Comedies aren’t dead in theaters, but they need to be a hit

Judd Apatow doesn’t think comedies are dead in theaters. While the genre has largely moved to streaming in recent years (Apatow’s last two directorial efforts both debuted on streaming, while last year’s Please Don’t Destroy-produced feature, “The Treasure of Foggy Mountain” , skipped theaters and debuted on Peacock). Apatow recently told Vulture that all it takes is one comedy in theaters to swing the pendulum off streaming. In fact, it might have already happened in his eyes.

“I would say that’s a mistake, because the top-grossing comedy last year made over a billion dollars,” Apatow said when asked about movie theaters no longer being a place to show comedies. “Barbie was a comedy, you know?”

“But isn’t that like saying a Marvel movie is a comic?” asked the eagle.

“I don’t think so. It’s not a drama,” Apatow replied. “There are some emotional moments in it, but it’s just an overall joke. There’s something about it where I feel like no one wants to give comedy a win there. For example, why can’t we say that “Barbie” is a comedy? What other category would it be?

“I assume they will come back,” Apatow added of comedies returning to theaters in large quantities. “The industry follows the leader… For comedy, it only takes another hit or two. If a movie like ‘The Hangover’ comes out and is a hit, suddenly everyone wants five more movies. That’s the thing that most people don’t understand because they’re not in Any of those executive suites: There’s success and then they say, “Oh, people like this.” Make more like that. And the thinking is no deeper than that. They’ll just chase anything that does well, because people generally are risk averse.

Apatow, who has been a fixture at Universal Pictures since his directorial debut “The 40 Year Old Virgin,” which grossed nearly $180 million worldwide in 2005, pointed to Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” as just what it needed to… This comedy genre is in order to return to the world of cinema. Theaters.

“Donna Langley, who runs Universal, who has backed us on our comedies, bet on Oppenheimer,” Apatow said. “Like, who would think anyone would care about Oppenheimer like that? Oppenheimer would make like a billion dollars. Like, is anyone talking about the inventor of the atomic bomb in their lifetime? We don’t, but people have to put up with it.” High stakes, and then you realize, “No, people want to be challenged.” They want smart movies. They want original cinematic experiences. You need the comedy equivalent of that. You need people to say, “This is a need that can’t be satisfied by just sitting back.” “At home alone watching a comedy show.” There’s definitely a place for that, but what’s more fun than being in the theater watching a great comedy?

Cinemas were not devoid of comedy films last year. The romantic comedy “Anybody But You,” starring Sidney Sweeney and Glen Powell, opened just before Christmas, grossing $216 million worldwide. Jennifer Lawrence’s “No Hard Feelings,” widely touted as the return of the R-rated comedy to theaters, was a respectable success, grossing $87 million worldwide last summer.

Head over to Vulture’s website to read Apatow’s interview in full.