Alright! Today I am explaining how Baby Yoda is destroying cinema. This was actually my forensics piece for school, but it turned out better than I thought it would so I figured I'd ctrl c ctrl p'd my way through this week's Tuesday post (So if you're wondering why the writing style is a little different, that's why. It's intended to be performed for others).
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So. Baby Yoda. You probably know who Baby Yoda is if you have gone on the internet in the past 3 months, but just in case you haven't, first off, congratulations on your career as a monk. I wish you good luck on your journey to inner peace. Second off, let me just give you a quick rundown of who he is:
Baby Yoda is the breakout character of the new Disney+ original The Mandalorian, who eventually became the breakout character of the entire streaming platform. He has helped Disney+ reach 41 million subscribers since its launch on November 12th, 2019. But as cute as he is, Baby Yoda is destroying movie theaters, and the experience of going to them, as we speak. Here's how.
In 1997, Netflix was founded. But it wasn't until the early 2010s that it became the streaming giant we know today with its first popular original series, Orange is the New Black. And from then on, they've delivered hit show after hit show, now streaming with the likes of Stranger Things, Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and The Witcher. It now has 140 million subscribers.
Netflix's success led to the creation of Amazon Prime in 2005, which also became a popular streaming site in the early 2010s with Emmy-nominated titles such as The Marvelous Ms. Maisel, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, and an upcoming Lord of the Rings show that airs in 2021. It has 101 million subscribers. And, just ten years later, we now have Apple TV+, Hulu, HBO Max, Peacock, and, yes, Disney+.
And what's interesting about these is that they're all redundant. To put it in an analogy, which makes me seem like a clever and competent writer and speaker, let's say you go to a buffet called Netflix (Wink wink). There you discover you love Thai food. The chef notices that Thai food is the most popular item in the buffet and takes his Thai food and founds his own restaurant. Now all the buffet customers who never tried Thai food are deprived of menu options and won't go to the Thai restaurant anyways because they don't know if they like it.
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This is what Thai food looks like. I don't think buffets actually have stuff this nice. |
As the consumer, you are now forced to choose between the two options and do it fast, because even more food-specific restaurants are popping up and they are playing to the last man standing, and eventually, they will all either a) be bought by the biggest chain or b) close.
But what happened. Why did all of these services become entertainment giants in the early 2010s? Well, the answer is complicated. And there are two answers. And, actually, one of them's not that complicated. One would be the collapse of the DVD rental industry, namely Blockbuster Video. The streaming services and VOD killed Blockbuster and then feasted on the carcass, growing even larger.
The other would be the decline in one hit wonder cinema in general, which is mostly thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The MCU is a group of interlocking "Roller Coaster" films that all assemble together every 3 years or so for a big crossover movie. Just last year, their 22nd film, Avengers: Endgame, became the highest-grossing movie ever with $2.8 billion. The MCU is also the highest-grossing film franchise in terms of Box Office, with $22 billion in the bank. To put that in comparison, the second highest, Star Wars, has $10 billion.
But this unprecedented success has led to more and more of the "Mega Blockbusters," which, combined with the ever-increasing ticket price, is killing the modern movie industry. Back in 2002, My Big Fat Greek Wedding made $368 million. No A-List movie stars, no extravagant marketing, just a movie. 17 years later, the 2019 film murder mystery film Knives Out would be one of the few successful original films of that year and break $300 million, and it had a director hot off of a Star Wars film and an ensemble of A-Listers. Despite a difference of $68 million, Knives Out is being deemed as much of a box office surprise as My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
Audiences are not going to things other than blockbuster films, reboots, and sequels unless they have an A-List cast and really, really good reviews - And even those sometimes fail to take off. Audiences would now rather see a fourth Matrix than what could be the next Matrix. On a completely unrelated note, go see The Matrix 4 when it comes out on May 21st, 2021.
But streaming services are killing cinema. How often do you see a trailer and say, "Imma wait for VOD? Or Netflix. Or just won't see it." I tell you, it happens a lot. Just last year, we had The Secret Life of Pets 2, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, MIB: International, Dark Phoenix, Terminator: Dark Fate, Charlie's Angels, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters bomb in theaters in part due to the streaming service/VOD mindset. Not even because they were bad movies. LEGO Movie 2 was pretty great.
And from a business standpoint, it makes sense for Disney to have its own streaming service. They don't deal with the theaters, don't split profits, and instead of offering a one-time payment for a DVD, they get a monthly payment for several DVDs. Forever. They cut out the middleman, thrive on blockbuster culture, and kill cinemas in the process.
But cinemas are getting so dang expensive nowadays anyways, right? If they want people to go, they should just lower the price of the ticket, right? Nope. Not how it works. Studios keep cutting new deals with cinemas to make more money, hence the $15 dollar ticket. They're basically holding the "Mega blockbusters" hostage, and since audiences will only see the "Mega blockbusters," theaters have to make these deals, keeping some audience members at home to Disney+ and chill. The consumer pays more so the theater can make the same amount and the movie studio can make even more. That's why popcorn is so expensive, that's where most of a movie theater's income comes from.
These corporations are playing chess with themselves. Just because they're sacrificing a knight doesn't mean they're losing. In fact, it could open up a checkmate.
However, I would argue that we should keep movie theaters around. The experience of going to the movie theaters, something that's been around for the past century, might be lost by the next generation, just because we consumers are not willing to leave the comfort of our own homes.
And that's sad.
But, it hasn't stopped us before. Those 80s kids on bikes are gone. Parks have closed. Public swimming pools have declined in numbers. Our own culture of refusing to leave our own house is destroying our outside experiences as well as movie theaters.
But hey! At least a mass-conglomerate corporation is making bank off of it!
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