Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman-CEO Tony Vinciguerra is sounding the alarm on a potential lack of movies for next year. It was to be expected.
The Hollywood strikes have led to shifting release dates and slowed down the production pipeline, to the point where we might have a major shortage of films in 2024:
It is a very big concern that in… early to mid-2024, if we don’t end the strikes at some point, that there will not be a lot of films around.
Vinciguerra does mention that once a deal is reached between the studios and SAG-AFTRA then there will be a sort of golden age of moviemaking in Tinseltown:
Once we do end the strikes, which will happen obviously, there’s going to be a gold rush to get actors and producers and directors back in production.
So many film productions have been delayed since July. A shortage of films would be disastrous for theater chains. Of course, this is great news for independently financed films, they’ll be getting a bigger spotlight from the mainstream.
I say, bring back the classics. Re-release old films in theaters, to be rediscovered by a new generation of moviegoers. You have nothing to lose. Just look at how well the re-release of Chan Wook-park’s “Oldboy” did in theaters, ditto “Coraline” and “Jurassic Park” — all three had strong box-office numbers this summer.
As for new 2024 releases, we might have to rely on indie and foreign films. Some top-tier filmmakers, from around the world, are releasing new films next year, most of which are already in post-production.
Some of them include Jacques Audiard, David Cronenberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Mike Leigh, Jia Zhang-ke, George Miller, Sean Baker, Steve McQueen, Terrence Malick, Andrea Arnold, Yorgos Lanthimos, Robert Eggers, Justin Kurzel, Bong Joon-ho, Paul Schrader and Michel Franco.
There won’t be a shortage of great filmmakers. The ones that will be most affected by this strike are the major studio blockbusters. I don’t believe Cannes, or even Sundance, will have a problem putting together a great lineup of films next year.
Netflix and Skydance Animation have also called it quits. The two sides announced Monday that they're ending the animated film deal struck back in 2023, framing it as a mutual decision.