History MediaNotes / TheBlockbusterAgeOfHollywood

Another factor in the return of Hollywood to profitability was the rise of the multiplex theater, something that began during the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood era [[note]]although, depending on your definition, the first multiplex opened as early as the 1930s[[/note]] but truly took off in the [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan Reagan]] years and after. The multiplex follows a fairly simple logic: if you have more screens, then you can run more showings of more movies, and can therefore make [[MoneyDearBoy more money]]! Six-screen theaters were opening by the end of TheSeventies, and by TheNineties, they had gone UpToEleven with 20-screen "megaplex" theaters and beyond. It is no coincidence that the rise of the multiplex occurred at the same time as the boom of malls and big-box stores; most multiplexes were part of such complexes, and like their retail cousins, were a driving force behind [[{{Suburbia}} suburban sprawl]] through TheEighties and the early years of TheNineties, the decade when downtown theaters slowly got squeezed out of business, unable to compete with the massive profits made by this new breed of theater. Multiplexes caused the moviegoing experience to undergo a fundamental shift, and very few would argue that the shift was for the better -- it went from large, well-appointed theaters with well-dressed, butler-like staff (something that is now seen only in the few remaining "legacy" movie palaces, like the [[Creator/EastmanKodak Kodak]] and Chinese Theatres in Hollywood) to small, fairly spartan auditoriums with floors covered in dropped popcorn and spilled soda (both of which are ridiculously overpriced), staffed by young people making minimum wage and not particularly happy about it -- movie theater jobs are often considered to be just a step above [[BurgerFool fast food]] and supermarket jobs in terms of crappy, humiliating employment for teenagers.

* Creator/JamesGunn (''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'', ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'')

* Creator/SamRaimi (''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'', ''Franchise/EvilDead'')

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 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 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.

The 2008 writers' strike heavily affected the film industry as these became more expensive. The solution came in the form of making less films, and more of them based on popular works. Budgets also grew higher to make up for the lesser quantity. However, this has brought concerns over a narrowing landscape, the bulk of mainstream releases being epics mostly aimed at young adults. As other audiences drifted to other platforms, numerous voices aired their concerns about the future of movies: Creator/StevenSpielberg commented on [[http://www.newser.com/story/199954/how-hollywood-killed-the-mid-budget-movie.html the disappearance of the "middle film"]], defending himself from cries of hypocrisy by pointing out [[GenreRoulette he made a wide variety of movies]] instead of just action/adventure or fantasy films. He also joined Creator/GeorgeLucas in his concerns that the current business model could collapse like in the 1960s if too many films bombed, in that case the model could shift into a system similar to live theater (or the "roadshow" treatment high-profile films often got during the Golden Age), with movies playing at certain locations for years on end. Between late 2010 and 2014, it didn't seem too far-fetched to see this scenario play out in the near future: In 2010-11 a number of family films flopped even if some of these were released in 3-D, killing the genre for live-action productions. The following years meanwhile saw much-hyped productions like ''Film/JohnCarter'', ''Film/TheLoneRanger'' and ''Film/DraculaUntold'' tank at the box-office. Contrast this with the fact the early 2010s became the peak years for cable TV with highly-regarded series like ''Breaking Bad'' and ''Mad Men'', leading some actors to consider the notion that video work was degrading to be no longer true.

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 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.

* Creator/StevenSpielberg (''Film/{{Jaws}}'', ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'', ''Franchise/IndianaJones'', ''Franchise/JurassicPark'')

Notable is the fact that these science-fiction thrillers were in genres that in the Old Hollywood days would be BMovie (and ''Star Wars'' was called such by ''Creator/RogerCorman'' during a visit to the set on hearing Creator/GeorgeLucas' ideas) and would have been made on low-budget or NoBudget with limited technical resources. The above films more or less structured on similar concepts with a much higher production standard and better visual effects. This trend continued with the wild success of ''Film/{{Superman}}'' in 1978 and ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'' in 1979, which showed that adaptations from media previously scoffed at by Hollywood, such as the ComicBook SuperHero and genre TV series, had potential to become big-time film genres and that the supposedly niche teenager, geek and nerd concepts could in fact appeal to a big part of the mainstream. The huge success of these films -- and another '79 entry, ''Film/TheMuppetMovie'' -- with children was also noted. For all its rebelliousness, UsefulNotes/NewHollywood fundamentally was built on the old genres of the Golden Age Hollywood (TheMusical, the ScrewballComedy, TheWestern, FilmNoir, the women's film, the EpicMovie) and either made {{Deconstruction}} of those genres, [[DeconReconSwitch or updated or reconfigured it]]. What Lucas and Spielberg achieved was a PerspectiveFlip whereby the disreputable serials, science-fiction and adventure stories suddenly went from micro-budget BMovie to more or less epic spectacular made on a scale and budget comparable to a Creator/CecilBDeMille production. This realignment of the audience kicked off the Blockbuster Age.

