It makes no sense why major arthouse studios don’t theatrically distribute more documentaries

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It makes no sense why major arthouse studios don't theatrically distribute more documentaries

As a film enthusiast who has spent years immersed in the world of independent cinema, I must say that the current state of documentary distribution is both disheartening and baffling. Having witnessed the rise and fall of numerous studios over the years, it’s clear that the landscape for documentaries has undergone a significant transformation – one that seems to favor big-budget spectacles over thought-provoking documentaries.

The Box Office History for documentary movies chart on The-Numbers is far from perfect. Chiefly, it’s confusing why Justin Bieber’s Believe is considered a documentary and not the singer’s 2011 documentary (also from director Jon M. Chu!) Never Say Never. However, this page otherwise provides valuable data about documentaries and their reputation with the public. box office presence. As of this writing, documentaries have only grossed $22.04 million domestically. Only a pair of Amazon MGM Studios features (The Blue Angels and I Am: Celine Dion) comprise 2024 documentaries from major studios released in hundreds of theaters. Otherwise, the 2024 theatrical documentary cinema is a bunch of right-wing nonsense and creepy Christian docs released by Fathom Events.

It’s not surprising that documentaries are struggling in the domestic box office. These movies seem trapped in a sad cycle. Major art-house studios like A24 and Searchlight Pictures seldom provide substantial theatrical releases for documentaries, which means there aren’t many recent hit documentary box-office successes. This lack of success is then used as an argument by studios that audiences no longer watch documentaries in theaters. The absence of these films on the big screen is particularly perplexing given that there’s no obvious reason for major art-house studios to avoid showing them.

It’s important we clarify this point: historically, it’s been challenging for documentaries to secure funding and distribution. As far back as 2005, companies like Focus Features and Fox Searchlight didn’t have any documentaries on their release schedules. Miramax only released one documentary that year, “Deep Blue”. Most of the highest-grossing domestic documentaries are IMAX films, a few nature docs from Disney and Warner Bros., concert movies, or political pieces. In today’s streaming era, sensational true crime stories are prevalent due to their ties to familiar news events. Even the most successful theatrical documentaries often revolve around well-known personalities such as Michael Jackson, Al Gore, or Michael Moore. However, it’s been a persistent issue to get working-class themed documentaries to become box office hits.

During the mid-2000s, there were numerous opportunities for documentary filmmakers to secure theatrical releases for their productions. However, following this boom period, The New York Times revealed that by June 2010, the market for feature documentaries had dramatically plummeted. Towards the end of the 2010s, there was a glimmer of optimism for big-screen documentaries as several successful ones started raking in impressive box office revenues. Movies like “I Am Not Your Negro”, “They Shall Not Grow Old”, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”, “RBG”, “Three Identical Strangers”, “Apollo 11”, and “Free Solo” managed to achieve box office numbers previously considered unattainable for traditional documentaries. Remarkably, they all made over $15+ or even $20+ million in North America just before the pandemic struck. Sadly, this momentum was halted when cinemas had to close.

The significant investment that major studios, such as Warner Bros., Focus Features, and Neon, made last year in promoting documentaries, including IMAX screens, serves as a strong incentive for art-house studios to reaffirm their commitment to this field. What makes it even more perplexing for most studios to withdraw from theatrical documentaries is that there was undeniably a demonstration of box office potential in 2021. This was evident when Roadrunner: A film About Anthony Bourdain earned $5.3 million domestically, with an opening weekend take of $1.98 million. Remarkably, these figures surpassed the box office receipts of pre-COVID summer 2019 documentaries like Pavarotti ($4.68 million) and Echo in the Canyon ($3.35 million).

2021 was expected to kick off a series of significant studio documentaries, but instead, studios largely shelved these projects. Notably, Neon secured releases for “Moonage Daydream” and “Fire of Love,” which grossed over $1 million, with the former reaching $4.2 million. However, Focus Features, A24, and Searchlight Pictures released no new documentaries in 2022. The success of the documentary box office in 2018/2019 was largely due to a consistent stream of audience-friendly films like “Three Identical Strangers,” which benefited from promotions alongside films such as “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” and “Free Solo.” This strategy wasn’t feasible in 2022, given the scarcity of major documentaries. Even National Geographic Films, who had a hit with “Free Solo” in 2018, only released one theatrical film (“The Territory”) in 2022, though they did contribute to the production of the Neon-distributed “Fire of Love.

One issue that arises with theatrical documentaries is that many films similar to popular 2018-2019 documentaries (celebrity profiles) have shifted towards streaming services. Apart from rare exceptions like “Piece by Piece,” documentaries analogous to “RBG,” “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” and “Pavarotti” can now be found on platforms such as Disney+, Amazon, Peacock, etc. In the late 2010s, audiences were not drawn to experimental documentaries like “Hale County, This Morning, This Evening.” Instead, they flocked to cinemas to see documentaries about pop culture figures like Aretha Franklin or The Beach Boys. With streaming giants dominating this market, it’s challenging for theatrical documentaries to hold their own.

