More Mid-Budget Movies Please!

I am neither a film expert nor a part of the film industry in any capacity but it doesn’t take either to see that we’re in a crisis.

Almost every movie is a remake, sequel, or part of a bigger franchise now. Or worse, a biopic. It’s boring. The same tropes and formulas are rehashed; these movies often lack artistry and creativity. They also cost so much just to end up looking flat and dull. You’d never know that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania cost hundreds of millions just by watching it.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

This is not to say that every high-budget movie, sequel or remake is bad. I loved the recent Mission Impossible. I had a blast watching Twisters, and Avatar: Way of Water’s high budget more than paid off. But these are exceptions, not the norm.

Matt Damon succinctly explains why Hollywood invests in these high-budget spectacles in his Hot Ones interview. With the streaming model, original stories have higher risk and lower profitability, so we’re fed expensive slop instead.

It’s a shame because many of the films we consider classics had medium-sized budgets (roughly $15-80 million). They wouldn’t exist without a leap of faith involved. Examples include Shawshank Redemption (1994), Kill Bill (2003), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), and Legally Blonde (2001). What’s great about these movies is how different they are from one another.

Mid-budget films are where we find originality and variety. Filmmakers had more leeway to experiment and execute their artistic visions. There was flexibility in telling any kind of story without it being tied to a familiar name or brand. You could have a mind-bending concept like The Matrix (1999) or a mundane one like Uptown Girls (2003). And they’d both get theatrical releases.

A movie like Fight Club (1999) wasn’t initially well-received but it’s now considered a cult classic. Give audiences a chance to fall in love with a movie. Don’t just stick it on streaming. Word of mouth goes a long way. Expecting immediate success at the box office is why we have so many studio cash grabs, where everything has the same look and feel to it.

Personally, the type of movie that I miss and want more of is “chick flicks.” Where are the fun, wholesome female-centered stories? We used to have this in abundance! Movies I grew up with like Mean Girls (2004), The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Clueless (1995), Easy A (2010), Pitch Perfect (2012) and She’s the Man (2006) aren’t as common anymore. The chick flicks we do have are often put on streaming and buried under heaps of other straight-to-streaming movies.

It’s the same thing with rom-coms and comedies. These two genres aren’t what they used to be. We’re in a drought! It’s unfortunate because these are the movies I gravitate toward and find comfort in. They’re also the best type of movies to watch with friends and family. Comedies especially are fun to experience with an audience in theaters.

Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman (1990)

Mid-budget films don’t just offer a variety of genres and stories, they also introduce us to new talent (because bigger films mean the same big names). These films are how actors used to build their careers.

See Julia Roberts. Pretty Woman (1990) launched her into stardom. She then made a name for herself through (mid-budget) rom-coms. One look at Tom Hanks’ filmography proves my point. The same goes for Tom Cruise and Sandra Bullock and Denzel Washington and the following generations of actors like Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone and Daniel Kaluuya and Saoirse Ronan.

Regardless of their hit-to-miss ratio, these actors have been able to take on different types of roles and films and develop a body of work. There’s no set path for establishing a movie career anymore. Strangely, sometimes it takes a hit TV show to do it (eg. the cast of Normal People and Euphoria).

Presently, Cailee Spaeny is the only up-and-coming actor that comes to mind, who is building her resume with mid-budget films. She had a notable role in Bad Times at the El Royale (2018), played the titular role in Priscilla (2023) and was stellar in Civil War (2024). You can see in real-time that her career is taking off.

Other new actors like Paul Mescal or Rachel Sennott have mostly done low-budget films. As for actors of colour, they get even fewer opportunities. Someone like Kelvin Harrison Jr. should be in all the “best young actors” conversations. He should be everywhere! But that’s a discussion for another day.

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

Mid-budget films obviously still exist and succeed at the box office (eg. Knives Out (2019), Hustlers (2019), Nope (2022), and Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)). We just don’t see it as often because it first has to be made then properly marketed and played in theaters (for more than 2-3 weeks before going on demand).

Again, I would LOVE more chick flicks and rom-coms and comedies.

Based on the films that came out last year and this year, it does seem like the pendulum is swinging back to more interesting storytelling. To name a few, we had Joy Ride, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret., Bottoms, The Holdovers, The Creator, and Anyone But You in 2023.

I believe even more has been released this year such as Monkey Man, Challengers, Abigail, Trap, Hit Man, Civil War, and Blink Twice. And it’s only August! I was able to see most of these in theaters too which is awesome.

Hopefully, we can expect an increase in mid-budget films in the next few years.