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What Adam Sandler & Godzilla Minus One Have In Common
If you can make a film for as little money as possible and still make it great, you can make a lot of money. And that’s what Godzilla Minus One has done
TL;DR: What Adam Sandler & Godzilla Minus One Have In Common
- 📽️ Hits like The Water Boy & The Wedding Singer: low cost, high profit 💸
- 90s to now: >$2 billion box office 💵
- Happy Gilmore & The Wedding Singer: $30 million cost, $162 million earned 📈
- Sandler’s strategy: Friends & family cast/crew, cost-effective 🤝
- Big wins with less risk 🎲
- Godzilla Minus One follows this blueprint, teaching Hollywood budget success 🏫🎥
Let’s talk about the art of filmmaking on a tight budget, and how Godzilla Minus One has become a textbook example of doing it brilliantly. With just $15 million in its pocket, this movie is on a victory lap to cross the $100 million mark globally after its 2023 debut.
That’s no small feat for a film that, A) is a foreign language movie, always a hard sell in the US, and B) embraces its B-movie DNA.
What sets Godzilla Minus One apart from the recent Hollywood spectacles is its refreshing lack of reliance on over-the-top special effects. Sure, it’s a visual treat, but it’s not propped up by flashy FX to mask a limp story. Instead, it harks back to the golden era of filmmaking, with its heart set on storytelling, character arcs, and mood-setting – the stuff of cinematic legends.
When the monster finally crashes the party, and boy, does it make an entrance, you’re already all in. You’ve bought into the lives, the city, the impending chaos. You’re rooting for the cast, fearing for them, feeling every bit of the Godzilla-induced terror.
The Lesson Hollywood Needs to Learn
The current Hollywood formula is simple: throw mountains of cash at films and pray they stick. But let’s face it, the outcome is often a lineup of movies you forget by the time you hit the parking lot. Here’s a glimpse at the spending spree:
- Avatar: The Way of Water (December 2023): $350-460 million
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (June 2023): $250-300 million
- Jurassic World Dominion (June 2023): $167 million
- The Gray Man (July 2023): $200 million
- Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (July 2023): $190 million
- Lightyear (June 2023): $200 million
- Elvis (June 2023): $85 million
- The Batman (March 2023): $185-200 million
- Thor: Love and Thunder (July 2023): $180-200 million
- Black Adam (October 2023): $190 million
I’ve seen a few, and oh boy, some are a snooze-fest. Black Adam? A dud. Jurassic World Dominion? A yawn. Lightyear? Meh. And these alone cost over 600 million bucks to make!
Sure, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One was a blast, and The Gray Man had its moments, but how did it cost 200 million?
Bar a few exceptions like The Batman and maybe The Gray Man, most of these mega-budget movies were just plain bland. And they all had price tags well over $100 million.
In walks Godzilla Minus One, made for $15 million – barely a dent (around 10%) of Jurassic World Dominion’s budget.
Even the behemoth Disney is feeling the heat. With big bets like “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” flopping at the box office, analysts are predicting a gloomy quarter for Disney.
The Adam Sandler Connection
Adam Sandler, Hollywood’s unlikely financial wizard, knows a thing or two about making gold out of peanuts. His secret? Hit movies like The Water Boy and The Wedding Singer, made on the cheap, but raking in the cash.
Sandler’s been playing this game since the 90s, amassing over $2 billion at the box office. Take Happy Gilmore and The Wedding Singer – cost them $12 million and $18 million to make, and they pulled in a sweet $162 million combined.
Sandler’s formula? Keep it in the family – friends in cast and crew, mate’s rates all around. This approach means less pressure if a movie tanks, and jackpot earnings when they hit big. It’s a rare strategy in Hollywood, but when it works, like with The Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity, it works wonders.
So, there you have it. Godzilla Minus One, following in Sandler’s footsteps, is schooling Hollywood on how to make a killing without burning a hole in your pocket. High time for Tinseltown to take notes.
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