History MediaNotes / TheBlockbusterAgeOfHollywood

There are many waves and stretches for the Blockbuster era. The first wave is 1982 which saw the release of a slew of summer blockbusters that are now regarded as classics, including: ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'', ''Film/TheThing1982'', ''Film/RockyIII'', ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'', ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982'', ''Film/BladeRunner'', ''Film/{{Poltergeist|1982}}'', ''Film/{{TRON}}'', and ''Film/TheRoadWarrior'' with the caveat that ''Blade Runner'', ''TRON'' and ''The Thing'' were flops. 1982 is often regarded as Hollywood's second "golden year" in terms of creativity and classic films, not unlike how 1939 is considered to be the highpoint of UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood. Other memorable films released around this time include ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}'', ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'', ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', and the first film to be released with the new PG-13 rating, ''Film/RedDawn1984''. However, unlike 1939, 1982 most certainly did ''not'' come at a high point for the studios financially. Hollywood spent much of TheEighties reeling from the fallout of the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood era, and the combined share of the six surviving major studios from the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood Golden Age]] had fallen to just 64% by 1986 -- the lowest it had been since the days of silent film. Two young studios -- Orion and Tri-Star (the former was a company formed by executives of United Artists who'd fled that company shortly before the ''Heaven's Gate'' debacle; the latter was initially a joint venture of Columbia, Creator/{{CBS}} and Creator/{{HBO}}) -- maintained about 6% market share each, Disney had about 10%, and smaller independents (the largest being Creator/NewLineCinema, "the house that [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy]] built") would together make up 13% (more than any one studio besides Paramount).

Superhero films kept their previous stranglehold on the box office at first, with ''Film/VenomLetThereBeCarnage'', ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' and ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' easily becoming successes, ''No Way Home'' managing to be the first movie in two years to break a billion dollars worldwide, followed by ''Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness'' and later on, ''Wakanda Forever''. However, the genre faced severe difficulties during the 2022–23 season as ''Thor: Love and Thunder'' garnered mixed reviews and was a box-office disappointment (at least by the MCU's standards) while the DCEU became engulfed in various controversies, particularly regarding WB's shaky finances and Discovery's drastic measures to turn the studio around, including the erasing of ''Batgirl'' for tax purposes. Furthermore, ''Black Adam'' was thrashed by critics and floundered financially, leading to a war of words between Dwayne Johnson and DC Studios over how much the film made and thrusting WB into a DorkAge just as Paramount was recovering from theirs. Late in 2022, James Gunn was appointed head of the DCEU.

The post-pandemic environment, fully set in place halfway through the 2021–22 season, soon showed audiences went to the movies mostly seeking thrills, squarely favoring action-adventure films as well as movies featuring cultural juggernauts, as demonstrated by the success of ''Top Gun: Maverick'' (which cemented Paramount’s return to form after a decade-long DorkAge), ''Elvis'', ''Everything Everywhere All at Once'', ''Jurassic World: Dominion'', ''Minions: The Rise of Gru'', and most notably ''Avatar: The Way of Water'', which obliterated all known box-office records in a matter of weeks, and also its competition. However, any attempts at counter-programming were met with indifference as ''Film/TheGreenKnight'', ''Film/TheLastDuel'', ''Film/NightmareAlley2021'', ''Film/WestSideStory2021'', and even highly-anticipated films such as ''Film/TheMatrixResurrections'', ''The King's Man'', ''Amsterdam'', ''The Fabelmans'', ''Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody'' and ''Babylon'' have failed to click in this new theatrical climate, which hasn't been very kind to animated films either as ''Lightyear'', ''Lyle, Lyle Crocodile'' ''Strange World'', and underperformed at the box-office if not downright bombed, likely an effect of families opting to wait for these to hit streaming instead of taking the kids to the movies (with only Universal’s Illumination and [=DreamWorks=] being profitable in 2022). And amid the apparent debacle for superhero films, horror and suspense pictures seem to have become Hollywood's newest trend with films like ''Orphan: First Kill'', ''Smile'', ''Terrifier 2'', ''The Menu'' and ''[=M3GAN=]'' becoming hits in no small part because of innovative viral campaigns and their cheeky twists on black comedy in most cases.

Superhero films kept their previous stranglehold on the box office at first, with ''Film/VenomLetThereBeCarnage'', ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' and ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' easily becoming successes, ''No Way Home'' managing to be the first movie in two years to break a billion dollars worldwide, followed by ''Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness'' and later on, ''Wakanda Forever''. However, the genre faced severe difficulties during the 2022–23 season as ''Thor: Love and Thunder'' garnered mixed reviews and was a box-office disappointment (at least by the MCU's standards) while the DCEU became engulfed in various controversies, particularly regarding WB's shaky finances and Discovery's drastic measures to turn the studio around, including the erasing of ''Batgirl'' for tax purposes. Furthermore, ''Black Adam'' was thrashed by critics and floundered financially, leading to a war of words between Dwayne Johnson and DC Studios over how much the film made. Late in 2022, James Gunn was appointed head of the DCEU.

