- cross-posted to:
- movies@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- movies@lemmy.world
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/6730022
#A24 #FilmLemmy
Private equity is a cancer.
it literally is, infinite growth for its own sake at any cost.
but hey, there is also stock market
I know this is concerning for the fans but this is a fairly common evolution with all these indie distributors. Their rise is similar to Miramax in the 80s and they went on to release some of their best films the following decade once they had funding.
Let’s hope A24 sticks with the Daniels like Weinstein stuck with Tarantino
It is a hope, but not one connected to any actual reality I fear.
There wasn’t any special clause about “more action movies” in the Miramax scenario, and also the movie market was vastly different in the 1990s compared to now. In the 1990s there was a lot more diversification of blockbuster genres, allowing for the particular type of blockbusters they managed to produce then, but that market is basically all gone now.
Did nobody stop to think that maybe the value of A24 comes from the fact that they’re not making bland action blockbusters?
Understandable yet still terrible news. We might still get weird and good auteur films off the back of mainstream movie profits, but I have the pessimistic feeling that even if things would go this way, it will not last long. A24 has been putting out amazing movies for a while now and it would be sad to see it lose its focus because of this equity crap.
This was bound to happen. Costs are rising and their biggest box office hit was an action flick, Everything Everywhere All at Once. But why didn’t they sell the share to Apple? Apple is already interested in making drama and weird movies. And I doubt they care too much about AppleTV making a profit, since they already make an insane amount of money from their devices. It’s an amount that not even Disney with their media empire can come close to.
Said this in the other thread…
It’s really simple to see why.
From here, cross referenced with boxofficemojo.com:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_A24_films (2020s only)
First Cow - $101,068 (US) / $1,386,609 (global)
Boy’s State - unlisted
On The Rocks - - / $992,103
Saint Maud - - / $1,383,868
Minari - $3,110,580 / $15,282,731
False Positive - unlisted
Zola - $4,844,399 / $4,998,097
Val - unlisted
The Green Knight - $17,173,321 / $18,887,953
Lamb - $2,676,410 / $3,189,087
The Souvenir Part 2 - $98,929 / $380,778
C’mon, C’mon - $1,863,674 / $4,499,395
The Humans - - / $47,029
Red Rocket - $1,023,086 / $2,315,997
The Tragedy of Macbeth - - / $524,771
The Sky is Everywhere - unlisted
After Yang - $46,872 / $729,254
X - $11,765,309 / $14,740,889
Everything, Everywhere, All At Once - $77,191,785 / $141,129,020
Men - $7,587,853 / $11,152,071
Elizabeth: A Portrait in Parts - - / $122,390 Marcel, the Shell with Shoes On - $6,333,702 / $6,909,209
Bodies Bodies Bodies - $11,446,602 / $13,929,670
Funny Pages - $0 / $0 (not unlisted)
Pearl - $9,423,445 / $9,747,742
Instinct - - / $947,316
God’s Creatures - $45,849 / $275,107
Stars at Noon - - / $225,509
Aftersun - $1,658,790 / $8,345,462
Causeway - unlisted
The Inspection - $390,429 / $546,906
White Noise - - / $71,728
The Eternal Daughter - $86,490 / $446,551
The Whale - $17,463,630 / $54,883,206
This Place Rules - unlisted
When You Finish Saving the World - $196,920 / -
Close - $1,100,113 / $5,213,591
Sharper - unlisted
Pi - (re-release) - no current numbers
Showing Up - $754,483 / $1,222,428
Beau is Afraid - $8,176,562 / $11,480,078
You Hurt My Feelings - $4,830,788 / $5,698,637
Past Lives - $10,923,569 / $14,996,172
Earth Mama - $0 / $0 (not unlisted)
The Deepest Breath - unlisted
Stephen Curry: Underrated - unlisted
Talk to Me - $48,105,234 / $89,400,384
Medusa Deluxe - - / $68,560
Stop Making Sense - (re-release) $4,000,378 / $4,641,772
Dicks: The Musical - $220,867 / -Everything, Everywhere, All At Once - $77,191,785 / $141,129,020
This is a goddamn travesty to a wonderful movie that won all the awards at the Oscars.
For comparison, Barbie got $1.43B. While I’m sure it’s a great movie in its own right, it shouldn’t be making 10x as much as one of the most creative movies made in the last 15 years.
I really didn’t get the hype for that film personally and am not surprised it didn’t find a wide audience. Same with most of their films. I enjoyed a ton of them, but they aren’t suited to the mass appeal box office draws for monetization.
It surprised me too, I had figured it was going to be their #1 movie, but I was expecting something like $300 million at least.
This is why:
It originally opened in 10 theaters. That’s it. It averaged $20K per theater, but still, only 10.
A few weeks later, when it went wide, it was still only in 1,250 theaters.
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3861218049/?ref_=bo_da_table_6
It expanded up to 2,220:
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/date/2022-04-15/?ref_=bo_da_nav
But it was competing with Sonic 2 and Secrets of Dumbledore, both of which were in over 4,000 theaters.
It never played in more than 2,220 theaters.
By point of comparison, Barbie LAUNCHED in 4,243 theaters.
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1077904129/?ref_=bo_tt_gr_1