The Flash and Indiana Jones 5 Flop: From Inflated Budgets to Lackluster Marketing, 5 Reasons Why Big Releases are Failing at Box Office
With many Hollywood films failing to meet the mark at the box office, we are taking a look at five reasons that might be contributing to them being flops.
Movie releases post-COVID have had a really rough time. While there are a few success stories here and there, majority of the big franchise releases have suffered from some extremely low box office numbers. The latest victim of that has been Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny that reportedly cost an upward of $300 million to make and the film barely opened to a $130 million worldwide – which is nuts! Because this is an Indiana Jones movie. Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny Box Office Collection Day 3: Harrison Ford's Film Disappoints During Its Opening Weekend With a $130 Million Worldwide Gross.
Many of these problems can easily be attributed to many existing factors like bad marketing or a general decline in quality. It’s proven time and time again that if the film is good and marketed properly, the audiences will flock to the theatres for a movie. So, with Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny and The Flash flopping, we are taking a look at five reasons why big releases are failing at the box office.
Lackluster Marketing
Marketing is one of the most important aspects when it comes to release a movie. You want it to be successful and seen by audiences around the world, but so many times now you will just get two trailers and a few posters and that’s it. Marketing for big budget tentpole movies isn’t the same that it used to be back in the day, and it has certainly caused for general audiences to not know when a certain movie is even coming out.
Middling Quality
A film can be marketed good and still be a flop. If you need an example, then The Flash is right there. The classic case of a studio overselling a movie only for it to disappoint. While bad movies in the past have gone on to be some of the highest grossing films of the year, we are in a new age and a lot of factors go in for a film to be successful now.
Too Many Releases
With COVID happening, a lot of the backlog from 2020 and 2021 was pushed onto to 2022 and 2023, and we can see that now because every tentpole release is now coming out a within a week of each other. This definitely is causing confusion among many and is definitely a factor playing into the downplay of box office.
Inflated Budgets
Having huge budgets is another reason why these films aren’t exactly being a success at the box office. Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny cost an upward of $300 million to make, and on top of that you have the marketing costs as well, which can be half of what a film’s budget is. Couple that up, and you basically have a recipe for disaster. Avatar: The Way of Water was able to get away with it because Cameron actually delivered, but if you’re an Indy 5 or The Flash opening below $150 million on your opening weekend, it’s going to be a rough couple of days for you.
Streaming
Streaming has simply been the boon of film releases. Of course, during COVID it was a viable solution as folks couldn’t get out of their houses, but studios nowadays are technically shooting themselves in the foot with releasing a movie on VOD just a month after its release. It’s not a sustainable market and you’re just going to lose out on profits. The Flash Box Office: From Ezra Miller's Controversies to Constant Delays, 5 Major Reasons Why the DC Film is Failing to Find Success Worldwide.
Will the industry recover from this? Well, of course, it’s not all doom and gloom, but perhaps a majority of the change does need to come from studios too, who seem to have put themselves in such a pickle. Here is hoping the situation improves soon.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 06, 2023 05:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).