One of the big changes in the film world has been the apparent disappearance of what is called the “mid-budget drama.” Especially in the 80s and 90s, there were lots of smaller movies made–by the big movie studios, not indie films–in genres like family drama, romantic comedy, and suspense thriller that didn’t cost too much to make and were targeted at adults. 1993 is a great example of a year that had lots of these kinds of movies: Sleepless in Seattle, Philadelphia, In the Line of Fire, Rudy, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, In the Name of the Father, What’s Love Got to Do With It?, Falling Down…okay, you get the point. Heck, even the wildly popular summer release The Fugitive only had a $44 million budget. A combination of increased filmmaking costs, consolidation of venues into large national chains like AMC, shorter theatrical windows, the rise of prestige TV, and, finally, the advent of the streaming revolution all but dried up the supply for these types of movies as studios put all of their resources into big box office draws aimed at the teenage/young adult audience. What thoughtful, less expensive, and adult-driven fare is out there is typically an HBO series, and Apple TV+ movie, or an A24 indie release.

Yet, the occasional mid-budget, studio-backed release for grown-ups makes it out into the multiplexes. One stream of those has been a series of earnest collaborations between 20th Century (formerly Fox) Studios, actor/director Kenneth Branagh, and the works of Agatha Christie. 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express was a surprise hit for star/director and studio, grossing seven times its thrifty $55 million budget. 2022’s follow-up, Death on the Nile, was a victim of COVID-delays and an bloated $90 million dollar budget. The newest in the series, A Haunting in Venice, goes for a less star-filled cast to control cost and make Branagh’s Hercule Poirot the center of the story. The film, which adapts Christie’s “The Hallowe’en Party,” goes for a darker tone with a supernatural angle that’s new to the series. And, at least in my opinion, it’s the best yet in the series–by a lot.

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