The post-pandemic environment, fully set in place halfway through the 2021–22 season, soon showed audiences went to the movies mostly seeking thrills, squarely favoring action-adventure films as well as movies featuring cultural juggernauts, as demonstrated by the success of ''Top Gun: Maverick'' (which cemented Paramount’s return to form after a decade-long DorkAge), ''Elvis'', ''Everything Everywhere All at Once'', ''Jurassic World: Dominion'', ''Minions: The Rise of Gru'', and most notably ''Avatar: The Way of Water'', which obliterated all known box-office records in a matter of weeks, and also its competition. However, any attempts at counter-programming were met with indifference as ''Film/TheGreenKnight'', ''Film/TheLastDuel'', ''Film/NightmareAlley2021'', ''Film/WestSideStory2021'', and even highly-anticipated films such as ''Film/TheMatrixResurrections'', ''The King's Man'', ''Amsterdam'', ''The Fabelmans'', ''Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody'' and ''Babylon'' have failed to click in this new theatrical climate, which hasn't been very kind to animated films either as ''Lightyear'', ''Lyle, Lyle Crocodile'' ''Strange World'', and underperformed at the box-office if not downright bombed, likely an effect of families opting to wait for these to hit streaming instead of taking the kids to the movies (with only [=DreamWorks=]’ ''The Bad Guys'' and ''Puss in Boots: The Last Wish'' making a profit). And amid the apparent debacle for superhero films, horror and suspense pictures seem to have become Hollywood's newest trend with films like ''Orphan: First Kill'', ''Smile'', ''Terrifier 2'', ''The Menu'' and ''[=M3GAN=]'' becoming hits in no small part because of innovative viral campaigns and their cheeky twists on black comedy in most cases.

The post-pandemic environment, fully set in place halfway through the 2021–22 season, soon showed audiences went to the movies mostly seeking thrills, squarely favoring action-adventure films as well as movies featuring cultural juggernauts, as demonstrated by the success of ''Top Gun: Maverick'' (which cemented Paramount’s return to glory after a decade-long DorkAge), ''Elvis'', ''Everything Everywhere All at Once'', ''Jurassic World: Dominion'', ''Minions: The Rise of Gru'', and most notably ''Avatar: The Way of Water'', which obliterated all known box-office records in a matter of weeks, and also its competition. However, any attempts at counter-programming were met with indifference as ''Film/TheGreenKnight'', ''Film/TheLastDuel'', ''Film/NightmareAlley2021'', ''Film/WestSideStory2021'', and even highly-anticipated films such as ''Film/TheMatrixResurrections'', ''The King's Man'', ''Amsterdam'', ''The Fabelmans'', ''Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody'' and ''Babylon'' have failed to click in this new theatrical climate, which hasn't been very kind to animated films either as ''The Bad Guys'', ''Turning Red'', ''Lightyear'', ''Lyle, Lyle Crocodile'', ''Strange World'', and ''Puss in Boots: The Last Wish'' underperformed at the box-office if not downright bombed, likely an effect of families opting to wait for these to hit streaming instead of taking the kids to the movies (although ''The Last Wish'' eventually got over its underwhelming opening). And amid the apparent debacle for superhero films, horror and suspense pictures seem to have become Hollywood's newest trend with films like ''Orphan: First Kill'', ''Smile'', ''Terrifier 2'', ''The Menu'' and ''[=M3GAN=]'' becoming hits in no small part because of innovative viral campaigns and their cheeky twists on black comedy in most cases.

The current Blockbuster Age of Hollywood is an era where marketing and spectacle have dominated, in contrast to the creative freedom (and excesses) that marked the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood era of the 1970s. It has also created a new "studio-system", built upon the ashes of the old. This time however, there are only five major studios: Creator/{{Sony}} (releasing films under the Creator/ColumbiaPictures, Creator/TriStarPictures and Creator/ScreenGems imprints), [[Creator/{{Universal}} Universal Pictures]], Creator/WarnerBros, [[Creator/{{Paramount}} Paramount Pictures]] and [[Creator/{{Disney}} Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures]] (formerly known as Buena Vista Pictures)--Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox and Creator/{{MGM}} still exist, but the former was acquired by Disney in 2019, renamed [[InNameOnly "20th Century Studios"]] to remove connections to Fox Corporation (the shell of Fox's former self) and the latter is a shadow of its former self, owned by its creditors for years until Amazon bought it in 2021, and a major studio [[GrandfatherClause only by virtue of]] its [[GloryDays glamorous past]]. But fundamentally, this is a studio-system InNameOnly. The studios have become part of larger conglomerates instead of being independent companies like in the Golden Age. In addition, actors still operate on a "free agent" basis instead of being contractually tied to a studio, and the New Hollywood mentality of directors having just as much say in the final product as studio executives-- if not more so-- remained (mostly) intact for much of the era.

After over a decade of mounting criticism from parents' associations and watchdog groups, the MPAA enacted more stringent measures that radically changed its ratings system: "PG-13" became both the most common rating for films and the highest-grossing one, replacing "PG" which soon gained the "G" rating's reputation of being a sign of "kiddie stuff", being now associated with animated films. By the second half of the 2010s, the number of G- and PG-rated films released per year ''combined'' was not more than twenty. 2016 marked the first year in which not a single non-documentary film was rated G, while in other years, this was mostly reserved for Pixar films. On the other hand, the number of R-rated films also decreased (many of the films receiving this rating primarily, if not only, for language) while the NC-17 rating, never able to shake off its being a successor to the "X" rating, pretty much fell into disuse, with films that would have received the rating choosing to go unrated. All of the above, combined with the [=#MeToo=] movement (where actresses and other women in Hollywood came forward about their sexual harassment experiences) resulted in sexual content and nudity in particular almost completely disappearing from films receiving wide distribution, even most R-rated films. [[https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20211029-why-hollywood-is-shunning-sex Many film critics and journalists]] have noted that this created an almost paradoxical pop-culture landscape, where film is becoming the [[TamerandChaster tamest and most chaste]] it has been since the days of UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode, while streaming and premium cable shows and movies are pushing the boundaries of nudity and sex on screen to levels previously considered unthinkable (MaleFrontalNudity especially is a rarity in theatrical releases because of the MPAA, but is now near-ubiquitous in streaming releases).

