Why Hollywood is Falling Apart | Video Essay

that is one big pile of so I think it's fair to say that Hollywood is literally falling apart from just about every angle you look at it I have made videos in the past where I discussed Disney falling apart Star Wars the MCU but those were just a piece of the pie really Hollywood at the moment is in perhaps its weakest state yet the box office is struggling one reliable and bankable major IPS are dead or dying writers and actor strikes grinded the industry to a halt and the disconnect between Hollywood and consumers has never been bigger the film landscape in general is in perhaps the worst state it has ever been soulless big budget Blockbusters are coming out constantly to only be met with audience backlash and losses for the studios between that and the senseless virtue signaling forced into films and shows by corporate Executives that can't even abide by the messages they inject into the entertainment that they fund Hollywood from top to bottom is an absolute mess and we're going to dive deep in on all of it today and get to the bottom of why Hollywood is falling [Music] apart so Hollywood is in a place where it needs to make big changes and it needs to make them quickly before the pandemic For Better or Worse the box office was dictated by Major IP such as Star Wars and Marvel yeah I know it's crazy to think that Star Wars was actually in a place where people cared Kathleen Kennedy you're really did it but pre- pandemic Hollywood was seemingly flourishing big Blockbusters actually made money even though it was generally from the larger IPS with sequels and remakes being the safe bet money was still being made audiences were still going to the theaters in droves Flash Forward to right now the end of 2023 and I go to the latest MCU movie on opening day and there are three people in the theater including me what happened man well a lot happened the pandemic obviously changed the media consumption landscape As We Know It with streaming becoming a major player in how people consume entertainment even though streaming platforms were a thing pre pandemic they became the main source of viewing the latest film when we were all stuck inside but we're not stuck inside anymore so where is everybody well people nowadays are simply less inclined to go to the theaters as it's pretty common knowledge at this point that a lot of the major IPS that carried the box office pre pandemic are no longer at the level of quality that they once were people just wait for things to come to streaming now because people almost expect movies to be poor so instead of taking out half the equity in their house to be able to afford to go to the movie theater they just wait for it to come to streaming so they can be disappointed in the comfort of Their Own home the lack of people going to the movie theater is not a matter of people being hesitant to go to theaters because of the pandemic no people don't go to the theaters anymore because the major IPS are producing absolute garbage empty theaters are a reflection of quality and of course expensive prices Hollywood has been dominated by Major franchises for decades and now that the majority of those franchises have been in a rapid decline in quality or have been absent in Star wars's case the one thing getting people to the movie theater is no longer as effective as it once was so just a quick introduction in the video this isn't a sponsor or anything so don't worry you don't need to skip but I just want to tell you guys that we are expanding the channel and in the process have actually created a brand new channel called game overload which is going to be doing the same stuff that we do here but this time for games we have a video on Marvel Spider-Man 2 that just went up over there so if you love games and you enjoy these kinds of videos be sure to check that Channel out through the top right corner of the video or the links below thanks guys films losing money it's more common right now than ever before really the Marvels for example the MCU juggernaut's latest $270 million film just had a record low opening Blockbusters flopping is no longer a major topic as it once was because it just happens all the time now you can also point the finger at Hollywood specifically for making the wrong kinds of movies the disconnect between Hollywood Executives and audiences has seemingly never been bigger than it is right now they just don't know what audiences actually want to be seeing or they don't care films keep getting made that nobody asks for Disney's Haunted Mansion is a prime example it is one of the biggest flops of the year who was asking for a remake of a lackluster 2003 Eddie Murphy movie based on a theme park ride absolutely no one on a budget of $157 million plus marketing it made $59 million leading to over a $100 million loss who in their right mind thought that that was a good idea Disney that's who the biggest box office player of years gone by now I'm going to play you an old short clip of Christopher Lee literally explaining the problem and why it exists this all the time at the level of the top producer who between them or separately will make flop after flop after flop after flop and they still get paid huge sums of money for being in films that nobody wants to see and producers make pictures out of which they take enormous sums of money and the films again are not films people want to see they're always going to blame somebody else always not their fault oh no no you are the one who said or whatever there's a word for that it's called upward failure so EXA L what he spoke about all those years ago is exactly what is still happening upward failure runs Hollywood now Disney specifically are in shambles across various IPS