The Most Popular Movies of All Time are Chick Flicks

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I don't know how articles about chick flicks -- like this one yesterday in the New York Times, or this response from Melissa Silverstein -- can exist without somebody mentioning the obvious: the most popular movies of all time are chick flicks.

The highest-grossing film of all time, both domestically and internationally, is Titanic, a chick flick. The highest-grossing domestic film of all time, after you adjust for inflation, is Gone With the Wind, a chick flick. The third-highest-grossing domestic film of all time, after you adjust for inflation, is The Sound of Music, a chick flick.

Moreover, all three films have the same basic storyline: A woman choosing between two suitors against a backdrop of historic tragedy.

So Rose has to choose between Jack and Cal (no choice at all, really) as she sails on the maiden voyage of the Titanic.

So Scarlett has to choose between Rhett and Ashley (a little more difficult, but not much) as she struggles to survive and thrive during the U.S. Civil War.

And so Maria has to choose between Captain von Trapp and God (perhaps the most difficult choice of all) during the 1938 annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany.

If Hollywood is looking for a template on how to make a blockbuster, this is it: A woman choosing between two men (that's how you get women in the seats) against a backdrop of historic tragedy (that's how you get the men in the seats).

Given how much money Titanic made -- $1.8 billion worldwide, more than $700 million ahead of the second-highest-grossing film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and almost a billion dollars ahead of the highest-grossing film from last year, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End -- I've always been surprised that Hollywood hasn't attempted to make more of these types of films. Then I found out they had. A friend, a screenwriter in Hollywood, told me that in the late '90s he worked on a water-themed movie because water-themed movies were big then. He said that was the lesson the studios picked up from Titanic's success: People like water.

Some part of me doesn't quite believe this. Some part of me thinks, "Surely the people in charge are smarter than that." Then I remember that great line about the Nixon administration, and people in power in general, from All the President's Men: "The truth is these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand."

Some may argue that the above films aren't really chick flicks. That chick flicks are smaller-scaled, modern and light. That there is no historic tragedy in chick flicks.

Semantics.

Here's the point. "Chick flicks" implies that movies for and about women are their own genre, or sub-genre, and don't do well at the box office. That implication is 180 degrees from the truth. Boys may flock to Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings, and Jurassic Park, but they don't flock the way that girls flocked to Titanic. Not even close

In fact, in order to create a blockbuster, all you've got to do is find the right actress, the right actors, the right historic tragedy, and then cross your fingers that you've created Titanic rather than Pearl Harbor. Which, I should add, still grossed $449 million at the worldwide box office.

The formula works even when it doesn't.

Comments

[scottellington]

The original Star Wars triangle deserved a little goosing. Luke and Han were fundamentally similar, and Leia never really achieved the empowered status of critical mass. By delaying the revelation of incestuous attraction and pushing the delineation of central characters up to the scale of the special effects in the sweeping background action, they might have had two spectacular films with every successive iteration of the original theme.

[PhillyQuaker]

Chick flick for ladieswho love to cry while watching a movie.

Ponette, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponette

The little four year old lead actress is amazing.

Dear Lord, I cried my eyes out during 85% of this movie, fantastic!

[Yat1954]

Thank God my wife of 23 years isn't into "Chick Flicks". We were annoying people when we went to see "Titanic" because we thought it was so laughably bad that we started making up our own dialogue.

Watching "Sound of Music" is like trying to chug a gallon of sugar water. Everyone in it just needs a good slap. however, over time I have learned to appreciate "Gone With The Wind". Leslie Howard over Clark Gable? Please.

[OttoMann]

I disagree. "Chick flick" is guy term that essentially means "a movie ONLY chicks would be drawn to." Typically, these are romantic comedies that are more about the romance than the comedy. The films cited above are hybrids. Titanic was an epic disaster flick fused with a romance story -- Poseidon Adventure meets Love Story.

What you're really saying is that if studios want to repeat that success, they should be developing hybrids of romance stories (chick flick plots) in an epic backdrop. Which is essentially what Atonement was, BTW.

I also disagree with the larger premise of this blog. Instead of spending $300 million trying to make a blockbuster, they should spend $50 million attempting to make six great films; I bet they'd even out in the end, in the overall box office, if they use good filmmakers and let them do their thing.

[Jude2004]

I'm female. Give me a great, violent car chase any day. I avoided Titanic because I figured I already know the basic plot, so who cares--my sons like the nude scene. I've made peace with Gone with the Wind because I figured out that Scarlet, a selfish bitch, was like my mother, so she couldn't help herself. I haven't watched Pirates of the Caribbean. It might be okay. Sound of Music--stupid. I watched 3:10 to Yuma with my sons (the older one is the better film in my opinion). I told my son, "You have to see the information about the gatling gun in the making of feature." It occurred to me that while my sons and I found that fascinating, my daughter wouldn't. How did she become a stereotypical female?

[NJOsprey]

Braveheart is one of the most realistic depictions of medieval combat that I had ever seen. It is also a movie that my wife enjoys watching repeatedly. Curious, I asked her why she liked it, given the level of violence, bloodshed and intrigue.

She responded that it was a very romantic movie. This was literally news to me.

Nonetheless, she is correct. William Wallace"s wife dies tragically. Then, the Princess of Wales plays the role of double-agent, carrying messages for Longshanks, as part of a plot to trap Wallace all the while warning him of danger. This is the essential "woman torn between two men" scenario described in the article.

This same conflict occurs in Kingdom of Heaven, another "romantic" costume action movie set in 11th Century Jerusalem during the Crusades.

I think that the use of an exotic locale (even Casablanca was "exotic") is an important part of the appeal of this type of movie. This works best if the setting is in the past and/ or somewhat unfamiliar. Think "Quo Vadis," "Spartacus" or "Ben Her." All had the combination of historic action for us guys along with a strong "woman-torn" component for the women viewers.

Very nice analysis. Guess its time to write a screen-play.

[BlackJAC]

GLADIATOR also falls into the category of chick flick: Russell Crowe wants to spend time with his family rather than fight in wars or obtain power, and remains faithful to his wife even after she was murdered.

Be sure to pick up a copy of THE SCREENWRITER'S BIBLE before you write your movie. You can find it in either the Reference or the Film sections of a bookstore.

[zaneblue]

I posted this exact same thing in a working screenwriters forum about ten years ago. You left out a couple obvious ones--Casablanca, and in fact the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Sure, Pirates is pseudo-historical rather than historical, but it is most definitely a love triangle. The key is one guy has to be the loving earnest boyfriend (Orlando Bloom, Leonardo DiCaprio) and the other guy has to be hot, sexual and unsuitable and just trying to get into your pants (Johnny Depp, Billy Zane).