Quality versus Quantity: What Sells — and What Deserves to Sell — at the Movies?

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Damian Geminder

Courtesy of IMDb

This past weekend, Ridley Scott’s much-hyped spiritual successor to the Alien franchise, Prometheus, raked in an impressive $50 million, despite its “R” rating.

And it still came in second to a kiddie flick about zoo animals who run away to the circus.

Of course, there are many reasons for Madagascar 3‘s smashing success, starting with the “3″ — that is, it is a sequel in a popular children’s film franchise. And with every sequel come scores of fans, eager for the latest entry in their beloved series.

And speaking of kids’ movies, Madagascar 3 also has a far wider audience than Prometheus. Literally anyone can see a children’s film, but a Restricted rating means mandatory parental supervision — and far fewer families full of loud, raucous urchins attending. (Not that I’m bitter about the little bastards ruining my theatre experience.)

Nothing I have said thus far is anything that hasn’t been said already. Both films had a fair amount of hype, but both also cater to decidedly different audiences. Additionally, both were made with comparable budgets, and critics’ reviews were almost equally positive.

Courtesy of IMDb

So, what leaves me wondering (perhaps with an obvious answer) is this: As with other media, is financial success in film almost entirely the result of mass appeal or even attracting the lowest common denominator? Is it possible for a truly artsy or risky film endeavour to beat a mass-marketed movie? For that matter, does opening at #1 really matter if a film ultimately sees long-run success, such as a sleeper hit?

I know that’s a lot of questions to answer, so I’ll be more brief in my closing queries:

Are there any films that you don’t believe deserved to be wildly successful? Are there any films the general public largely ignored that you believe did deserve greater attention? As always, sound off in the comments below!

About Damian Geminder

Damian is a freelance journalist and recent graduate from Adelphi University. He lives in Amityville, New York.
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  • Nick

    As a critic, I have to accept the fact that some movies are “critic-proof”. These are the movies that will succeed no matter what a critic says. It’s the reason any film in the Twilight franchise makes so much money. Having a built in audience is huge for a movie. These fans will pay the admission to see even the worst adaptation or sequel to their favorite works. Look at how much money The Last Airbender made a few years ago, despite ghastly critical reviews. 

    This is a major issue with films (and also video games, but that’s a different article) nowadays. Producers know what people want to see. Producers know that people will flock to something they are familiar with. It’s the reason there are more and more sequels/prequels/reboots/remakes every year. (And the reason there are a thousand inter-changeable first person shooter video games on the market). There just doesn’t seem to be any reward for taking risks anymore. You will almost NEVER see a truly original work make big bucks at the box office. An exception would be Inception in 2010. That movie benefited from having a gripping premise, but it was also boosted MIGHTILY by having names such as Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Joseph Gordon Levitt attached. People love familiar names.

    Look at Prometheus, and the only name people will recognize is Ridley Scott. However, Scott is not a director that is associated hugely popular films the way Nolan has Batman in his back pocket. The stars of the film, Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall Green and Michael Fassbender are all virtual newcomers for most people (though many are familiar with Fassbender after his huge year last year). The fact that it made $50 million opening weekend with an R rating is spectacular. Honestly, I think if they advertised the film as “in the same universe of Alien”, it may have even gotten a bigger box office. Because again, people love familiarity. Prometheus is an original work, despite being in the same universe as Alien, but if they wanted more money, they could have taken that route.

    Now, not all of these sequels/prequels/reboots/remakes are bad and some are even worthy of their mighty box office results. But we also have to face the fact that most audiences just do not give a f*ck about critically praised original films. Look at The Artist from last year. Upon initial released, it hardly made any money. After it won Best Picture, it was re-released so people could have an opportunity to see it in theaters. Despite the major publicity (you know, because it WON BEST PICTURE and all), it still made practically no money. Audiences don’t always like arty stuff. It’s sad.

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