While there is no tried and true formula for box office success, there are a few constants that seem to always hold true in an industry known for its unpredictability—Marvel Studios films will always dominate; Jason Blum can make a micro-budget horror film a hit; And Seth Rogen movies always end up turning a profit. And the latter of which makes the move from Sony to sell “An American Pickle” to HBO Max a bit surprising. Sure, the pandemic has forced all the studios to figure out what’s worth holding onto and what’s better served with a streaming release, but a Seth Rogen comedy is normally a sure thing, right? Well, according to the director of the film, he’s actually really relieved the film landed a streaming debut and won’t have to worry about the pressures of box office success.
Speaking to Discussing Film, Brandon Trost, the director of “An American Pickle,” talked about the struggles of making “mid-budget” films and how they have an inherent disadvantage at the box office in recent years. You see, the over-reliance on blockbuster films (those pesky Marvel movies, for example) make studios more critical about the performance of mid-budget films. Also, finding a good release date isn’t as simple as you might think.
“Oh, I’m really happy with it,” said the filmmaker about the decision to sell the movie to HBO Max instead of a theatrical release. “I’m not happy that there’s a pandemic right now, but I am happy that we can release the movie during the pandemic because I think it’s going to reach a lot more people and in a very special way, you know what I mean?”
He added, “But I also think a lot more people are going to see it right off the bat too, which I’m very happy about. It’s a crazy time right now for mid-budget movies, just in general, to come out with any kind of packed weekend film slate. It almost feels like any weekend of the year you’re competing with some $150 million dollar tent pole.”
And it’s that competition that Trost feels can dominate the conversation and presents a tough challenge for mid-budget films. Instead of focusing on the merits of the film, people are so concerned about box office totals.
“I’m also happy that people will be watching this movie and judging it from its own merit, from its own worth,” he explained. “That they’re not going to be tracking box office numbers because, you know, who knows? I’ve worked on so many movies that don’t end up making a lot of money, but I think are great and end up becoming a good film. It’s nice to not be sort of thrown into that mid-budget slaughterhouse of releasing, as it tends to happen. Ultimately, I’m happy with the release.”
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Obviously, if there’s one major lesson that studios will likely take away from the pandemic, it’s that not everything needs to be released in theaters to gain publicity. Netflix has consistently shown that streaming platforms can draw large audiences and the rise of Premium VOD has given studios the chance to release first-run, mid-budget films for a higher rental fee than before. So, perhaps the era of a Seth Rogen comedy film in theaters is over. And we’re now in the era of Seth Rogen dominating streaming? We’ll find out.