The post-pandemic environment, fully set in place halfway through the 2021–22 season, soon showed audiences went to the movies mostly seeking thrills, squarely favoring action-adventure films as well as movies featuring cultural juggernauts, as demonstrated by the success of ''Top Gun: Maverick'', ''Elvis'', ''Everything Everywhere All at Once'', ''Jurassic World: Dominion'', ''Minions: The Rise of Gru'', and most notably ''Avatar: The Way of Water'', which obliterated all known box-office records in a matter of weeks, and also its competition. However, any attempts at counter-programming were met with indifference as ''Film/TheGreenKnight'', ''Film/TheLastDuel'', ''Film/NightmareAlley2021'', ''Film/WestSideStory2021'', and even highly-anticipated films such as ''Film/TheMatrixResurrections'', ''The King's Man'', ''Amsterdam'', ''The Fabelmans'', ''Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody'' and ''Babylon'' have failed to click in this new theatrical climate, which hasn't been very kind to animated films either as ''The Bad Guys'', ''Turning Red'', ''Lightyear'', ''Lyle, Lyle Crocodile'', ''Strange World'', and ''Puss in Boots: The Last Wish'' underperformed at the box-office if not downright bombed, likely an effect of families opting to wait for these to hit streaming instead of taking the kids to the movies (although ''The Last Wish'' eventually got over its underwhelming opening). And amid the apparent debacle for superhero films, horror and suspense pictures seem to have become Hollywood's newest trend with films like ''Orphan: First Kill'', ''Smile'', ''Terrifier 2'', ''The Menu'' and ''[=M3GAN=]'' becoming hits in no small part because of innovative viral campaigns and their cheeky twists on black comedy in most cases.

* Creator/NiaDaCosta (''Film/Candyman2021'', ''Captain Marvel 2'')

* Creator/StevenSpielberg (''Film/{{Jaws}}'', ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'', ''Franchise/IndianaJones'', ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' and ''Jurassic World'', ''Schindler's List'')

The current Blockbuster Age of Hollywood is an era where marketing and spectacle have dominated in contrast to the creative freedom and excesses that marked the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood era of the 1970s. It has also created a new "studio-system", built upon the ashes of the old. This time however, there are only five major studios: Creator/{{Sony}} (releasing films under the Creator/ColumbiaPictures, Creator/TriStarPictures and Creator/ScreenGems imprints), [[Creator/{{Universal}} Universal Pictures]], Creator/WarnerBros, [[Creator/{{Paramount}} Paramount Pictures]] and [[Creator/{{Disney}} Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures]] (formerly known as Buena Vista Pictures)--Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox and Creator/{{MGM}} still exist, but the former was acquired by Disney in 2019, renamed [[InNameOnly "20th Century Studios"]] to remove connections to Fox Corporation (the shell of Fox's former self) and the latter is a shadow of its former self, owned by its creditors for years until Amazon bought it in 2021, and a major studio [[GrandfatherClause only by virtue of]] its [[GloryDays glamorous past]]. But fundamentally, this is a studio-system InNameOnly. The studios have become part of larger conglomerates instead of being independent companies like in the Golden Age. In addition, actors still operate on a "free agent" basis instead of being contractually tied to a studio, and the New Hollywood mentality of directors having just as much say in the final product as studio executives-- if not more so-- remained (mostly) intact for much of the era.

While movies have always depended on other media for material, adaptations of popular works would not become a dominating force in the industry until 2001, the year Creator/WarnerBros released films based on the literary sagas of ''Literature/HarryPotter'' and ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', which would become the two biggest films of a year that also saw the debuts of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'', ''Film/OceansEleven'' and ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'' sagas. The success of both ''The Sorcerer's Stone'' and ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' changed the industry entirely, even establishing the modern storytelling structure found in Hollywood films. Their successes immediately sent waves to the other studios, now urged to look for a) "fantasy" material, as it is attractive to audiences of all ages, b) a propriety with long-term potential, and most importantly c) get your hands on anything popular (extending the previous point) -- a video game, a 1980s TV show (preferably a cartoon), a comic strip, toys or even ''internet symbols'' -- to take advantage of existing fandoms and merchandising.

This has meant a shift on the animation industry, the irreverent humor of films like the ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'' saga and ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie'' put Universal and Warner Bros. on the map as prominent makers of animated movies. In addition, Disney's in-house feature animation studio regained pulse with the enormous success of films like ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'', ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}''. Meanwhile, the already-established Creator/{{Pixar}} and Creator/DreamWorksAnimation faced numerous problems: "The House Woody and Buzz Built" faced its first critical failure with 2011's ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'' [[ToughActToFollow after the magnum opus that was]] ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', released the previous year, and would not redeem itself until the release of ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'' in 2015. They would however face their first domestic BoxOfficeBomb with ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'' that Winter, not returning to top form until 2017 with ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'', which kicked off a renaissance of sorts for the studio. That same year, DWA released ''WesternAnimation/Home2015'', which ended a parade of flops which coincided with the studio's shift in tone towards more character-based stories following 2010's ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon''. The studio behind ''Shrek'' and ''Madagascar'' was absorbed by Comcast in 2016, becoming Illumination's "second unit".

With films becoming more expensive, the international market for Hollywood films has grown more prominent than ever, and has even begun to overshadow the once all-important domestic North American market. For instance, the true biggest animated feature film of 2011 ''worldwide'', ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'' earned a gross of $665,692,281 with 75.2% of it from international markets, including $95 million from China alone.[[note]]When you consider how China happens to be kung fu's native soil, while also being the world's most populous country, you start to see how this trend might affect the ''content'' of Hollywood films in the future (there have been some cases).[[/note]] Furthermore, many films since the 2011-2014 period were saved from bombing by overseas rentals. For instance, the Creator/StevenSpielberg film ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfTintin2011'' earned $230 million (more than covering its budget) ''before'' it ever opened in North America outside of the Canadian province of Quebec, and a remarkably short-sighted failure to account for the international popularity of ''Film/TheGoldenCompass'' ultimately [[CreatorKiller destroyed New Line Cinema as an independent studio]].[[note]]''Film/TheGoldenCompass'' made over $300 million overseas, but unfortunately for New Line, they had sold off all of the international distribution rights in order to raise money, meaning that the only red cent they saw from the $180 million blockbuster fantasy film was its $70 million domestic gross. This has been cited as the "last straw" in Time Warner's decision to fold New Line into Creator/WarnerBros[[/note]] ''Film/TerminatorGenisys'' and ''Film/{{Warcraft}}'' both failed to cross $100 million domestically, but managed to cross that mark in China and over $400 million overall worldwide. And franchises like ''Fast & Furious'', ''Transformers'', ''Westernanimation/IceAge'' and ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'' have become more popular overseas than in the domestic market.

