Posted on 11/02/2025 8:56:50 AM PST by Red Badger
The film industry’s troubles show no sign of easing. Domestic box office revenue for October 2025 came in at roughly $425 million, marking the worst performance in 27 years outside of the pandemic era, per Comscore data. This dismal figure falls well below even the unadjusted $385.2 million from October 1997, a time before blockbuster franchises dominated screens.
Major releases failed to draw crowds. Disney’s *Tron: Ares*, with a reported net cost of $220 million, opened to just $33.2 million domestically and has scraped together only $65.1 million in the U.S., contributing to an estimated $132 million loss. Globally, it limped to $125.4 million, far short of expectations for a high-profile sci-fi sequel.
Similarly, Dwayne Johnson’s *The Smashing Machine* debuted with a meager $5.8 million opening weekend, ending its domestic run around $11 million and hovering near $20 million worldwide despite being boosted by excellent critical reviews. These flops join a string of underperformers that left theaters empty.
Beyond the ticket sales slump, the sector faces massive job erosion. Recent Bureau of Labor Statistics figures reveal staggering losses, with over 42,000 positions vanishing in the past two years—about a third of the workforce.
“FilmLA … reported that on-location production was down 22% in the first quarter of 2025,” adding to the pain from prior strikes and economic shifts. Studios have begun pulling back from California, citing high costs and regulatory burdens under far-left leadership. Despite a deep hatred by most in Hollywood toward anything “conservative,” they’re learning to love lower taxes and lighter regulations in red states like Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas.
Audience fatigue with heavy-handed messaging plays a role in the downturn. Pushback against ideological content has grown, as viewers seek entertainment free from lectures. The poor box office numbers come at a time when the film industry as a whole seems to be in decline. Yet some insiders whisper that this erosion serves deeper agendas, allowing tech giants to step in and reshape storytelling on their terms.
Enter artificial intelligence as a looming disruptor. OpenAI unveiled Sora 2 in September, an advanced video generator capable of rendering complex scenes from text prompts.
“Just last month, OpenAI released Sora 2, an AI video generator that could make much of the film production process unnecessary,” said a Hollywood film editor who asked not to be named. “To say we’re concerned is an understatement.”
This tool, now available via app in the U.S. and beyond, raises questions about who controls the narratives when machines handle creation. Critics in Japan, including reps from Bandai Namco and Studio Ghibli, have already demanded OpenAI halt unauthorized training on their IPs, hinting at broader battles over intellectual property in an AI-driven future.
If trends hold, traditional Hollywood may fade further, replaced by algorithms that prioritize efficiency over human creativity. Families and everyday moviegoers deserve stories that resonate with real life, not agendas or automated output. The industry’s path forward demands a return to what once made films great: genuine talent and crowd-pleasing tales.
“I think the high price is a factor too-”
^This. What is the typical per-person out-of-pocket for a movie and popcorn? $20? With everyone using paid and free streaming services to watch seemingly unlimited content at home, dropping twenty bucks at a movie theater isn’t an economically rational choice under most circumstances. It only makes economic sense for some reason *other* than simply watching a film, e.g., as an “outing” such as a social get-together for kids or a date idea for couples.
While Im rambling....
There was an article recently about a “super hot” (um, kinda homely) AI actress that everyone wants to put in upcoming works.
Nonsense. Trolling for dollars from the gullible execs that dont get what Im saying. No one is going to pay exorbitant prices for a ticket necessary to pay the several million dollar rights to use a particular AI woman. All over platforms like Youtube there are already better looking AI characters someone generated for free.
The person that created a movie over the cost of a turkey sandwich on their laptop is always going to beat a Hollywood monstrosity in relation to overhead. Every creator can generate characters that look however they wish that will sound how ever they wish and eventually move however they wish for nothing.
Tom Cruise knows how to make movies people want to see.
Documentaries on streaming are mostly what I watch, on my desktop computer.
I got sick of the stuff in the movies years ago when they made sex an entertainment feature. A sport or something. I really hate to see any kind of sex in a movie, nudity, references to it, anything. I don’t even want to see people making out. It’s kind of gross to me.
Then there is all the cursing. Every movie has to have cursing. What the heck? Now everyone curses.
Violence. Hollywood is all about banning guns but so much of the movies are all about murder, killing with guns. It’s so hypocritical.
HBO has created The Final Destination part 2, where the USS Nimitz doesn’t go back to 1977, but stay and fights the Japanese at Pearl Harbor and beyond. It’s all AI.
I see absolutely nothing to complain about here. Maybe the Hollywood types can learn to code.
My local AMC movie theater, ‘Black Phone 2’
Ticket: $12, popcorn, two soft drinks, $25.87
I think they even gig you with a ‘courtesy charge’ so $40-50 to see a lame Jane Fonda flick.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha heh
The difference between camgirl simps and movie theater attendees is just one of degree.
Crap produces crap.
Tom Cruise is the lone throwback to what Hollywood used to be like.
No, thank you.
I saw the movie “Earthquake”, with Sensurround, in 1974 at the Lakewood Theater in Dallas, Texas. Not much of anyhitng else since than. Wife forced me to go see “Minority Report” at a theater. but I have somehow missed all the rest.
I could tell from the trailers that the new TRON movie was going to suck and flop at the box office.
BTW, part of what makes the original TRON so endearing is the traditional gender roles of the lead characters. The female lead (I can’t remember her name) always lets the Bruce Boxleitner character lead her and he always leads her attentively, holding her hand to help her climb over obstacles and checking to make sure the coast is clear before beckoning her forward. His subtle chivalry is charming, as is her acceptance of it. Hollywood wouldn’t even begin to know how to do that kind of stuff nowadays.
“tired of seeing ‘the rock’ in every single movie. If he’s in it i’m not watching it.”
It’s Hollywood’s old tried and true axiom:
If it’s profitable once it’s worth doing again and again and again and again.........rinse , lather, repeat.......
That’s what they are afraid of!............
I predicted this 40 years ago............
Occasionally they turn a profit. Liam “The Gun Grabber” Neeson as Frank Drebin:
The Naked Gun (2025) has grossed over $102.1 million worldwide against a budget of $42 million, making it the highest-grossing film in the franchise. It was released on August 1, 2025, and has performed well at the box office, nearing a significant milestone for the series.
Wikipedia Koimoi
I thought about going to see Dwayne Johnson’s new movie, but he’s been overexposed for the last 10 years.
The Rock should take a tip from Stallone, step back from the Star spotlight and direct some younger, unknown talent.
Otherwise, people think they know the whole story without having to see the movie. Robin Williams became stuck in the same way late in his career.
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