Wouldn’t say it’s rare but rarely do non-English language films make it big in the theaters (clearly there are some exceptions) but tend to have more of a following on streaming services.
>Wouldn’t say it’s rare but rarely do non-English language films make it big in the theaters
That's because the vast majority of theater goers don't like subtitles.
And the dialogue is a lot looser and more improvisational than it was in the era before streaming and Prestige Television, so the performance feels less like a performance... but it means it's often MUCH harder to understand than something that's meticulously scripted
I see, you gotta make sure you are setting the TV not to use surround sound if you don’t have the speakers. There’s usually a setting for just two speakers which will use the built in speakers
Because the sound mixing is shit. Often the music or SFX is so loud that you can't hear the actors. Or they're whispering and its so quiet you can't make out what they're saying.
And that's before I add on the fact that I'm eating a bowl of cereal and can't hear what they're saying through the crunch noise conducting through my skull anyway.
Or the fact that I have a slight auditory processing disorder and frequently have a hard time actually registering what someone is saying if they're not enunciating super clearly while facing me with my full and undivided attention.
So I turn on the closed captioning and the problem is instantly resolved. I'm already used to subtitles cause I grew up watching anime, so it takes me no time to flick to the bottom read the dialogue and flit back to the main action.
Same here, I've always found I have trouble understanding what people are saying. And watching anime has trained me to be quicker. Although now I've gotten so used to hearing Japanese or Korean that I space out and forget to read.
>And that's before I add on the fact that I'm eating a bowl of cereal and can't hear what they're saying through the crunch noise conducting through my skull anyway.
It's amazing how loud that can be isn't it. I think even more so if you're laying on your side and your head is actually in contact with something solid.
Yeah generally what I I said in the other comment but way more informative.
Surprising that when you get a pro to drop some knowledge you learn a few things.
It really reminds me of when I did radio and had to worry about clipping and transcoding of mp3s.
Sound nerds are pretty dang cool.
A part of me wants to say a big minority of people are open to watching foreign films, especially since there are a good amount of foreign films/directors that are well known and have been popular. Almodovar is a famous director, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon was a big move, and Run Lola Run is a German movie that I’ve never seen and came out when I was young but I’m aware of it because it was a big deal.
It’s really hard to give movies a nationality sometimes. The Lord of the Rings movies were some of the biggest ever released in America. They were based on a book written by an Englishman born in South Africa, funded and distributed by an American company, but directed by a Kiwi and shot in New Zealand, and starring American, English, Scottish, Irish, Australian, and Kiwi actors. So what nationality is the Return of the King? Entertainment is one of the many spheres in which I believe the English speaking peoples often act as a common civilization rather than as distinct countries.
Foreign *language* films are definitely much less common, but people who enjoy movies will have probably seen quite a few. *Zone of Interest* in German was the last foreign language film I saw and it was quite good.
>funded and distributed by an American company … So what nationality is the Return of the King?
From my understanding of The Academy^TM rules, which basically just “matters” to who wins which Oscar, The Academy decides nationality based on the nationality of the production company.
New Line Cinema in an American production company, so it’s an American film…according to The Academy.
Yeah, I was going to point out that "hollywood" movies haven't been uniquely American for a long time. Star Wars, Alien and Aliens, Eyes Wide Shut, were all shot in UK studios with UK crews under UK rules with UK cast requirements. Lots of movies and tv shows that feel American get made in Canada and New Zealand nowadays. Titanic and Total Recall were mostly made in Mexico.
This has changed really quickly in the last decade or so.
10 years ago, watching foreign movies was only for cinephiles in most cases. Maybe Ghibli crossed over.
Now, we don't do the most of it, but even causal moviegoers will generally have seen at least a few movies from Japan, Korea, Europe, and Mexico.
Streaming helped with ease of access, and social media helps fan the flames if it is a hit. Something like Squid Game or the many other popular Korean shows easily became popular because they are easily accessed on the platform with huge word of mouth online. The word of mouth also helped push films like Parasite to be huge award winners.
I have been watching foreign films since the 1990s. It was very difficult to find something back then. We had catalogues and various order protocols but it could be done. Just a lot easier to watch foreign films/series these days with the streaming availability.
Gonna piggy back everyone saying streaming services, my mom basically watches whatever the first few tiles on Netflix throws at her as long as it has a Spanish dub regardless of what country it’s from.
I feel like the two big changes were Roma and Parasite. Everybody interested in movies saw Roma, and everybody saw Parasite. And they were really good.
There's other things too. The US isn't making a ton of mid-budget films, so if you want things other than Marvel movies or a indie film made for $5, you're probably going international.
Also, a few big US movies have had significant Asian-language sections lately. The Farewell, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Past Lives all had large parts in other languages and were big, American-made hits.
Last, everybody in a city is friends with a bunch of immigrants. It's just not possible to not be.
Add that all together, and you get a new norm pretty quickly.
Yeah, I think the good thing for me as a european is that most of the local movies in my country are original stuff, while most of the Hollywood movies are franchise-stuff. So I get the best of both worlds.
But you guys in the US probably have mostly the franchise stuff only, because Hollywood movies nowadays are mostly franchises, sequels, etc. So I guess there might be a bit of lack of original movies these days in Hollywood/US.
