No, seriously, I want to know: What the hell do audiences want from movies?
That’s the question on my mind this week as I look at the box office numbers for The fallen guythe new action comedy that also serves as the unofficial kickoff to the summer movie season. Variety says the film “fell a bit short of expectations with $28.5 million” at the weekend box office in North America. Compared to these expectations, the numbers are not disastrous – The fallen guy was only projected to make about $30 million – but it also cost $140 million to produce. So the news is not good.
A consultant cited in Varietyfeatured piece The fallen guyThe film’s opening weekend was considered “fair” and said it “will need a long run” in theaters to make a profit. And maybe that’s what you’ll have; The fallen guy It’s the kind of crowd-pleaser that tends to stick around in theaters for a while. (It got a very solid A-CinemaScore from paying customers last weekend.) I have no doubt that, over time, The fallen guy it will turn into one of those films that everyone has seen and likes, and a lot of people pretend to be fans from the beginning, even if they only watched it on streaming after the fact.
SEE MORE INFORMATION: Read our full review of The fallen guy
But The fallen guy You really shouldn’t need to desperately make a meager profit on the strength of your word of mouth. This is not a dark art film or an ambiguous exploration of the meaning of life; It’s a big, fun, funny, exciting and romantic action film. It has sharp dialogue, strong chemistry between the stars (real movie stars!), a fun mystery, magnetic performances and excellent stunt actors.
While The fallen guyisn’t perfect (and I personally wouldn’t have invested $140 million of my money into it), it’s the kind of movie that I think you could guarantee almost anyone would have at least one good time. It’s almost the Platonic ideal of what Hollywood executives describe as a “four-quadrant film,” that is, a film that should appeal to men and women over and under 25. The fallen guy, and if my kids were two years older, I would certainly take them to see it too; It’s action-packed, but not overly bloody or violent. The sparks flying from the screen between Ryan Gosling It is Emily Blunt could give electric shocks to spectators in the front rows of the theater, but there is not much swearing and almost no sexual innuendo.
So… what else do people want?
Whenever I meet someone new and they learn what I do for a living, I expect to hear one of two things: a request for a movie recommendation or a question that’s more of a complaint – something like that or “Why are there so many sequels? or “When will Hollywood stop making superhero movies?” or “Where are the adult movies?” or sometimes just “Why don’t they make movies like they used to?” (“Don’t shoot the messenger” is not a phrase viewers tend to make much of.)
That’s what I find so disconcerting – and even a little disheartening – about The fallen guythe fights. Here you have exactly the kind of film people say they want to see; the kind of thing they don’t do very often anymore, with gorgeous movie stars flirting and joking and getting into all sorts of fun trouble. It’s not dark or depressing. It doesn’t make you work too hard, but it doesn’t insult your intelligence either. It is not a sequel or reboot and requires no homework; Yes, The fallen guy is loosely based on an old TV show, but you don’t need to know anything about it to enjoy the movie. (I should know; I’ve never seen an episode of The fallen guy in my life.)
There are no superheroes; and it exists mainly to mock modern superhero movies and especially arrogant actors who think that because they play superheroes they themselves are bulletproof in real life. Ryan Gosling’s Colt Seavers, on the other hand, is anything but invulnerable. Throughout the film, we watch as he falls from enormous heights, rolls cars, and is beaten by countless thugs. He sometimes fights back, but he’s not actually trying to “beat” anyone; he’s just trying to survive.
I try not to get involved with the box office results of any film. It’s a losing game and ultimately has nothing to do with my personal enjoyment of a film. A film is much more than what it earned on its opening weekend. If a film breaks box office records, that doesn’t make it good or bad; that just makes it a success. The opposite is also true. Many films even better than The fallen guy it flopped much harder than it did on its opening weekend. In the end, such a fun film go find an audience one way or another. I
But for some reason, The fallen guy Not meeting the experts’ already low expectations made me very upset. This is not a “difficult” film. This is what people tell me they want to be in a movie. And they didn’t go to see. If something like The fallen guy I can’t take people to the theater, what can I do?
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