By: Thomas Horvath

Movie theaters have had some pretty rough years this decade or so. They were doing pretty great in the 2010’s, got hurt badly during the pandemic, and have been trying to get back on their feet, but it hasn’t been easy. Former financial guarantees like Marvel and Pixar have been underperforming left and right. At the same time, some movies have been entirely overperforming, like The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Barbie. In the current climate, a movie either is a hit or a flop. But why is this?

Superhero movies are the best example of this. For instance, Marvel used to be able to release multiple movies a year that would each make $700 million. In 2019, all three Marvel movies that were released made over one billion each. Now, in 2022 and 2023, not one Marvel movie has made over one billion. The only Marvel movie to exceed one billion since Spider-Man: Far From Home was, funnily enough, another Spider-Man movie, that being Spider-Man: No Way Home. Many have said that this is due to superhero fatigue, which comes from an over-saturation of superhero moves in the market. I think the biggest reason many movies are failing is because of the price to go to a movie. Movie tickets are the priciest they’ve ever been, and the snacks are even worse. It can cost over $50  for you and a couple of your friends to see a movie, which is more than most people can afford. 

With how expensive movies are today, a movie has to really excite people and make them want to go to the theater. Films that are not sequels and are based on things with immense appeal and die-hard fan bases like Mario and Barbie are going to appeal to adults and kids alike. Movie theaters have to learn to adapt and start lowering prices, or else it might be the end for many theaters around the nation.