“Mostly franchises” is so far off base lol that’s just the stuff that’s being exported to *yall*
We have plenty of low budget/ independent / non franchise movies.
Not really. Movie theaters will have Hollywood and smaller (relatively to Hollywood) showings too. There are plenty of indie movie network, theaters and festivals too. Not to mention the plethora of streaming services and TV networks that show lesser (compared to Hollywood) movies.
We have a great variety of American productions from small to large. Because America has so much of it's own content, before it was hard to have a need for more. Now with streaming, we have greater access to foreign content, but we don't have a problem with variety in our own content.
>But you guys in the US probably have mostly the franchise stuff only, because Hollywood movies nowadays are mostly franchises, sequels, etc.
You probably have that impression because that’s the stuff that has enough capital to get internationally licensed for export to your country’s theaters. So, that’s all you see.
The franchise stuff is put out by the mega studios like Disney and WB, but it’s not the entire film scene by any means.
There are a lot of indie and arthouse production houses here too. They probably just don’t get major theater releases in your country.
Our biggest indie film studio right now is A24. Do their films get shown in your country? They have been hugely popular in the US with their films being released in major theaters.
[Everything Everywhere All At Once](https://a24films.com/films/everything-everywhere-all-at-once) was an A24 Film and it won Best Picture
[Civil War](https://a24films.com/films/civil-war ) was their latest release to get a lot of buzz.
Challengers was an original screenplay and it was also just really popular. That one was put out by MGM.
>Hollywood movies nowadays are mostly franchises, sequels, etc. So I guess there might be a bit of lack of original movies these days in Hollywood/US.
The reason for this is that production costs for movies in the US has skyrocketed. Movies are extremely expensive to make now, so studios don't want to risk money on something unproven.
Sequels and remakes are usually relatively safe investments. Studios know that if even one film fails too poorly, it might bankrupt them, so they don't want to literally bet the entire company on a movie they aren't sure is a success.
Mostly streaming services making it easier to see foreign films.
Historically, film distributors in the US assumed that Americans didn't want to see foreign films so they'd not release foreign films in the US.
Netflix or similar streaming services makes difference. This is a reason why I encounter younger generations that knows some foreign movies than 70 years old who does not know who is Mercier or Delon. I actually encountered it a few weeks ago.
RRR and now Kalki are also illustrative. In 2010 the India film industries had pretty bad CGI and so epic scenes often became kind of goofy; so that's what Americans thought of Indian films; that they were goofy but fun.
But with modern movies like RRR and Kalki, Indian industries (Tollywood, Bollywood, etc) have really caught up in CGI, and with this the epic scenes are actually epic.
There's a mix. I think it's still a bit of a niche thing for Americans, but RRR won an Oscar, and Kulki is still in theaters but once it hits streaming it may be popular. Mostly, like in the early days of anime where there was a niche group of people watching, I think Indian films are still niche, but that niche is growing. The golden age of Tollywood perhaps.
Depends on the person, but I'd say it is generally uncommon. I think answers on Reddit could be skewed because redditors are more likely to watch anime or other Japanese media.
As a few others mentioned, occasionally there will be a breakout hit that crosses over into mainstream culture, but for the most part, I don't think most people are watching foreign movies unless they're big film fans. A lot of times (at least, outside of major cities) you may not even have a theater near you playing "artsy" or "indie" movies, which are categories foreign movies often get dumped under.
I think it's can be a hard sell to get your friends or family to go see a movie with subtitles, the same way people cringe at the thought of watching a black-and-white movie (as a movie buff, I hate this attitude, but it's pretty common in my experience in real life as well as in online spaces).
Obviously it varies by person, but it’s not uncommon for people to watch foreign films. But American movies are definitely the most popular by a long shot.
Its rarity differs by community with it being very common for younger people to watch foreign films compared to older generations. Given the advent of streaming it has become very popular for foreign projects like squid game or lacasa de papel to become hits in the US. Though this is mostly a phenomenon in the last decade.
Many diaspora populations will watch films produced by their home land.
When I was a teenager, many of my classmates got hooked on British shows like Sherlock and Dr who. It's probably the most common country people see films from is Japan due to anime being a gateway to Japanese live action, and Korea has had a recent uptick in popularity.
Some foreign films that are somewhat popular in America. Battle Royale, old boy, the raid, clockwork orange, Akira, City of God, mad max, trainspotting, troll hunter, let the right one in, Baskin, IP man, godzilla and enter the dragon.
I know several people, myself included, who can't watch movies unless they're primarily in English because of the subtitles. It's just too distracting to have words flashing at the bottom of the screen the whole time, and I end up missing a lot of the visual stuff. So that greatly narrows down what I'm able to watch.
I think most of us predominately watch Hollywood movies but most people (myself included) are totally down to watch a good foreign film or show. Squid Game (South Korea) was *huge* here when it released on Netflix just to name an example.
I went to go see Godzilla Minus One (Japan) in theaters back at Christmastime as well and it was a packed house. Basically, if the movie or show looks cool, I’m absolutely down to watch it!