The major positive effect of home video was that it provided a channel for young film geeks who had spent much of their lives watching old films on TV and video, picking up the various techniques used by classic directors, and deciding that they wanted to become filmmakers themselves. People like Creator/QuentinTarantino, Creator/KevinSmith, Creator/SpikeLee and Creator/StevenSoderbergh made such films as ''Film/ReservoirDogs'', ''Film/PulpFiction'', ''Film/{{Clerks}}'', ''Film/DoTheRightThing'' and ''Film/SexLiesAndVideotape'', sparking a renaissance in independent film that lasts to this day. Other directors, such as Creator/TheCoenBrothers, worked with both independent and major studios interchangeably. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the big studios started their own subsidiary labels devoted to independent films such as Creator/FoxSearchlightPictures, [[Creator/{{Sony}} Sony Pictures Classics]], Creator/{{Universal}}'s Creator/FocusFeatures and (prior to 2008) [[Creator/{{Paramount}} Paramount Vantage]], in order to farm Hollywood's [[OscarBait award-season arsenal]], winning critical acclaim and, sometimes, commercial success. In addition, many independent studios, such as Creator/LionsGate, Creator/{{Annapurna|Pictures}}, {{Creator/STX|Entertainment}} and Magnolia (as well as the now-defunct Creator/{{PolyGram|FilmedEntertainment}}, Creator/{{Miramax|Films}}, Creator/TheWeinsteinCompany, Creator/FilmDistrict, Creator/{{New Line|Cinema}} and Creator/{{Summit|Entertainment}}), have gained footholds in the mainstream market by both distributing independent and foreign films and, increasingly, making films in-house (Lionsgate's ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' franchise, Summit's ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' adaptations), often raking in enough money to blur the line between "indie" and "major". At the same time, the "Indie wave" not only rehabilitated the names of the New Hollywood-era auteurs which had spent the 1980s dealing with financial failures and critical indifference, but in many cases drove them to a degree of mainstream recognition they never expected.

* Creator/PattyJenkins (''Film/{{Monster}}'', ''Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}}'')
* Creator/MarkStevenJohnson (''Film/{{Daredevil}}'', ''Film/GhostRider'')

* Creator/JordanPeele (''Film/{{Get Out|2017}}'', ''Film/{{Us}}'')
* Creator/ToddPhillips (''Film/TheHangover'', ''Film/{{Joker|2019}}'')

The post-pandemic environment, fully set in place halfway through the 2021–22 season, soon showed audiences went to the movies mostly seeking thrills, squarely favoring action-adventure films as well as movies featuring cultural juggernauts, as demonstrated by the success of ''Top Gun: Maverick'', ''Elvis'', ''Everything Everywhere All at Once'', ''Jurassic World: Dominion'', ''Minions: The Rise of Gru'', and most notably ''Avatar: The Way of Water'', which obliterated all known box-office records in a matter of weeks, and also its competition. However, any attempts at counter-programming were met with indifference as ''Film/TheGreenKnight'', ''Film/TheLastDuel'', ''Film/NightmareAlley2021'', ''Film/WestSideStory2021'', and even highly-anticipated films such as ''Film/TheMatrixResurrections'', ''The King's Man'', ''Amsterdam'', ''The Fabelmans'', ''Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody'' and ''Babylon'' have failed to click in this new theatrical climate, which hasn't been very kind to animated films either as ''The Bad Guys'', ''Turning Red'', ''Lightyear'', ''Strange World'', and ''Puss in Boots: The Last Wish'' underperformed at the box-office if not downright bombed, likely an effect of families opting to wait for these to hit streaming instead of taking the kids to the movies. And amid the apparent debacle for superhero films, horror and suspense pictures seem to have become Hollywood's newest trend with films like ''Orphan: First Kill'', ''Smile'', ''Terrifier 2'', ''The Menu'' and ''[=M3GAN=]'' becoming hits in no small part because of innovative viral campaigns.

Increasing opposition to the "day-and-date" releasing scheme soon came to a head when Tom Cruise insisted on keeping ''Top Gun: Maverick'' out of streaming as long as he could. The film's success soon convinced studios to return to exclusive theatrical releases by the end of the 2021–22 season: Warner Bros. stopped simultaneous releases by having ''Elvis'' as a theatrical exclusive, while Disney did the same, having done some only-in-theaters release after the success of ''Shang-Chi'', although this had been restricted to MCU films beforehand.

The post-pandemic environment, fully set in place halfway through the 2021–22 season, soon showed audiences went to the movies mostly seeking thrills, squarely favoring action-adventure films as well as movies featuring cultural juggernauts, as demonstrated by the success of ''Top Gun: Maverick'', ''Elvis'', ''Everything Everywhere All at Once'', ''Jurassic World: Dominion'', ''Minions: The Rise of Gru'', and most notably ''Avatar: The Way of Water'', which obliterated all known box-office records in a matter of weeks, and also its competition. However, any attempts at counter-programming were met with indifference as ''Film/TheGreenKnight'', ''Film/TheLastDuel'', ''Film/NightmareAlley2021'', ''Film/WestSideStory2021'', and even highly-anticipated films such as ''Film/TheMatrixResurrections'', ''The King's Man'', ''Amsterdam'', ''The Fabelmans'', ''I Wanna Dance With Somebody'' and ''Babylon'' have failed to click in this new theatrical climate, which hasn't been very kind to animated films either as ''The Bad Guys'', ''Turning Red'', ''Lightyear'', ''Strange World'', and ''Puss in Boots: The Last Wish'' underperformed at the box-office if not downright bombed, likely an effect of families opting to wait for these to hit streaming instead of taking the kids to the movies. And amid the apparent debacle for superhero films, horror and suspense pictures seem to have become Hollywood's newest trend with films like ''Orphan: First Kill'', ''Smile'', ''Terrifier 2'', ''The Menu'' and ''[=M3GAN=]'' becoming hits in no small part because of innovative viral campaigns.

