Woke Hollywood Suffers Another Disappointing Box Office Return

It seems that with each new release that promotes a “woke” agenda, Hollywood sees a significant loss in profit. Numbers decreased by a billion and half dollars from the total projected in 2023, however, despite this, Hollywood still seems to be under the impression that everyone is still on board with the “woke” media. Let’s take a closer look at what may be causing these financial losses for Hollywood. 

Controversial Messaging

Hollywood has been making attempts to connect with everyday people and make films that they believe people want to watch. 

Unfortunately, the information that they get from their views tends to be from people that all live in the same state. This leads to less fans of the media they produce. It seems like Hollywood is trying to push a message that condemns anyone that doesn’t have the same beliefs as it does.

Woke

Defining “woke” is somewhat difficult, people tend to use the term in their own way. Generally, if something is “woke” it is trying to sell a specific brand of moral messaging.

The problematic aspect of “woke” messaging is the way it treats its audience, it tends to belittle them and make them feel as if they are children. The fact is that no one is going to be receptive to that type of treatment, especially from entertainment and movies.  

Issues That Hollywood Has 

Many may remember the recent SAG writers strike, it isn’t the only issue that Hollywood has been dealing with lately. They have experienced multiple problems with delays, disruptions and complete flops.

Specifically with superhero films, which were typically a huge hit until recently. They have seen a significant decline in popularity, for example Madame Web, saw a 67% decline after its first week in theaters.

Woke Messaging Tanks Marvel Releases

Hollywood has seen some surprising letdowns with Marvel, which is hard to believe, especially for those that remember how big the releases of these movies used to be. 

Under the ownership of Disney, the company took a huge hit. Without a solid direction, ingrained woke messaging, and a lack of substance in its scripts, it came as no surprise to fans when their films didn’t do well.

Less Films

Right before the COVID-19 pandemic In 2019 shutdown the world as everyone knew it . Hollywood had planned to release 108 films during that year.

That dropped to 88 in 2023, films with bad writing and delayed scheduled releases seem to be part of the ongoing problem for Hollywood in 2024.

Writers’ Strike 

It is easy to see why writers are considered such a pivotal aspect of the production of films..

Hollywood’s attempt to deplete the significance of writers proved to be unsuccessful, and the strike was responsible for months of delays, which further exacerbated the loss of about half a billion dollars. 

Making Adjustments To Budgets 

It has been a significant amount of time since Hollywood has released a blockbuster film that relied heavily on  preachy morals to sell itself. And there is reason to believe that this is the reason behind why moviegoers are avoiding the movies now. 

The amount of big-budget-flops, poorly written scripts, and the overwhelming amount of special effects has turned movies from something to look forward to, to a display of technology. It is clear that Hollywood needs to adjust to improve the current challenges it is facing.  

Successes

Despite the significant downfalls, one or two movies have been huge successes. These films are a perfect example of what Hollywood is doing wrong with the rest of its productions.

Films like Barbie and Oppenheimer have become sleeper favorites because they speak to their audience. The writing is good and they have exceptional beat development that audiences have been craving.

Changes 

If Hollywood wants to come back from all of this, they will have to have more than two films that are a success. 

Typically the movies that audiences avoid are the ones that are trying to push morality to the audience. Companies like Disney are more interested in their ESG scores than their media, and it shows. 

Remaining Optimistic 

Hollywood has faced struggles with making movies people enjoy watching. While there have been the occasional hits, the majority of the public has moved away from big-budget films. 

Despite this, the Hollywood community remains optimistic about the possible rebound in 2025. Studios expect things to turn a corner by that time, with people getting used to movies again.

Rebuilding Movies 

Films that are considered masterpieces or classics, such as Dune and Barbie, aren’t aiming to force an audience to do something they aren’t comfortable with, contrary they are actually paying homage to something their audiences love.

Films such as these have exceptional writing and in-jokes that the audience gets, and don’t try to change too much about the source work they’re based on. The outcome is an excellent film that viewers enjoy.

Financial 

Disney and similar companies have long integrated “woke” messaging in their movies, and up until now they have been able to get away with it. However, now consumers are pushing back on the rhetoric.

With significant financial losses, and audiences avoiding movies altogether, It seems that these media giants are having to learn this lesson the hard way.

Will Hollywood Change Its Ways? 

While optimism still exists among the studios, managers and directors are going to have to diligently work to get away from what they have been doing as of recently. Woke media isn’t anyone’s favorite.

If Hollywood is under the assumption that it is a fad, and it will fizzle out soon without them having to make changes, they could be in for a rude awakening.