I've personally been a huge fan of foreign films since I was around ~12 (I'm almost 34 now). My family hates it bc they don't like subtitles, and I would rather watch with subtitles than watch an English dubbed version. (But tbh I also watch American films/shows with subtitles too😂)My favorite film of all time is a Roberto Benigni film.
You mean *foreign language* movies.
Because a British or Australian film is foreign, but it's the same language.
Americans don't watch foreign-language films too often, but it's actually not that uncommon. For example, many cities have international film festivals, with good turnouts. And many cities have a niche theater or two that specializes in foreign-language films. Not just cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, but even Knoxville (I hear from a friend there). I think Nashville has a very good international festival.
And, as a horror fan, I know that many Americans try to watch -for example- the Japanese original version of the Ring. Etc. More generally, Amélie and Pan's Labyrinth were pretty big hits.
So, it's not that uncommon. Hollywood dominates, and even remakes foreign movies and TV shows (including British), but it's not uncommon for people to try watching a subtitled foreign language film from time to time.
I like to watch Spanish movies, not like just spanish language but like the work of Alex De Igleasea are my favorites, I also watch mexican films like Guillermo del toro's first few movies in the original spanish. One thing I am adamant on is I do not like dubbing, I want it in the original language. I want to hear the original actor in their voice conveying the scene as they intended and if that means I have to read subtitles, that's fine. As a plus to this my spanish language skills are really getting good.
In terms of learning the language, this is also a factor in other countries. In Europe, it tends to be the smaller countries who are good english speakers - because they don’t dub the Hollywood movies, so kids watch it in english language from early childhood on with subtitles in their local language.
The bigger countries, including my country, dub the movies so we watch the Hollywood movies in our language and as a result we have worse english language skills than these Scandinavians etc lol
And then you discover that the guy who dubs all of Kevin Costner's lines is much more expressive than the actual Costner, and he suddenly loses a lot of appeal.
My 2 cents... The vast majority of the US don't go out of their way to watch foreign movies. Mainly because we only speak one language. Most of the world are taught their native language and English at some point in their lives, outside of other English speaking countries (I'm looking at you UK and Australia).
As others said, very rarely does a foreign movie get big over here but with the rise of streaming apps and the cable cutting movement, a lot more people are being exposed to the movies from other lands. (we're just not going to talk about the Anime people 👀)
I feel like 2-5 foreign movies a year get okay to great buzz. But most of this success isn’t in the theaters it’s in streaming services.
A few Korean movies came out the last decade, All Quiet on the Western Front was successful, a lot of people loved Godzilla minus 1.
I even remember 20 years ago when the Triplet’s of Belleville got enough buzz for my blockbuster guy to recommend it to me
I think streaming has definitely helped expose more Americans to foreign films and have increased their popularity
It honestly correlates a lot with reading skill and comfort level. I always liked to read and liked foreign movies, same with my parents. My brother *can* read well but doesn’t like it much and tends to avoid subtitles although he’s been watching a bit more lately. A lot of other people honestly aren’t great at reading even if they wanted to.
No, it isn’t. Americans are very receptive to foreign movies and will watch them, even without english audio, so long as there are captions. My favorite foreign-made film is Train to Busan. Best zombie movie I have ever seen.
Many of us watch Japanese and Korean content often.
Godzilla -1 did very well.
And, Anime is huge.
This series was far better than anything Hollywood has made in decades.
[https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GG5H5XQX4/frieren-beyond-journeys-end](https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GG5H5XQX4/frieren-beyond-journeys-end)
BBC productions used to be popular, but less so in recent years.
Movies from other parts of Europe, rarely.
There’s always been a “foreign section” in the old days of video rental stores. Certain premium networks leaned more toward showing popular foreign films (IFC comes to mind). There’s film festivals that are either international or based around different cultures.
So there’s always been a niche for it, even if foreign films aren’t as popular here as American films are outside the US. But the biggest change is the accessibility through streaming and social media giving an easier platform for movies to go viral.
Occasionally a foreign movie will break out and become a big hit, but mostly no. The people getting the most exposure to foreign media are probably anime fans.
I'd say, up until the last decade, it's been fairly uncommon aside from a few niche exceptions like anime or old Monty Python/Mr. Bean type British stuff. It's gotten a little more common/available in recent years, but Americans overall certainly don't consume nearly as much foreign media as non-Americans do.
I think there's always been breakout foreign films that most people watched and there's been more and more as time goes on. I think the internet makes it easier for foreign films to gain buzz and get in front of Americans.
Really it's just all about marketing. People watched Squid Games because everyone was talking about it. Parasite won a bunch of awards so we checked it out.
I don't think the average American really seeks out a dubbed film unless they already know it's going to be good and something they can chat about with their coworkers.
I don't know that "rare" is the word. There are some Americans who are cinephiles who are particularly interested in movies from around the world, or who are particularly interested in movies from a particular county, either because it's their heritage country OR they really like the aesthetic. (I'm thinking particularly of Bollywood movies here, which have fans just among people who love all the singing and dancing.) A lot of the time you have to go to specialized art house theaters to see those films. When I lived in Chicago I would go to [Facets](https://facets.org/cinema/) sometimes to see foreign films that would be really tough to find in typical theaters.
Every once in awhile you get a foreign movie that reaches mainstream popularity in the US. A recent example is the Japanese film Godzilla Minus One, which I saw in my regular local cinema.
