For many years I remembered February as a "dumping ground" month when it comes to film releases. It use to be pretty similar to January. Both months were used used by Hollywood to dump out films that weren't good enough for a prime release date the previous year. However, I've noticed that February has been changing for the better in recent years. I have seen at least one or two good films come out of February. In fact, I'm starting to see more high quality movies toward closer to the beginning of the year, which has become a pleasant surprise for me. These changes have come about due to several factors, the most influential being holiday release dates and subversion films, that have come about in recent years and has made February the beginning of "good movie season".
I instinctively remember this transition starting in February 2014 with the release of "The Lego Movie" (yes! I know I've talked about this movie a lot, but you should all be used to my fixations, a.k.a. "Star Wars", by now). I remember when this film was announced to be released in February. Many saw it as a sign that it was a bad film, why else release it in a month were only bad films and forgettable romantic comedies were released. However, the film defied all expectations, becoming a critical and financial hit. It was also released around Valentine's Day, which could have also attributed to its success. The success of "The Lego Movie" would begin a trend over the following years that would see various "subversive" films released around Valentine's Day.
In February 2015, two films of note were released around Valentine's Day and both films were seen as subversions to traditional Valentine's Day themes. The first film was "Fifty Shades of Grey". While it was a film that was, allegedly, romantic and seemingly fit Valentine's Day, it was also a film about BDSM culture and eroticism which are two aspects that often go unexplored in traditional and somewhat chaste romantic films (at least in the United States). The second film was "Kingsman: The Secret Service", which was an R-rated spy film based on a comic book. The film received good reviews and was a financial success. As you can tell, the film didn't fit traditional Valentine's Day themes, which is part of its success. Many people like subverting the norms of holidays due to them just being sick of them (this is why we get some horror films and R-rated comedies during the Christmas season like "Krampus" and "Bad Santa"). It also helps to release some action films to appeal to men during this season of love and pink.
This brings us to the ultimate February success story which came out last year. You may have heard of a little film called "Deadpool". It was an R-rated action comedy based on a comic book. It broke several box office records and became the highest grossing R-rated film in the world. Looking back on it, it isn't a surprise that this film was as big as it was. It was based on a popular comic book, which guaranteed a built-in fan base would see it. The film was a subversive R-rated action comedy during Valentine's Day, which would bring in the male crowd. The film also had romantic elements, which brought in the female crowd. This film was able to bring in multiple demographics and that trend seems to be happening again this year.
On February 10, 2017, we will see three films released. These three films are very different from each other, which could help bring in different demographics to the theaters at once. "Fifty Shades Darker" is the sequel to the previously mentioned "Fifty Shades of Grey" and will most likely bring women to the theaters. "John Wick: Chapter 2" is a sequel to the critically successful R-rated action film "John Wick", which will most likely bring men to the theaters. Last is "The Lego Batman Movie", a spin-off of the previously mentioned film "The Lego Movie", which will most likely bring in families and kids. It was interesting watching this trend unfold and I hope it continues over these next few years. In fact, I hope January goes through a similar transformation, so I won't have to deal with bad horror films (looking at you "The Bye Bye Man") and bad animated films ("The Nut Job" and "Norm of the North") all month. I can already see January becoming more positive in recent years due to releases like "Kung Fu Panda 3" last year and "Split" this year, so let's keep our hopes up for a good January movie month over these next few years.
