It’s said that comedy movies are dying because they don’t bring people to the theater.

I remember when rom-coms used to be a genre that would be practically guaranteed to do good numbers, but it seems like studios are avoiding the genre now or releasing direct to streaming.

I think that most comedies today are primarily another genre, like action/adventure or horror with a bit of millennial irony on the top. I think the biggest comedy this year was The Devil Wears Prada 2; I’m not really the target audience for that one, but it is nice to see that there is a market for it, even if it’s a bit of a look back on a 20 year old movie.

The last one that I saw in the theater was Asteroid City, but frankly I went just for the cinematography; I usually prefer to watch comedy at home because it’s not an experience that really matters if it’s on a theater screen or not.

So what was the last comedy that you went to the theater for? I’m particularly interested in people who regularly go out to movies, but also just generally curious about people’s thoughts.

  • Wolf314159@startrek.websiteEnglish
    4·
    8 hours ago

    I mostly go to cinemas to see films that look and feel better in a theatre. Comedy can also be great in a theatre with a good crowd. Laughing along with other people is cathartic. For me comedy is embedded in good writing and editing, but not always fully there is comedy for comedy’s sake. In other words, I find myself laughing more, and harder, at funny moments in movies that don’t label themselves comedy. I get bored with action movies that take themselves too seriously the same way a movie that a comedy without anything else going for it can wear thin. And the crowds are thin, so going out to laugh with others is often better done at a comedy club or casino than a movie theatre.

    I don’t think comedy is dying. It’s just that, for modern audiences that can watch anything that was ever distributed on-demand, all the low hanging fruit has been plucked. The same old slapstick, schmaltzy rom-coms, and body humor may still bring in some, but it’s far from unique or compelling enough to bring in the crowds to what is an increasingly overpriced and underwhelming experience at the theatre. Action, adventure, sci-fi, etc. will always benefit from advances in technology, so that old stories and cliche writing feels shiny and new. Dramas are a showcase of directing and acting skills, so old scripts can come back to life. But the writing of comedy and wit stands alone, benefiting very little from advances in tech or trending celebrities.

  • [deleted]@piefed.worldEnglish
    2·
    8 hours ago

    Renfield is the last one I recall going to see in the theater.

    I think my last three movies in the theater were Renfield (2023), Nosferatu (2024), and Backrooms (2026).

    • WhiteRabbit@lemmy.todayEnglish
      4·
      13 hours ago

      This is my recent comedy too. It was a good laugh, and even if it wasn’t, I was still gonna go just to show support for comedies.

      • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
        3·
        12 hours ago

        If you ever liked any Lonely Island stuff, whether on channel101 back in the day, on SNL, or one of the various movies directed by Akiva with Jorma and Andy, you’ll probably enjoy this as Akiva is directing. There’s nice little touches as well such as at least one joke that is only seen if you are watching with subtitles on.

  • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    3·
    12 hours ago

    Oh another fun (although flawed) romp was Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die

    Friendship is funny, but only if you can stomach an I Think You Should Leave comedy sketch for two hours.

    There’s also a cute indie(?) British film I quite enjoyed called Time Travel is Dangerous that’s both funny and really cute.

    Tim Travers and the Time Travelers Paradox is a goofy little low budget sci-fi.

    Also Cunk on Life may be just an entry in the long-running Philomena Cunk universe, but it is also technically a film, whereas much of the prior Cunk media were television shows.

    Hundreds of Beavers is deeply unique and one of the funniest films I have seen in my life. A combination of video game mechanics, looney tunes physics, and well, hundreds of beavers.

    Comedy movies still exist, they’re just different than how they used to be, I think. Also I didn’t go to the theater for these because I’m poor but I wish I had! (also some of them were direct to streaming and never hit theaters, like I’m fairly sure was the case for Time Travel is Dangerous, Tim Travers, and Cunk on Life)

  • misk@piefed.socialEnglish
    5·
    16 hours ago

    I rarely go to the cinema these days on the account of cinema seats being incompatible with my back pain. Last comedy I saw was Naked Gun because it’s short and I thought it was one of those movies where real life laugh track improves on the experience. It’s a kind of movie you have to watch either in cinema, on VHS, or some random cable channel at 2AM.