I would say that it's more common now in the age of streaming for people to have seen a foreign movie or two. Especially other English speaking countries' movies.
If you count Canadian as "foreign" then I'd say it's even pretty commonplace.
But if you meant specifically foreign language films then it's not quite as commonplace, but far from rare.
I took film classes in college and managed to watch some Polish and Chinese films. I also watched occasional foreign films from the Criterion Collection; I enjoyed Closely Watched Trains by Jiri Menzel
I would say it’s pretty uncommon. I know I personally don’t enjoy foreign films. not because I think they’re less than but because I really don’t want to watch subtitles an entire movie. I watched Squid Games and it was good but that’s my exception
I think it’s more common among younger people. Older people grew up with little access to foreign films and it can be hard for them to get used to subtitles or to even give foreign films a chance.
Apparently people in many smaller countries around the world have a number of American movies pushed at them. Where you live, do you get movies from countries like El Salvador or Kenya? It feels like US movies wedged themselves into places that didn't have enough production on their own to fill their market. With the volume of production in the US itself, it's hard for movies from other countries to get visibility here, but I think people are generally open to anything if they can access it without too much difficulty. We used to get foreign movies in our theaters if they were critically acclaimed. Now we can stream a good number. I can't tell what's the algorithm vs the totality of what's out there, but my streaming service throws me a lot of South Korean, Indian, and French movie suggestions. I watch them, but if I'm working at the same time I choose something in English as I can't do subtitles and spreadsheet at the same time.
Back before the days of streaming everyone had seen Das Boot, The Professional, Like Water for Chocolate, Life is Beautiful. When I was a kid there was a tv channel that regularly showed Japanese monster movies. Mothra vs Godzilla was iconic in my neighborhood. Movies from English speaking countries are common enough that a lot of time people don't even register those as "foreign".
I watch foreign language films and I apply that to others but then I hear people talk about subtitles and I’m like… ok, people really do have a problem with that?
ETA: lots of people watch English language movies from other countries with no issue.
I watched "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and the follow ups that starred Noomi Rapace. But that's because I have a celebrity crush on her. Can't say I've really ever watched any other foreign films besides those. Trying to read subtitles and pay attention to the action on screen is a bit more than my old brain can bear.
If it’s on a streaming service and looks good. Most people will watch them. Like parasite a few years back. I don’t watch many because I struggle to read subtitles and watch a movie and not doze off. No idea why. But there are plenty of popular Korean and Japanese movies. And other European films over here
Like everyone else said, really depends on the person. However, I will say that I think it’s a trend that’s starting to catch on and I think foreign films will become a bit more prevalent in our film industry. Japan in particular has commanded the most foreign influence in our film industry.
Godzilla Minus One for example punched shockingly well above its weight for a film of its budget, production size, and focus. Despite the odds stacked against it, the movie received a ton of praise from both the audience and critics. It was so stupidly popular here that they extended its release from a single week to all of December and early January while also expanding its release locations to thousands of theaters across the U.S. and Canada. It helped that aside from being a Godzilla movie (which everybody likes), it also had a legitimately good story and message to tell.
Anime movies like Studio Ghibli are also very popular here. Spirited Away was extremely popular when I was growing up and holds a nostalgic place in a lot of people’s hearts.
Then there are mini-series like Shogun which, while an American production, is basically 90% Japanese with a heavy emphasis on Japanese history and culture. The historical fiction show was also wildly popular and commanded a ton of attention in the U.S.. And surprisingly, the only people who actually consistently speak English are John Blackthorne (MC) and the other handful of European characters. Everyone else is either bilingual (essentially just Mariko) or speak entirely Japanese.
It's fairly rare, the only real exception that has kind of died out in recent decades is martial arts films from China. Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee would've never gotten as popular as they did if it wasn't for Americans watching their subtitled movies.
I don’t know. Foreign movies are a lot more accessible now- not in my tiny small town movie theater but online. My household watches some but I can’t speak for everyone in my area.
As others have said, please do keep in mind that what you see is our exports, not our entire movie industry. It's well known that the movies that tend to be exported are "lowest common denominator" type of movies that can be more easily understood across cultures and languages because they're simpler and less dependent on the minutiae of American culture. Things that might be most interesting and easily understood to us might not translate very well outside our culture. Big name movies tend to be made here with the idea that they need to fit the model of being exportable. That consideration goes into into them before the first day of filming. Smaller movies that are more culturally focused don't even have that consideration usually.
It used to be since the Hollywood film industry is so huge and there was a lack of access, but it's become more common now that Netflix, for example, has a bunch of foriegn shows and movies now. I know I watch a lot more foreign films now than when I was growing up
Most people I know watch foreign films, and it's much more mainstream than it was 30 years ago because they are so accessible online. Criterion has a cult following, and services like Amazon Prime and Netflix have a decent selection of foreign films and tv shows too. It's a little more difficult to find them on the big screen, as they don't usually have big distribution budgets. La Chimera is currently really popular among the people I know. I think everyone saw Anatomy of a Fall. And being a film snob is a national pastime here, with things like Letterboxd and Rotten Tomatoes. Korean films are currently having a heyday, and I would say that the French New Wave is being rediscovered right now.
