollywood majors that fail to understand all the new revolutions? The public that (perhaps?) is fickle when it criticizes the big Hollywood machines but does not give artistically more ambitious films a chance? Google and Facebook referencing rules, which push the press to favor certain types of cinema rather than others? In any case, the following five examples are quite distressing…

#1 Killers of the Flower Moon, by mARTIN scorsese

Unanimously considered one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of cinema, Martin Scorsese has a truly exceptional filmography. Winner of the Palme d'Or with Taxi Driver (1976) and an Oscar for best director for The Departed(2006), he is the author of several great masterpieces of American cinema, including Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). However, the Italian-American filmmaker struggles to finance his feature films other than through streaming platforms: Netflix produced and distributed The Irishman(2019) and the documentaryRolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story(2019), while AppleTV+ produced the filmKillers of the Flower Moon. ;

Adapted from a book by David Grann (The American Note),Killers of the Flower Moontells a tragic and bloody episode in American history: the atrocious massacre of the Osage Indians at the beginning of the 20th century. Starring Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone in the lead roles, Killers of the Flower Moon is a 3h27 western flirting with gangster cinema. Applauded by both audiences and critics, the feature film is a new demonstration of strength on the part of Marty. Unfortunately, the film, which cost between $200 and $215 million, only grossed $157 billion at the global box office.Its resounding failure could signal the end of great frescoes in cinema. Moreover, Martin Scorsese has put on hold his projects for a biopic of Frank Sinatra (whose links with the underworld, love of music and Italian-American identity make him a triple Scorsese subject) and Jesus Christ (religion being another of the filmmaker's leitmotifs)…

#2 Furiosa: a Mad Max saga, by George Miller

In 2015, Australian director George Miller scored a huge hit with Mad Max: Fury Road, the fourth installment of the Mad Max saga. With a virtuosity Impressively, the fast-paced film is a monument to post-apocalyptic rage and pyrotechnics. Since widely parodied, the feature film also worked through the simplicity of its scenario: this back and forth between the Citadel of Immortan Joe and the Green Land of the Vuvalini has the clarity of ancient myths. George Miller's project to dedicate an entire film to Furiosa was therefore full of promise.

Released in May 2024, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is undoubtedly one of the best blockbusters of the year. The film, which tells the tragic story of Furiosa, from her childhood to the beginnings of Fury Road, is a true odyssey, in which the filmmaker continues his exploration of mythologies. Furiosais punctuated by breathtaking action scenes. However, despite everything, the film will be a box office flop. With an estimated budget of 168 million dollars, it won 172 million, failing to recoup the costs incurred for promotion. The failure is such that George Miller seems to give up on directing his second spin-off, centered on the character of Max Rockatansky played by Tom Hardy.The reason for this failure is difficult to identify at the moment, but it is probably Warner Bros. Discovery's policy of releasing its films on the Max platform around forty days after their theatrical release that has damaged the box office.

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#3 NIGHTMARE ALLEY, BY GUILLERMO del Toro

Oscar winner for best director for The Shape of Water(2017), Guillermo Del Toro made his big comeback on the big screen at the end of 2021 in the United States and at the beginning of 2022 in France with the excellent Nightmare Alley. Visually sumptuous, the film starring Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett is a sublime homage to the film noir genre, which was the king of genres in Hollywood between the early 1940s and the end of the 1950s. Martin Scorsese himself signed a column in which he explained that Nightmare Alleywas the best tribute to the genre in many years. Just that!

However, the film flopped at the box office. Despite an estimated budget of $60 million, it grossed barely $39 million, and despite excellent reviews from the international press. While many experts have explained how much Covid-19 has had an impact on the number of spectators, it also seems to us that the Disney studio also has its share of responsibility.Indeed, the film is distributed by Searchlight Pictures, a subsidiary of the Disney group created by the acquisition of 21st Century Fox. Clearly, the group with the big ears did not know how to communicate about this film, which it presented as a horror film.

#4 The Fabelmans, by Steven Spielberg

Filmmaker Steven Spielberg is undoubtedly one of the greatest craftsmen of contemporary cinema. The American director is a recognized genius, whose work is unanimously acclaimed. He revolutionized entertainment cinema at numerous covers, including Jaws (1975),Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) or even Jurassic Park (1993). However, Uncle Spielberg no longer seems to be so fond of big financial successes… Indeed, his previous film,  West Side Story, although unanimously well received by the press and the public, only earned 76 million dollars for a budget of 100 million.

With The Fabelmans, the director offers an autobiographical film. Far from being a simple ego-trip, this film is the culmination of Steven Spielberg's work on the family. Released in late 2022, Steven Spielberg's latest masterpiece was acclaimed, but ignored by the public when it was released in theaters. In total, the film will gross $45 million for an estimated budget of $40 million. Variety will also be surprised by such a low result for “the most successful director of his time“. We actually live in a world where Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese have a hard time inspiring the confidence of movie studios… What a sad observation!

#5 Dungeons and Dragons: Thieves' Honor

If fantasy seemed to become the king of genres with the phenomenal success of Game of Thrones, to the point of launching a series war in 2019, the genre seems more difficult to adapt to the cinema. Indeed, apart from Peter Jackson's trilogies (The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit), the adaptation of the Harry Potter cycle and the Pirates of the Caribbean saga, studios are struggling to deliver fantasy films that are truly successful at the box office. In this respect, Dungeons & Dragons: Thieves' Honor is a sad failure.

Produced by Entertainment One and distributed by Paramount, the feature film was very popular with fans of the role-playing game and received rather positive reviews. However, the film suffered from the poor reputation of the previous Dungeons & Dragons films, and especially from Paramount's lame promotion, which seemed to announce “Guardians of the Galaxy at Baldur's Gate”. The film ultimately grossed $208 million, failing to recoup its promotional budget.