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.
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.