Prestige picture

A prestige picture is a film produced to bolster the film studio's perceived artistic integrity, rather than to turn a large profit;[1] the studio may even expect the film to lose money.[2]

History

Prestige pictures are largely the province of major Hollywood film studios—such as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Warner Bros.—that produce numerous films every year.

In the 1930s, such studios might release one prestige picture per year.[2] The films' screenwriters drew material from historical events, well-known literary classics, or popular novels or plays.[3]

In many cases, Hollywood film studios have enlisted British actors and directors for the production of prestige films.[4] One producer of prestige pictures within the United Kingdom's own film industry was Alexander Korda (1893–1956).[5]

The popularity of these types of films would face a major downfall in late 2022 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which audience behavior towards these types of films was altered into viewing them as Oscar bait, resulting in moviegoers refusing to see them in theaters during the Fall and Winter of that year, decreasing the films' chances at awards consideration.[6][7][8]

See also

References
  1. "Cinema: Prestige Picture". Time. 16 August 1937. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  2. Harmetz, Aljean (2013). "The Studio, 1938". The Making of The Wizard of Oz. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-61374-832-9. OCLC 837180455. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  3. Balio, Tino (1995). "Production Trends". History of the American Cinema, Volume 5: Grand Design—Hollywood as a Modern Business Enterprise, 1930–1939. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 179. ISBN 0-520-20334-8. OCLC 32738211. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  4. Giannetti, Louis D. (1981). Masters of the American Cinema. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. p. 213. ISBN 9780135601020. OCLC 7197462.
  5. Jackson, Russell (2006). "Remembering Bergner's Rosalind". In Holland, Peter (ed.). Shakespeare, Memory and Performance. Cambridge University Press. p. 247. ISBN 978-0-521-86380-3. OCLC 70883148. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  6. ‘She Said’ Bombs: Why Aren’t Awards Season Movies Resonating With Audiences? - Variety
  7. Highbrow Films Aimed at Winning Oscars Are Losing Audiences - The New York Times
  8. https://www.indiewire.com/2023/02/adults-go-to-movies-but-maybe-not-oscar-nominees-80-for-brady-a-man-called-otto-1234807680/

Further reading
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