Yahoo Movies Young Woman and the Sea director and Top Gun Maverick producer on 'brutal' future of cinema
Films like The Fall Guy and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga has failed to dominate at the box office
Watch: Joachim Rønning and producer Jerry Bruckheimer discuss the state of cinema in 2024
The future of cinema lies in making “good” movies, says the team behind Young Woman and the Sea, director Joachim Rønning and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
In recent weeks, the previously thought sure-fire hits The Fall Guy, starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, a sequel to the Oscar-nominated Fury Road, have been floundering at the box office. The misses have Hollywood studios questioning what the future looks like when even star-studded actioners and franchise fare can no longer get people to buy cinema tickets.
Read more: What will it take to topple Dune 2 from the 2024 box office top spot?
“Making good movies,” Rønning —who has previously directed instalments in the Pirates of the Caribbean and Maleficent franchises— answers when asked by Yahoo UK about what will get audiences into cinemas.
“Maybe that's naive, but I feel that we have to keep making good movies of all types.”
“Right now, it can feel a little brutal,” he continues. “We have to get back. We've had the pandemic, we've had the [writers and actors] strikes.
“Last summer, we saw a glimpse of what it can be with Barbie and Oppenheimer, vastly different movies. It felt so good to go to the Cineplex and see a packed Cineplex.
“There's a lot of amazing movies on the horizon and I hope people will go and see Young Woman and the Sea and keep going [to the cinema]. It's something we have to keep doing.”
Young Woman and the Sea tells the story of Gertrude "Trudy" Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel, and is played by Star Wars alumni Daisy Ridley. The movie is produced by Bruckheimer, whose previous work includes the colossal hits Top Gun: Maverick, Bad Boys, Beverly Hills Cop, and National Treasure.
“The audience is the only one who knows [what they want to see],” tells Yahoo UK. “It's like, you have a kitchen in your home, yet you like to go out to eat, but you'll only go out to eat if it's some really good food.
Read more: Daisy Ridley overcame fear of ocean for Young Woman and the Sea, director says
“You’ve got to be confident that what you're going to go see [in the cinema] is something that you know is going to be good, or you heard is going to be good. It's about word of mouth. That's what hopefully will make this movie a success.”
As to which movies Bruckheimer chooses to produce, he has a simple philosophy. “[I ask myself,] ‘Do I want to see it?’ I don't know what you like. I don’t know what the audience likes. I know what I like.”
Young Woman and the Sea is released in select UK cinemas on 31 May.
