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A new year means new movies and television shows that we can look forward to in 2019. While there are always things that catch us off-guard (a Vanilla Ice biopic is in the works), we don’t need to be able to read tea leaves to see what’s coming in movie and TV trends this year.
Here are Mandatory’s Movie and TV Trends to Watch for in 2019.
What are some trends you want to see in 2019? Leave your comments below.
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Movie and TV Trends in 2019
Marketing Memes
Bird Box has become known more for the memes its spawned than for the actual Sandra Bullock-horror thriller itself. Conspiracy theorists have accused Netflix of manufacturing the memes and creating the #BirdBoxChallenge , but the point isn’t who is behind it as how effective the campaign has been in turning an average movie into a cultural phenomenon. We can already see studios churning out memes like they did "guerilla" street-art movie posters.
Disney Live-Action Remakes
Disney has never been shy about trying to make a buck, so it’s no surprise that they’ve created their own genre of live action remakes of their own animated films (Maleficent , Beauty and the Beast, Jungle Book , etc). They’ve got new versions of Dumbo, Aladdin , and The Lion King coming out in 2019 with Mulan already set for 2020.
Horror Movies Rising From the Grave
The beaucoup bucks that horror reboots like Halloween and It made started a trend that will not die in 2019. Filmmakers are digging up new versions of Pet Sematary, Child’s Play, The Grudge, Jacob’s Ladder, and Pumpkinhead, just to name a few.
'Star Wars' Strikes Back
Fanboys haven’t been happy with Star Wars the past couple years after the controversial The Last Jedi and the lackluster Solo prequel. However, the Force will rise again in 2019 with J.J. Abrams returning for Episode IX, the premiere of The Mandalorian on Disney’s new streaming network, and the unveiling of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland.
Photo: Lucasfilm
The Netflix Rom-Com Love Affair
We fell in love with rom-coms all over again in 2018. Netflix had numerous surprise rom-com hits. To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Set It Up, and a half-dozen Christmas rom-coms they dropped on us over the holidays are cheap, cute, and easily consumable, which means we will be seeing a lot more in 2019. It's already starting with a To All the Boys I've Loved Before sequel in the works.
Movie Stars Moonlighting on TV
What was once a step down is now a rising trend as A-list movie stars have recently starred on television shows . That shrewd career movie will continue with Chris Pine (I Am the Night ), Russell Crowe (Untitled Roger Ailes show), and George Clooney (Catch-22 ), all following in the footsteps of Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, and Jim Carrey.
Movie Theatre Subscriptions Post Movie Pass
Movie Pass will one day be remembered as the Napster of its day. The upstart movie subscription service upended the theater-going experience, yet ultimately couldn’t live up to its “too good to be true” business model. Although Movie Pass is still functioning (barely), its biggest legacy will be providing a template for others to follow. AMC Theaters has already exceeded expectation its A-List plan, while Alamo Drafthouse, Regal, and Cinemark's Movie Club are just getting started.
Photo: AMC
The Juicy Docuseries
Surviving R. Kelly is the latest docuseries to set ratings records while also topping social media timeliness. Expect a similar response from Amazon’s upcoming Lorena Bobbitt series and Netflix's Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes , which both re-examine notorious cases that we forgot about but will be obsessed with.
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