By CHASE PASEKOFF
Over the past several months, it seems as if a new movie is premiering in theaters every other week. For those who are regularly informed about new releases, this somewhat sudden boom in new film content has been quite the shift from the movie scene of the past several years.
Like many industries, movie production was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and many movies scheduled for release in 2020 were pushed back. Furthermore, many films opted for digital release only, which greatly changed the dynamic of film consumption.
With all of this in mind, it may be safe to say that the culture surrounding movies has changed with the times and will likely not revert to its previous monumental status. However, the evidence has been pointing in the opposite direction. In many ways, it appears as if the movie industry is beginning to regain its strength.
For years, movies dominated the entertainment industry both commercially and culturally. However, once the digital age began to take form, the focus on movies seemingly changed, and it appeared that short-form content was more desired. This was magnified and subsequently popularized by the creation of apps like TikTok, which focused on the idea of producing short, easy-to-understand media. The timing of COVID-19 only helped to cement the current situation, particularly for our generation: TikTok was in, movies were out.
This may seem hyperbolic, but it is important to note that according to Box Office Mojo, 2020 was the first year since 1989 when no American film had a worldwide gross income of over $500 million. While this may come as no surprise, what also may come as no surprise is that in the same year, 2020, TikTok surpassed 2 billion downloaders, making it one of the most popular apps in the world, and one of the quickest to achieve this feat.
The correlation between the decline in movie popularity and the increase in TikTok popularity can be attributed to the elements surrounding the pandemic. This includes the isolation from public spaces like movie theaters, as well as the seemingly limitless amount of time that could be spent on devices like phones and tablets.
With all of this in mind, the more interesting aspect of the discussion comes from once movies were able to be in production again, and the restrictions regarding the pandemic began to be less and less strict. While in 2020 the largest American movie had made about $400 million, in December 2021, Spider-Man: No Way Home made nearly $2 billion from box office sales. These jaw-dropping figures continued to be achieved by different films over the next several years, with the top movie of 2022, Avatar: The Way of Water, making over $2.3 billion, and Barbie, the top movie of 2023, making over $1.3 billion. With movies making a swift comeback, it will surely be interesting to see if new movies from this year such as Dune: Part Two and Bob Marley: One Love will follow suit of being absolute successes, and whether movies or digital media will ultimately withstand the test of time.
The Prowler 