including Star Wars Marvel animation but in the past they've been the ones that have tended to dominate the box office and as a result gave Hollywood a much healthier image yet they haven't topped the box office for multiple years now which is the first time that's happened since the 2000s from 2012 to 2019 a Disney film topped both the domestic and worldwide box office but in the past 2 years they've barely even gotten close Avatar 2 topped it last year as expected it's the sequel to James Cameron's previous biggest film of all time and know it is not a Disney movie it's a 20th Century movie I see you there in the comments but top gun Maverick is the one that Springs to mind for me because it exceeded all expectations in 2022 because it was actually a great move movie with many of Hollywood's current not being attached to it and 2023 is box office has been topped by Barbie with films like Super Mario Brothers but more importantly Oppenheimer closely behind it I say more importantly because the fact that Oppenheimer made nearly a billion dollars despite not being a major IP film and being a biopic just proves that audiences are still there they're just not turning up in droves for garbage anymore you see audiences never really went anywhere they're just a much harder cell than they were pre pandemic and it seems the shift of audience mentality has hit Hollywood at the worst time because all of their major IP in unison have all had a drop off in artistic quality the MCU is not what it once was Star Wars has literally been driven into the ground Warner Brothers are too scared to take a risk and insist on making IP driven films that have previously proven not to work and Sony are insistent on making Spider-Man movies in a universe that doesn't even have a bloody Spider-Man and a lot of the other Studios have problems of their own across the board Hollywood is simply a land of diminishing returns now of course you can't talk about why Hollywood is in total disarray right now without going into politics it's inevitable that the conversation ends up here whether we like it or not there is an obsession with major films and shows these days to be overly Progressive to the point where logic is just thrown out the window and it has an unwanted effect on the movies and shows we watch and it seems like the vast majority of audiences are sick and tired of going to watch movies to be preached at this is evident by many films that Force these out ofpl agendas they are currently being met with poorer and poorer box office returns gender and race swapping characters for literally no no reason other than trying to prove a point is something that the industry is just full of and I think it's about time that Hollywood caught on that this idea does not work it's legitimately a way in which they are actually sabotaging their own films and shows instead of creating a great diverse new character they'd rather race or gender swwa a character and piggy back off what's already been done it's preachy it's lazy it's honestly pathetic it hasn't worked since Ghostbusters and it isn't going to work now now there are subtle race swaps that I have seen work but the reason they worked is because the race swap wasn't the defining trait of the character House of the Dragon is one of the best and most well-received shows of 2022 it had several race swapped characters but did you hear about anyone having a problem with race swapping in House of the Dragon I'm willing to bet that you didn't I'm willing to bet you didn't even know the Valerian house in House of the Dragon was race swapped coralus valarian played by Steve tant was one of the best characters in the show in the books he's white and as you can tell by the background footage he's not in the show yet no one complained because despite the race swap the character stays true to the books there was nothing in your face about it and Steve tant's performance was excellent this is one of the rare occasions where it's a subtle change and it's a change made with good intentions the problem with major companies like Disney is they don't know how to do this if there's been a race swap or a gender swap you can bet your ass that's going to be shoved down your throat and be a defining trait of the character these swaps are seemingly in place to make a political or moral point and people are sick of it pick the right actor for the role end of story now one of the reasons all of this is such an issue comes down to one word escapism when you think of escapism you think of entertainment that takes you somewhere else that that isn't reality it's a powerful thing that can honestly just help people cope with their day-to-day life it's a really great thing the escapism films provide are fewer and further in between these days due to films being so heavily politicized despite the fact the script has absolutely no call for it films are one of the best ways to escape the struggles of day-to-day life you could just forget about everything for a couple hours be entertained lose yourself in a great story but how can you do that when films senselessly politicize everything don't get me wrong social commentary has its place in some films as in if it directly ties into the story or it can even have subtle undertones when done right it can be really thought-provoking and stay with you long after the credits rooll but Hollywood more specifically the major Studios that dictate the box office don't know how to tie it into a story anymore or keep it subtle nine times out of 10 it slaps you across the the face and as little to nothing to do with the story being told the thing is audiences aren't stupid they know when a company is pandering to them and preaching political messages that they themselves cannot