Dear Mr. Millman- I really enjoy your thoughtful writings on this Substack - I share your interests in both politics & cinema. . . I note that you write for the publication Modern Age. I haven't looked at it in years (I'm politically liberal). But I DO remember it from back in the days when it seemed like a more highbrow & literate "sister" of William Buckley's National Review - & home to disciples of Leo Strauss & Eric Voegelin & serious conservative thinkers like them. . . I enjoyed this movie commentary - agree with some judgments, but of course not all. I noted your comment about Hollywood "losing the talent for making GOOD popular entertainments". I would note that personally among last year's films I thought very highly of "Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Pt. 1" - directed by Christopher McQuarrie (VERY TALENTED IMO!). I think the last several "Mission Impossible" films on which Tom Cruise collaborated with McQuarrie are really HIGH QUALITY POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT! Any reaction? . . . In closing, I really enjoy and appreciate your commentary. - Mike McKegney, Brooklyn
Thanks so much for writing, Mr. McKegney. I haven't seen the latest entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise. Indeed, I think the only two entries I have seen are the original and Fallout. I enjoyed them well enough, but they aren't really the kinds of films I'm talking about. I put films like that in the same category as the Bond franchise and the superhero films; they can be entertaining, but they aren't really films for grownups.
The other issue, though, is that this year they didn't make much money, if any. That includes Dead Reckoning. I'm sure it'll end up in the black, and it certainly made money for the theaters, but for Paramount, not so much. Its estimated budget was over $290 million, and it grossed $569 million worldwide. After deducting marketing costs and the theaters' share, that doesn't leave much if anything. Compare that with Fallout, which cost more like $180 million to make and grossed $792 million worldwide. Big difference, right?
Part of that difference is inflation; labor costs in particular are up enormously since pre-pandemic, and this hasn't been fully offset by a rise in ticket prices. But a big part of the jump in expenses is the need to constantly up the ante in these action-adventure films, going bigger and more spectacular than whatever came before. How long can you keep that up?
And then there's the revenue side, where the big story is China. Box office grosses were down in most major territories between Fallout and Dead Reckoning -- down 22% domestically, 20% in Asia-Pacific ex-China, flat in Europe/Africa/Middle East. But in China grosses dropped 73%, representing nearly 60% of the global decline in revenue. That's catastrophic -- and it's not about this particular film; it's about American films generally. China is making their own films now, and the popularity of imported entertainment has plummeted. It's not much of an exaggeration to say that the franchise-blockbuster-centric model of the 21st century studios has been entirely dependent on China, and if that market isn't gone completely it has gotten vastly more competitive, to the point where the old model is simply broken.
I think that's ultimately a good thing because I think all the technical ingenuity put into these films could be better spent on better, more grownup stories. But those stories also have to be entertaining -- because they have to draw large audiences.
Thanks for an interesting response. Ok I get why the "Mission Impossible" films don't really fit what you mean here by "films for adults". HOWEVER I'm an adult (actually I turned 80 last month!) & flatter myself that I'm a pretty knowledgeable and perceptive cinephile. "Mass-Entertainment" films can be mediocre (as most unfortunately are) OR they can be REALLY WELL DONE & I believe Tom Cruise & Co. work super-hard to make the "M. I." films as good as possible! I both LOVE & ADMIRE their work. Anyway I enjoy your writings here very much. I always learn from reading you! . . . (Just heard about critic Justin Chang being hired by the New Yorker. Mr. Chang is an excellent film critic IMO!) . . . Continued good wishes! - Mike McKegney, Brooklyn
Dear Mr. Millman- I really enjoy your thoughtful writings on this Substack - I share your interests in both politics & cinema. . . I note that you write for the publication Modern Age. I haven't looked at it in years (I'm politically liberal). But I DO remember it from back in the days when it seemed like a more highbrow & literate "sister" of William Buckley's National Review - & home to disciples of Leo Strauss & Eric Voegelin & serious conservative thinkers like them. . . I enjoyed this movie commentary - agree with some judgments, but of course not all. I noted your comment about Hollywood "losing the talent for making GOOD popular entertainments". I would note that personally among last year's films I thought very highly of "Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Pt. 1" - directed by Christopher McQuarrie (VERY TALENTED IMO!). I think the last several "Mission Impossible" films on which Tom Cruise collaborated with McQuarrie are really HIGH QUALITY POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT! Any reaction? . . . In closing, I really enjoy and appreciate your commentary. - Mike McKegney, Brooklyn
Thanks so much for writing, Mr. McKegney. I haven't seen the latest entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise. Indeed, I think the only two entries I have seen are the original and Fallout. I enjoyed them well enough, but they aren't really the kinds of films I'm talking about. I put films like that in the same category as the Bond franchise and the superhero films; they can be entertaining, but they aren't really films for grownups.
The other issue, though, is that this year they didn't make much money, if any. That includes Dead Reckoning. I'm sure it'll end up in the black, and it certainly made money for the theaters, but for Paramount, not so much. Its estimated budget was over $290 million, and it grossed $569 million worldwide. After deducting marketing costs and the theaters' share, that doesn't leave much if anything. Compare that with Fallout, which cost more like $180 million to make and grossed $792 million worldwide. Big difference, right?
Part of that difference is inflation; labor costs in particular are up enormously since pre-pandemic, and this hasn't been fully offset by a rise in ticket prices. But a big part of the jump in expenses is the need to constantly up the ante in these action-adventure films, going bigger and more spectacular than whatever came before. How long can you keep that up?
And then there's the revenue side, where the big story is China. Box office grosses were down in most major territories between Fallout and Dead Reckoning -- down 22% domestically, 20% in Asia-Pacific ex-China, flat in Europe/Africa/Middle East. But in China grosses dropped 73%, representing nearly 60% of the global decline in revenue. That's catastrophic -- and it's not about this particular film; it's about American films generally. China is making their own films now, and the popularity of imported entertainment has plummeted. It's not much of an exaggeration to say that the franchise-blockbuster-centric model of the 21st century studios has been entirely dependent on China, and if that market isn't gone completely it has gotten vastly more competitive, to the point where the old model is simply broken.
I think that's ultimately a good thing because I think all the technical ingenuity put into these films could be better spent on better, more grownup stories. But those stories also have to be entertaining -- because they have to draw large audiences.
Thanks for an interesting response. Ok I get why the "Mission Impossible" films don't really fit what you mean here by "films for adults". HOWEVER I'm an adult (actually I turned 80 last month!) & flatter myself that I'm a pretty knowledgeable and perceptive cinephile. "Mass-Entertainment" films can be mediocre (as most unfortunately are) OR they can be REALLY WELL DONE & I believe Tom Cruise & Co. work super-hard to make the "M. I." films as good as possible! I both LOVE & ADMIRE their work. Anyway I enjoy your writings here very much. I always learn from reading you! . . . (Just heard about critic Justin Chang being hired by the New Yorker. Mr. Chang is an excellent film critic IMO!) . . . Continued good wishes! - Mike McKegney, Brooklyn