The post-pandemic environment, fully set in place halfway through the 2021–22 season, soon showed audiences went to the movies mostly seeking thrills, squarely favoring action-adventure films as well as movies featuring cultural juggernauts, as demonstrated by the success of ''Top Gun: Maverick'', ''Elvis'', ''Jurassic World: Dominion'', ''Minions: The Rise of Gru'', and most notably ''Avatar: The Way of Water'', which obliterated all known box-office records in a matter of weeks, and also its competition. However, any attempts at counter-programming were met with indifference as ''Film/TheGreenKnight'', ''Film/TheLastDuel'', ''Film/NightmareAlley2021'', ''Film/WestSideStory2021'', and even highly-anticipated films such as ''Film/TheMatrixResurrections'', ''The King's Man'', ''Amsterdam'', ''The Fabelmans'', ''I Wanna Dance With Somebody'' and ''Babylon'' have failed to click in this new theatrical climate, which hasn't been very kind to animated films either as ''The Bad Guys'', ''Turning Red'', ''Lightyear'', ''Strange World'', and ''Puss in Boots: The Last Wish'' underperformed at the box-office if not downright bombed, likely an effect of families opting to wait for these to hit streaming instead of taking the kids to the movies. And amid the apparent debacle for superhero films, horror and suspense pictures seem to have become Hollywood's newest trend with films like ''Orphan: First Kill'', ''Smile'', ''Terrifier 2'', ''The Menu'' and ''[=M3GAN=]'' becoming hits in no small part because of innovative viral campaigns.

The post-pandemic environment, fully set in place halfway through the 2021–22 season, soon showed audiences went to the movies mostly seeking thrills, squarely favoring action-adventure films as well as movies featuring cultural juggernauts, as demonstrated by the success of ''Top Gun: Maverick'', ''Elvis'', ''Jurassic World: Dominion'', ''Minions: The Rise of Gru'', and most notably ''Avatar: The Way of Water'', which obliterated all known box-office records in a matter of weeks, and also its competition. However, any attempts at counter-programming were met with indifference as ''Film/TheGreenKnight'', ''Film/TheLastDuel'', ''Film/NightmareAlley2021'', ''Film/WestSideStory2021'', and even highly-anticipated films such as ''Film/TheMatrixResurrections'', ''The King's Man'', ''Amsterdam''', ''The Fabelmans'', ''I Wanna Dance With Somebody'' and ''Babylon'' have failed to click in this new theatrical climate, which hasn't been very kind to animated films either as ''The Bad Guys'', ''Turning Red'', ''Lightyear'', ''Strange World'', and ''Puss in Boots: The Last Wish'' underperformed at the box-office if not downright bombed, likely an effect of families opting to wait for these to hit streaming instead of taking the kids to the movies. And amid the apparent debacle for superhero films, horror and suspense pictures seem to have become Hollywood's newest trend with films like ''Orphan: First Kill'', ''Smile'', ''Terrifier 2'', ''The Menu'' and [=M3GAN=] becoming hits in no small part because of innovative viral campaigns.

The post-pandemic environment, fully set in place halfway through the 2021–22 season, soon showed audiences went to the movies mostly seeking thrills, squarely favoring action-adventure films, suspense and horror pictures, and movies featuring cultural juggernauts, as demonstrated by the success of ''Top Gun: Maverick'', ''Elvis'', ''Jurassic World: Dominion'', ''Orphan: First Kill'', ''The Menu'', ''Minions: The Rise of Gru'', and most notably ''Avatar: The Way of Water'', which obliterated all known box-office records in a matter of weeks, and also its competition. However, any attempts at counter-programming were met with indifference as ''Film/TheGreenKnight'', ''Film/TheLastDuel'', ''Film/NightmareAlley2021'', ''Film/WestSideStory2021'', and even highly-anticipated films such as ''Film/TheMatrixResurrections'', ''The King's Man'', ''Amsterdam''', ''The Fabelmans'', ''I Wanna Dance With Somebody'' and ''Babylon'' have failed to click in this new theatrical climate, which hasn't been very kind to animated films either as ''The Bad Guys'', ''Turning Red'', ''Lightyear'', ''Strange World'', and ''Puss in Boots: The Last Wish'' underperformed at the box-office if not downright bombed, likely an effect of families opting to wait for these to hit streaming instead of taking the kids to the movies.

The post-pandemic environment, fully set in place halfway through the 2021–22 season, soon showed audiences went to the movies mostly seeking thrills, squarely favoring action-adventure films, suspense and horror pictures, and movies featuring cultural juggernauts, as demonstrated by the success of ''Top Gun: Maverick'', ''Elvis'', ''Jurassic World: Dominion'', ''Orphan: First Kill'', ''The Menu'', ''Smile'', ''Terrifier 2'', ''M3GAN'', ''Minions: The Rise of Gru'', and most notably ''Avatar: The Way of Water'', which obliterated all known box-office records in a matter of weeks, and also its competition. However, any attempts at counter-programming were met with indifference as ''Film/TheGreenKnight'', ''Film/TheLastDuel'', ''Film/NightmareAlley2021'', ''Film/WestSideStory2021'', and even highly-anticipated films such as ''Film/TheMatrixResurrections'', ''The King's Man'', ''Amsterdam''', ''The Fabelmans'', ''I Wanna Dance With Somebody'' and ''Babylon'' have failed to click in this new theatrical climate, which hasn't been very kind to animated films either as ''The Bad Guys'', ''Turning Red'', ''Lightyear'', ''Strange World'', and ''Puss in Boots: The Last Wish'' underperformed at the box-office if not downright bombed, likely an effect of families opting to wait for these to hit streaming instead of taking the kids to the movies.

