There are few other directors I can say that I have seen almost all their films have been released over the last thirty years in cinemas apart from Steven Spielberg and also the majority he has produced over the same time.
As a child of the 80s, a Steven Spielberg film either directed or produced was always a big deal (similar to how millenials now see the next comic-book film) be it one of the dozens he directed including Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T and others in the 80s and then Jurassic Park and Saving Private Ryan among many others in the 90s. While also producing many others including Back to the Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (as Ready Player One features a mix of characters from rival studios which only Spielberg could do then 30 years ago and also now). Remember watching many of them at either the Empire Leicester Sq or the Plaza Lower Regent Street. Went to see Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade at the Empire Leicester Sq. about half a dozen times when it opened in June 1989.
Almost 20 years later I watched in the same cinema in the hope which turned into sheer disappointment Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in May 2008.
In the 90s and 00s, a Steven Spielberg film was a massive event was at 20th Century Fox when they released Minority Report looking after many advance screenings (remember they had the first internal screening immediately after England beat Argentina in the World Cup in June 2002). I spent several days at Pinewood Studios watching half a dozen Italian show-prints for its Italian premiere.
While a new Steven Spielberg is still a big deal for me and those who grew up watching them as he hasn’t had a Marvel sized box office hit for 10 years does a Steven Spielberg film mean as much to millennials who have grown up with comic-book movies over the last decade?
Since directing Indiana Jones in 2008 he has directed The Adventures of Tintin (was meant to be the first part of a series with the second film directed by Peter Jackson) War Horse, Lincoln, Bridge of Spies, The BFG and The Post all strong films that did good if not spectacular business (The BFG flopped in the US but performed strongly in the UK as most Roald Dahl film adaptations have done including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, Fantastic Mr Fox and James and the Giant Peach).
Ready Player One is surrounded by 80s and 90s nostalgia which is back when Steven Spielberg was at his heights as with so many other nostalgic 80s and 90s films parents will want to live out their childhood with the film but will millennials.
Millennials did come out to see Jurassic World and Star War: The Force Awakens (just reboots of original films) and TV series The Goldberg’s (80s version of The Wonder Years) but has also been backlash with some including Point-Break and Ghostbusters and has been a little backlash earlier on with Ready Player One marketing.
For all of Steven Spielberg’s massive films he has directed over the last 40+ years, few have had a huge opening if compared to current levels even allowing for inflation increases since they were released only War of the Worlds and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
This has more to do with his films always have had a much longer playing time in cinemas than most films go back 25 years Jurassic Park opened with £4.9m had a small drop in its second weekend and was playing in cinemas for over a year. Even his more recent films which opened more modestly Bridge of Spies, The BFG and The Post all had longer runs in cinemas than similar films.
17 years ago, Steven Spielberg directed A.I. Artificial Intelligence opened with £2.28m taking £8.02m (today would be £4.2m and total £14.7m) the following year directed Minority Report opening with £4.5m taking £20.2m (today would be £8.1m taking £35.43m),
In the US its a similar story Steven Spielberg has his name behind some of the biggest and most popular films released over the last 30+ years but despite this only three of his films have opened with more than $50m two of them sequels Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and The Lost World: Jurassic Park and the other a remake War of the Worlds.
All his other films have opened smaller but had long theatrical runs. Ready Player One should be his biggest opening in the US for ten years since Indiana Jones 4.
As many of his biggest hits opened over 10 years ago it’s only when you compare their inflation inflated openings can see how big they opened today with eight of them opening with $50m+.
Similar films to Ready Player One include Ender’s Game, The Girl with All the Gifts, The Running Man. Strange Days, The Lawnmower Man, The Matrix, Total Recall and Tron Legacy.
19 years ago, while everyone was eagerly awaiting Star Wars: The Phantom Menace a month earlier The Matrix blew people away opening with £3,384,948 in June 1999 taking £16,918,842. The Matrix Reloaded opened in May 2003 with £12,165,276 taking £32,510,686 and Matrix Revolutions opened in November £8,712,350 taking £17,754,338 have been recent rumours of a sequel or reboot but that has a lot to do with if Ready Player One is a success.
Was huge anticipation for Tron Legacy when it opened in December 2010 but had a disappointing opening with £1,970,692 taking £10,069,754.
Reviews for Ready Player One have been very positive but the big question is will audiences come out to see it as after a quiet start of the year except for Black Panther it’s been a disappointing start of 2018. With so many sequels, remake, reboots and reimaginations Ready Player One gives audiences something different and new cinema experience as similar to The Matrix did almost 20 years ago. But will teens prefer teen sex comedy Blockers.
After 6 weeks of release Black Panther is starting to play out after opening far bigger than everyone expected has held far stronger which cannibalized everything that opened after it which has seen the first 3 months of 2018 be dramatically down from last year. The only other films that have performed strongly is The Greatest Showman which has taken 75% of its box office this year and Darkest Hout which was the must-see Oscar nominee this year.
After directing so many original films over the last decade it’s sad that with all the many projects Steven Spielberg is attached to he will direct Indiana Jones 5 next for release in summer 2020.
