Another tough year of heightened inflation has seen many households forced to cut down on non-essential spending – meaning global box office revenues have still not hit their pre-pandemic levels. According to new analysis from Indy Film Library, however, productions from beyond the studio system are continuing to find an audience, as independent features now account for more than one-fifth of the market.
Like so many industries depending on footfall, leisure and entertainment markets took a hammering during the early months of the coronavirus crisis. The film industry was hit particularly hard – with physical cinema attendance hitting historic lows around the world.
Three years on, box office receipts have yet to recover. However, 2023 did see that process accelerate – with global box office revenues growing by more than 29%, up from 21% in 2022. As usual, the box office’s growth was driven by a series of major franchise films – but unlike previous years, several of these were properties usually associated with other mediums.
Barbie became the year’s highest grossing movie, taking more than $1.4 billion worldwide. It was closely followed by The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which raked in $1.3 billion at the global box office. Based on historically successful lines of dolls and video games respectively, the films were able to attract diverse audiences, including children, parents, and adults looking to immerse themselves in some childhood nostalgia – and for better or worse, it seems they are both set to spawn multi-movie universes, similar to the Marvel franchise before them.
Behind them, Oppenheimer brought in more than $952 million worldwide. The dour subject-matter of the film suggests there is actually quite an appetite for films from outside the cookie-cutter world of franchise-film altogether, albeit an appetite for films from the cookie-cutter world of biopics instead. Meanwhile, Marvel films struggled uncharacteristically at the box office – perhaps emphasising that audiences are tired with a formula that has gone stale. The MCU’s top performer – and fourth-highest grossing film of the year – was Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3. Marvel’s most unashamedly bizarre and cynical series took a global haul of $845 million, but was the last the MCU will see of James Gunn, so it is questionable whether the Disney-owned studio will be able to deliver anything like this in 2024.
At the same time, studios managed to shoot themselves in the foot with the production and release of a number of major blockbusters which might have aided their 2023 performance in gaining more ground on pre-2020 figures. The advent of so-called artificial intelligence was increasingly used as a disciplinary mechanism, with studios trying to pressure artists into working for less, or give up their image rights.
In response to this blatant attempt of studios to undercut the wages of workers without whom there would be no movies, much of 2023 saw Hollywood’s writers and actors engage in strike action. As a result, films like Dune: Part Two saw their release pushed back, while production was also put on ice for likely hits such as Deadpool 3. Films like Craven the Hunter and the reboot of Blade were also delayed, though that might be more of an act of mercy than a financial decision.
Amid this, there were also opportunities for smaller, independent productions to reach new audiences. Indy films continued to gain ground on studio equivalents this year, with the top 10 independent features at the box office bringing in a combined $1.6 billion – an almost-30% increase on last year’s takings. It should be noted that these figures did not include the fees made by Sound of Freedom – which operated a pay-it-forward model that made its box office data unreliable as a means of assessing genuine engagement with audiences – and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, which despite performing well at the box office, is a concert recording.
Even so, the indy box office saw another record performance in 2023. In particular, this was driven by the continued power of independent horror to punch above its weight. For example, Blumhouse’s Insidious: The Red Door brought in $189 million worldwide, while Spyglass Media Group’s Scream VI also enjoyed takings of $168 million – though that performance in future sequels may slump, with the producers having managed to alienate a large number of viewers over their behaviour amid the invasion of the Gaza strip.
The major hits of the indy calendar included Meg 2: The Trench, which for some strange reason brought in $395 million at the global box office – despite being much too dull to be so-bad-it’s-good – and PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, which took in some $200 million from weary parents around the world.
Estimating the exact size of the independent film market still remains an impossible task. The size and scope of the segment, alongside debates around what constitutes an ‘independent’ production – and a lack of data for short films and festival performance – mean Indy Film Library’s own attempts are constrained to reported box office figures for feature films which gain a theatrical release. However, if the performance of the 10 most successful independent films is taken as an indicator of the popularity of indy films more broadly, it seems that the sector is still enjoying a healthier recovery than the studio system.
To that end, for the third year in a row, Indy Film Library believes that independent box office receipts outpaced the growth of studio productions – although it is by a much narrower margin. Of the $33.4 billion global box office haul from 2023, an estimated $7.3 billion – or 21.7% – came from independent productions around the world. As the film industries and audiences of a number of key international markets continue to develop, this may well grow further in the future, too.
While studio film receipts seem to be on the verge of catching up, and overtaking, indy movie growth in the next year, the independent film market still finds itself in its healthiest position for years. With the pressures of inflation seemingly easing, and wages finally enjoying moderate growth, that should be a cause for optimism going into 2024.
A list of the 10 most popular independent films on IFL’s platform in 2024 can be found here.