I guess I’m going to come out and say it; Hollywood isn’t as good as it once was.
Am I making a bold statement? Maybe. But not if you look at recent facts and some recent trends in the movie industry lately.
I’m not going to say Hollywood has completely lost its “touch” or “stroke.” I will say, however, that Hollywood has taken a beating in the past few months.
Movies that were predicted to make at least $90 million to $100 million barely made $20 million or 30 million. Movies nobody cared about or that anybody heard of, are making news and gaining more money.
I believe the rise of independent movies is upon us. Let’s take a recent case and one that hits home. Garden State is an independent movie that, with out the Internet or college newspapers would have been virtually unknown. Yet it is a movie that with word of mouth and demand has been on the rise week after week.
Yet, after demands, two of our very own theaters still have not shown it and, instead, give us Hollywood movies like Wimbledon. Compare Garden State with a movie that was suppose to make well over $100 million, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Sky in its first week made a disappointing $15 million and in two weeks only made $25 million. Garden State has almost surpassed that making $22 million.
Another example of an independent movie on the rise is the upcoming movie release of Saw, out Oct. 29. Saw was schedule for an Oct. 1 release only in selected theaters. However in the recent months it has generated such a huge movie buzz that Lions Gate Studio had pushed back the release of the movie. In addition to holding back the release, the movie went from selected release to wide release, a feat few independent movies make.
There could be many factors that come into play as to why independent movies are making it big. It could be the fact that movie tickets are so high priced that movie watchers are now becoming picky with movies.
In a USA Today article, as recent as December 2003, they were quoted as saying that in New York movie ticket prices are as high as $10.25 for adult and $6.75 for children. Movie ticket price have skyrocketed and people want to be completely swept off their feet when choosing a movie.
This could be the cause for the next factor – independent movies have more of a story and take more of a risk than Hollywood movies. Hollywood has to tip toe around stories because they spend so much money making the movie. Of course half the movie goes into CGI so most movies look fake and uninteresting. Independent movies don’t rely on $20 million-a-movie actors, who can’t act, but more so rely on a well-written, well-thought out story.
With movies like Hero, Napoleon Dynamite, Shaun of the Dead and Garden State making more money than Reese Witherspoon in Vanity Fair, Kristen Dunst in Wimbledon, Bernie Mac in Mr. 3000, and Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie in Sky Captain (all of which were supposed to make over $50 million but have made $25 million or less) something is wrong in Hollywood.
The rise of indie films may soon be upon us. Hollywood’s movies just aren’t making the cut anymore. And the fans are proving it.

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