In the 2021 movies, Spider-Man triumphs over Will Smith, West Side Story

The difficulty for such films was highlighted earlier this month by the seismic success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, which had the second-highest opening weekend of all time at 260. million dollars in the United States and Canada earlier this month and has so far grossed over $ 1 billion worldwide.

The result proved that moviegoers will always turn to a superhero flick, even if low budget movies are heading into the holiday season with little to no traction. As studio heads weigh what to do with their 2022 roster, some are already planning to ship even more of their non-tentpole titles to streaming services while keeping their stock prices afloat.

The main culprit: an older cinephile population, still reluctant to return to the cinema. The 2021 blockbuster films have been geared towards a younger audience, Spider-Man as well as his equally suited counterparts, Black Widow and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The annual box office has rarely formed such a tiered system, with a single adult-oriented drama House of Gucci listing the top 30 grossing films of the year.

It’s the casual moviegoer who hasn’t returned, said Tearlach Hutcheson, vice president of cinema at Studio Movie Grill, a 21-site movie theater chain with 226 screens in seven states.

Many of those consumers who may have seen a movie or two a year no longer see them, he added, even though younger and more frequent guests have returned.

Reluctance among older moviegoers is expected to increase with the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, which has proliferated in the days leading up to the all-important holiday season. Over the Christmas weekend, Spider-Man continued to dominate ticket sales at record highs, while several films appealing to older audiences, such as The Matrix Resurrections, A Journal for Jordan and Licorice Pizza, withered.

The new Matrix movie, released almost 23 years after the original film premiered, has attracted an older audience. About half of its opening weekend audience was over 35.

If you’ve got a demographic that’s a little older than us, that audience is a little more reluctant, said Jeff Goldstein, president of national distribution at Warner Bros. There are really haves and have-nots.

To that end, many of the other high-profile deceptions this year drew older crowds in smaller numbers. About 54% of West Side Story’s opening weekend moviegoers were over 35, and the film only opened around $ 10 million.

The same percentage of older ticket buyers showed up for King Richard, Mr. Smiths’ biopic of the father of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams, according to data from his studio, WarnerMedia. It opened at $ 5.7 million and is on its way to becoming one of the lowest grossing films of acting careers.

Other titles meant to appeal to adults came and went: The Last Duel, starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck; The Eyes of Tammy Faye, with Andrew Garfield; and The French Dispatch, a film by Wes Anderson with Timothe Chalamet.

Musicals always have a flat note, from West Side Story to Broadway adaptations Dear Evan Hansen and In the Heights. Oscar favorites Nightmare Alley, Belfast and Licorice Pizza are all heading into awards season with fat anemics.

There is more at stake than missed income projections. The performance of these films raises questions about the studio’s strategy until 2022, when executives must decide whether to test these types of small films in the theatrical market. When Covid-19 closed auditoriums in 2020, studios set up streaming plans and reserved theatrical releases only for the biggest films.

Most studios already divide the difference between theaters and home services. Walt disney Co.

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s Encanto, an animated film about a magical family, first premiered in theaters on November 24 but launched on the company’s Disney + service on December 24, giving consumers an in-home option during a week’s vacation generally popular for family movies.

As next year approaches, Comcast Corp.’s Universal Pictures. also narrowed the gap between theatrical release and streaming premiere for much of its upcoming roster.

The studio will ship many of its 2022 films to its sister streaming service, Peacock, as early as 45 days after their theatrical debut, the company said.

Films affected by the plan include the January action thriller The 355, starring Jessica Chastain, as well as Jennifer Lopez’s romantic comedy Marry Me, which is slated for release in February. Ticket to Paradise, starring box office-sure bets Julia Roberts and George Clooney, could arrive on Peacock after just over a month and a half, as well as the next installment in the lucrative Halloween and Downton Abbey series. ‘Universals.

In announcing the change, the studio did not include its top priorities Jurassic World: Dominion and Minions: The Rise of Gru, the two sequels to the studio’s renowned franchises.

Going forward, exhibition insiders say studios will look to such high-profile films to reliably draw crowds, even if smaller films don’t.

It is not so much consumption habits, but whether it is an event or not. People want to be part of a global event, said Richard Gelfond, managing director of IMAX Corp., the high-end auditorium company. People are going to want to go out for something that they can’t get at home.

Write to Erich Schwartzel at [email protected]