This film critic hears one constant refrain from strangers when sharing my profession.
"Yeah, I just don't go to the movies like I used to," they confess.
Is that changing?
This year has seen one box office juggernaut after another, and the summer movie season hasn't even kicked in yet. (all U.S. numbers below)
- "Project Hail Mary" ($327 million+)
- "The Devil Wears Prada 2" ($144 million+
- "Michael" ($240 million+)
- "Hoppers" ($165 million)
- "Scream 7" ($121 million)
- "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" ($412 million+)
Not shabby. Even more stunning? Some of these titles are holding onto their audiences week after week. "Michael," the King of Pop biopic, fell just 33 percent in its third weekend. "Project Hail Mary" dips each week, but holds on to an impressive amount of movie goers.
That's word-of-mouth momentum.
The year still hasn't released films guaranteed to draw huge crowds.
- "Toy Story 5"
- "Dune 3"
- "Avengers: Doomsday"
- "Spider-Man: Brand New Day"
- "The Odyssey"
What changed? For starters, a rising tide lifts all boats once more. "Project Hail Mary" became a must-see event, brimming with uplifting themes and elements that appeal to young and old alike. Hollywood has also dialed down its woke storytelllng, letting entertainment rise to the surface.
How novel.
Hollywood also, finally, cracked the video game code. That means any film with the name "Mario" attached to it will do wonders at the box office. Even a guilty pleasure like "Mortal Kombat II" understands what gamers want to see at the cineplex.
And Hollywood delivers with both fan service and game-friendly tweaks.
But will it last? Is 2026 just a happy blip or a sign that the industry finally realizes what audiences crave at the cineplex? Studios have been slow to respond to our collective disdain for the woke agenda. Disney, in particular, finally got the picture and started nixing lectures disguised as cinema.
When Pixar guru Pete Docter utters lines like this about a nixed gay narrative in last year's "Elio," you know people in the industry are waking up.
We’re Making a Movie, Not Hundreds of Millions of Dollars of Therapy.
Disney also ditched some of the woke baggage dragging down the MCU. Witness recent trailers for "Avengers: Doomsday," teases the tap into fatherhood, not Identity Politics. The MCU's future is riding on this mega-movie, so teases like this are no accident.
That's the sign of a mega studio finally listening to the consumer.
The news isn't all good, of course. All the reasons why the theatrical model appeared in jeopardy remain.
Streaming platforms still serve up movie-level content like the recent "Apex," a slick thriller starring Charlize Theron. Netflix and chilling costs a fraction of a night at the theater.
Social media users like lightning-paced video clips, not full-length stories in our dwindling attention span age. And the home theater experience remains a threat to your local movie houses. An 85" TV will set a movie lover back much less than $1,000 now.
And too many movie stars show open disdain for audiences. Think Rachel Zegler and Mark Hamill, to name just two.
But if Hollywood delivers stories full of imagination, heart and laughter, we'll swallow almost anything for a blast of escapism in a darkened theater.
