Matt Damon has made several movies during his career and has never been tied to a specific genre. For many fans, his best role is that of Will in Good Will Hunting. However, he no longer makes such films. He revealed the reason for this in a YouTube video.
What kind of movies has Matt Damon made? Matt Damon has made many films during his career and has never shied away from any genre. Whether action, sci-fi, thriller, or drama.
Before he made big films like the Bourne series or Ocean’s Eleven, he acted in movies like The Talented Mr. Ripley or Good Will Hunting. But today he no longer makes such films. There is a simple reason for that, as he revealed in 2021.
With new technology, the financing of the film industry has also changed
Why doesn’t he make films like he did in the 90s anymore? In an interview on Hot Ones (via YouTube), Matt Damon discussed the film industry and what has changed. The key factor here is DVDs. He explains that there used to be two primary sources of revenue.
On the one hand, there was the theatrical release, which generated ticket sales, but also, months later, the DVD release, which generated additional income. This allowed for the financing of films that were not only successful through the theatrical release. However, as technology advanced, this became obsolete
. This also changed the types of films that were financed.
In this context, he gives an example: He wanted to make a movie that costs 25 million US dollars. He has to invest the same amount again in marketing. With theatrical releases, revenues are shared with theater operators, which means he would need to make at least 100 million US dollars. This is difficult with some genres:
The idea of earning 100 million dollars with a story about a love relationship between two people… I love everyone in this movie, but suddenly it’s a big risk, unlike in the 1990s when they made all these types of films that I loved.
Matt Damon on his earlier films and why such things are hardly made today
Nowadays, streamers dominate
Is he right with these statements? DVDs used to be a popular way to watch movies and series. This is also supported by figures from the German market (via Statista). Since 2004, sales in the video market have been declining almost yearly.
With streaming, fewer and fewer people actively reach for DVDs or Blu-rays. They rely on the ever-growing online catalog. This also leads to increased competition. Films not only have to compete with other theatrical releases but also with series and movies on streamers. For film distributors, the pure theatrical release is becoming increasingly important, but there is also another option without a theater.
Streamers like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV Plus finance their own movies and series, some of which only appear on the streaming platforms. The only currency in this case is the viewers’ streams or sporadic theatrical releases. The streamers invest significant amounts as well. For the sci-fi film The Electric State, Netflix reportedly invested 320 million US dollars. That is enormous.
However, smaller and more emotional films still exist; they just need to adapt to a different market. Through platforms like Netflix, filmmakers have also gained new opportunities to realize their niche films without having to make 100 million US dollars at the box office.
Furthermore, Matt Damon still makes smaller films like Stillwater. New technology also aids in filmmaking itself, but it doesn’t always make everything look better: YouTuber explains why many modern films look worse than before, even though technology is improving.
