10 Trends That Are Destroying Modern Movies
9. Blockbuster Season Is Getting Even Bigger
That blockbuster season is in the summer is, to some degree, arbitrary. Sure, there'd always be a glut a of family friendly fare released when kids are out of school, and 4 July is always an attractive slot because America still just about dominates the industry, but the reason May is viewed as a big release date is mainly down to origins of the blockbuster. It is, after all, the month when Star Wars first shook up the industry.
The fallacy of this is slowly being shown with November becoming a viable release spot (Thor: Ragnarok and Hunger Games: Catching Fire cleared up in recent times) and the big December release cementing itself as a thing (Star Wars, The Hobbit, and Avatar). But while the films released on these dates tend to live alongside the more artsy fare of awards season, summer remains a big explosion dominated time. And it's getting longer.
Marvel have been slowly pushing their big summer releases earlier and earlier. Rather than standing out on its own, it merely invited the competition to release earlier as well.
It's good for the studios (it reduces competition) but if things stay the way they are we may be faced with a film year that has little space for something that isn't an event blockbuster or an Oscar hopeful. Not a lot of fun.