2025 Was the Year Hollywood Learned Audiences Are Done With Ideological Entertainment — But Will They Listen in 2026?

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Happy New Year to all our readers at That Park Place! I’m Editor in Chief Marvin Montanaro, and I want to share some thoughts on the past year in Hollywood and entertainment, and what we might expect in the year ahead.

For a long time, Hollywood leaders blamed viewers when movies didn’t succeed. They claimed audiences were outdated, didn’t appreciate innovation, or just didn’t ‘get’ the filmmakers’ vision. The problem was never seen as the movies themselves, but rather with the people watching them. They often dismissed criticism as coming from a small, loud group of complainers.

2025 put an end to that narrative.

This year, movies with strong political or social messages didn’t just do poorly – they were complete failures. High-budget films that prioritized messaging over a good story flopped, not because viewers didn’t understand them, but because they simply weren’t interested. Films like Snow White, Captain America: Brave New World, and Fantastic Four: First Steps weren’t just disliked – audiences strongly rejected them.

These weren’t small, isolated projects. They were well-known brands with huge support from major studios and significant marketing investments. When audiences still didn’t come to see them, it became clear: people are weary of entertainment that feels preachy or like it’s telling them what to think.

Just as telling as what failed was what succeeded.

Movies that focused on strong stories, impressive visuals, and entertainment for the whole family did well. Films like Lilo & Stitch, Zootopia 2, A Minecraft Movie, and Avatar: Fire and Ash, along with many lower-budget horror movies, showed that big hits are still possible when filmmakers give audiences what they enjoy. These movies understood that people go to the cinema to be entertained, to escape into another world, and to feel something – not to be lectured or persuaded.

The contrast was impossible to miss.

2025 wasn’t the year Hollywood became irrelevant. It was the year the industry had to admit it can’t take audiences for granted. When studios prioritize pushing messages over telling good stories, people simply stop watching.

And yet, the year also provided a warning.

As 2025 ended, Stranger Things showed it hadn’t learned from recent criticisms. Despite a season focused on huge dangers and supernatural events, one of the final episodes slowed down to focus on a teenager’s developing sexuality, making it the main emotional point. Many viewers felt this highlighted the same issues that had caused audiences to turn away from other shows.

The negative reaction wasn’t due to misunderstanding or prejudice, but rather to exhaustion. The story’s flow was disrupted again in favor of pushing a specific message. And again, viewers were told how to react instead of being allowed to form their own emotional connection to the story.

You know, watching everything unfold in 2025 didn’t fix Hollywood’s issues with pushing certain viewpoints – it just brought them out into the open. It wasn’t a solution, it was a revealing moment, plain and simple. It felt like things hadn’t changed at all, just become more obvious.

The biggest takeaway from the past year wasn’t who won, but how power shifted. Audiences demonstrated they still have a strong voice by choosing what they’ll spend their money on. Movie ticket sales, streaming numbers, and audience reviews all showed that people want to be entertained first and foremost, and aren’t interested in having social or political messages forced into their favorite stories at the cost of a good plot and compelling characters.

But that power only matters if it’s used consistently.

If viewers don’t want to be lectured by movies and TV shows, they need to continue making that clear through their actions. That means not buying tickets, not watching, and giving honest feedback. Simply put, don’t support projects that don’t respect what the audience wants.

Hollywood understands one thing above all else: revenue.

In 2025, it became clear that Hollywood studios will respond if audiences make their opinions known. Whether this change continues in 2026 will depend on if viewers keep speaking up.

Happy New Year from all of us at That Park Place!

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2026-01-01 19:57