Before the pandemic, it was a classic, time-honored pastime, particularly among women: over-60 movie lovers, retired and with time to kill, would head out for an early discount show at the multiplex and spend the day sneaking into the other movies on offer. This is how, not so long ago, your tracksuit-and-sneaker-wearing grandmother or aunt might have started the day with a mainstream crowd-pleaser like The Post and ended it having seen at least parts of, say, Blade Runner 2049 or Get Out. Bad for the movie industry, but good for the soul. And proof that people with a lifelong moviegoing habit are also likely to have curiosity in their bones, an eagerness to check out new things even if they’re not the target audience.
That was the world then. Now, we know that fewer middle-aged and older adults—a comedy starring veteran performers Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Rita Moreno, and Sally Field—is dropping. a sequel to the 2018 hit (which earned $104 million and also featured over-60 actors), is due this spring. The obvious question is whether movies like these, designed to draw out an audience of senior and younger women alike, stand a chance at the box office. But beneath that question floats a more metaphysical one: What have we lost if they fail?