even live by it brings me back to the Snow White and the Seven Dwarves drama the dwarves are no longer dwarves because that's bad yes dwarves are bad now according to Disney so instead they are seven people of various height skin color and gender so Disney the kings of inclusivity and being overly Progressive are literally discriminating in order to prove their point despite the fact it's one of the most contradictory things you will ever hear this very thing has been met with so much backlash that the film seems destined to just be a punching bag and nothing more and Disney seemed to have seen the backlash and are putting counter measures in place already they know they've screwed up granted this movie was in hot water anyway because it has a lead actress that doesn't even like the character she's playing and it's intent on transforming a beloved story to fit within a modern broken political landscape Snow White is a classic for a reason have you ever heard of if it ain't broke don't fix it but this entire Snow White situation is just a perfect example of what is wrong with Hollywood it also seems that Hollywood has turned into a place in which audiences are always wrong when an overly Progressive or woke product flops at the box office or receives audience backlash Studios and even cast members and filmmakers turn on the audience and blame them for it it's the audience's fault that the film didn't do well now does that sound familiar it probably does because that's exactly what Christopher said in the clip we played earlier my man was spitting facts but what it all boils down to in reality is most audiences just want to watch something like a superhero show without receiving a feminist lecture like is that too much to ask for the thing is if your movie or your show is actually good you know it tells a good story it has great characters any messages you push through that work are going to be received 10 times better by the audience and even would be considered thought-provoking the boys is a superhero show and it's also one of the most political shows on TV yet people aren't complaining about that because it's actually good it earns the right to preach a message it doesn't dish up a Half Baked script with one-dimensional characters and then preach everything under the sun to its audience and then get angry when they push back how Studios have the nerve to release bad films and shows with bad stories and bad characters that use their platform to preach and then wonder why audiences push back it's just beyond me almost everywhere you look Hollywood has a serious problem when it comes comes to politics woke is the trigger word that everyone uses to describe what is wrong with Hollywood and it's really getting almost impossible to disagree with it this ideology that Hollywood lives by in the modern day it is crumbling right before our eyes it does not work anymore when will they wake [Music] up so it's becoming evidently clear as time goes by that Hollywood is just beginning to get seriously desperate this has been on display across various Studios with releases of major films most recently the Marvels in their final trailer they decided to put Iron Man Captain America and Thanos throughout the trailer in a last desperate attempt to drive interest in their movie despite the fact the movie itself has absolutely nothing to do with any of it it was purely A desperate move as they saw how little interest there was in this film that they had stupid ly invested over $270 million into it truly is sad to see something so shamelessly desperate for Marvel Studios who were at the top of Hollywood for so long and how they felt the need to throw over $270 million plus marketing into a movie that was set up to fail is also just beyond me to touch on that topic ridiculously high film budgets are the new Norm in Hollywood even though box office profits have gone down movie budgets have gone up and are higher than they've ever been for some reason Hollywood Executives think that spending more money equals earning more money when it comes to the film industry look you can throw all the money in the world at the screen but if it's a bad story what's the point I find it hilarious that there have been actors and writer strikes going on for months considering how movie budgets continue to rise Riders right if that part of the job isn't taken care of what's the point of investing all this money into a film like surely paying writers their tick is the top priority as that's where the magic is truly born for a great film oh that's right because creating a good film is no longer the top priority the people in the position of putting those budgets together are not film fans they don't see film as an art form they see it as a business George Lucas summed up this very thing perfectly over 20 years ago the problem is the studio Executives the problem is that the studios used to be owned by people that cared about the movies now they're corporations they don't love movies they don't go to movies they don't know what a movie is and they do focus groups to to determine who will go see a movie and Hollywood does that and Hollywood does that and then they try to change the story to fit what they think what the polling results are and you can't do that that's not the way you make movies um because it is not a business you know it's a an art form I mean that just still Rings True to this very day now it must also be said on an unrelated note that a handful of influential filmmakers seem intent on subverting viewers expectations taoti just recently came out and said that his Star Wars movie is going to piss people off like is that just the mentality of filmmakers nowadays to divide audiences The Last Jedi is literally the most