As published in CORREIO DO ESTADO

When we reach the end of the annual calendar, nostalgia and an immediate desire to list positives and negatives subside. I’m not going to talk about “best of 2023” because I did that throughout the year, we don’t need a retrospective, do we? Let’s look ahead.

For those who follow movements in the film market, remember that 2023 was a bit bizarre: no less than TWO strikes that paralyzed Hollywood: screenwriters and actors demanding salary and rights updates, but, above all, both were terrified by the use of Artificial Intelligence, that can (laugh) make humans irrelevant. This vision translated into the eternal formula in which AI is the villain, reinforced in Mission: Impossible and other films and series. The reality is more complex than that and we will still be following the development of this fight of technology versus Art.

Making movies is for the strong. There are years of working on the same project, dealing with egos and budgets, strategies and competition. The pandemic also gave strength to another ‘enemy’ of films: digital platforms. This time, even TV, which was fighting with Cinema, joined the consumer ‘threat’. An inglorious battle that only your wallet can change the outcome. The comfort of seeing what you want, how you want, and at home was essential when it was really impossible to go out and socialize. Along the way, great directors reversed some maxims such as what I call the “power of brevity”. Apparently, no one can tell a good story in two hours anymore, even less so in a linear way. All big box office successes total 3 hours of projection and I swear I haven’t seen any film that justifies that, not Oppenheimer or Killers of the Flower Moon. I’m in the minority who found many scenes drawn out and even unnecessary for what we needed to know, but hey, I do not discuss Art. Beautiful, powerful, and successful films.

Another strong change in 2023 that we will see unfolding in 2024 is the feared mergers of studios and platforms. They directly impact job cuts and fewer approved productions, that is, less content. Some ask if we need so much stuff and I’m sure you, like everyone else, felt a certain anguish about not being able to keep up with so many simultaneous releases. Don’t worry, this is over. And part of it is because, when platforms multiplied, consumers were excited at first, but felt the increase in spending and are now reducing it again.

Netflix remains sovereign in this war, having always maintained avant-garde and leadership. For example: apart from The Crown, with six seasons, no other original series on the platform survives for so many years. And it’s not problematic because this way you maintain the freshness of launches, selecting your investments governed by newness. The young audience is loyal to the platform and it closed the year without experiencing crises or delivery delays like the others, which were affected by strikes. On the other hand, giants like Disney are struggling with the drop in the value of superheroes, worn out by 50,000 series that opened up so many multiverses that it has become irrelevant to follow them all. With the studio apparently for sale, Star Plus will cease to exist (its films and series will move to Disney Plus) and of course, this means that we will have fewer releases on both platforms. I’m sorry because I’m a staunch Star Plus consumer, you know. HBO also became Max, it was bought by Discovery and it seems that in 2024 they will also acquire Paramount Plus (another one that has presented great content). Well, out of many, we will have fewer offers soon. Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV Plus, whose business is not exclusively audiovisual, do not appear to be directly affected. Per hour.

I know it sounds like a dire future for 2024, but it’s not. From January to June, we will have the awards season, with red carpets and the crowning of new talents. The wave of biopics, and biographical films, as well as the consumption of true crime, remains strong, but something new will certainly emerge. For those who are too lazy to go out to movie theaters, the waiting window has been reduced from three months to a maximum of weeks, so it’s a matter of personal choice. And that’s great!

I’m excited about what lies ahead. Thank you for your company once again, I wish you happy holidays and we’ll see you here next week! Speaking, of course, of Hollywood!

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