“Cocaine Bear” marks its territory with a $23M opening weekend
By: Leianna Tanedo
In a world dominated by subpar superhero films, the horror comedy Cocaine Bear slashed its way through the theaters. Armed with a ridiculous premise, it’s exactly what you think it is: a movie about a bear on cocaine attacking people. So how did this ridiculous ride dominate theaters?
Universal Pictures
Cocaine Bear is inspired by the true story of a bear that died from overdosing on cocaine. In 1985, drug smuggler Andrew Thornton allegedly threw over 300 pounds of coke off of? a plane. The New York Times reported “the bear was found … in northern Georgia among 40 opened plastic containers with traces of cocaine.”
The film is a slasher that never takes itself too seriously. Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect 2 & 3) directed the story to take place over one day, with the majority of it filmed in daylight, which skews it more towards comedy than horror. The cast, namely child actors Brooklynn Prince and Alden Ehrenreich, commits to the playful nature of the slasher genre. Yes, it’s filled with gratuitous gore. But somehow the R-rated movie is outlandish without dialogue that is too raunchy or offensive. Cocaine Bear picks its battles effectively and focuses on using tension as a tool for both scary moments and comedic beats. And at 95 minutes, Banks directs a full story with only a few snags in pacing.
Horror comedies and B-roll films like Sharknado have previously been released directly to TV or streaming services. Cocaine Bear could have easily found viewers as a Netflix original. Streaming services operate by the motto “content is king,” cranking out movies and television in quantity over quality. This has devalued entertainment. With so many options across streaming services, there’s almost too much content to gather consistent followings that form fandoms.
In contrast, A Quiet Place Part II found success as a theater-exclusive that had enough value that people wanted to experience it in person. Following this model, Universal Pictures took a chance on the drugged-up predator as a theater-exclusive, investing into Super Bowl advertisements and viral marketing, which created widespread buzz for an original horror film.
Horror is still a niche genre, R-rated films garner less viewers than PG-13, and the film isn’t part of a larger franchise. Against these odds, Cocaine Bear succeeds with a $23 million opening weekend, with faith in the power of theater releases.
When I went to the theater, I didn’t expect it to be packed with an excited audience. We all had one thing in common: we were willing to see this debacle for $15 before it hit streaming. Watching movies with a group of strangers for the first time has its place in society, even in the midst of the pandemic. Cocaine Bear is entertainment worth enjoying purely for its crowd.
Streaming exclusive releases can be convenient for both producers and consumers, but it doesn’t have the organic virality of a film only dropped in theaters. Put simply, it’s nowhere near as fun.
While Cocaine Bear is not necessarily groundbreaking, it illustrates that entertainment can still be enjoyed en masse with crowds laughing and jump-scaring together.
Rating: 3.5/5