It's no secret that this summer was a rough one at the movies. With a few exceptions, audiences roundly rejected numerous sequels that they never really asked for. However, that doesn't mean that those audiences gravitated toward new material either. Andy Samberg's original comedy, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping bombed as much as anything else this season. However, the star and co-writer of the film doesn't seem to be too phased by it. He says he's been through it before with previous films, and he's confident that Popstar will find its audience eventually
I feel fine with it. We had a similar situation with Hot Rod, and now I get people talking to me about Hot Rod everywhere I go. I think there's no, really, one way to find its audience. And it's already on iTunes and on demand. And people are talking to me about Popstar a lot.
While box office success is certainly important to every movie studio from a business standpoint, movies also need to be viewed as art, and like any piece of art, they're not always appreciated in their day. We have numerous examples of films that were box office bombs but have since gone on to become some of the most popular films ever made. A decade ago this was done through the DVD rental market, today it takes place digitally, like a rental on iTunes or a view on Netflix.
While it seems that few people went to see Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, it seems that pretty much everybody who did enjoyed it. Yahoo points out that the film received nearly universal praise from critics. That wasn't enough to get buts in seats, however, as the film has only grossed about $10 million.
The summer movie season is usually reserved for big blockbuster filmmaking, though studios often reserve a handful of films as counter-programming, more traditional comedies or dramas for movie fans that either aren't looking for non-stop action or may be simply looking for a break from it. Often times it works. Comedies like Neighbors and Trainwreck saw big summers alongside major tentpole releases. However, when even the tentpoles are suffering, it likely drags the rest of the field down with them.
Did you see Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping when it was in the theater, or have you found it online since then? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.
