Can woke blockbusters pull Hollywood out of its slump?

March was an excellent month at the box office, with major films like “Dune: Part Two,” “Kung Fu Panda 4,” “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” and “Godzilla

As reported by Box Office Mojo, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has already surpassed $108 million at the global box office in two weeks, while Kung Fu Panda 4 has grossed $347 million globally in three weeks. “Dune: Part Two” grossed $626 million worldwide in one month.

Angel Studios’ limited religious releases of “Cabrini” ($18.6 million) and “The Chosen” ($7.7 million) also enjoyed modest box office success.

Meanwhile, the anti-Christian marketing campaign for Sidney Sweeney’s “The Immaculate” appears to have backfired, as the horror film grossed just $3.3 million over the Easter weekend, a significant decline in its second weekend. Likewise, Liam Neeson’s “In the Land of Saints and Sinners” grossed just $1.06 million after appearing on MSNBC to celebrate Trump’s accusations.

While these events may not have directly contributed to the malaise at the box office, less partisan films relatively swept the month of March. The disgusting but entertaining “Godzilla

Whether it’s the excesses of progressive ideological appropriation colloquially known as “wokeism,” superhero fatigue, or audiences’ genuine desire to see new and innovative takes on the big screen, audiences are starting to make their voices heard at the box office. The days of slow box office numbers due to COVID-19 are over, and audiences are flocking to blockbusters like “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Oppenheimer” and “Dune: Part Two.”

This is in sharp contrast to the recent box office failures of Disney, which released several box office bombs last year while its premier streaming service continued to hemorrhage money.

Seven of Disney’s eight major 2023 releases, including “Wish,” “Elemental,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Haunted Mansion,” “Indiana Jones 5,” “The Marvels” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: “Quantumania”. “It performed poorly at the box office. Its only major success last year was the third film, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ which grossed $845.6 million worldwide.”

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” officially became one of the biggest bombs in cinema history when it grossed $383.9 million on a massive $308 million production budget and a $100 million advertising budget, turning one of Harrison Ford’s final performances into a low point. In his professional career.

Disney CEO Bob Iger told CNBC in November that the studio had lost track of its mission and focused too much on messaging in major releases, asserting that its designs needed to prioritize storytelling over messaging.

We enjoy values ​​and have a positive impact on the world in many different ways. “Black Panther” is a great example of this. I love being able to entertain if you can broadcast it with positive messages and have a good impact on the world. amazing. But that shouldn’t be the goal. “When I came back, what I really tried to do was go back to our roots,” Iger told CNBC.

With Disney backing down from its lawsuit against Florida on March 27, after Disney World president Jeff Vaale confirmed it had “put an end to all pending litigation in state court,” Disney will likely begin to address its impotent status. its affairs and correct its failures.

That’s not to say left-leaning films haven’t similarly captured the market, as “Barbie” ($1.4 billion) and “Avatar: The Way of Water” ($2.3 billion) showed that audiences are willing to pay billions to see movies. With feminist or environmental themes. However, their success is still notable because these are original projects from creative authors, full of passion and things to say.

General audiences want to engage with overt left-wing messages in films if it’s new and exciting and gives them a reason to see it on the big screen — rather than just waiting for it to appear on Disney Plus in three months.

Last year’s limited release of “Godzilla Minus One” proved to be a perfect example, as a film with an anti-war political message turned into a global success story. The low-budget Japanese monster film, on a shoestring budget of less than $12 million, grossed $112 million worldwide. The film set a record as the third highest-grossing foreign film in American box office history, grossing $56 million domestically, and later won Best Special Effects at that year’s Academy Awards.

“Oppenheimer” and “Dune: Part II” are both similarly political, grappling with themes of political repression, the ethics of nuclear weapons, charismatic leaders, and the dangers of religious extremism. However, they are both well-written films with stunning filmmaking that rarely engage in overtly antagonistic partisan politics.

Tyler Hamill is a Nashville-based freelance journalist, a College Fix Fellow, and a member of the Music City Film Critics Society. He has contributed to The Dispatch, The New York Sun, Hollywood in Toto, The Pamphleteer, Law and Liberty, Main Street Nashville, North American Anglican, Living Church, and Geeks Under Grace.