I have not been to the movies since December 26th - which is very weird. I am a firm believer in seeing films on the big screen and I normally go at least once a week. Honestly though, I saw a TON of films in 2012 and since the big award contenders, nothing has come out that has compelled me to go. Which brings me to the topic of this post – film seasons.
Every season has an image.
Films are released strategically throughout the year according to budget,
genre and award winning potential. Traditionally,
award competitors are released in the Fall - from October through December 31 -
so these films will stay fresh in Academy voters’ minds. Since the 70’s, Summer has meant light
feel-good comedies and musicals like Grease
and more recently, superhero franchises and other action blockbusters like Independence Day & Men in Black. (I once heard Will Smith say he “owned”
Fourth of July weekend)… For these
reasons, usually Summer is the season when I don’t go to the movies.
But alas - the times they are a changin’ – I don’t think Fall
awards season is going anywhere but in the past couple of years, I have seen more
& more films with substance released in the Summer. Yes, I said the SUMMER! In fact, The
Beasts of the Southern Wild was released in June. And I saw a lot of other great films last
summer – like Ruby Sparks and Magic Mike.
For some reason, the first quarter of this year feels
like a vacant space. This Winter has
brought a few moronic comedies, some underpublicized action films and (Billy
Wilder forbid) Valentine’s Day love stories (I’m talking about you Safe Haven!) but January through March
has provided nothing for this film buff to spend $10-13 on with any
enthusiasm. So, what’s up? Did the industry forget about the Winter? Is this part of the strategy? Is this just a lull post Sundance/pre Tribeca? Or is the world truly coming to an end? I don’t know but I do hope that as with last
Summer, the seasons of film are shifting.
And I am craving a Spring that brings warmer weather and more excuses to
sit in a dark theatre - where I belong.
I'm going to say it's a lull, but patterns are changing as more films debut on different platforms. The only trend I can see for the first quarter of this year is studios looking to start the summer season even earlier. A couple of years of summer films going big in March, April and early May have encouraged them to bring out what they hope will be blockbusters earlier than usual.
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