The post-pandemic environment, fully set in place halfway through the 2021–22 season, soon showed audiences went to the movies mostly seeking thrills, squarely favoring action-adventure films, suspense and horror pictures, and movies featuring cultural juggernauts, as demonstrated by the success of ''Top Gun: Maverick'', ''Elvis'', ''Jurassic World: Dominion'', ''Orphan: First Kill'', ''The Menu'', ''Smile'', ''Terrifier 2'', ''M3GAN'', ''Minions: The Rise of Gru'', and most notably ''Avatar: The Way of Water'', which obliterated all known box-office records in a matter of weeks, and also its competition. However, any attempts at counter-programming were met with indifference as ''Film/TheGreenKnight'', ''Film/TheLastDuel'', ''Film/NightmareAlley2021'', ''Film/WestSideStory2021', and even highly-anticipated films such as ''Film/TheMatrixResurrections'', ''The King's Man'', ''Amsterdam''', ''The Fabelmans'', ''I Wanna Dance With Somebody'' and ''Babylon'' have failed to click in this new theatrical climate, which hasn't been very kind to animated films either as ''The Bad Guys'', ''Turning Red'', ''Lightyear'', ''Strange World'', and ''Puss in Boots: The Last Wish'' underperformed at the box-office if not downright bombed, likely an effect of families opting to wait for these to hit streaming instead of taking the kids to the movies.

The post-pandemic environment, fully set in place halfway through the 2021–22 season, soon showed audiences went to the movies mostly seeking thrills, squarely favoring action-adventure films, suspense and horror pictures, and movies featuring cultural juggernauts, as demonstrated by the success of ''Top Gun: Maverick'', ''Elvis'', ''Jurassic World: Dominion'', ''Orphan: First Kill'', ''The Menu'', ''Smile'', ''Terrifier 2'', ''M3GAN'', ''Minions: The Rise of Gru'', and most notably ''Avatar: The Way of Water'', which obliterated all known box-office records in a matter of weeks, and also its competition. However, any attempts at counter-programming were met with indifference as ''Film/TheGreenKnight'', ''Film/TheLastDuel'', ''Film/NightmareAlley2021'', ''Film/WestSideStory2021', and even highly-anticipated films such as ''Film/TheMatrixResurrections'', ''Amsterdam''', ''The Fabelmans'', ''I Wanna Dance With Somebody'' and ''Babylon'' have failed to click in this new theatrical climate, which hasn't been very kind to animated films either as ''The Bad Guys'', ''Turning Red'', ''Lightyear'', ''Strange World'', and ''Puss in Boots: The Last Wish'' underperformed at the box-office if not downright bombed, likely an effect of families opting to wait for these to hit streaming instead of taking the kids to the movies.

While in the early 2010s, it was expected for the movie exhibition industry to wither and die in a few years' time as mentioned above, the second half of the decade saw box-office numbers swell to unknown heights (conversely, cable television was rapidly being reduced in the late 2010s to a seldom-consumed media that most people only use nowadays as background noise thanks to the concurrent rise of streaming service-based shows, leading many to comment on the irony of the seemingly obsolete movie theater outliving the very medium that was supposed to succeed it). By the end of the decade, however, HypeBacklash set on, with filmmaker Martin Scorcese questioning the artistic value of modern commercial film, joining critiques for the perceived lack of mature themes and omnipresence of franchise movies. While 2019 saw ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' beating ''Avatar'' as the highest-grossing film of all time, it also saw sure bets for success get underwhelming returns (''Star Wars: Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'') or become downright failures (''Film/{{Cats}}'') while "genre" films became unlikely successes, like ''Film/OnceUponATimeInHollywood'', ''Film/FordVFerrari'', ''Film/KnivesOut'' and ''Film/Joker2019''. This trend continued in early 2020 with ''Film/BadBoysForLife'' making gains while ''Film/BirdsOfPrey'' barely earned its budget back. Furthermore, the attention given to films made by streaming services, such as Netflix's ''The Irishman'' and ''Film/MarriageStory'' or released through such platforms in most countries did not help theatrical movies regarding their quality. "Prestige" productions and the names associated with them were also tarnished by the downfall of Harvey Weinstein, who was indicted on charges of sexual assault, as he pretty much monopolized the "genre film" market as "majors" began to give up on them from the second half of the 1990s to the early 2010s.

The situation became even more stark when sure enough, Universal and AMC soon came to an agreement that allowed Universal to pull films from AMC theatres for online distribution after only 17 days as opposed to the usual 90 while AMC gets a percentage of online sales of those films. Since the theatrical window is viewed in the movie theatre industry as a necessary guarantee of its business viability, these change in practices could set a trend depending on how long the aforementioned pandemic lasts and how quickly people resume their normal activities if they do in the short or medium term, which might ultimately make the very idea of going to movie theaters a victim of COVID-19. Warner Bros. has gone even further by announcing that their entire slate of films for 2021 will be available to stream on Creator/HBOMax for one month, concurrently with a theatrical release. By the spring of 2021, mass vaccination led to a reopening of theaters in most countries, with ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' becoming the first domestic and international box office success since the pandemic's start, despite its simultaneous release on HBO Max. Subsequent tentpole releases such as ''Film/{{Black Widow|2021}}'', ''Film/{{F9}}'', ''Film/NoTimeToDie'' and ''Film/{{Dune|2021}}'' did quite well financially, however their box office numbers were still far from their pre-pandemic high points and held-over films ultimately lost millions in unused publicity.