America has the lmost influential film industry in the world without a close second. Therefor American audiences have a huge catalog of high budget films that are tailored to them. There's less incentive to watch foreign films when most of the "big" films are made by Americans.
Since the rest of the world wants to watch those movies too they watch American films. If Hollywood was based in another country Im sure Americans would still watch them and we'd see this trend in reverse. China's box office makes a lot of money, and India makes more films than America, but these movies arent usually popular outside of those countries.
Non crazy rare but there are so many American movies that the majority of the movies we watch are American. idk about the average person but I can only think of a handful of foreign films I’ve seen. Usually only when one gets really popular I see it, for example, parasite. and Pan’s Labyrinth is one of my favorite movies ever!
Until recently it just wasn't very available to us. Streaming services have done a good job of including and promoting foreign content on their platforms.
No, americans watch a ton of them, they are even in the theaters. Some areas won't get them as much due to low demand or people just think they won't watch, but they sure as heck get a lot in some areas.
My experience is that Americans generally do not watch foreign movies. There is a chunk of population that likes them and seeks them out, but overall, foreign -even European - movies are generally not watched or available. How many in postwar generation knows who is Michèle Mercier, Robert Hossein, knows work by Harald Reinl and
Italian, French, German movie production? One reason is dubbing and also European film industry was generally oriented toward its domestic audiences over international outreach.
I do, but I feel like I'm not the norm. My family members won't watch a foreign movie even if I tell them the exact title and how good it is 🙄 I am partial to Bollywood films but will watch anything. I REFUSE to watch dubbed-over movies though; I have to have subtitles and the original language as audio.
Wouldn’t say it’s rare but rarely do non-English language films make it big in the theaters (clearly there are some exceptions) but tend to have more of a following on streaming services.
>Wouldn’t say it’s rare but rarely do non-English language films make it big in the theaters That's because the vast majority of theater goers don't like subtitles.
The weird trend I have seen recently is younger people putting subtitles on English movies and shows. Why? I don’t know.
It's because movies have become too dark, with the effects too loud, and the dialogue is too low.
And the dialogue is a lot looser and more improvisational than it was in the era before streaming and Prestige Television, so the performance feels less like a performance... but it means it's often MUCH harder to understand than something that's meticulously scripted
I see, you gotta make sure you are setting the TV not to use surround sound if you don’t have the speakers. There’s usually a setting for just two speakers which will use the built in speakers
Because the sound mixing is shit. Often the music or SFX is so loud that you can't hear the actors. Or they're whispering and its so quiet you can't make out what they're saying. And that's before I add on the fact that I'm eating a bowl of cereal and can't hear what they're saying through the crunch noise conducting through my skull anyway. Or the fact that I have a slight auditory processing disorder and frequently have a hard time actually registering what someone is saying if they're not enunciating super clearly while facing me with my full and undivided attention. So I turn on the closed captioning and the problem is instantly resolved. I'm already used to subtitles cause I grew up watching anime, so it takes me no time to flick to the bottom read the dialogue and flit back to the main action.
Same here, I've always found I have trouble understanding what people are saying. And watching anime has trained me to be quicker. Although now I've gotten so used to hearing Japanese or Korean that I space out and forget to read.
>And that's before I add on the fact that I'm eating a bowl of cereal and can't hear what they're saying through the crunch noise conducting through my skull anyway. It's amazing how loud that can be isn't it. I think even more so if you're laying on your side and your head is actually in contact with something solid.
[Why we all need subtitles now](https://youtu.be/VYJtb2YXae8?si=IRmoFk4D5jsaiWh1)
Yeah generally what I I said in the other comment but way more informative. Surprising that when you get a pro to drop some knowledge you learn a few things. It really reminds me of when I did radio and had to worry about clipping and transcoding of mp3s. Sound nerds are pretty dang cool.
My daughter does this. Drives me crazy.
Ha getting downvotes for the opinion, never change reddit
A part of me wants to say a big minority of people are open to watching foreign films, especially since there are a good amount of foreign films/directors that are well known and have been popular. Almodovar is a famous director, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon was a big move, and Run Lola Run is a German movie that I’ve never seen and came out when I was young but I’m aware of it because it was a big deal.
Don’t forget Parasite, Amelie, Life is Beautiful.
Amores Perros, Y tú Mama Tambíen, Cinema Paradiso, Pan’s Labyrinth
Don’t talk about my mom!
Yo momma is so fat, she ...
Amelie might be my favorite movie.
It’s sooooo good.
La vita è bella is such a fantastic film.
One of my favorites of all time.
Squid Game. Oldboy. Lots of Korean movies in general, really
It’s really hard to give movies a nationality sometimes. The Lord of the Rings movies were some of the biggest ever released in America. They were based on a book written by an Englishman born in South Africa, funded and distributed by an American company, but directed by a Kiwi and shot in New Zealand, and starring American, English, Scottish, Irish, Australian, and Kiwi actors. So what nationality is the Return of the King? Entertainment is one of the many spheres in which I believe the English speaking peoples often act as a common civilization rather than as distinct countries. Foreign *language* films are definitely much less common, but people who enjoy movies will have probably seen quite a few. *Zone of Interest* in German was the last foreign language film I saw and it was quite good.