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/ToyStory 3'', 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".

The second half of 2014 saw ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' 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.

Meanwhile, other film companies have announced similar distribution moves for their own films such as Disney with the online release of ''Film/ArtemisFowl'', while Warner Brothers did the same with the latest ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' film, ''WesternAnimation/{{Scoob}}''. In May, the trend took on a new intensity when the major war drama, ''Film/{{Greyhound}}'', starring the beloved two-time Oscar winner, Creator/TomHanks, was acquired by Creator/AppleTVPlus to be available on their service after its theatrical release date was twice delayed due to the pandemic. Paramount followed suit with ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobMovieSpongeOnTheRun'', with Viacom divvying the streaming rights between Netflix and their Creator/ParamountPlus streaming service. Despite the belief that a release of this kind could never be financially viable for an expensive tentpole, Disney further added to this by announcing that the long-awaited and delayed ''Film/Mulan2020'' would be made available as VOD at an additional charge to Creator/DisneyPlus members. A number of other big-budget, high-profile films followed the day and date release near the end of 2020 such as ''WesternAnimation/{{Soul}}'' for DisneyPlus and ''Film/WonderWoman1984'' and it continued for the first half of 2021. In fact, this trend has become so prominent with the prevailing public health necessity that the UsefulNotes/AcademyAward rules have officially waived its theatrical presentation rules for the 2021 awards, allowing potentially all streaming films to be eligible.

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}}'' 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 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 continuing the practice for its 2022 slate. While big tentpole files and franchise films have started to regain some of their form 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.

* Creator/RichardDonner (''Film/{{Superman}}'', ''Film/LethalWeapon'')

* Creator/JamesGunn (''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'')
* Creator/RonHoward (''Film/{{Apollo 13}}'', ''Film/TheDaVinciCode'')

* Creator/GuyRitchie (''Film/{{Snatch}}'', ''Film/SherlockHolmes2009'', ''[[Film/{{Aladdin|2019}} Aladdin (2019)]]'')

* Creator/EliRoth (''Film/{{Hostel}}'', ''CabinFever'')

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/ToyStory 3'', 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/{{Home}}'', 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".

The 1980s also brought two important developments in monetizing films: ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'' popularized ProductPlacement when a preteen boy's use of Reese's Pieces to draw out the titular creature from hiding resulted in a gigantic uptick in the candy's sales. And at the end of the decade, ''Film/BackToTheFuture Part II'' rolled out internationally over a few weeks in November and December 1989, an unprecedented move probably sparked by the popularity of home video (contrast this with the fact ''Film/ANewHope'' had its European premiere in France three months after the American release, while it didn't get released in the UK until Christmas, ''seven months'' after it premiered stateside) and resultant fears of piracy.

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 especiially is a rarity in theatrical releases because of the MPAA, but is now near-ubiquitous in streaming releases).

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/KungFuPanda 2'' 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 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}}'' 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 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 continuing the practice for its 2022 slate. While big tentpole files and franchise films have started to regain some of their form box office glory, non-franchise films and films aimed at adults, such as ''Film/TheGreenKnight'', ''Film/TheLastDuel'', ''Film/NightmareAlley2021'', ''Film/WestSideStory2021'', and even ''Film/TheMatrixRevolutions'' 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}}'' 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 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 continuing the practice for its 2022 slate.

* Creator/EdgarWright (''Film/BloodAndIceCreamTrilogy'', ''Film/BabyDriver'')

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 in particular is a rarity in theatrical releases because of the MPAA, but becoming near-ubiquitous in streaming releases).

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. 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 in particular is a rarity in theatrical releases because of the MPAA, but becoming near-ubiquitous in streaming releases).

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. 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 in particular).

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. 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 in particular).

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. Many film critics and journalists have noted that this created an almost paradoxical pop-culture landscape, where film is 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 previous considered unthinkable (MaleFrontalNudity in particular).

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. Many film critics and journalists have notes that this created an almost paradoxical pop-culture landscape, where film is 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 previous considered unthinkable (MaleFrontalNudity in particular).

