Hollywood is having a difficult time bringing people back to movie theaters. Even movies with famous actors are not doing well at the box office. Films with stars like Sydney Sweeney, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Julia Roberts did not attract many viewers. According to The New York Times, none of the 25 comedies and dramas released in the last three months became successful hits. Experts say this period after summer is usually for award-season movies, which are often “prestige films.” These films are high-quality stories but do not bring large audiences like superhero movies or big action franchises.
Ticket sales in October were very low — only 445 million dollars in North America, the lowest since 1997. However, big franchises still perform well. People continue to watch famous series like Predator or Badlands. Studios hope that holiday sequels released at the end of the year will attract bigger crowds. One example is Wicked, a follow-up to a very successful film that earned around 750 million dollars worldwide. The industry believes that the holiday period, when families are free and spend time together, will help increase ticket sales.
Experts also explain that the end of the year is often slow because many small “prestige films” come out. But when the big blockbusters arrive, they can quickly change the situation. Studios hope that these large movies will bring back “movie magic” and help Hollywood recover after a difficult period.
Vocabulary :
• audience (noun) : the people who watch a movie.
• hit (noun) : a very successful movie.
• flop (noun) : a movie that is not successful.
• franchise (noun) : a movie series with several films.
• sequel (noun) : a new movie that continues a story.
• decline (noun) : when numbers go down.
• industry (noun) : a group of businesses, like the movie industry.
• prestige film (noun) : an artistic movie made for awards, not big crowds.
• viewer (noun) : a person who watches a movie.
• release (verb) : to make a movie available in theaters.