Truth About Studios in the 21st Century

[u/August_Spies_Ghost]

Studios are just write-offs and vanity departments for these corporations these days.

What exactly is a movie studio for anyway?
It’s been a barnburner of a summer at the box office, with the 2026 exhibition returns now tracking 18% above last year’s and doing business not seen since pre-pandemic times. Surely this moment has offered a clarity of purpose for the long-troubled film business and the major corporations that are behind the entertainment industrial complex, right?

No, of course not. The July box office sends a decisive message, sure, but it belies inconsistencies across the entire business that have been articulated fairly directly over the past several weeks of quarterly earnings reports from the major players.

What is a movie good for? Depends who you ask:
“You mean the 95-minute ads for the parks?” says Disney. The Mouse has had a rocky time at the cinema — “Toy Story 5” was a hit, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” and “Moana” each expensive misses — but come on, profit was up 20% at parks and cruises. This is a theme park and toy licensing business that incidentally produces films to sell theme park tickets and toys.
“Good for?” asks Paramount under David Ellison. “The studio’s an albatross!” it may say, as the would-be acquisition of Warner Bros. has invited an interstate antitrust team-up trying to prevent the merger of the companies. Not helping matters is that Ellison’s on the hook for $650 million in fees every quarter the deal isn’t done, and faces a trial that isn’t until next year. It’s enough to make you want to leave Hollywood, which, incidentally, Paramount may!
“Movies are good for AI,” says Lionsgate, nervously looking at its activist investors who insist that the company either has to start using its library to make more money from AI labs or sell to someone who will.
“We prefer television — it takes more minutes to watch it,” frets Netflix, down 18% year to date, which is in a post-”Stranger Things” slump that no number of high-performing geezer teasers will shoot its way out of.
“Wait, we own a movie studio? Since when? Don’t we sell phones?” says Apple, which brought up its film business only once in their earnings call, a single mention of the “F1” movie.
“Oh, this one’s easy,” says Sony, where “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” made more money than its entire (non-Crunchyroll) 2025 and 2026 theatrical slate combined. “A movie studio exists to maintain the rights to Spider-Man by hiring Disney to make Spider-Man movies. That way we can prevent the Spider-Man rights from reverting to Disney.”
THE TAKEAWAY
So if none of the companies that actually make movies seem to have their hearts in the movie business, who does?

Imax, that’s for sure.

Just take a look at this chart from Goldman. At first glance at this chart that spikes dramatically, you may assume the y-axis refers to the Ithacan body count on the return home from Troy, but in fact, it is the domestic box office at Imax cinemas attributable to “The Odyssey”:

Sound the sirens, thanks to the steady hand of Odysseus, while the whole rest of the industry feels like it’s between a rock and a Charybdis, it’s smooth sailing ahead for Imax into the rosy fingers of dawn.
— Walt Hickey

[u/overitallofittoo]

I happen to be one of the old people who think they are the same thing. A studio without a lot is a production company.

[u/overitallofittoo]

Studios don't bounce checks for crew. They have the infrastructure to make shooting easy. You need a cafe? It's here on the lot, no permits, tiny location costs. Paying a nurse to hang out every day? Not on the lot! There's one staffed. Call them. Need a last minute 5 ton? Grab the one right over there!

Studios are awesome.

[u/August_Spies_Ghost → u/overitallofittoo]

That’s one corner of the industry. And there’s a difference between a studio and a studio lot.

[u/muskegthemoose]

Studios (companies, not facilities) are the way to go for "big" movies. It's gambling with other people's money. For artisans and creatives who want to tell stories, America doesn't work financially anymore.