What makes going to the cinema so exciting is deciding what to go see. Whether deciding between a horror movie in October or an action movie during the summer, it all contributes to what can be an exciting choice between friends at the cinema. But at the same time, there is usually one or two films at a time dominating the box office, most of the time preventing smaller films from getting shown on the big screen as it takes up so many show times on more theater screens than cinemas can usually give up. Right now, the current big players at the cinema are superhero movies. DC and Marvel in particular have become a given when going to the cinema. This isn't really new, superhero movies have dominated for over a decade at this point and don't seem to be slowing down. The extended cinematic universe has become the trend among production companies trying to capitalize on the trend that Marvel has mastered.
But before all the spandex and caps took over the cinema, it wasn't like cinemas were a haven for more movies than any moviegoer could even comprehend. There were always one or two movies at a time controlling theaters. The cinema and Hollywood as a whole have always capitalized on what was the big fad that audiences were clamoring to see. What has become one of the most notable current trends on streaming services or at the box office is the use of 80s nostalgia can give insight into what kind of trends Hollywood and cinemas were capitalizing on. Just taking a look at one episode of Stranger Things can tell you so much about 80s cinema. A group of kids exploring a territory they shouldn't be gives so many flashbacks to movies like The Goonies and Stand By Me. Or the massive popularity of monsters, aliens, and robots with the likes of The Terminator or almost anything from Stephen King.
But it doesn't even come close to stopping there. The 80s John Hughes teenage coming of age stories are still hugely popular and has an influence all over many Netflix shows alike mad by those who grew up with them. Not to forget the 80s action cheese which bred possibly the biggest lineup of action heroes of all time. Many of which melded together with monsters, aliens, and robots bringing to mind the Arnold classic, Predator-which just received a sequel, or Robocop-which somewhat recently got a reboot. 80s nostalgia has almost become a trend of former trends, and it has created an onslaught of 80s-influenced entertainment that at this point, it's not specific to the 80s anymore.
But 80s nostalgia is just the tip of the oversaturated iceberg. A list of cinematic trends can go on and on for a very long time and seems to be a problem. But that depends on how trends are viewed and treated. For a positive, it is simply filmmakers and companies giving audiences what they want to see. A certain trend wouldn't exist if audiences weren't pouring money into it. Going to the cinema is for enjoyment and to get minds off of the day-to-day slog. An escape into a new-but-all-too-familiar world is what audiences find comfort in. But that can also create a problem for many other audience members and filmmakers. The glaring problem is the overtaking that trends can create at the box office. As mentioned before, the MCU is the trend in today's cinema-going experience. But that has potentially created a funnel of what could and should be a massive success at the box office.
There is a long list of movies that definitely should have gotten more viewership than they did during their run at the cinema. Just recently Everything Everywhere All at Once set the record for the highest box office performance in A24 history. Which at a glance is amazing, because it is. But when looking at the numbers, although it set the A24 record, Everything Everywhere All at Once still doesn't even come close to the lowest performing superhero movies. This is an absolute shame as it is easily one of the most original, fun, and emotional experiences in a cinema anyone can have. But what makes it an even bigger shame is that means that a company filled with original movies-which gets so much more attention than so many other smaller production companies-can't even come close to competing at the box office with the massive trends at the time. This in turn makes it even harder to keep smaller and maybe even more original titles in theaters, let alone get them into theaters in the first place.
Are trends a good thing? Yes and No. Much like anything else it has its upsides and downsides. But one thing is for certain and that is that Hollywood will only continue to use trends in cinemas. It has been a staple of the cinema-going experience, perhaps it's time to start looking forward to what the next trend may be.