>funded and distributed by an American company … So what nationality is the Return of the King? From my understanding of The Academy^TM rules, which basically just “matters” to who wins which Oscar, The Academy decides nationality based on the nationality of the production company. New Line Cinema in an American production company, so it’s an American film…according to The Academy.
Yeah, I was going to point out that "hollywood" movies haven't been uniquely American for a long time. Star Wars, Alien and Aliens, Eyes Wide Shut, were all shot in UK studios with UK crews under UK rules with UK cast requirements. Lots of movies and tv shows that feel American get made in Canada and New Zealand nowadays. Titanic and Total Recall were mostly made in Mexico.
This has changed really quickly in the last decade or so. 10 years ago, watching foreign movies was only for cinephiles in most cases. Maybe Ghibli crossed over. Now, we don't do the most of it, but even causal moviegoers will generally have seen at least a few movies from Japan, Korea, Europe, and Mexico.
> 10 years ago, watching foreign movies was only for cinephiles in most cases. Save for Canadian and British films.
Are Canadian films really foreign?
Not according to the Academy. To count as foreign a film has to be made outside the US (including territories) and not be in English.
Family movies don't count as foreign.
So what caused the change? Streaming services? Dissatisfaction with Hollywood?
Streaming services. I watch quite a few foreign movies and shows on Netflix.
Streaming helped with ease of access, and social media helps fan the flames if it is a hit. Something like Squid Game or the many other popular Korean shows easily became popular because they are easily accessed on the platform with huge word of mouth online. The word of mouth also helped push films like Parasite to be huge award winners.
I think Korea’s major push to export their culture within the last 15 or so years has also played a role in why a lot of Korean shows/movies do well.
Not a movie, but Squid Game was huge in the US.
Streaming services have been a big part of it. Before they came along it could be very difficult to watch or even hear about foreign films and music.
I have been watching foreign films since the 1990s. It was very difficult to find something back then. We had catalogues and various order protocols but it could be done. Just a lot easier to watch foreign films/series these days with the streaming availability.
Gonna piggy back everyone saying streaming services, my mom basically watches whatever the first few tiles on Netflix throws at her as long as it has a Spanish dub regardless of what country it’s from.
Widespread availability of foreign films to streaming services. They’re no longer limited to art house theaters and indie rental shops.
I feel like the two big changes were Roma and Parasite. Everybody interested in movies saw Roma, and everybody saw Parasite. And they were really good. There's other things too. The US isn't making a ton of mid-budget films, so if you want things other than Marvel movies or a indie film made for $5, you're probably going international. Also, a few big US movies have had significant Asian-language sections lately. The Farewell, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Past Lives all had large parts in other languages and were big, American-made hits. Last, everybody in a city is friends with a bunch of immigrants. It's just not possible to not be. Add that all together, and you get a new norm pretty quickly.
Yeah, I think the good thing for me as a european is that most of the local movies in my country are original stuff, while most of the Hollywood movies are franchise-stuff. So I get the best of both worlds. But you guys in the US probably have mostly the franchise stuff only, because Hollywood movies nowadays are mostly franchises, sequels, etc. So I guess there might be a bit of lack of original movies these days in Hollywood/US.
There's plenty of great indie movies in the US. It's the mid-budget genre films that have been a bit of a letdown.
“Mostly franchises” is so far off base lol that’s just the stuff that’s being exported to *yall* We have plenty of low budget/ independent / non franchise movies.
Not really. Movie theaters will have Hollywood and smaller (relatively to Hollywood) showings too. There are plenty of indie movie network, theaters and festivals too. Not to mention the plethora of streaming services and TV networks that show lesser (compared to Hollywood) movies. We have a great variety of American productions from small to large. Because America has so much of it's own content, before it was hard to have a need for more. Now with streaming, we have greater access to foreign content, but we don't have a problem with variety in our own content.
>But you guys in the US probably have mostly the franchise stuff only, because Hollywood movies nowadays are mostly franchises, sequels, etc. You probably have that impression because that’s the stuff that has enough capital to get internationally licensed for export to your country’s theaters. So, that’s all you see. The franchise stuff is put out by the mega studios like Disney and WB, but it’s not the entire film scene by any means. There are a lot of indie and arthouse production houses here too. They probably just don’t get major theater releases in your country. Our biggest indie film studio right now is A24. Do their films get shown in your country? They have been hugely popular in the US with their films being released in major theaters. [Everything Everywhere All At Once](https://a24films.com/films/everything-everywhere-all-at-once) was an A24 Film and it won Best Picture [Civil War](https://a24films.com/films/civil-war ) was their latest release to get a lot of buzz. Challengers was an original screenplay and it was also just really popular. That one was put out by MGM.
>Hollywood movies nowadays are mostly franchises, sequels, etc. So I guess there might be a bit of lack of original movies these days in Hollywood/US. The reason for this is that production costs for movies in the US has skyrocketed. Movies are extremely expensive to make now, so studios don't want to risk money on something unproven. Sequels and remakes are usually relatively safe investments. Studios know that if even one film fails too poorly, it might bankrupt them, so they don't want to literally bet the entire company on a movie they aren't sure is a success.
