“Go woke, go broke” is a movie catchphrase du jour, loved by rightwing culture warriors, who take aim at mainstream films judged to have adopted progressive values, and therefore are worthy of boycott and complaints. Films as varied as The Marvels, Charlie’s Angels, Ghostbusters (the 2016 reboot) and Pixar’s Elio have been attacked for their perceived commitment to inclusiveness and diversity, and in some cases their box office revenue appears to have been affected as a result.
But is it actually the case? Film data analyst Stephen Follows, an adviser to Guinness World Records and author of The Horror Movie Report, has published research on how audiences actually respond to “woke-adjacent” content in current cinema. First presented at the Zurich film festival on Saturday, Follows’ research suggests that there is no blanket rule for the success or otherwise of progressive-themed mainstream cinema, and adds that for some genres – horror, sports and music films in particular – diverse casting and identity-driven stories can have a substantially positive effect on commercial success.