While superhero films kept their stranglehold on the box office at first, with ''Film/VenomLetThereBeCarnage'', ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' and ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' easily becoming successes, ''No Way Home'' managing to be the first movie in two years to break a billion dollars worldwide, followed by ''Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness'' and later on, ''Wakanda Forever''. However, the genre faced severe difficulties during the 2022–23 season as ''Thor: Love and Thunder'' garnered mixed reviews and was a box-office disappointment (at least by the MCU's standards) while the DCEU became engulfed in various controversies, particularly regarding WB's shaky finances and Discovery's drastic measures to turn the studio around, including the erasing of ''Batgirl'' for tax purposes. Furthermore, ''Black Adam'' was thrashed by critics and floundered financially, leading to a war of words between Dwayne Johnson and DC Studios over how much the film made. Late in 2022, James Gunn was appointed head of the DCEU.

As for the future, analogies have been made with video games and music shows, as in the case of the former, the initially low-quality home systems eventually superseded the price-quality threshold of game arcades, which countered with fancy equipment whose use would be too impractical for home use (compare with IMAX and dine-in theaters for instance), while in the case of the latter, big-time pop and rock acts soon regained the audiences of their pre-pandemic concerts, but on the other hand, musicians with less showboating appeal as well as upstarts became soon locked out, although they would benefit from streaming concerts, potentially making themselves known to a wider audience.

As for the future, an analogy has been made with the fate of the video arcade as an entertainment destination. In UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfVideoGames, with entertainment computer technology still in its infancy, the video arcade was the most commercially viable means of making the best available technology available as coin-operated machines. By contrast, the home systems like the Atari 2600, the Mattel Intellivision and later the Nintendo Entertainment System were underpowered and crude in their graphics and sounds. However, when later home systems starting with the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo which presented much more powerful performance equal to video arcade games for a reasonable affordable price, the arcade accelerated its decline until it was finally reduced to a specialized entertainment sector with expensive dedicated equipment for immersive experiences that could not be justified for the home, be it dance pads, fancy light guns and the beginnings of virtual reality systems. Likewise, once the public decides that home entertainment in film can be matched as easily and affordably such as sufficiently large display screens to resemble a cinema's viewing auditorium to a practical degree, the latter's appeal may decline like the video arcade to have only specialized high end venues like the IMAX design of theatre or perhaps combine with the restaurant concept for something like dinner theatre for movies.

The post-pandemic environment, fully set in place halfway through the 2021–22 season, soon showed audiences went to the movies mostly seeking thrills, squarely favoring action-adventure films, suspense and horror pictures, and movies featuring cultural juggernauts, as demonstrated by the success of ''Top Gun: Maverick'', ''Elvis'', ''Jurassic World: Dominion'', ''Orphan: First Kill'', ''The Menu'', ''Minions: The Rise of Gru'',

Some studios though have announced plans to stop simultaneous releases to streaming services with Disney pleading to have theatrical exclusive releases after the success of ''Shang-Chi'' while Warner Brothers stopped the practice during the end of the 2021–22 season as ''Elvis'' didn't have a . While big tentpole files and franchise films have started to regain some of their former box office glory, non-franchise films and films aimed at adults, such as ''Film/TheGreenKnight'', ''Film/TheLastDuel'', ''Film/NightmareAlley2021'', ''Film/WestSideStory2021'', and even ''Film/TheMatrixResurrections'' have not fared nearly as well in this new theatrical climate. The underperformance of these and other similar films will likely ensure that theaters will mostly be the domain of big tentpoles and familiar franchises, while most other films find their homes on streaming.

The situation became even more stark when sure enough, Universal and AMC soon came to an agreement that allowed Universal to pull films from AMC theatres for online distribution after only 17 days as opposed to the usual 90 while AMC gets a percentage of online sales of those films. Since the theatrical window is viewed in the movie theatre industry as a necessary guarantee of its business viability, these change in practices could set a trend depending on how long the aforementioned pandemic lasts and how quickly people resume their normal activities if they do in the short or medium term, which might ultimately make the very idea of going to movie theaters a victim of COVID-19. Warner Bros. has gone even further by announcing that their entire slate of films for 2021 will be available to stream on Creator/HBOMax for one month, concurrently with a theatrical release. By the spring of 2021, mass vaccination led to a reopening of theaters in most countries, with ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' becoming the first domestic and international box office success since the pandemic's start, despite its simultaneous release on HBO Max. Subsequent tentpole releases such as ''Film/{{Black Widow|2021}}'', ''Film/{{F9}}'', ''Film/NoTimeToDie'' and ''Film/{{Dune|2021}}'' did quite well financially, however their box office numbers were still far from their pre-pandemic high points and held-over films ultimately lost millions in unused publicity. Films aimed at younger audiences, such as ''Film/VenomLetThereBeCarnage'', ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' and ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' didn't have this problem, with the last one managing to be the first movie in two years to break a billion dollars worldwide. Some studios though have announced plans to stop simultaneous releases to streaming services with Disney pleading to have theatrical exclusive releases after the success of ''Shang-Chi'' while Warner Brothers has announced it will not continue the practice for its 2022 slate. While big tentpole files and franchise films have started to regain some of their former box office glory, non-franchise films and films aimed at adults, such as ''Film/TheGreenKnight'', ''Film/TheLastDuel'', ''Film/NightmareAlley2021'', ''Film/WestSideStory2021'', and even ''Film/TheMatrixResurrections'' have not fared nearly as well in this new theatrical climate. The underperformance of these and other similar films will likely ensure that theaters will mostly be the domain of big tentpoles and familiar franchises, while most other films find their homes on streaming.

