2023 has been a huge test for the U.S. entertainment industry. The remnants of COVID-19, historic strikes which saw the end of work for several months, the rise of streaming platforms changing the rules of the game. But despite significant assaults on the business, U.S. cinema has been surprisingly resilient, according to one entertainment expert.
Karen Krizanovich, a film journalist and writer based in Chicago, shared her insights on the evolving landscape of the U.S. entertainment industry with CGTN Europe, shedding some light on the challenges and trends that emerged in 2023.
One of the key events this year, she said, was when more than 170,000 people working in the U.S. entertainment business, including high profile actors, walked out on their jobs. One of the biggest examples of industrial action in the industry, the strike came about over the dramatic changes in the industry following the arrival of online streaming services like Netflix and the possibility of computer-generated script writing.
Reflecting on the aftermath of the four-month-long hiatus, Krizanovich explained that many productions were halted, others were delayed, while a few proceeded as scheduled. But the extended period of crew unemployment prompted a scramble to resume productions, creating a domino effect, impacting numerous projects.
"The knock on effect is, number one, we've got a huge industry that's desperate for work and really in bad trouble as far as that goes," Krizanovich told CGTN Europe. "But also the studios and smaller independents are really wondering about where their money's going to go best and where they're going to optimize this need for new productions."
One of the key events this year was when more than 170,000 people working
Krizanovich also addressed the uncertainty surrounding anticipated movie releases. Several highly anticipated films, including the second part of 'Dune', faced delays as studios refrained from releasing them without a robust promotional strategy.
"The studios are not going to release these unless they've got other things in the pipeline. So this is why they're holding back," she said. The absence of proper film promotions, owing to the strikes, further complicated release plans.
"If you think about it, films are promoted by their actors," said Krizanovich. "At film festivals, we've had the designers and the directors talking, which has been really strange."
Despite the ongoing knock on effect, that will now change. And luckily, it wasn't all doom and gloom for Hollywood this year.
Barbenheimer
Two standout movies of 2023, 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer', have given new hope for the industry, Krizanovich said, stating they had been significant contributors to reinvigorating the cinematic experience after COVID-19.
"They've done very, very well. Gerta Gerwig's Barbie has earned over $1.18 billion so far, and it's still delighting audiences all over the place. And Oppenheimer, which is three hours of science and spectacular visuals, has done almost 1 billion itself," said Krizanovich.
Regarding the impact on cinema attendance, Krizanovich said these films had reignited 'event cinema'. She stressed the significance of such large-scale productions in drawing audiences back to theaters, fostering an environment for shared experiences.
Essentially, they put the family fun back in move-going. And while the industry hasn't fully rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, she was optimistic about the gradual return of audiences to cinemas.
Meanwhile, in the world of streaming wars, Netflix has maintained its lead this year, followed distantly by Hulu. Krizanovich said the revelation of viewership data by Netflix had been a game-changer - the release of which was demanded during the writers' and actors' strike - providing critical insights into the streaming platform's success.
But there was an evolving dichotomy with streaming and movie-going where audiences are starting to weigh the decision between watching content at home or experiencing it in theaters, she said.
"I think streaming is here to stay. I think it's good television like HBO used to be," she stressed. "But I think the world is expanding in terms of what's available for people to watch in filmed entertainment."
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