September 30th, 2022

Spending an excessive amount of money on a Hollywood film has become a trend with blockbuster films produced by almost every studio. These budgets are approved for ensemble casts, special effects, and more. Most of these hundreds of millions of costs are approved due to the potential box office return during its theatrical release. Of course, public discourse and opinion are great ways to measure a successful film. However, even Hollywood is a business aiming to generate profit. The business has found in recent years that due to these skyrocketing prices and theaters demanding more revenue, these high-profile movies are making less and less for the studio. Yet, there are studios such as Blumhouse and other smaller studios that have recently developed and enforced a successful business model that practically guarantees success without breaking the bank. 

Paramount’s newest release, Smile, is the most recent example of how this approach can bring immense success. From director Parker Finn, the culturally relevant horror movie grossed a total of $216 million worldwide. This number is usually not overwhelmingly staggering due to modern-day blockbusters making over a billion in profit. However, with Smile’s $17 million dollar budget, this small film has been one of the most successful of the year. 

Small movies such as Smile do not automatically generate this kind of revenue. In order to gain cultural awareness, the film must first be deemed satisfactory by audiences and critics. Smile starring Sosie Bacon was no stranger to this level of praise. The film embraces its horror roots by following Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) after witnessing a traumatic experience with a patient. Throughout the film, Rose starts to notice frightening visuals that she cannot explain. As an overwhelming terror rules over her life, Rose must confront her past before facing her new terrifying reality. 

Experiencing a film in the theater always provides a better experience than any other method. The sound, picture, and especially the shared audience experience promote the film to new heights. This is especially true for a genre film like Smile. Released around October, the urge for a fresh and quality take on a horror movie was sought out and desired. The sold-out audience gave intense cheers but simultaneous cringes and screams that supplanted Smile as one of the best theater experiences I’ve had in recent memory.