With all eyes on mega-movies there are many films lower budget films the studios are making are going under the radar. Is this being done on purpose by the studios or as most people are seemingly only interested in these mega-movies these smaller more interesting original films that many would be surprised the studios are making as they the kind of films many think aren’t being made anymore. But how will they be able to compete against the mega-movies within the studios own slates
With many surprisingly from Paramount who famously have the smallest slate of films among the major studios.
Many of these films haven’t got release dates
The Light Between Oceans – Disney – starring Alicia Vikander, Michael Fassbender and Rachel Weisz based on a 2012 New York Times bestseller.
Money Monsters –Sony – starring George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O’Connell and Dominic West directed by Jodie Foster.
Untitled Warren Beatty Film – Fox – starring and directed by Warren Beatty with a strong ensemble cast started filming in February 2014 was rumoured of a release late this year but nothing yet has been confirmed.
Daddy’s Home – Paramount – comedy starring Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell for a second time last time in Will Ferrell’s last major original film hit The Other Guys surprised many at CinemaCon as the film was unknown to most but the footage was enjoyed by the audience.
Fun House – Paramount – Comedy starring Tina Fey, Margot Robbie and Martin Freeman based on the memoir The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Kim Barker
The Big Short – Paramount – drama based on non-fiction book written by Michael Lewis who wrote The Blind Side and Moneyball both turned into Oscar nominated films. This film has a strong ensemble cast including Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling. Is produced by Brad Pitt if it was released this year could be his third Best Film Oscar nominated film in a row after 12 Years A Slave and Selma.
The Cellar – Paramount –Thriller produced by J.J. Abrams starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead in a fictional version of Captive a film Paramount recently acquired for release in September about a woman who is abducted after a car crash and locked up in the cellar.
13 Hours – Paramount – Based on Michael Zuckoff’s book, 13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi surprisingly directed by Michael Bay starring John Krasinski started filming this week. If film was directed by any other it would likely be seen as a potential awards contender.
By the Sea – Universal – Drama starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie who also directs started shooting last August.
Our Brand is Crisis – Warner –Comedy drama based on the documentary of the same name produced by George Clooney and starring Sandra Bullock.
The Accountant – Warner – Action film starring Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick and J. K. Simmons started shooting in January.
With studios seemingly putting all their resources with their sequel, remakes, reboots and comic-book films these films show that studios are still making original films but these original films need more time to build awareness for them rather than the films that have audiences that already know of them. How will some of these manage to compete against even the studios own mega-movies?
Many of these films have major actors that used to mean these films would likely perform well at the box office but by concentrating on the mega-movie the studios have made it much harder for themselves to get these films to audiences as many will need more than a couple of days to find audiences but with so many mega-movies exhibitors will likely dump these films very quickly if they don’t immediately perform for them.
Years gone by some of these films would be seen as potential sleepers but films are rarely allowed a chance to find an audience unless its during award season but then there are always so many films competing against each other with more losers than winner.
September/October used to be the time when studios would release their more adult films but in recent years those months have also been taken over by mega-movies making for a very busy couple of months with so many adult audience films set for release this year with the likes of The Walk, Steve Jobs, Bridge of Spies and Suffragette all set for release this October. Is probably why these have yet to be dated as are having to be moved to next year which is likely to be even busier.