‘Dear Evan Hansen’ & Broadway’s Dilemma On The Big Screen: Should The Movie Have Gone To Streaming?

The failure of Universals Dear Evan Hansen at the domestic box office with a $7.5M opening didnt really surprise anyone after the movie was torn apart by critics post its TIFF world premiere. But the latest misfire by a feature adaptation of a Broadway musical raises plenty of questions about the sub-genres fate at the box office. Should Dear Evan Hansen, in its limited appeal, have had its debut on streaming instead of in theaters? Or go day-and-date theatrical and streaming? After all, NBCUniversals streaming service Peacock desperately needs the product, so much so that they decided to make the sequel to their blockbuster horror reboot, Halloween Kills,a day-and-date attraction on Oct. 15 (that movie came on tracking Thursday to a $45M-$50M opening, which has box office analysts perplexed how such a gross is possible when its also available on the streaming services premium subscription tier). But in regards to Dear Evan Hansen, what remains shocking is how a critically beloved and popular stage musical, which made over $226M in its roughly four years on Broadway, becomes simply dismissed on the big screen. Look, Universal wasnt doing anything experimental here with Dear Evan Hansen.This wasnt Gasper Noe or Ari Asters upside-down version of Dear Evan Hansen.Similar to Universals Les Miserables and Mamma Mia!franchise (which all combined grossed $1.45B at the WW box office), the studio made the most faithful take on Dear Evan Hansenas they could, tapping Stephen Chbosky, a filmmaker known for emotional young adult dramas, and casting the project up with such awards-lauded actresses like Amy Addams and Julianne Moore, rising Booksmartstar Kaitlyn Dever, and staying true to the musicals roots by keeping Ben Platt, who originated and wowed in the title role with his low-to-high emotional singing. It was a logical greenlight, given the musicals momentum at the time, for Uni to win the bid on the package. Furthermore, Dear Evan Hansencame from producer Marc Platt, who the studio has had a longstanding relationship with (hes also Bens father). Then, why in Gods name did this musical go sideways? Why would movie critics shun a piece of art which was faithfully translated from the stage? The most immediate answers about Dear Evan Hansens downfall is the simple fact that in a prolonged pandemic, those returning to the cinemas are looking for escapism, not a near 2 1/2 hour cry, especially a ballad-filled drama. However, even pre-pandemic, a musical with a protagonist who isnt likable or sympathetic is difficult to sell. Not to mention, a movie that touches on suicide must be perfect. Also, putting this film at Christmas arguably may not have made much of a difference. The movie would have still had the same inherent problems. I think Uni knew this, which is why they didnt screen the film in advance for critics ahead of TIFF. Another pandemic conundrum for Uni is that Broadway musicals cater to older audiences, and we know that demographic is having a very hard time turning out at the cinema during the pandemic. Dear Evan Hansenwas geared at young adults, not young adults and parents, so unfortunately, Uni loses the latter core audience for the film. The under-35 demo repped 71% of Dear Evan Hansens audience. WhileDear Evan Hansen fans who showed up gave it an A- CinemaScore, sometimes a musical, such as Les Mis, has to provide fans of the Broadway musical something more than a redux of what theyve already seen on stage. Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway performing Les Mis was something no fan of that musical had ever seen, and was well worth the movie ticket price, not to mention Tom Hoopers technique of recording the soundtrack live on set, versus pre-recorded, took the musical to another level. And, right there, thats likely the nuanced secret to success with Broadway fare on the big screen: Give everyone a little something more that they havent seen, and also make sure they send the audience home singing. I would say that Dear Evan Hansen songwriters Benj PasekandJustin Paul had more hummable, jazzy tunes in the original La La Landwith Another Day of Sun and Someone in the Crowd to send us home with a skip in our step. Additionally, what works in NYC plays best on the coasts, especially in the Northeast, as we saw with In the Heights having its most vibrant ticket sales there.Dear Evan Hansenover-indexed in Salt Lake City over the weekend, with five its top grossing cinemas being in theater. It just so happens that YA movies work in