Moviegoers are voting with their dollars when it comes to the laissez-faire Hollywood strategy of digging up old intellectual property, assigning it a goofy script and branding it with the theme of modern diversity and youth.
However formulaic the tactic, Sony’s Charlie’s Angels is another travesty of the reboot, reimagining, remake epidemic that’s plaguing an idealess Hollywood. The Elizabeth Banks directed film was released on Nov. 15 to a disappointing three-day box office gross of $8.6M.
The 2019 version stars Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska. IMDB rates the new version at 4.2 out of 10, while Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 59% critic score and a 81% audience score.
The Charlie’s Angels released in 2000 grossed $40M during its first opening weekend. The final domestic gross was $125.3M, and $264M worldwide. The 2000 version starred Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Bill Murray.
This wouldn’t be the first rendition of Charlie’s Angels. The franchise originally started off as a TV show in 1976, then evolved into the films Charlie’s Angels (2000), and then Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003).
Some critics are attributing the low box-office results of the 2019 version to a bad script and lesser known or unpopular actors. But, maybe the real reason why reboots like these keep underperforming at the box office is because the stories are exhausted.
A reboot that is betting on its franchise to draw audiences isn’t enough for a consumer to leave the apps on their phones or smart TVs and drive to a theater to purchase an expensive movie ticket only to discover that they’re being told the same story that they can find on TV or a streaming service in the privacy of their homes for what they perceive to be free.
Another issue is that the development suits at major film studios seem to be out of touch with the trend and culture of modern day America. For digital ages, people have been voicing what they want to see on the silver screen when it comes to franchise films, but it seems the suits have closed ears.
It took forever to get another Martin Lawrence and Will Smith collaboration for Bad Boys or the highly anticipated Coming To America 2. Audiences have yet to get their beloved Ice Cube written Friday featuring the original cast from the 1995 film. There’s even a petition to have a movie version of the show Girlfriends done, but again deaf ears.
There’s so many other films that are sitting on a pot of gold, but the studios for whatever reason, just deem them too high a risk.
Until the executives get hip to what the consumers want, they will continue to see moviegoers’ money talk with poor box office as the result.
