When Bad Movies Do Big Box Office

This video essay reviews the Twilight Saga and The Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy that came out between 2008 and 2018 and dominated at the box office, despite audiences knowing the movies were bad. But is it always a bad thing when bad movies do big box office? It may not be ideal but this analysis looks at the upside of when movie franchises like Twilight and Fifty Shades at least get audiences to go to the cinema.

Links to Video Sources:

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Music Used:
Cottonmouth Strut by The Whole Other (YouTube Audio Library)
Cha Capella by Jimmy Fontanez - Media Rights Productions (YouTube Audio Library)
Habanera by Bizet (YouTube Audio Library)
BoogieBounce by Drew Banga (YouTube Audio Library)
I Have a Reservation by Tracktribe (YouTube Audio Library)

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:36 Twilight Saga
4:20 Fifty Shades of Grey
8:30 When Bad Movies Do Big Box Office

#twilight #fiftyshades #robertpattinson

[mrgreentea]

“But the destitute Twilight fans needed something to satisfy their insatiable lust for hollow character writing” 😂😂😂

[makstracy]

Twilight came at the perfect time and showed what a dominant monetary force young women/teenage girls are in media consumption. There were other very male oriented movies like Transformers and the like that, though they received criticism, have never received nearly as much vitriol as Twilight got. I’m glad the Twilight films got made and I’m glad they gave the subsequent films such big budgets because it was good for there to be space for mindless escapist female-oriented fantasy the way the transformer movies, the fast & furious movies, and even the marvel movies are for boys.

[originaozz]

Never thought I'll defend Twilight on this channel, but as a teenage girl when the first film came out, the female oriented, young adult content was a drought. The boys get their pile of shit (i.e. Transformers with HYPERsexualized Megan Fox), but there's nothing for us. I stuck with the franchise before realizing how bad it was in the second one, but did not regret enjoying it. It's fun to laugh at the Twilight saga now, but the franchise made generations of female re-engage with books and fantasy genre as a whole. I'll still take this franchise over late phase MCU (which used to be my entire personality).

[MD-jnyf]

I think an underrated part of why these movies were popular is because the audiences for these types of films often aren't catered to by big budget movies, or at least weren't really getting sold to at the time. Mainstream romances and rom coms were in a downward spiral over this time period.

Dumb movies have always existed, and even been popular, especially when there's an element of wish fullfillment. Look at the 1980s and all the Rocky and Rambo sequels. Or the Transformer movies from the same era as Twilight.

If a part of the market is ignored, and someone makes a movie for them, they'll make $$$

[WillyGrippo]

My friend would like this video a lot. He was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died.

[littlebitaver]

Dakota Johnson already gave us something great when she called out Ellen right to her face. 💀

[modest_meghan]

i have no problem with people enjoying trash. we all have our vices for escapism! also good perspective about fan-favorites funding more artistic endeavors.

[KathBorup]

Wow finally someone else that isn't into superhero movies! There are an insane amount of super hero movies and remakes.

[geodaet]

I think Pattison should be more grateful, those movies may be pretty bad, but they put him on the map, not sure if his follow-up projects would have achieved that, if they were his first roles....

[geodaet]

I'm also wondering about the opposite question... why do great movies sometimes flop hard?

[alanecker]

“Go to the movies” is the key phrase.

I don’t really care to go to purely dramatic movies at the movie theatre, even a toonie theatre (do those still exist).

I go to movies at the theatre where:

- there characters or scenes that are amplified by the size of the screen and the power of the sound system (sci fi, action, adventure)

- being immersed in a large audience who all are (hopefully) there to experience the movie for what it is will increase the enjoyment of the movie through co-enjoyment (horror, comedy)

Dramas (aka Oscar bait) can be awesome cinematic experiences, but in current day you almost never need anything more than your modern home theatre. Even a 50” QLED and a sound bar will do for dramas.

Why pay $30 as a couple to go to a theatre for a drama where almost nothing is amplified or needs to be amplified by the audio video setup. Wait for rental and pay $6, or maybe even wait til it hits a streaming service within your subscription.

Movie theatres best serve movies that deliver some amount of spectacle or that benefit most from a gathered audience of common mind.

[michaelmcinerney]

Why is a 100 year old vampire still going to high school 😂

[Natallou]

Get so excited when I see the little blue dot next to 'Just an Observation'

[burgundybabyy]

I find it weird that an actor would hate a role so much yet continuously take on that role, not once, not twice, or thrice, but FOUR times.

[Pssybart]

I usually don't really mind bad movies when you can tell that they don't have a negative impact on the film industry. As big as the Twilight phenomenon was, did it send us to a dark age of young adult romantic vampire blockbusters? Aside from spawning the Fifty Shades franchise, it didn't really affect mainstream cinema.

The same can be said about the Avatar movies. Those are films that I don't respect for their writing (and their font choice). But aside from being technically innovative, I don't really see their cultural impact.

Personally I'm a lot more bothered by the success of the live action Disney remakes. But that's mostly because I want Disney to be that company that produces animated classics, instead of making inferior versions of those classics as their main product. And lately, I don't see how they're using that live action money for making more original movies. I kinda miss the days in which their bad writing went into the direct to video sequels.

[SocialBobcat]

i'm kinda just thankful that quality movies, artful movies, challenging movies even get made- the economics of making the next Fast and Furious sequel is hard to beat, going by the numbers.

[DolphineAchonga-gnkn]

When that head chip that records the stuff inside our heads debuts, then we'll really know that our subconscious is full of ridiculous movies, which explains their appeal.

[augustvanderwerf]

Boyhood didn't win Best Director, that went to Birdman 🤓but great video as always! Very insightful because I haven't seen any of these movies and I never will hahaha!

[josephc.highjr.]

Interesting video. I think the Dakota Johnson bit was kinda harsh. She's shown her acting talent in films like Suspiria (2018), The Lost Daughter, and Bad Times At the El Royale. I still have yet to watch A Bigger Splash. In the right role, she's actually pretty great.

[msjsq]

Awesome!! And spotlighting two franchises I've never wanted to see (and haven't!) but still loathe with all my being!! Hahaha....thank you!!