The Barbenheimer phenomenon has got veteran filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola feeling pretty good about the future of cinema.
There’s been plenty written all across the web about the Barbenheimer phenomenon, with one of the most interesting topics of conversation being what it all means for the future of cinema. Does the huge spike in audience interest point to a renewed interest in ‘smarter’ tentpole films that will revolutionise the industry, or is the last blaze of marketing glory for a medium that is slowly surrendering its cultural importance to video games and Tik Tok?
Francis Ford Coppola knows a thing or two about new dawns, having played a prominent role in the New Hollywood era of the 1960s and 70s which saw audiences tire of repetitive and empty studio fare, leading to a new wave of American cinema that still numbers among Hollywood’s most creatively fertile eras.
The director has Megalopolis, his own self-funded creation, currently in post-production and the success of both Barbie and Oppenheimer – films rich with ideas – has him excited about the future. In an Instagram post, Coppola said “The fact that people are filling big theatres to see them and that they are neither ‘sequels’ nor ‘prequels’… no number attached to them meaning they are true one-off’s is a victory for cinema.”
That’s pretty optimistic for someone who previously called superhero films ‘despicable’ if you recall. Coppola did admit that he hadn’t seen Barbie or Oppenheimer yet but considering how he can sometimes sound a wee bit grumpy about the state of cinema, we’re happy to see that he’s excited about the future. Coppola would go on to make a pretty bold prediction about where we’re headed, adding, “my hunch is that we’re on the verge of a golden age of wonderfully illuminating cinema seen in large theatres.”
Wow. We hope that Coppola is right with that prediction. A golden age of wonderfully illuminating cinema seen in large theatres’ sounds pretty great – but there’s a few obstacles to negotiate first, including the ongoing strikes, the worrying woes afflicting the theatrical industry, not to mention the continued impact of streaming and the box office dominance of what Coppola might charitably call ‘less-illuminating cinema’ over the last ten years. Still, the man has spoken and only time will tell if his prediction proves to be right.
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