Summary
- Steven Spielberg’s last two films were unsuccessful at the box office despite receiving critical acclaim.
- Both West Side Story and The Fabelmans were in more niche genres, making it harder to appeal to larger, movie-going audiences.
- Steven Spielberg’s new upcoming film is a return to the sci-fi genre and the UFO movie, with his past success suggesting a potential box office hit.
Steven Spielberg is known as one of the greatest directors of all time, and while he’s been plagued with a recent bad box office streak, his upcoming film has a strong chance to break it. Three of Spielberg’s last five movies were box office bombs, spelling a troubling trend for the director known for creating the blockbuster. Though Spielberg may not have made the highest-grossing film of all time, he is the highest-grossing director thanks to the success of Jurassic Park, the Indiana Jones franchise, and more.
While every Steven Spielberg film is a financial success, box office numbers don’t always reflect a film’s quality, and his last two films were well-received by critics and audiences alike. Many factors go into a film’s success, or lack thereof, at the box office, and Spielberg’s failures point out a trend that is soon to be broken. Spielberg’s upcoming sci-fi film could do what his recent films couldn’t by being a box office hit.
10 Box Office Records That Will Likely Never Be Broken
Though breaking a record at the box office is rarely the ultimate goal of a film, it can help cement a movie or filmmaker as a great success.
Steven Spielberg Has Had Back-To-Back Box Office Bombs In The 2020s
West Side Story & The Fabelmans Failed At The Box Office
Steven Spielberg has directed two films in the 2020s thus far, West Side Story (2021) and The Fabelmans (2022). West Side Story was a major box office bomb, grossing $75 million with a $100 million budget, while The Fabelmans made $45 million from a $40 million budget. Yet, both films received generally positive reviews and were nominated for Academy Awards, with Ariana DeBose even winning Best Supporting Actress for West Side Story.
West Side Story was already fighting an uphill battle when it was released in December 2021, as the box office was still recovering from the pandemic. It also came at a lower point for musical movies, as shown by In The Heights (2021), which grossed only $45 million. Musicals are now considered a niche film genre, and The Fabelmans occupied its own niche by being a coming-of-age drama based on Spielberg’s life. Many audience members are more likely to wait for films like these to come to streaming services if they’re interested in them at all.
The Fabelmans True Story: How Accurate It Is To Spielberg’s Childhood
Steven Spielberg’s 7-times Oscar nominated The Fabelmans tells the story of the legendary filmmaker’s early life and career – but is it accurate?
Why A Steven Spielberg UFO Movie Will Likely Be A Box Office Hit
Steven Spielberg Is Switching Up Genres
With his new upcoming movie, Steven Spielberg is moving from the more niche genres to one that has brought him major success in the past and could end his bad box office streak. There is little information known about the film, except that it will be a sci-fi UFO movie based on an original Spielberg idea with a screenplay by David Koepp, who worked with the director on Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The combination of the genre and collaboration is a good sign of what’s to come.
Spielberg’s work has spanned many genres, and he’s seen success in a variety of them. However, sci-fi is known for having a broader appeal, and Spielberg has mastered it, as shown in his films Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. It’s been over 45 years since Close Encounters of the Third Kind made over $300 million on a $19 million budget. With Steven Spielberg in an unfortunate box office slump, returning to sci-fi with a UFO movie in particular will likely draw in the audiences he’s been missing.