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. Many film critics and journalists have notes that this created an almost paradoxical pop-culture landscape, where film is the [[TamerandChaster tamest and most chaste]] it has been since the days of UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode, while streaming and premium cables shows and movies are pushing the boundaries of nudity and sex on screen to levels previous considered unthinkable (MaleFrontalNudity in particular).

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. Many film critics and journalists have notes that this created an almost paradoxical pop-culture landscape, where film is the [[TamerandCaster tamest and most chaste]] it has been since the days of UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode, while streaming and premium cables shows and movies are pushing the boundaries of nudity and sex on screen to levels previous considered unthinkable (MaleFrontalNudity in particular).

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.

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/KungFuPanda 2'' 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/TheAdventuresOfTintin'' 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 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/DreamworksAnimation Dreamworks]] and [[Creator/BlueSkyStudios Blue Sky]], but also caused the decline of live-action family films.

The second half of 2014 saw ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' became an overnight success in spite of not being backed by a particularly popular property while the middling reception ''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.

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/KungFuPanda 2'' 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/TheAdventuresOfTintin'' 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]] And films like the ''Fast & Furious'' series, ''Transformers'' and ''Minions'' among others have become more popular overseas than in the domestic market.

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 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 ''Marriage Story'' or released through such platforms in most countries such as ''Parasite'' did not help theatrical movies regarding their quality.

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 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.

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}}'' and ''Film/NoTimeToDie'' 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/{{Dune}}'' didn't have this problem. 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 continuing the practice for it's 2022 slate.

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. As of April 2021, the development and distribution of vaccines appears to be encouraging a resurgence in theater attendance, as ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' is pulling in the highest domestic and international box office numbers since the pandemic's start, despite the simultaneous release on HBO Max. Subsequent tentpole releases such as ''Film/{{Black Widow|2021}}'' and ''Film/{{F9}}'' have also done quite well financially, though it remains to be seen when or if box office numbers will return to their pre-pandemic high points. 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 Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings while Warner Brothers has announced it will not continuing the practice for it's 2022 slate.

* Creator/PaulWSAnderson (''Film/ResidentEvil'')

Meanwhile, other film companies have announced similar distribution moves for their own films such as Disney with the online release of ''Film/ArtemisFowl'', while Warner Brothers did the same with the latest ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' film, ''WesternAnimation/{{Scoob}}''. In May, the trend took on a new intensity when the major war drama, ''Film/{{Greyhound}}'', starring the beloved two-time Oscar winner, Creator/TomHanks, was acquired by Creator/AppleTVPlus to be available on their service after its theatrical release date was twice delayed due to the pandemic. Paramount followed suit with ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobMovieSpongeOnTheRun'', with Viacom divvying the streaming rights between Netflix and their Creator/ParamountPlus streaming service. Despite the belief that a release of this kind could never be financially viable for an expensive tentpole, Disney further added to this by announcing that the long-awaited and delayed ''Film/Mulan2020'' would be made available as VOD at an additional charge to Creator/DisneyPlus members. This trend shows no sign of abating any time soon, as big-budget, high-profile films such as ''WesternAnimation/{{Soul}}'' and ''Film/WonderWoman1984'' are continuing to make their debuts on their distributors' respective streaming platforms, often simultaneously with a threatrical release. In fact, this trend has become so prominent with the prevailing public health necessity that the UsefulNotes/AcademyAward rules have officially waived its theatrical presentation rules for the 2021 awards, allowing potentially all streaming films to be eligible.

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. As of April 2021, the development and distribution of vaccines appears to be encouraging a resurgence in theater attendance, as ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' is pulling in the highest domestic and international box office numbers since the pandemic's start, despite the simultaneous release on HBO Max. Subsequent tentpole releases such as ''Film/{{Black Widow|2021}}'' and ''Film/{{F9}}'' have also done quite well financially, though it remains to be seen when or if box office numbers will return to their pre-pandemic high points.

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. As of April 2021, the development and distribution of vaccines appears to be encouraging a resurgence in theater attendance, as ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' is pulling in the highest domestic and international box office numbers since the pandemic's start, despite the simultaneous release on HBO Max. Subsequent tentpole releases such as ''Film/BlackWidow'' and ''Film/{{F9}}'' have also done quite well financially, though it remains to be seen when or if box office numbers will return to their pre-pandemic high points.

