Bad movies, good business: how sanitised biopics became a Hollywood staple

Hollywood has come to rely on the biopic to make money since the reliance on streaming and interest in superheroes has plateaued. Illustration: Guardian Design / Anaïs Mims/Alamy, Black Bear, New Regency Pictures/Allstar

Last month, Ryan Gosling addressed an audience about to see his new movie. “It’s not your job to keep cinemas open,” he told them. “It’s our job to make things that make it worth you coming out. This movie’s for you. Enjoy the trip!”

Small wonder they applauded. This is a strategy radically different to that adopted in the immediate aftermath of the Covid crisis, when studios believed the best way to get people to leave their homes and buy cinema tickets was to hector them to do so.