The world of theatrical exhibition has seen a massive shift in the time since the global pandemic. While there had always been something of a split between mass market blockbusters and more character-driven stories, these days even the seemingly guaranteed blockbusters are struggling at the box office, making it seem like the smaller films really have no place on the big screen, but Steven Spielberg doesn’t think so.
Steven Spielberg doesn’t have a project he directed on the 2025 movie schedule, but he did help produce Chloe Zhao’s new film, Hamnet, which is already expected to be a major awards contender. Speaking with THR, he says he’s fighting to make sure that movies like this one always have a place in theaters. He said theaters are…
… the kinds of screens that we are fighting the tides to keep filled with not just blockbuster, epic, escapist movie rides, but sensitive and intimate portraits of marriage and family and life-altering epiphanies that spring from heartache and heartbreak, like the film you’re about to see.
Hamnet is a book-to-screen adaptation of the novel of the same name, and it is a fictionalized account of the loss of William Shakespeare’s only son. The film follows Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife, Agnes (Jessie Buckley), and the impact the death may have had on their relationship, as well as its potential influence on the creation of Shakespeare’s play Hamlet.
Steven Spielberg is one of those directors who has been able to work on both sides of the fence. He made what is often called the first summer blockbuster in the original Jaws, and has made other four-quadrant hits like E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial and Jurassic Park. He’s also made movies that have swept awards season, like Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan.
While some directors, like Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, have lamented the hold that blockbusters have on theaters, they have been critical of Marvel movies and other big-budget spectacle films. Spielberg, who previously praised Top Gun: Maverick for “saving” movie theaters, isn’t doing that here. He’s not being critical of the films that are filling theaters, he’s simply saying that can’t be all that’s available. He continued…
There needs to be room for films like Chloé’s on screens like these. I am so proud to be one of the producers who got to watch Chloé make this little miracle of a movie.
Hamnet has already debuted at film festivals and has been receiving very strong reviews. Whether word of mouth has been strong enough to generate a strong box office during the Thanksgiving weekend remains to be seen, but those who do see it will likely all be very happy that it can be seen in theaters.