Why is there an overabundance of films for family viewing in the Russian box office?

Speaking via video link at a meeting of the World Russian People’s Council on November 28, Vladimir Putin once again called on citizens to remember family values, emphasizing that “large families should become a new way of life for all peoples in Russia” (see Kommersant material) “New rocket launchers”).

As if anticipating the leader’s message, the Russian film industry has been unanimously churning out films for family audiences all year. From the latest: the fairy tale “At the Command of the Pike” directed by Alexander Voitinsky, according to the UAIS Cinema Fund, collected 2.2 billion rubles in two months of distribution. The film took second place in the highest-grossing releases of this year after the no less family-friendly “Cheburashka.” In third place is “Challenge” by Klim Shipenko, who, however, managed to reach the results of the first fairy tale in only six months.

Advertising campaigns for films were based on a simple thesis – “a film for the whole family.” During periods of instability, this genre is very popular among the audience, as it allows you to escape from reality by plunging into some conventionally magical world.

Family and fairy-tale films have filled the Russian box office: “Baba Yaga Saves the World”, “Manyunya: New Year’s Adventures”, “Baba Frost and the Secret of the New Year”. “The Bremen Town Musicians”, “Three Heroes and the Navel of the Earth”, “Slave” are being prepared for release; the second part of “Cheburashka” has been announced. The situation with TV programs is similar (see “Kommersant” on July 24).

But the abundance of the same type of content inevitably leads to satiety. Within a year, viewers will begin to look for new genres, since a fairy tale for the whole family is good for a one-time trip to the cinema, and not a regular visit, my interlocutors in the industry believe. The dominance of family cinema does not help the development of the cinema industry itself: the halls remain half empty, and attendance continues to fall.

However, film producers do not yet have large-scale projects in other genres, such as quality dramas, thrillers and horror films. This niche is still occupied by French, Belgian, Spanish directors, as well as small domestic studios. Of course, there is the same “Challenge”, “The Conqueror of the Wind” by Igor Voloshin, the film franchise “Major Thunder”, but so far these are isolated cases.

Producers and directors turn a blind eye to the lack of content in cinema, providing a variety of genre projects only for online platforms. The few official foreign films and pre-show blockbusters are clearly unable to close the gap. It is possible, of course, that those same large families will fill the cinemas as part of some state program. But still, their appearance should take at least several years. Will movie theaters survive?