In the current approach adopted by art house labels following March 2020, both large and small, for releasing arthouse titles, documentaries are not reaping the same benefits. The widespread release of new art house films into hundreds of cinemas, a strategy that may work for narrative movies like “Kneecap”, is not effectively applied to documentaries. This is because documentaries require a phased theatrical release to generate both box office success and cultural influence. Major documentary hits such as “Free Solo” and “Three Identical Strangers” from 2018 didn’t earn most of their revenue during a single three-day period, indicating that they needed time to build momentum in theaters.

1) They kept playing their film for extended periods, allowing it to spread rapidly by word of mouth, like a wildfire. However, with major art house studios such as Sony Pictures Classics and Focus Features opting for a universal release strategy for art house films, documentaries encounter an additional obstacle at the box office. Such a strategy is not conducive to nurturing successful documentaries, particularly in today’s cutthroat pop culture environment.

A troubling trend in the realm of theatrical documentaries is the shift in strategies by major film distributors over the past five years. For example, Neon, which once found significant success with documentary films, struggled to launch English-language narrative movies, with exceptions like “I, Tonya”. Films such as “Wild Rose” and “Assassination Nation” failed to perform well, even tragically so in the case of “Wild Rose”, while documentaries like “Apollo 11”, “The Biggest Little Farm”, and “Three Identical Strangers” brought Neon notable box office success. Documentaries were instrumental in establishing Neon’s reputation… however, post-2022, the independent label has largely moved away from documentaries, releasing no theatrical docs in 2023. In 2024, only one documentary, “Saving Mavis Beacon”, was released theatrically by Neon. Signaling a change in times, Neon sent the highly anticipated documentary “Brats” to Hulu instead.

Jeff Deutchman, Neon’s head of acquisitions, stated that the studio is becoming more selective in the films it distributes, focusing on larger narrative movies and self-financed projects. This shift has resulted in fewer documentaries being distributed by Neon, a genre that initially helped the company gain recognition. Meanwhile, A24 has gained notoriety for releasing documentaries like “The Sixth” and “Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind” straight to streaming platforms or Premium Video On Demand (PVOD) with no promotion. Despite sending “Lamb ” out for wide release, A24 is hesitant to take a chance on theatrical documentaries.

Speaking of Searchlight Pictures, following Disney’s acquisition, they significantly cut back on their theatrical releases. Since July 2021, with fewer Searchlight films hitting theaters, a studio that previously only dabbled in documentaries (such as He Named Me Malala, Step, and Summer of Soul) has ceased to release documentaries theatrically. CBS Films, which distributed Pavarotti in 2019, no longer exists. In the past, Amazon MGM Studios used to distribute documentaries like Gleason and I Am Not Your Negro through other studios. Companies like Open Road Films or Magnolia Pictures were known for giving such titles extended theatrical runs.

By 2024, only two significant Amazon documentaries had short, one-week theater showings. Now, Amazon is concentrating on mainstream blockbusters such as “Road House” and the upcoming “Masters of the Universe” adaptation. Previously, arthouse and documentary titles were a major focus for Amazon, but these no longer receive significant theatrical runs. Companies that once specialized in distributing documentaries have either stopped doing so or gone out of business entirely. Greenwich Entertainment, which distributed hit documentaries like “Free Solo”, “Echo in the Canyon”, and “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice” in the late 2010s, has barely survived since 2020. This trend continues with other studios.

In just five years since 2019, the distribution of documentaries in theaters has significantly changed due to consolidation in the industry. This consolidation over the past seven or so years has been challenging for documentary filmmakers, as it has led to a greater focus on safe and predictable cinema. With fewer independent labels surviving, there’s less appetite for distributing thought-provoking indie documentaries like “Union” or “No Other Land,” which might pose risks for corporate owners such as Disney, Amazon, or WarnerDiscovery. Instead, these companies prefer to finance and release celebrity-focused documentaries that promote their existing popular culture properties, rather than films that delve into the lives of the working class like “Harlan County USA” or “Kokomo City.” As a result, the current theatrical landscape is difficult for documentaries.

It’s puzzling why Hollywood movie studios have stopped producing documentaries, given that films like “Roadrunner” have proven they can still turn a profit even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regrettably, the film industry today is filled with inconsistencies and illogicalities. Studio executives claim financial necessity when cutting artists and abandoning movies to reduce costs, yet CEO salaries continue to skyrocket. This reality only exacerbates existing issues within the film industry, such as the distribution of documentaries in cinemas, which was never ideal even back in 2005. In this modern context, documentaries that consistently demonstrate their box office potential are still being pointlessly overlooked by almost all major and minor movie distributors.

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2024-09-28 17:15