And what about the horror thriller “The Invisible Man,” one of the most mercilessly tense films I’ve seen in the past decade? It got released right before lockdown and made $144 million globally, a staggering haul for a medium-budgeted genre picture whose biggest star was Elisabeth Moss. Who knows what it would’ve made if it had been released six months earlier or two years later? I do know that if they brought it back to theaters, I’d see it again and bring friends.
Among films that never or barely got theatrical releases, Spike Lee’s Vietnam epic “Da 5 Bloods,” about old war buddies going back to the jungle in search of buried treasure, felt huge even on a laptop screen with earbuds providing sound. I’d imagine it would feel absolutely gigantic in a decent-sized theater (it didn’t get to play very many, except as a part of Netflix’s bid for awards that the movie unfortunately didn’t get). Max Barbakow’s “Palm Springs,” a Groundhog Day”-like comedy parable starring Andy Samberg, is another one that looks and moves like a real movie and would play great in a proper setting. “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” is another one I’d like to see return to theaters. Netflix gave it a customary perfunctory release and then pulled it. I saw it at a local multiplex and thought it played great in a large format. It did so well in a brief window that I believe the streamer left money on the table by not allowing for a longer stay.
Box-office wise, two epic musicals from that period, John M. Chu’s adaptation “In the Heights” and Steven Spielberg’s version of “West Side Story,” were essentially trying to win a footrace with their ankles tied together. Musicals are a tough sell even without a plague. These films’ exhibition footprints were drastically reduced by Covid-19 fears, which dampened overall attendance and didn’t produce a bona fide smash until the release of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” in December 2021 compelled viewers to return to theaters again to feel like they were part of another live-action MCU event (arguably the last really big one post-“Endgame”). I masked up and went to see both films in (sparsely attended) screenings and loved them both—especially “West Side Story,” one of Spielberg’s best-directed movies, which is really saying something.
There are so many films from the early pandemic period that could and possibly should return to theaters. I’ve listed a few here. What are yours?
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