While Hollywood in the '80s became associated with family-friendly films like ''Franchise/IndianaJones'', ''Film/Ghostbusters1984'', ''Back to the Future'' and the like, adults-only audiences did not go away quickly. This was the decade that Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis became (more) famous for appearing in ultra-violent action movies like ''Film/TheTerminator'', the ''Rambo'' series and ''Die Hard'' respectively; their colorful shoot-outs and thinly-veiled glorification of vigilantism greatly contrasted with the self-pitying demeanor of 1970s-era films. (On the B-picture level, Creator/CharlesBronson and Creator/ChuckNorris became Creator/TheCannonGroup's biggest stars via action movies.) There was a big market for R-rated comedy, with Creator/EddieMurphy toplining several such films as part of his emergence as the decade's most popular comic performer. (He also helped popularize action-comedy hybrids with films like ''Film/BeverlyHillsCop''.) And between the relaxed content restrictions New Hollywood had established and the special effects advances ''Star Wars'' and similar hits developed and encouraged, horror movies saw their highest profile in pop culture since the 1950s, if not 1930s. MoralGuardians everywhere wailed about the SlasherFilm craze, the emergence of BodyHorror, and a wave of DarkerAndEdgier, BloodierAndGorier, ''and'' HotterAndSexier takes on every horror concept under the moon.

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}}'', ''Ocean's 11'' 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.

Adult comedies, which had become increasingly successful during the late 1990s and early 2000s with films like ''Film/TheresSomethingAboutMary'', ''Film/AmericanPie''. ''Film/DudeWheresMyCar'' and ''Film/ScaryMovie'', came to the forefront with the surprise success of 2005's ''Film/TheFortyYearOldVirgin'', which sparked a trend for outrageous humor, including [[Film/DateMovie genre]] [[Film/TropicThunder satires]] in the vein of ''SM'', [[Film/{{Borat}} ethnic humor]] [[RuleOfThree and]] {{stoner|s are funny}} [[Film/PineappleExpress hijinks]], the trend hitting its peak in 2009, when ''Film/TheHangover'' became one of the ten highest-grossing films of the year. By this time, even comedies promoted to family audiences would offer material that would have been considered distasteful years earlier. 2010 however, marked a turning point, as stricter MPAA guidelines made it harder to portray borderline-vulgar material, particularly prominent in these films. Social attitudes towards humor in general also shifted early in the decade, especially regarding the constant use of certain actions and language that had come to be considered offensive. 2011's ''The Hangover II'' and ''Bad Teacher'', 2012's ''Film/{{Ted}}'', 2013's ''The Hangover: Part III'' and 2014's ''Neighbors'' were among the few bona-fide comedic successes for the succeeding years, even though the sequels for ''Ted'' and ''Neighbors'' as well as a TV spin-off for ''Teachers'' became massive failures). With the exception of the superhero comedy ''Deadpool'' (2016), the animated film ''Sausage Party'' (also 2016), the two theatrical adaptations of ''It'' (2017-19) and the loosely-based-on-comics dramas ''Logan'' (2017) and ''Joker'' (2019), female-geared films pretty much became the only commercially-viable type of R-rated films during the 2010s, beginning with the ''Film/FiftyShadesOfGrey'' trilogy (2015-18). Similarly, comedy films became mostly geared to women after the success of ''Bad Moms'' (2016).

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 CashCowFranchise[=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.

By February-March 2020, another blow, which could become more significant depending how long the situation lasts, came in the form of the [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic]], with many countries encouraging their citizenry to avoid large crowds to avoid being infected. Movie theater chains took measures to ensure social distancing between filmgoers, initially reducing the number of available seats as much as by 50% (unlike live theater and concerts, movie theaters were not liable to bans on events hosting over 500 people as most movie screens seat less than 150 people) but eventually enacted temporary closings ''en masse'' upon advice to avoid social gatherings or legal bans over it as well as national lock-downs in various countries.

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. As of April 2021, the development and distribution of vaccines appears to be encouraging a resurgence in theater attendance, as ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' is pulling in the highest domestic and international box office numbers since the pandemic's start, despite the simultaneous release on HBO Max. Subsequent tentpole releases such as ''Film/BlackWidow'' and ''Film/F9'' have also done quite well financially, though it remains to be seen when or if box office numbers will return to their pre-pandemic high points.

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. As of April 2021, the development and distribution of vaccines appears to be encouraging a resurgence in theater attendance, as ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' is pulling in the highest domestic and international box office numbers since the pandemic's start, despite the simultaneous release on HBO Max.