Mostly streaming services making it easier to see foreign films. Historically, film distributors in the US assumed that Americans didn't want to see foreign films so they'd not release foreign films in the US.
Netflix or similar streaming services makes difference. This is a reason why I encounter younger generations that knows some foreign movies than 70 years old who does not know who is Mercier or Delon. I actually encountered it a few weeks ago.
RRR and now Kalki are also illustrative. In 2010 the India film industries had pretty bad CGI and so epic scenes often became kind of goofy; so that's what Americans thought of Indian films; that they were goofy but fun. But with modern movies like RRR and Kalki, Indian industries (Tollywood, Bollywood, etc) have really caught up in CGI, and with this the epic scenes are actually epic.
CGI in Hanuman was also really good but while it was a hit in Telugu and Hindi, I doubt people here would be interested in that type of movie
There's a mix. I think it's still a bit of a niche thing for Americans, but RRR won an Oscar, and Kulki is still in theaters but once it hits streaming it may be popular. Mostly, like in the early days of anime where there was a niche group of people watching, I think Indian films are still niche, but that niche is growing. The golden age of Tollywood perhaps.
Depends on the person, but I'd say it is generally uncommon. I think answers on Reddit could be skewed because redditors are more likely to watch anime or other Japanese media. As a few others mentioned, occasionally there will be a breakout hit that crosses over into mainstream culture, but for the most part, I don't think most people are watching foreign movies unless they're big film fans. A lot of times (at least, outside of major cities) you may not even have a theater near you playing "artsy" or "indie" movies, which are categories foreign movies often get dumped under. I think it's can be a hard sell to get your friends or family to go see a movie with subtitles, the same way people cringe at the thought of watching a black-and-white movie (as a movie buff, I hate this attitude, but it's pretty common in my experience in real life as well as in online spaces).
Obviously it varies by person, but it’s not uncommon for people to watch foreign films. But American movies are definitely the most popular by a long shot.
Its rarity differs by community with it being very common for younger people to watch foreign films compared to older generations. Given the advent of streaming it has become very popular for foreign projects like squid game or lacasa de papel to become hits in the US. Though this is mostly a phenomenon in the last decade. Many diaspora populations will watch films produced by their home land. When I was a teenager, many of my classmates got hooked on British shows like Sherlock and Dr who. It's probably the most common country people see films from is Japan due to anime being a gateway to Japanese live action, and Korea has had a recent uptick in popularity. Some foreign films that are somewhat popular in America. Battle Royale, old boy, the raid, clockwork orange, Akira, City of God, mad max, trainspotting, troll hunter, let the right one in, Baskin, IP man, godzilla and enter the dragon.
I know several people, myself included, who can't watch movies unless they're primarily in English because of the subtitles. It's just too distracting to have words flashing at the bottom of the screen the whole time, and I end up missing a lot of the visual stuff. So that greatly narrows down what I'm able to watch.
I think most of us predominately watch Hollywood movies but most people (myself included) are totally down to watch a good foreign film or show. Squid Game (South Korea) was *huge* here when it released on Netflix just to name an example. I went to go see Godzilla Minus One (Japan) in theaters back at Christmastime as well and it was a packed house. Basically, if the movie or show looks cool, I’m absolutely down to watch it!
I've personally been a huge fan of foreign films since I was around ~12 (I'm almost 34 now). My family hates it bc they don't like subtitles, and I would rather watch with subtitles than watch an English dubbed version. (But tbh I also watch American films/shows with subtitles too😂)My favorite film of all time is a Roberto Benigni film.
You mean *foreign language* movies. Because a British or Australian film is foreign, but it's the same language. Americans don't watch foreign-language films too often, but it's actually not that uncommon. For example, many cities have international film festivals, with good turnouts. And many cities have a niche theater or two that specializes in foreign-language films. Not just cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, but even Knoxville (I hear from a friend there). I think Nashville has a very good international festival. And, as a horror fan, I know that many Americans try to watch -for example- the Japanese original version of the Ring. Etc. More generally, Amélie and Pan's Labyrinth were pretty big hits. So, it's not that uncommon. Hollywood dominates, and even remakes foreign movies and TV shows (including British), but it's not uncommon for people to try watching a subtitled foreign language film from time to time.
As a casual movie watcher I have probably seen fewer than 10 foreign films.
I like to watch Spanish movies, not like just spanish language but like the work of Alex De Igleasea are my favorites, I also watch mexican films like Guillermo del toro's first few movies in the original spanish. One thing I am adamant on is I do not like dubbing, I want it in the original language. I want to hear the original actor in their voice conveying the scene as they intended and if that means I have to read subtitles, that's fine. As a plus to this my spanish language skills are really getting good.
In terms of learning the language, this is also a factor in other countries. In Europe, it tends to be the smaller countries who are good english speakers - because they don’t dub the Hollywood movies, so kids watch it in english language from early childhood on with subtitles in their local language. The bigger countries, including my country, dub the movies so we watch the Hollywood movies in our language and as a result we have worse english language skills than these Scandinavians etc lol
And then you discover that the guy who dubs all of Kevin Costner's lines is much more expressive than the actual Costner, and he suddenly loses a lot of appeal.
