Early-aughts studio consolidation killed patience for auteur-driven successes
Evidence
This flourishing oasis for connoisseurs, nerds, deviants, and militants stood in stark contrast to the early aughts entertainment industry, where a wave of corporate consolidations, mergers, and acquisitions pressured executives to prioritize big returns and quick profits. Patience for auteurs and slow-burn successes all but vanished. At the box office, only franchises and sequels seemed to stand a chance: The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Terminator 3, Bad Boys II, Shrek 2. Even before the launch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, superhero movies like Spider-Man and Fantastic Four had already flooded the market. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 166
Categorization
Category: Causal Relationships
- ADDENDUM: The franchise/sequel homogenization here parallels the ‘Grafting & Growth’ and taste-flattening themes the reader is building into the omnivore monoculture counter-case.