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7 Ways To Fix The Current State Of Cinema

Chances are you've not been having the best year at the cinema so far. Though 2016 has delivered some true gems, it's also seen an above average share of flops as well. Not just in terms of box office, either. There have been a lot of grumblings lately about poor box office returns - the surest sign we have of general audience opinion of the films in question - but critical opinion of the movies coming out of Hollywood has been pretty muted, too.

5) Be More Conservative With The Budgets

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As blockbuster budgets get bigger and bigger, the chance of making huge losses on single gambles increases. Currently, blockbuster directors command by far the biggest budgets, while those with individual, original stories of their own are left to pick at the scraps.

Batman V Superman, for example, cost $250 million and was broadly regarded as a major creative disappointment, while Warner Bros. – presumably with some of the change it had left over – gave Jeff Nichols just $18 million to make Midnight Special.

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This was an effects-heavy film in the Steven Spielberg/John Carpenter style, made for a PG-13 audience. The film turned out well, earning some of the best reviews of the year, but Warner producers gave this tried and tested filmmaker just one 14th of the money they gave to the man behind Sucker Punch to make BvS.

If studios could be more conservative with their budgets on tentpoles, they might have more money to spare on smaller projects that actually make the viewer happy, rather than blow it all on pictures that have fans tearing their hair out.