re: Why is it so difficult for Hollywood to make good movies?

Another issue that doesn’t get discussed is the fact that wide release movies from Hollywood (not indie movies) typically have incredibly huge budgets.

There’s no such thing as a “cheap” or “mid-budget” movie anymore.

Blade Runner 2049 was a good movie. But it made $240 million against a $150 million budget. I think ultimately it was an $80 million loss for Warner Bros.

Now, Blade Runner 2049 is a sequel, but it’s not a hot franchise like a comic book movie is. There’s no way it was ever going to be able to make the $320 million break-even point to be successful.

So why did it have to be made for $150 million? Villenueve made a just as visually compelling movie called Arrival for a mere $50 million.