A Path Forward For The Hollywood Genre Picture?
Has it finally happened?
Have theatrical movies finally turned a narrative corner?
That just might be the case!
As a barrage of IP dreck has crashed and burned in recent years while studios have sunk huge sums of cash into the supposed “sure thing” of built-in fanbases for preexisting content, a pair of actual, original Hollywood movies have managed to turn a profit this winter: the Sydney Sweeney-Glen Powell romantic comedy Anyone But You and the Jason Statham vengeance actioner The Beekeeper.
While streamers (and to a lesser extent Redbox quick-stop disc rentals) have made a bid to consign mid-budget, star-driven genre fare to home viewing in recent years, it appears that not all hope is lost for what used to be a foundational movie theater staple for generations. I, too, had been fairly pessimistic on the survival on non-horror movies with original scripts, but these happy developments have given me plenty of pause, too!
The headliner is December’s Anyone But You, which has blossomed into the sleeper hit of the season after a modest $6 million opening weekend had some box office pundits declaring the picture DOA. Since then, word of mouth has buoyed the R-rated two-hander into a bona fide winner, to the point that there is (unfortunately) chatter about sequel-izing/IP-ifying it. As of this writing, ABY has racked up $87.8 million in domestic coin, while also emerging as the first R-rated romantic comedy to gross north of $200 million worldwide since Bridget Jones’ Baby in 2016. The worldwide tally right now stands at $207.1 million, far outpacing Sweeney’s non-franchise starting Spiderman Sony spinoff Madame Webb (it’s currently at $91.3 million worldwide, and seems liable to stall out well below $150 million).
But let’s not overlook The Beekeeper‘s run thus far. The star-based MGM extravaganza took in an encouraging $16.6 million during its opening weekend (Statham’s biggest opener for a non-franchise, non-The Meg flick where he is the sole anchor), but has also managed to make significant multiples of that early gross thanks too to sustained intrigue. To date, The Beekeeper has already earned $65 million stateside and $151.5 million worldwide, and seems on track to potentially cross the $70 million mark on these shores.
Anyone But You and The Beekeeper‘s success bodes well for a certain kind of now-throwback studio movie.
Quality is utterly beside the point of this conversation. What matters to yours truly is that these are movies that are not based on pre-existing product, but rather old-school scripts that depend on stars bringing butts to seats.
That said, The Beekeeper is a solid Statham action offering. Yes, it may not reach the highs of the exquisite choreography of the first The Transporter, the radically bonkers innovation of Crank, or the frenetic crime picture energy of his best Guy Ritchie collaborations (specifically Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels and Wrath of Man). But it knows how to best utilize the top action star of his generation.
Anyone But You is perhaps less successful in hitting its mark. Helmed and co-written by Easy A and Friends With Benefits director Will Gluck, the flick is ultimately a slightly uneven, incredibly predictable trifle that deserves points for at least harkening back to adult rom-coms of yesteryear, but there’s no denying its stars are incredibly charismatic and easy on the eyes.
Its success is a welcome reprieve from the less-than-successful theatrical runs of three other notable 2023 big-ticket bids to revive the flagging R-rated comedy genre, which a decade ago was a big-dollar proposition for the industry.
The Will Ferrell/Jamie Foxx talking pooch adventure Strays tapped out with a paltry $24 million domestic haul and a $36 million worldwide tally, a far cry from either star’s halcyon days. Everything Everywhere All At Once breakout Stephanie Hsu’s ribald comedy Joy Ride (a really fun little excursion, by the way) also didn’t light the box office on fire. No Hard Feelings, starring bona fide A-lister Jennifer Lawrence, enjoyed a solid opening weekend take of $15 million and eventually made its money back with a $50.4 million gross stateside ($87.3 million worldwide), but mixed reviews (it fell flat for yours truly) and a listless word of mouth grounded it before it could take off. All three seem likely to find their audiences on streamers, but that’s part of the trouble — without a hit like Anyone But You soon, it seemed possible that this genre picture would forever be relegated to home viewing. Anyone But You‘s success chances the calculus on the ceiling for R-rated comedy fare once again, reversing what had been a troubling trend.
As someone with now-chronic IP fatigue, yours truly is unreasonably excited about the theatrical success of these two recent original flicks.
Investing in the star-driven narrative model also makes practical business sense for Hollywood. With chatter swirling about potential streaming platform mergers, traditional studios hemorrhaging value and cutting costs, it might behoove Tinseltown to avoid striving for home run franchise blockbusters every time at bat. It’s not just practical, when a simple single or double (a modestly-budgeted film far outpacing its tally, a la The Beekeeper and Anyone But You) will do.