Indie films are struggling to build buzz at a time when older audiences are wary of returning to cinemas.
In 2014, Fox Searchlight methodically rolled out “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” a twee pastiche of old-world Europe, in movie theaters across North America. The quirky comedic drama, from director Wes Anderson, had an opening that would be familiar to most indie films: playing in only four theaters (two in New York and two in Los Angeles) before gradually checking into more venues. The studio was rewarded for its efforts, averaging more than $200,000 per location in its initial run and establishing arthouse records that still hold. “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” which eventually made $59 million in North America and $179 million globally and won four of nine Oscar nominations, remains a gold standard for commercial success in the specialty space. Seven years and one world-changing pandemic later, Searchlight Pictures is back in the Wes Anderson business. After many delays, “ The French Dispatch ” debuts in select theaters on Oct.22, though it’s facing a much rockier moviegoing landscape. The domestic box office has yet to rebound to pre-pandemic levels, and the audience that has been most skittish to return is the kind that would typically be first in line for tickets to the latest feature from the beloved filmmaker of “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “Moonrise Kingdom.” “It’s not likely ‘Grand Budapest Hotel’ numbers will come back anytime soon,” says Frank Rodriguez, who has led distribution at Searchlight since 2011. “The box office for films like these is probably at 30% of what it was.” The predicament is not unique to “The French Dispatch.” It’s one that is being shared throughout the independent film community as specialty studios figure out the best way to get their movies to discerning audiences. As people remain wary of going to theaters — and some have grown more accustomed to streaming during lockdown — only a few pandemic-era releases have been able to match the box office business they would have in pre-COVID times. For high-profile independent movies in particular, it’s unclear how they will perform theatrically while the delta variant continues to slow the return of cinemas.
