Hollywood desperately cutting back on movie, TV budgets after years of profligate spending

Hollywood is undergoing a crisis. Both the small screen and the big screen entertainment is sailing through rough seas at the moment, and the issues plaguing film and TV in the US has only been exacerbated by the economic downturn induced by the Covid-19 pandemic. Netflix execs for years threw money at literally every pitch they received, or at least that is what it seemed like judging the quality of many of the Netflix Originals. But earlier this year, it was revealed that the world leader in streaming lost subscribers for the first time in 10 years.

What, exactly, happened to Netflix?

Previously, Netflix was thought to be a saviour of many a cancelled network TV show but now it has to take stock of its own content, and why its subscribers are jumping ship. It has laid off hundreds of staffers. Among the options it is considering introducing cheaper, advertisement-supported plans, not letting the users share their subscriptions with friends and family, among others.

Also Read: Netflix fires 300 employees in latest round of layoffs amid financial troubles

Content overload also a reason for the burnout?

Many viewers have complained that there is something like too much content to watch. Hundreds of new shows release every year on dozens of streaming options to choose from, and hundreds of shows get their next seasons. Many of them are good, certainly, but finding what to watch is difficult. As good stuff on the big screen that does not boast of franchise power has become rare, on the small screen, there is thousands of hours of content. This again brings us back to the profligacy that companies like Netflix displayed and that is coming back to bite them in the hindquarters. How would it fund its substantard shows if it cannot fund them from subscribers' dollars? It was only inevitable. 

Also Read: 'Ranveer vs Wild with Bear Grylls' review: Ranveer Singh's Netflix special is a chore to sit through

Reducing budgets, salaries, and too much genre cinema?

As per Bloomberg, a TV director making $4 million a year is not getting $750,000 and the TV budgets are dropped by an incredible 30 per cent. 

Also, with the reign of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and superhero cinema in general in the last decade or so, the theatrical business was already suffering. Small-budgeted movies from lesser-known directors and backed by big studios, that enjoyed a renaissance in the 1990s and 2000s are as rare as latinum. Now, it's either $200 million franchise pictures or ridiculously inexpensive movies that the studios are making only because they will not lose much money.

Covid effect

Now, after that insidious virus made a mess of the entire world, the theatrical business has been more adversely affected. In the last two years, almost every successful movie is either a superhero pic or a legacy franchise sequel. Studios are like, 'If we are to burn a lot of money, let it burn on a movie that people will actually watch!'