The first ever motion picture was projected on screen for an audience in 1896. 118 years later the technique used to create film has changed and so has the quality. It is true, filmmakers now are about to accomplish things that were unimaginable even forty years ago. Across the board and into all genres of film, the ability to make a movie “better” by having a bigger budget is the common trend for most scifi or action-thrillers. There’s no way to show an epic space battle or blow up a couple dozen cars without adding thousands of dollars onto your budget. Transformers comes to mind first. Then Titanic. Look at how a bigger budget and the addition of complicated computer generated images made those movies what they are today.
But what about horror/scifi films in the year 2014?
The average cost of one theater ticket was $2.69 in 1980. As we all know from experience that cost has more than tripled by 2014. Despite the increasing price of tickets, the film industry is still a major staple in our economy and box office totals are still on the up-go annually. This means that even with rising ticket costs, dealing with seat kickers and loud children and people on their cell phones – most Americans are still willing to go see a good movie.
Recently I noticed a trend specifically in the horror and scifi genres. It is my belief that the second era of 3D phenomenon is over, that the overuse of CGI is killing certain movies, and that in the year 2014 the majority of horror/scifi fans prefer a practical, homey, small budgeted film that tells its story well. All I need to do is examine the recent box office to back up my claims.
Let’s start with 2013 before I dive into the disasters of 2014. Remember, I’m looking at horror and scifi titles only. All data used her was compiled through BoxOfficeMojo.
The #13 film of 2013 was indeed a horror title; World War Z, a zombie film starring Brad Pitt. The movie was very popular and regarded as a box office hit. It raked in a little over $202,000,000 during its domestic run, but what you may not know is that its budget was $19mil. World War Z only made back its budget and $12mil before leaving theaters in America. That extra cost, though low, may have gone out the window for overseas marketing. While I’m sure the studio that backed it was happy to not have a bomb on its hands, looking at it from a financial standpoint, World War Z wasn’t as successful as people expect. Although, I do hear a sequel is already being planned.
If you want to talk successful in all aspects of movie making, then look no further than The Conjuring. Ah, yes, The Conjuring is by far one of the most successful features of 2013. The supernatural thriller “based on true events,” was produced on a budget of only $20mil and went on to gross over $137,000,000 in the American box office, landing at the #19 spot for yearly totals. Was it word of mouth that caused this title to make 6x its budget? Or did horror fans appreciate a decent story without out-of-place looking CGI? Insidious 2 is another success story of 2013. This sequel made over $83,000,000 at the box office; and while that’s a whole lot less than The Conjuring and World War Z, it had a budget of only $5mil. That is literally making back its budget by 1,600% and the reason why it was the #42 film of that year.
Looking at scifi titles, this is where it gets interesting. None of the scifi, big budgeted features from 2013 faired very well in the domestic box office. Percy Jackson’s follow-up Sea of Monsters grossed only $65,000,000 on a budget of $90mil. Jack The Giant Slayer, probably the worst bomb of the year, only took in $65,000,000 on a budget of $195mil. Even the critically acclaimed Oz The Great and Powerful made an extra $20mil on a budget of $215,000,000. Maybe it is because these movies were marketed for kids and teens, but that didn’t seem to hurt Monsters University.
Finally we’ve arrived at 2014. While it is true that only five horror/scifi titles have been released in the first month and a half of this year, I think this trend will continue and my theory will prove to be correct. Let me quickly examine these titles so maybe you will see the pattern as well.
Paranormal Activity: Marked Ones was the first horror title released in 2014. While it is the least successful entry in the now struggling franchise, it has managed to take in $32,385,000 as of today on a budget of $5mil. That’s almost 7x its production cost. Devil’s Due, which was released in mid-January, was created on a budget of $7mil and has taken in $15,405,000 as of today. Again, while the numbers aren’t great, at least this feature has more than doubled its money back.
When we look at scifi titles with lots of CGI, it is not such a pretty picture. Legend of Hercules has so far grossed $18,389,000 on a budget of $70mil. I’m expecting a loss of $50mil here based on how quickly it is plummeting down the chart. I, Frankenstein, a scifi/thriller, has earned $17,483,000 so far on a budget of $65mil. In retrospect, it has only been out for a little over two weeks, but there is still no way it will come close to making half of its money back Another bomb here. Vampire Academy was released this past Friday and has so far only made $3,921,000 at the domestic box office. The budget isn’t available online, but it is a sure-fire bet that this title isn’t going to fair too well at the box office either.
So, what do I believe is the reason behind this? Again, word of mouth? Lousy marketing? Ticket prices? No. I think, for the most part, that horror fans are underestimated and stereotyped. Despite what other movie critics want you to believe, horror/scifi fans are pretty bright and enjoy a detailed, developed story as well as nudity, blood and guts. The slasher subgenre is on its last leg. A major motion picture that was 100% a slasher? When was the last time you saw that? Scream 4 in 2011? Found footage films aside, I think horror/scifi fans embrace low budget movies with a good plot over scifi’s greatest CGI achievements because it reminds them of the gold old days; the late 70s to early 2000s where practicality ruled the genre. Simplicity at its finest.
At the end of the day, low budget titles sparked our love for the horror genre. It is similar to when you go food shopping. Why would you grab a new brand of bread when the brand you’ve been using for the last twenty years works just fine? Sometimes the silliness and razzle-dazzle of Hollywood is not what horror/scifi fans are looking for. Maybe a return to practical effects and nostalgia is just what studios need to save themselves from more box office bombs. Remember: more is not always better.