divisive movie ever and was made to piss people off and that tore the Star Wars fandom in two and it still hasn't recovered and it's been 6 years since that film came out I understand wanting to create something that has people talking after the credits role some of the best films of all time do that but setting out to make something that you know is going to cause division is a bold strategy to put it lightly what you could do is create a crowd-pleasing experience not that that's always necessary but top gun Maverick was a massive success for a reason and I keep coming back to that film because it is the poster child of what a blockbuster should be what a big Hollywood film should be 2 hours of just pure escapism it doesn't preach anything to you it treats Legacy characters with respect in fact it treats multiple Legacy characters with respect it's an upbeat good time at the movies pure entertainment and people absolutely loved it it never shoves anything down your throat as the viewer and wouldn't you know it it was a massive success funny how that works if top gun Maverick was made by someone like Disney there would be no doubt it would be a female lead character who gets to skip half the steps in the hero's journey and they would have made Maverick this washed up hasbin who has to learn everything off the new upbeat confident lead like did Hollywood not learn anything from the Star Wars sequel Trilogy that formula doesn't work people hate it and no they didn't learn because they just did it again this year with Indiana Jones 5 but hey you do you Disney but I'll tell you what people do love is an Unapologetic good time at the movies Hollywood top gun Maverick is the formula if you want to pray off Nostalgia fine do it like this this works and people love it now to steer away from that as part of Hollywood's desperate attempts to recoup losses many major Studios would rather go with the safer bet that being these declining in popularity IP films I know when that's the safer bet you know there's a problem Disney Universal and Warner Brothers would rather dump their money with the safer bet the problem is the IP films are no longer the safeer bet that they once were because the quality of them has declined and the rapport with the audience has declined and instead of resetting and innovating they keep trying to make the circle fit in the square hole and they keep greenlighting nonsensical IP films that prey on nostalgia in a desperate attempt to make a quick Buck it doesn't necessarily matter if these films and shows are good the hope is that they generate enough interest off of name recognition alone it's a rushed and quick profit the only problem is it's not working anymore because audiences have caught on audiences know that Hollywood's Mantra apart from the whole political thing is content content content content trumps everything there have been some pretty Infamous blowups regarding Marvel's VFX artist being overworked and I think those VFX artists complaining about not having enough time to complete their work is pretty indicative of everything wrong with Hollywood it's about a quick turnaround creating a good film is far from the top priority it's about content hitting deadlines to create more content and look I know there will be people that watch this video and say it's not all like that smaller Studios and Indie filmmakers still see this space as an art form and yeah you're totally right but the larger Studios dictate the health of the industry not the smaller Studios and Indie filmmakers which is an unfortunate reality because that's where the real heart and soul of the industry truly is a24 are doing incredible things nowadays and Studios like that deserve all the attention and praise in the world but moral of the story is superhero movies larger franchises from big studios are what the majority of people are focused on it's an unfortunate reality but to bring this one all home Hollywood is in an absolute state right now a complete mess of this rotten obsession with politics to prioritizing quantity over quality the over Reliance on superhero movies to make a quick Buck producers being okay with upward failure to the slow death of major IPS Hollywood has well and truly fallen apart they are failing at just about every turn and it's only a matter of time before a major shift is gone going to have to take place it could very well be underway as we speak if not all the worry from major film lovers about the industry are truly going to take over to a point where the industry Falls Into Obscurity movies and theaters face their biggest threat yet with Hollywood's downfall and they need to make changes and they need to do it quickly so just before we end this video I just want to say thanks for staying tuned to the end just to let you know if you did like this video I've actually created another Channel which will be doing the same kind of content but for games so if that interests you be sure to head on over there subscribe and stay tuned got some cool stuff in the works and of course be sure to like this video subscribe if you haven't already and take care

Channel: Movie Overload

Views: 826,344

Keywords: hollywood, mcu, marvel, disney, star wars, movie overload, why hollywood is falling apart, universal pictures, top gun maverick, barbie, oppenheimer, she hulk, video essay, marvel video essay, avengers, box office, disney plus, film video essay, disney rant, marvel studios, film criticism, woke disney, film, the marvels, mcu disaster, snow white, rachel zegler, jurassic world, the little mermaid, indiana jones 5, superhero movies, rachel zeglar, lucasfilm, warner bros, woke, rey

Id: 192sZw2yU44

Length: 23min 43sec (1423 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 03 2023