Superheroes, science fiction, and horror movies appear to be the movies that audiences most want to go out to the theater for. After a year of being shut down due to COVID-19, movie theaters have welcomed audiences back with high profile films like Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, A Quiet Place Part 2, and F9. While the box office is a long way from recovering to where it was before the pandemic, it has started to show signs of recovery.
Bolstered by titles like No Time To Die, Halloween Kills, and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, October had the biggest box office of the pandemic. The box office recovery and the upcoming holiday season have both studios and theater owners hoping to draw audiences in. Yet, the major shift in films being released day and date to stream at home as well as theaters have started up a conversation that arises every year, about what films do general audiences see as big-screen worthy and what types of films are deemed as wait for streaming.
A recent report from Variety found that the 2021 box office has been led by superheroes, science fiction, action, and horror films. Sci-fi and action have brought in $851 million, with superhero movies coming in second with $672 million and horror films performing on par with 2019 as they are the fourth biggest genre of the year with $571 million. The report compared box office data of 2021 to 2019, the last normal box office year, although there are a couple of caveats as the pandemic still is in effect, various films were released in both theaters and streaming in 2021, and also the fact that the year is not over yet.
The report also points to how family films were the top moneymaker of 2019 with releases like Toy Story 4 and Frozen 2, while 2021 has seen family films drop to the number 3 spot of the year. Part of this is due to many family films getting hybrid releases. This could change in the coming months as children under 12 recently got approved for the COVID-19 vaccine, and more families may be comfortable going out to the theater. The other point of concern the data shows that adult-skewing dramas and comedies have struggled both years, and older audiences have been the least likely to return to the theater after the COVID-19 pandemic. This greatly hurt the box office returns for dramas like The Last Duel and The Many Saints of Newark, and it appears that audiences don't see these films as a must-see on the big screen.
The genres that have performed well indicate that audiences are looking for a form of escapism and a big spectacle that can only be experienced in genre storytelling. Superhero films have been a consistent moneymaker over the past 20 years, while science-fiction and action films like Free Guy, Jungle Cruise, and Dune have all been surprise hits. Horror being a major driving force is not surprising, as horror films tend to see a rise during tumultuous times like the rise of the Universal Monsters during the great depression or rise in horror films like The Exorcist, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Halloween during the '70s in the wake of the Vietnam War and the Watergate Scandal. The rest of the year is likely to continue this trend, with sci-fi and superhero films set to dominate the holiday season, while family films could see a rise, and maybe adult dramas like King Richard and House of Gucci can be breakout hits.
Source: Variety