Thank you for this article Daniel. As someone who has dedicated a big part of my labor and love to Little Sads (54% of the movies I've produced evidently, and that doesn't include the ones I did as an executive), I've lived the decline in appetite first hand. I am sure it would have been faster if they had even thought to this sort of data dive, so THANK YOU for not sharing until now. That all said the fact that IRL cinema (the kind on a big screen) has the remarkable power of revealing the emotional response of roomful of strangers, something that can make grown men cry (they generally being the most resistant)will always be of unique entertainment value -- we just have to redesign the environment, takeaway and context to better heighten it. EZPZ!
I think this drama reduction is linked to our own decline of storytelling, as a civilization. Drama needs good, deep stories. Or it is supetficial, like Anora. And also to political polarization. The rise of horror also reflects our need for scapism. It helps to see monsters that are (at least in theory) worse than our politicians.
Two of the three examples you start with were made without the support of Hollywood money. In the 1980s and 1990s, commercial cinema often began with genuinely independent films that were picked up by distributors such as Miramax or Fox Searchlight. But beginning in the mid-2000s, these distributors began to lose interest in such films (and the parent studios closed many of them), presumably because, despite their return on investment, their absolute profits were insufficient. This change is a big part of why dramas have become scarce.
The pace of life has much to do with what draws audiences, I think. There’s a trope about French movies being too “French” i.e., tortuously slow, and I find that many dramas today are similarly tortuously slow, which Netflix often labels as “slow burn”. It seems like writers want to present something complex and slow paced so that they get their art bonafides in, rather than just tell an entertaining story.
Great piece! I love the term Little Sads. (I once wrote a short story called "Sad Little Indie Film" about a day in a woman's life in which nothing much happens but she goes through some big-time feels.)
A major reason I like watching dramas at home is that I can connect with the emotions they provoke with fewer distractions. Watching a film in the theater is not only pricey but full of things that take me out of the moment (ironic, since the theater is theoretically a more immersive experience). If I'm trying to have a nice ugly cry at The Banshees of Inisherin (and if that movie only made you a *little* sad then you are made of sterner stuff than I am!), I want to do it at home, without people munching popcorn in the row behind me or getting up to go to the bathroom and walking between me and the screen. I agree that horror and some comedies are more enjoyable in a communal experience, but I can't think of a single drama I wish I'd seen on the big screen.
This was great! I really love this newsletter. It’s my favorite on substack!
Tentpoles are less expensive for a myriad of reasons.
Thank you for this article Daniel. As someone who has dedicated a big part of my labor and love to Little Sads (54% of the movies I've produced evidently, and that doesn't include the ones I did as an executive), I've lived the decline in appetite first hand. I am sure it would have been faster if they had even thought to this sort of data dive, so THANK YOU for not sharing until now. That all said the fact that IRL cinema (the kind on a big screen) has the remarkable power of revealing the emotional response of roomful of strangers, something that can make grown men cry (they generally being the most resistant)will always be of unique entertainment value -- we just have to redesign the environment, takeaway and context to better heighten it. EZPZ!
Can you imagine what the 4th sequel to Requiem for a Dream would look like?
I think this drama reduction is linked to our own decline of storytelling, as a civilization. Drama needs good, deep stories. Or it is supetficial, like Anora. And also to political polarization. The rise of horror also reflects our need for scapism. It helps to see monsters that are (at least in theory) worse than our politicians.
Two of the three examples you start with were made without the support of Hollywood money. In the 1980s and 1990s, commercial cinema often began with genuinely independent films that were picked up by distributors such as Miramax or Fox Searchlight. But beginning in the mid-2000s, these distributors began to lose interest in such films (and the parent studios closed many of them), presumably because, despite their return on investment, their absolute profits were insufficient. This change is a big part of why dramas have become scarce.
The pace of life has much to do with what draws audiences, I think. There’s a trope about French movies being too “French” i.e., tortuously slow, and I find that many dramas today are similarly tortuously slow, which Netflix often labels as “slow burn”. It seems like writers want to present something complex and slow paced so that they get their art bonafides in, rather than just tell an entertaining story.
Great piece! I love the term Little Sads. (I once wrote a short story called "Sad Little Indie Film" about a day in a woman's life in which nothing much happens but she goes through some big-time feels.)
A major reason I like watching dramas at home is that I can connect with the emotions they provoke with fewer distractions. Watching a film in the theater is not only pricey but full of things that take me out of the moment (ironic, since the theater is theoretically a more immersive experience). If I'm trying to have a nice ugly cry at The Banshees of Inisherin (and if that movie only made you a *little* sad then you are made of sterner stuff than I am!), I want to do it at home, without people munching popcorn in the row behind me or getting up to go to the bathroom and walking between me and the screen. I agree that horror and some comedies are more enjoyable in a communal experience, but I can't think of a single drama I wish I'd seen on the big screen.