In the era of remakes and reboots, two of 2022's biggest box-office bombs — Babylon — are concerning for the future of mid-budget movies. At the moment, superheroes and other well-known IP franchises still dominate theaters and streaming, leaving little room in the cinematic landscape for other types of films to be made. The Northman and Babylon boast incredible casts including Alexander Skarsgård and Anya-Taylor Joy, as well as Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, and Tobey Maguire, but even their appeal couldn't draw interest to movies that weren't mass-marketed to a built-in fan base.
Both movies are finely acted and beautifully shot, and The Northman even garnered positive reviews, but they both failed to cultivate the sort of curiosity necessary to give them legs at the box office. Their failures throw into question what sort of movies can ever hope to achieve success going forward if the usual components no longer work. If movies like The Northman and Babylon can't compete with the sort of big-budget blockbusters studios are currently making, it could mean trouble for the type of unique storytelling mid-budget movies have to offer.
The Northman & Babylon Were Both Studio Gambles That Bombed At The Box Office
It might be fitting that Babylon depicts a tumultuous time for Hollywood in the '20s considering that it, like The Northman, was such a studio gamble. While a fine director in his own right, Damien Chazelle's movies are an acquired taste, and Robert Eggers' movies, primarily focused on horror and surrealism, also make him a wild card in the cinematic world. Both directors, even with thought-provoking movies, aren't guaranteed to achieve box office success like James Cameron, Christopher Nolan, or Steven Spielberg do with even their most uninspired work.
Neither The Northman nor Babylon are part of a franchise or a known IP, they don't belong to shared universes with the opportunity for extensive crossovers, and their source material is derived and inspired by real moments in history. Combined with the fact that their directors aren't established in the studio system, the fact that they both had budgets in the realm of $70 million feels incredible. Studios took a chance investing in them, and the risk failed to pay off in both cases due to a lack of audience interest in anything that isn't established as a sure thing.
The Northman & Babylon's Box Office Failures Make More Risks Less Likely
Even without knowing exactly why Babylon bombed at the box office, its failure indicates that studios won't take the same kind of risks anymore. Whether audiences didn't like the tone, the pacing, or the subject is almost irrelevant; a lack of faith in its ability to make a profit means that its method of storytelling will decline. In the same way, whether audiences cared about a Viking revenge story like The Northman doesn't matter because of what it represented. Any movie that isn't based on a franchise with a well-established track record won't be made, if this alarming trend continues.
Studios won't take risks on lesser-known directors or niche genres going forward if movies like Babylon and The Northman are box office injustices. This will mean a rise in mass-oriented movies designed specifically to appeal to the broadest audience possible and generate the most profit, pushing less conventional storytelling and filmmaking to the fringes. While mass-marketed blockbusters and franchise IPs can be thought-provoking and entertaining, they represent only one method of cinema. If they continue to be granted supremacy, the future of mid-budget movies is in jeopardy.
