Variety: Hollywood Says Goodbye to Worst Year in a Generation

quote:

---

2024 can’t come fast enough.

When the clock strikes midnight on Jan. 1, Hollywood will close the book on arguably the most tumultuous 12 months in a generation, with the town roiled by devastating strikes, the implosion of the superhero movie and deep divisions on everything from AI to Israel. But as Tinseltown ushers in a new year, will it suffer from a monster hangover? Many of the most vexing issues remain unresolved.

“There’s a huge leadership vacuum, and that’s not about to change,” says Michael Nathanson, the former head of MGM Studios and Columbia Pictures.

Nathanson, who started in the film and TV business in the ’70s, notes that Lew Wasserman, Bob Daly and Mike Ovitz commanded respect and fear, and could galvanize the industry in chaotic times like writers and actors strikes.

---

quote:

---

But nothing stoked panic around Hollywood like Marvel’s spectacular fall. The studio endured one headache after another as quality and box-office returns nosedived amid a churn of product, culminating with the disastrous release of “The Marvels” in November. The film, which cost $250 million, has earned just $203 million worldwide.

Iger blamed Covid, noting that, “there wasn’t as much supervision on the [summer 2021] set, so to speak, where we have executives really looking over what’s being done day after day after day.” But some industryites questioned that explanation, noting that executives were reviewing dailies even amid travel restrictions. Furthermore, Marvel’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” also was hampered by Covid restrictions during its production in 2021 but was released a year earlier than “The Marvels” and earned nearly $1 billion.

Adding to the misery, the studio cut ties with actor Jonathan Majors after he was found guilty of reckless assault and harassment in a domestic violence trial this month. Majors was poised to be the centerpiece of the next “Avengers” movie.

Now, the broader fear is that if Marvel movies are sputtering, then the entire theatrical ecosystem is in jeopardy, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” notwithstanding.

“We need Marvel movies to work,” says an executive at a Disney rival. “They drive people to theaters who then see other movies. When you have a movie like ‘The Marvels,’ it’s bad for all of us.”

---