In a time of Covid, the B-movie is pushing for our attention and we have become a willfully accommodating audience. Historically, the B movie was a low budget movie that supported the main feature. The plot was formulaic, the acting less than effective, some special effects and the product not very memorable. As descriptions of Netflix films go, it’s not far off.
We would happily sit down and watch a Netflix movie, because we have already paid for the subscription and it probably contains a familiar face or two. In terms of budget, the films are cheap. Netflix’s Old Guard cost $70 million to make, which if you compare it to the $356 million cost of Endgame, it sounds pretty cheap. You could have over five Old Guard movies for just one Endgame movie. Which sounds about right (and I can’t say I’d want five Old Guard movies).
Viewing figures are a little more interesting. In the first four weeks, Old Guard was viewed by 72 million households. In a similar time, Endgame grossed just under $800 million. It sounds like a big difference, but if a movie ticket is $10, then it accounts to 80 million individual viewings. A little different from household viewings. If you watched Old Guard by yourself, I am truly sorry for your social status and you should probably seek mental health support.
The comparison of Endgame and Old Guard is so far from an exact science I am concerned about even using the word science in this sentence, but it does provide an interesting shift.
When we add in the difficulties of Covid life and falling ticket sales, we find the immediate future contains a few more Netflix B movies and a lots less high ticket blockbusters.