The current Blockbuster Age of Hollywood is an era where marketing and spectacle have dominated in contrast to the creative freedom and excesses that marked the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood era of the 1970s. It has also created a new "studio-system", built upon the ashes of the old. This time however, there are only five major studios: Creator/{{Sony}} (releasing films under the Creator/ColumbiaPictures, Creator/TriStarPictures and Creator/ScreenGems imprints), [[Creator/{{Universal}} Universal Pictures]], Creator/WarnerBros, [[Creator/{{Paramount}} Paramount Pictures]] and [[Creator/{{Disney}} Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures]] (formerly known as Buena Vista Pictures)--Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox and Creator/{{MGM}} still exist, but the former was acquired by Disney in 2019, renamed [[InNameOnly "20th Century Studios"]] to remove connections to Fox Corporation (the shell of Fox's former self) and the latter is a shadow of its former self, owned by its creditors for years until Amazon bought it in 2021, and a major studio [[GrandfatherClause only by virtue of]] [[GloryDays its history]]. But fundamentally, this is a studio-system InNameOnly. The studios have become part of larger conglomerates instead of being independent companies like in the Golden Age. In addition, actors still operate on a "free agent" basis instead of being contractually tied to a studio, and the New Hollywood mentality of directors having just as much say in the final product as studio executives-- if not more so-- remained (mostly) intact for much of the era.

The term "block buster" (note the space) was first used for a giant bomb during World War II, with ''Variety'' quickly adopting it to describe films whose premieres attracted lines around the blocks surrounding Broadway movie houses.

* Creator/JamesCameron (''Film/TheTerminator'', ''Film/{{Titanic|1997}}'', ''Film/{{Avatar}}'')

The second half of 2014 saw ''Film/{{Guardians Of The Galaxy|2014}}'' became an overnight success in spite of not being backed by a particularly popular property while the middling reception to ''Film/TheMazeRunner'' and ''Film/TheHungerGamesMockingjay -- Part 1'' became harbingers that the YA literature craze was reaching its peak. 2015 and early 2016 had originally-sourced films like ''Film/AmericanSniper'', ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretLifeOfPets'' as well as adaptations of less prominent works such as ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'', ''Film/TheMartian'', ''WesternAnimation/ThePeanutsMovie'' and ''Film/Deadpool2016'' becoming critical and financial successes. In addition, domestic gross records were broken ''twice'' during 2015, first by ''Film/JurassicWorld'' and then by ''Film/StarWarsTheForceAwakens'', demonstrating that the reports of the death of the film industry and appetite for original content had been exaggerated. The second half of the 2010s has also seen a resurgent prominence of ''auteur'' filmmaking, which has enjoyed a renewed credibility, financial success and mainstream influence at the same time that numerous franchises, genres and actors popular at the turn of the decade took a beating.

* Creator/MichaelBay (''Film/{{Armageddon}}'', ''Film/{{Transformers}}'')

The faltering animation industry got a badly-needed kick in the pants at the end of the 1980s with the releases of ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'', ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'' and ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast''. The "Disney Renaissance" became one of the main factors of [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation a new age for not only cartoons]], but also for the film industry as a whole as studios began to take interest in animation. However, the success of 1995's ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' meant the end not only for the in-house animation divisions, replaced by up-starts like Creator/{{Dreamworks|Animation}} and Creator/{{Blue Sky|Studios}}, but also caused the decline of live-action family films.

This has meant a shift on the animation industry, the irreverent humor of films like the ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'' saga and ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie'' put Universal and Warner Bros. on the map as prominent makers of animated movies. In addition, Disney's in-house feature animation studio regained pulse with the enormous success of films like ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'', ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}''. Meanwhile, the already-established Creator/{{Pixar}} and Creator/DreamWorksAnimation faced numerous problems: "The House Woody and Buzz Built" faced its first critical failure with 2011's ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'' [[ToughActToFollow after the magnum opus that was]] ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', released the previous year, and would not redeem itself until the release of ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'' in 2015. They would however face their first domestic BoxOfficeBomb with the WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur that winter, not returning to top form until 2017 with ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'', which kicked off a renaissance of sorts for the studio. That same year, DWA released ''WesternAnimation/Home2015'', which ended a parade of flops which coincided with the studio's shift in tone towards more character-based stories following 2010's ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon''. The studio behind ''Shrek'' and ''Madagascar'' was absorbed by Comcast in 2016, becoming Illumination's "second unit".

Unfortunately, The New Tens has brought a major DorkAge for two of Hollywood's major studios, Columbia Pictures and Paramount. Both studios suffered from lack of preparedness for challenges from the tech world, poor creative decisions brought on by ExecutiveMeddling, turmoil within their parent companies (Sony and Viacom, respectively) due to their core businesses suffering continued financial losses, lack of synergy between their various subsidiaries and divisions, and movies that were considered mediocre at best and atrocious at worst. This has resulted in many of their {{Cash Cow Franchise}}s [[FranchiseKiller dying off]], a number of their films being considered some of the worst of the decade, executives being shuffled around, and the two studios falling behind even ''mini-majors'' in terms of box office share. Viacom even tried at one point to sell a majority stake in Paramount just to make a profit, only to see their plans torpedoed following objections from their controlling shareholders, the Redstone family, which attempted to merge it with CBS, only to be rebuffed by their minority shareholders who wanted to get rid of the studio (Viacom and CBS re-merged in 2019). Columbia, meanwhile, has had to deal with rumors of Sony contemplating selling off their entertainment properties due to loss of box office share and continued turmoil, rumors that both companies have repeatedly denied.

In addition to the already dismal box office numbers from before the health emergency plummeting by the middle of March, movie production and distribution practically ground to a halt, with many high-profile films [[TheShelfOfMovieLanguishment delaying their releases as much as by a year]], meaning billions of dollars lost on advertising. With people turning to streaming services and potentially becoming scared of being among crowds, there are serious concerns that going to the movies will become extinct. In response, Creator/{{Universal}} announced that it would temporarily abandon the 90-day "theatrical window" (the period of time when movie theaters have exclusive access to new theatrical films), its films currently in theaters, ''Film/TheHunt2020'', ''Film/TheInvisibleMan2020'' and ''Film/Emma2020'' being released on certain on-demand video platforms on March 20, 2020, months ahead of schedule.