Why did Hollywood stop making mid-budgeted movies for adults?

[TMC1982]

These movies used to be Hollywood's bread-and-butter, now outside of animation everything's stratified between remakes and comic book spectacles.

 

[Sithborg]

Blinded by the billion.

 

[Logan0327]

there are plenty what do you think films like Triple 9,Fury,The Nice Guys,Everest,John Wick,District 9,The Town,Black Mass,etc. are??

there is just more of the spectacles

 

[redhawk23]

I'm not particularly convinced that they did. October to January are more or less filled with them. So many "independent" films have budgets in exactly this range and are in fact funded but the prestige arms of the studios. For the 3 or 4 comic book films we get each year there are dozens of dramas about sad British people, freed slaves and the power-of-show-business.

Also how many remakes are we actually getting this year? Disney has a few, Jungle Book and Pete's Dragon, and then Ghostbusters I guess? They're hardly as common as they used to be.

 

[Logan0327]

^Ben Hur and Magnificent Seven

 

[redhawk23]

I wasn't sure if Magnificent Seven was out this year or not.

Whats funny about those in the context of this conversation is that the "originals" for those films were themselves remakes, made decades ago.

Its funny to me that people act like spectacle, sequels, and remakes are a modern phenomenon.

Even the idea that they make more of these types of movies is a bit of an illusion.

 

[Logan0327]

yup many people still dont know scarface is a remake lol

 

[Octoberist]

Everything is circilar in Hollywood. After a decade of scared of having Rated R genre movies (besides horror), the tides have changed thanks to Deadpool and John Wick.

If you look back at the early 2000's it was a miracle we had a Rated R tentpole that were tentpoles. Yes, The Matrix sequels. In fact it was a miracle that The Matrix happened at al.

 

[Octoberist]

Also we have a good amount of original movies; but they're the smaller stuff like Ex Machina and It Follows.

it's just that tentpoles are now focused on established IPs, be it comics or public domain stuff. In fact the closest thing to anything original if it's a franchise is if it's based on a book series. It's almost like a testing ground to see if people would bite. That includes young adult or even Gone Girl which has a big following before the movie came out.

 

[:eek:]

It's not like they really have stopped making those movies, but it just gets more and more difficult for them to get any attention with the increasing numbers of big family-friendly blockbusters. The fact that we now see more and more blockbusters released outside the traditional blockbuster-seasons of summer and christmas probably also doesn't help smaller movies much.

 

[Electrix]

We are starting to see a bit of a comeback for these types of low/mid-budget movies thanks to Amazon and Netflix who are hungry for content.

 

[Octoberist]

Yeah, competion from outside forces sometimes can create change within the system. Look at how Netflix has forced TV to change..HBO resisted having an online subscription a few years ago, but look at them now.

 

[Lilbaz]

Lots of people will only go to the cinema for an experience they can't get at home. They will go for the special effects or to see some great cinematography. Otherwise stream it and watch it indoors or just wait for it to be on netflix or such.

 

[chamber-music]

They don't make as much money from mid-budget adult movies which is why most of the filmmakers and writers that want to do that type of material have now gone to TV.

The blockbuster and remakes draw the biggest audiences. The special effects spectacle movies usually do well overseas because Hollywood is the only place that can really do those big movies on a large scale.

Hollywood follows the money. As soon as some filmmakers make a few mid-budget films that make millions of dollars at the box office Hollywood will be back to making more of those films again.

Going to the movies is more expensive these days as well. If you have kids you have to find a babysitter, friend or relative to look after them if you and your partner want to go out and see a movie.

A lot of parents only end up going to see films that they can take their kids to see. Adult movies are usually watched at home.

 

[Lencho01]

Because as one article I read said is that instead of making tentpoles, they made umbrellas of bigger films.

 

[-JKR-]

Lots of people will only go to the cinema for an experience they can't get at home. They will go for the special effects or to see some great cinematography. Otherwise stream it and watch it indoors or just wait for it to be on netflix or such.

Which, I think, is kinda of a dumb point of view. Because even without a huge special effects spectacle, you can't get the same experience at home.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

Because we are getting adult big budget movies now. MOS and BvS for example.

 

[Mandon Knight]

The 'genre' described has gone over to TV, where it is felt more can be done with the budget & longevity of the 'product'.

 

[-JKR-]

Well, The Nice Guys is coming out May 19th. So everyone hoping for more mid-budgets movies for adults should call all their friends and buy tons of tickets to Shane Black's newest creation.

Maybe Deadpool managed to turn a few things around, but people gotta see these kind of flicks... in theaters (!!!)... if they want more of them. If they just stream them online when available, and just watch mega-budgeted PG-13 franchise movies in theaters, that's what studios will put out.

It's that simple.

Because we are getting adult big budget movies now. MOS and BvS for example.

I enjoyed both flicks, but please. They're neither the best example for adult big budget movies, and neither are 'adult big budget movies' something new.

 

[Mace Dolex]

We are starting to see a bit of a comeback for these types of low/mid-budget movies thanks to Amazon and Netflix who are hungry for content.

Or going straight to DVD/BD with former box office draws like Nicolas Cage, Bruce Willis and to a larger extent t: Steven Segal.

 

[redhawk23]

Also we have a good amount of original movies; but they're the smaller stuff like Ex Machina and It Follows.

it's just that tentpoles are now focused on established IPs, be it comics or public domain stuff. In fact the closest thing to anything original if it's a franchise is if it's based on a book series. It's almost like a testing ground to see if people would bite. That includes young adult or even Gone Girl which has a big following before the movie came out.

At 30 million dollars, Ex Machina is exactly the kind of movie this thread is asking about.

And book adaptations and plays have pretty much always been a big force in Hollywood. To Kill A Mocking Bird, Psycho, Jaws, The Godfather, The Exorcist etc all hit books.

 

[redhawk23]

Which, I think, is kinda of a dumb point of view. Because even without a huge special effects spectacle, you can't get the same experience at home.

With giant screens and home surround sound systems for smaller films its quite comparable. Many dramas and indie films make their way out to VOD before heading out to many cities now, if they ever do.

 

[Asr]

Hollywood hasn't stopped making good mid-budget adult-oriented movies, I'm guessing you just haven't seen them. In addition to the movies that Logan0327 mentioned, I can think of plenty more off-hand that have come out in the past few years that were also really good. Most of these got Oscar or other awards attention:

Denis Villeneuve's Sicario and Prisoners
Nightcrawler
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Whiplash
Birdman
The Imitation Game
Gone Girl
Spotlight
Room

And as a huge fan of sci-fi I have to mention:
I Origins
Predestination
Oblivion (not sure if it's considered "mid-budget" but I liked it a lot)

And if you count Tarantino movies as mid-budget (well his movies aren't flashy but it could be said that some of his favorite actors probably drive up the budget), The Hateful Eight.

 

[Pickleweasel]

That's what STX is all about

 

[Jonwo]

The midbudget drama since comedies are still being made and don't cost a bomb has been relegated to quieter months but even then things like The Martian and Gravity has proven that October can sustain a $100m+ movie if it's good. The biggest adult drama in recent years was American Sniper which ended up being WB's biggest hit of that year and it fared well OS.

This year we have The Girl on the Train, The Accountant and Inferno in October alone although the last one isn't likely to be midbudget but all either have big stars in them, based on a novel or both