When Steven Spielberg is not busy charting the course of cinema with his momentous creations, he’s occupied with prophecies and premonitions concerning major imminent changes that await Hollywood, and not particularly pleasant ones, like the inexorable bombing of countless of movies at the box office. The Flash, that you?
Steven Spielberg Foretold Hollywood’s Bleak Future 10 Years Ago
The film industry, at present, is more or less in a state of complete turmoil with movies tanking left and right, writers and actors on strike, and high-profile studios facing setback after distressing setback, be it with production delays or incurring financial losses. But Steven Spielberg saw it all coming a decade ago, or at least he envisioned an inevitable “implosion” gripping the business by its throat and completely changing the trajectory of the industry for all time to come.
While he was attending an opening ceremony at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, the three-time Oscar winner remarked how sometimes, ideas from young filmmakers became “too fringe-y for the movies.” But what Spielberg, 76, worried about the most, was the impending upheaval that he knew for a fact would stir unimaginable trouble in the form of a dozen or so big-studio films falling from grace, thereby altering the very fabric of cinema.
“That’s the big danger, and there’s eventually going to be an implosion — or a big meltdown. There’s going to be an implosion where three or four or maybe even a half-dozen megabudget movies are going to go crashing into the ground, and that’s going to change the paradigm.”
The Jaws director even expressed his disapproval regarding inflated marketing budgets and other such exorbitant expenditures that often go into the making of films, and how cable TV had become “much more adventurous” in comparison. As it turned out, Spielberg had had firsthand experience of the forthcoming explosion of streaming media after his 2012 film, Lincoln, almost went to HBO instead of getting a theatrical release. And if you look at the current situation of movies, you’ll realize just how eerily accurate his predictions have turned out to be.
The Film Industry is in Shambles at Present
Spielberg anticipated that a number of “megabudget movies” are going to witness a catastrophic fate at the box office, and well, that’s exactly what’s happening with the latest releases like Indiana Jones 5 and DC’s The Flash.
James Mangold’s Dial of Destiny, which marks Harrison Ford‘s last final act as the iconic Indy Jones, performed rather poorly at the box office, grossing just under $260 million worldwide against a gargantuan production budget of $295 million.
Then there’s the James Gunn-touted superhero flick, the meek and pitiful theatrical run of which has been plaguing Warner Bros. ever since its premiere; The Flash, which was propped up on a $200 million budget minus the marketing costs, has only brought in about $262 million, rendering itself as the biggest superhero flop in history.
Even Disney’s The Little Mermaid had a dismal run at the box office, albeit it managed to hit the $500 million mark, so at least it wasn’t subjected to a fate as morbid as the aforementioned projects.
As for Speilberg, he could definitely make good money as a clairvoyant.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