the Utah capital. In the wake of musicals revival on the big screen post-2003 Oscar Best Picture winner Chicago($170.7M, $306.8M WW), even though weve seen great successes from both Broadway adaptions likeLes MisandMamma Mia,and completely original fare for the big screen, i.e.The Greatest ShowmanandLa La Land,the fact of the matter is that musicals remain the riskiest subgenre at the box office from both a critical and sheer box office perspective. If you take a look, some of the most popular, top-grossing Broadway musicals which made their way into movie theaters have been widely panned by film reviews, and failed to reap any kind of great financial success, i.e. Rent ($29M domestic B.O., $31.7M WW), 2005s The Producers ($19.4M, $38M WW),Phantom of the Opera($51.3M domestic, $154.6M WW), and even pre-Chicago, MadonnasEvita ($50M domestic, $141M WW on a $55M pricetag before PA spend). Even Chicagodirector Rob Marshall, himself in his second feature musical, Nine,given that starry package of Daniel Day Lewis, Fergie, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cottillard, Penelope Cruz, and Kate Hudson, couldnt replicate the success of his Oscar Best Picture winner, seeing 39% Rotten Tomatoes reviews and a final box office of less than $20M domestic, and $54M WW. Given Disneys family packaging of Marshalls take on Stephen Sondheims (the quirkiest of Broadways scribes who doesnt always spell mass appeal) Into the Woods, that pic became a 2014 year-end holiday event at $212.9M WW. But overall, Broadway largely has a hard time translating at the domestic B.O. Had Universal sold Dear Evan Hansen to Netflix or Amazon, they would have certainly made bank, and cut their PA spend ever more. But how much of a splash or resonance would the movie have made? And would it have been worth it to buy out talent on the project? The feature version of seven-time Tony nominatedThe Promwent straight to Netflix (after a short limited theatrical run where grosses werent reported) with Ryan Murphy directing and a tricked-out cast that included Meryl Streep, Kerry Washington, Nicole Kidman, James Corden and more. Critically, like most of the musicals mentioned in this piece,The Prom was bashed on Rotten Tomatoes at 54%. We dont know anything about its overall viewership success, as it didnt crack Netflixs most-watched movies around the globe. The tenth and eleventh most-watched titles on that list, Army of the DeadandMidnight Sky, pulled in 72M households WW. Is anyone still talking about The Prom? Sending Dear Evan Hansen straight to Peacock wouldnt have raised eyebrows in a way that the studio is looking to draw people to the service with a franchise like Halloween Kills. Not to mention, making Dear Evan Hansen available immediately day-and-date in theaters and on Peacock would have significantly collapsed the pics ancillary windows, and as weve seen with Warner Bros. Cry Macho, Malignant, andIn the Heights, when the movies dont work at the box office, theyre equally lackluster on the service. So at the end of the day, even with a poor ticket sales,Dear Evan Hansens best place is in theaters and with a theatrical window. And its a short one at 17-days until PVOD. The movie will still qualify for Universals long-term lucrative international television output deals. And because it was a theatrical release, that raises the movies profile, and makes it stand out on any PVOD, streaming menu, heck, even the pay TV cable windows where Universal is licensing its library and still making dough (the studios 2022 live-action slate and beyond will have its Pay One window with Amazon). Not to mention, as studios send titles to streaming in their initial window and buy talent out of their deals, its arguably an inflated price process. Word is that enabling Halloween Killsto go day-and-date was easy when it came to that pics participation players: Universal cashed them out like it was already a blockbuster hit. WithDear Evan Hansen,already at a low $27M net production cost, Uni had to cut its losses. Why would they pay out talent like it was a blockbuster when they knewDear Evan Hansenwasnt going to work? Says one former studio executive this morning on their suggestion for Dear Evan Hansen: I would have released the movie through Focus, opened it at a prerequisite 1,000 screens to quality for any aforementioned deals, and marketed it differently. The post ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Broadway’s Dilemma On The Big Screen: Should The Movie Have Gone To Streaming? appeared first on Patabook Entertainment.

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