We often discuss the way that studios have changed their business model in the wake of so many films finding trouble in today’s theatrical marketplace. With Blumhouse showing that low-budget horror and indies can turn a nice profit and Marvel Studios breaking records with massive superhero epics, there doesn’t seem to be much space for those films that used to be commonplace — the mid-budget, adult-oriented dramas.
This is something that has not only been noticed by film fans but also those that work in the filmmaking system. One of the greatest cinematographers on the planet, Roger Deakins, recently spoke to IndieWire about the loss of mid-budget films and said that it’s a troubling trend that puts folks like him finding it more and more difficult to work on projects that excite them.
“It’s a different world,” said Deakins. “There’s much fewer of that middle budget range. There’s a bunch of lower-budget films, thank God, so people get to experiment, and then there’s these huge tentpole, big-budget action movies and superhero movies and there’s less and less like ‘Goldfinch,’ it’s really sad.”
Another accomplished cinematographer lamenting the loss of mid-budget adult fare is Rachel Morrison. The woman behind the camera for such films as “Mudbound” (which earned her an Oscar nomination), “Black Panther,” and the upcoming “Seberg” explained that the choices are slim for DPs wanting to do something other than low-budget indies or big-budget spectacle films.
“It’s a miracle when you pull off a film like [‘Seberg’], but it’s not always possible,” said Morrison. “Right now, so often we have a choice between huge movies, with all the toys you want, that are absolutely meaningless or these small movies that have such great intentions but don’t have the time or money to do them justice. So it’s a hard place to be.”
Lately, we’ve seen a few more of the mid-budget films finding homes on streaming platforms such as Netflix. However, with a theatrical release such an important aspect of the filmmaking process for so many creators, the idea of being relegated to streaming films doesn’t have the luster of a big-screen studio film. So, in the meantime, it appears that folks like Morrison and Deakins will have to carefully choose their projects, navigating the murky waters of tentpole films and low-budget films until things like “The Goldfinch” or “Seberg” come around.
