Nine for Nineteen

The final year of the decade was, once again, another year dominated by Disney as the company had eight of the top ten highest grossing movies of 2019. Of those eight movies, five were franchise sequels, two were remakes, and one was the origin story of a character for a larger cinematic universe (essentially a prequel). Despite Disney's dominance in the theaters, Netflix continued to invest in and digitally release a slew of prestige motion pictures. Movies like The Irishman, Marriage Story, The Two Popes, were eagerly watched and discussed by critics and the general public. And not just were these things watched, they were rewarded with awards and nominations.

So what do we make of all this? People are clearly still going to the theaters to watch I.P. infused special effects theme park ride extravaganzas, and (a lot of the same) people are still watching thoughtful and original motion pictures by independent storytellers. From my estimation, it seems like a film's genre is having a direct impact on the format in which people feel like they need to see it. Marriage Story may be a great film, but do I really want to put on real clothes, drive in the snow, pay 12 bucks, and then sit next to a mouth-breather who keeps asking their spouse about plot details – all in order to watch a really well-acted marriage fall apart? I'm not so sure anymore... Now, do I want to do all those things to watch Thanos evaporate? Absolutely.