Stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld, known for the sitcom featuring his last name, Seinfeld, explained why the movie business is over and why audiences are abandoning the cinema.
UNFROSTED. (L to R) Christian Slater as Mike Diamond and Jerry Seinfeld (Director) as Bob Cabana in Unfrosted. Cr. John P. Johnson/Netflix © 2024.
Ironically, Seinfeld’s explanation came in an interview with GQ to promote his upcoming Netflix film, Unfrosted, that dramatizes a rivalry between Kellogg’s and Post.
While discussing the film and how a lot of the production and set design was new to him, Seinfeld said, “I thought I had done some cool stuff, but it was nothing like the way these people work. They’re so dead serious! They don’t have any idea that the movie business is over. They have no idea.”
He elaborated, “I did not tell them that. But film doesn’t occupy the pinnacle in the social, cultural hierarchy that it did for most of our lives. When a movie came out, if it was good, we all went to see it. We all discussed it. We quoted lines and scenes we liked. Now we’re walking through a fire hose of water, just trying to see.”
UNFROSTED – BTS – (L to R) Producer Spike Feresten, Director Jerry Seinfeld, Producer Beau Bauman and script supervisor Kerry Lyn McKissick on the set of Unfrosted. Cr. John P. Johnson/Netflix © 2024.
When asked what he thinks replaced film, Seinfeld answered, “Depression? Malaise? I would say confusion. Disorientation replaced the movie business. Everyone I know in show business, every day, is going, What’s going on? How do you do this? What are we supposed to do now?”
While Seinfeld sees the writing on the wall for films and theaters, he believes he’ll be fine, “I’ve done enough stuff that I have my own thing, which is more valuable than it’s ever been. Stand-up is like you’re a cabinetmaker, and everybody needs a guy who’s good with wood.”
Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story – (L to R) Melissa McCarthy as Donna Stankowski, Jerry Seinfeld (Director) as Bob Cabana and Jim Gaffigan as Edsel Kellogg III in Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024.
When asked to explain the metaphor he detailed, “There’s trees everywhere, but to make a nice table, it’s not so easy. So, the metaphor is that if you have good craft and craftsmanship, you’re kind of impervious to the whims of the industry.”
“Audiences are now flocking to stand-up because it’s something you can’t fake. It’s like platform diving. You could say you’re a platform diver, but in two seconds we can see if you are or you aren’t. That’s what people like about stand-up. They can trust it. Everything else is fake,” he added.
UNFROSTED. (L to R) Jerry Seinfeld (Director) as Bob Cabana, Cedric The Entertainer as Stu Smiley and Jim Gaffigan as Edsel Kellogg III in Unfrosted. Cr. John P. Johnson / Netflix © 2024.
READ: Johnny Depp Roasts Hollywood Executives As “Glorified Accountants” That Feed Moviegoers “Dreck”
Seinfeld’s comments are not unheard of. Johnny Depp made similar comments in an interview with Metro. He told the outlet, “By and large, for the majority of the years I’ve been wandering around aimlessly talking to people, they really want the same thing. They don’t want to be fed dreck. They’re happy when they experience something new or different.”
Speaking about Hollywood executives, Depp added, “They’re disposable and they realise it. Glorified accountants who have the ability to press the green light and make studio films… but they press the green light, they spent s***loads of money.”
“Budgets are ridiculous on these films… some romantic comedy with two very popular people. People – the real people – they’re sick of it,” Depp concluded.
Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Walt Disney Pictures
The theatrical film business is on pace to have one of its worst years in decades. Almost four months in to the year and domestic box office grosses have not surpassed $2 billion yet. It currently sits at $1.956 billion.
The business also has not sold over 200 million tickets yet. It has only sold 181.4 million tickets. The top grossing domestic film is Dune: Part Two and it has only grossed $277.2 million domestically and only sold 25.7 million tickets. In second place sits Kung Fu Panda 4 with a gross of $180.3 million and 16.7 million tickets.
Godzilla x Kong is in third place with a $173.2 million gross and 16 million tickets sold. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is fourth with a $103.5 million gross and 9.6 million tickets sold. Bob Marley: One Love closes out the top five with a domestic gross of $96.8 million and 8.9 million tickets sold.
Top Grossing Movies of 2024 via The-Numbers
If you wind the clock back a decade to 2014, the total box office gross was $10.2 billion and there were 1.2 billion tickets sold. The highest grossing film was Guardians of the Galaxy with a gross of $333 million and it sold 40.7 million tickets.
In fact, in 2014, 9 of the 10 top films each sold more tickets than the films in 2024. The only film in 2014 that did not sell more tickets than Dune: Part Two was Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. It still sold 25.5 million tickets beating every other film in 2024 so far except Dune: Part Two.
Top Grossing Movies of 2014 via The-Numbers
What do you make of Seinfeld’s comments regarding the movie business and his explanation for why it’s over?
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