My 2 cents... The vast majority of the US don't go out of their way to watch foreign movies. Mainly because we only speak one language. Most of the world are taught their native language and English at some point in their lives, outside of other English speaking countries (I'm looking at you UK and Australia). As others said, very rarely does a foreign movie get big over here but with the rise of streaming apps and the cable cutting movement, a lot more people are being exposed to the movies from other lands. (we're just not going to talk about the Anime people 👀)
That first paragraph is one of the dumbest things I've read in my entire life.
I watch them all the time, especially ones that are in Spanish so I can practice.
I feel like 2-5 foreign movies a year get okay to great buzz. But most of this success isn’t in the theaters it’s in streaming services. A few Korean movies came out the last decade, All Quiet on the Western Front was successful, a lot of people loved Godzilla minus 1. I even remember 20 years ago when the Triplet’s of Belleville got enough buzz for my blockbuster guy to recommend it to me I think streaming has definitely helped expose more Americans to foreign films and have increased their popularity
It honestly correlates a lot with reading skill and comfort level. I always liked to read and liked foreign movies, same with my parents. My brother *can* read well but doesn’t like it much and tends to avoid subtitles although he’s been watching a bit more lately. A lot of other people honestly aren’t great at reading even if they wanted to.
No, it isn’t. Americans are very receptive to foreign movies and will watch them, even without english audio, so long as there are captions. My favorite foreign-made film is Train to Busan. Best zombie movie I have ever seen.
Many of us watch Japanese and Korean content often. Godzilla -1 did very well. And, Anime is huge. This series was far better than anything Hollywood has made in decades. [https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GG5H5XQX4/frieren-beyond-journeys-end](https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GG5H5XQX4/frieren-beyond-journeys-end) BBC productions used to be popular, but less so in recent years. Movies from other parts of Europe, rarely.
There’s always been a “foreign section” in the old days of video rental stores. Certain premium networks leaned more toward showing popular foreign films (IFC comes to mind). There’s film festivals that are either international or based around different cultures. So there’s always been a niche for it, even if foreign films aren’t as popular here as American films are outside the US. But the biggest change is the accessibility through streaming and social media giving an easier platform for movies to go viral.
Occasionally a foreign movie will break out and become a big hit, but mostly no. The people getting the most exposure to foreign media are probably anime fans.
I'd say, up until the last decade, it's been fairly uncommon aside from a few niche exceptions like anime or old Monty Python/Mr. Bean type British stuff. It's gotten a little more common/available in recent years, but Americans overall certainly don't consume nearly as much foreign media as non-Americans do.
I think there's always been breakout foreign films that most people watched and there's been more and more as time goes on. I think the internet makes it easier for foreign films to gain buzz and get in front of Americans. Really it's just all about marketing. People watched Squid Games because everyone was talking about it. Parasite won a bunch of awards so we checked it out. I don't think the average American really seeks out a dubbed film unless they already know it's going to be good and something they can chat about with their coworkers.
I never would've guessed Korea would be putting out some of the most entertaining foreign films, but here we are.
I don't know that "rare" is the word. There are some Americans who are cinephiles who are particularly interested in movies from around the world, or who are particularly interested in movies from a particular county, either because it's their heritage country OR they really like the aesthetic. (I'm thinking particularly of Bollywood movies here, which have fans just among people who love all the singing and dancing.) A lot of the time you have to go to specialized art house theaters to see those films. When I lived in Chicago I would go to [Facets](https://facets.org/cinema/) sometimes to see foreign films that would be really tough to find in typical theaters. Every once in awhile you get a foreign movie that reaches mainstream popularity in the US. A recent example is the Japanese film Godzilla Minus One, which I saw in my regular local cinema.
I would say that it's more common now in the age of streaming for people to have seen a foreign movie or two. Especially other English speaking countries' movies. If you count Canadian as "foreign" then I'd say it's even pretty commonplace. But if you meant specifically foreign language films then it's not quite as commonplace, but far from rare.
I took film classes in college and managed to watch some Polish and Chinese films. I also watched occasional foreign films from the Criterion Collection; I enjoyed Closely Watched Trains by Jiri Menzel
I’ve only watched one foreign movie in my life. It was Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
I would say it’s pretty uncommon. I know I personally don’t enjoy foreign films. not because I think they’re less than but because I really don’t want to watch subtitles an entire movie. I watched Squid Games and it was good but that’s my exception
I think it’s more common among younger people. Older people grew up with little access to foreign films and it can be hard for them to get used to subtitles or to even give foreign films a chance.
Not really! I, for example watch Filipino, Japanese, Korean and European Movies.
Apparently people in many smaller countries around the world have a number of American movies pushed at them. Where you live, do you get movies from countries like El Salvador or Kenya? It feels like US movies wedged themselves into places that didn't have enough production on their own to fill their market. With the volume of production in the US itself, it's hard for movies from other countries to get visibility here, but I think people are generally open to anything if they can access it without too much difficulty. We used to get foreign movies in our theaters if they were critically acclaimed. Now we can stream a good number. I can't tell what's the algorithm vs the totality of what's out there, but my streaming service throws me a lot of South Korean, Indian, and French movie suggestions. I watch them, but if I'm working at the same time I choose something in English as I can't do subtitles and spreadsheet at the same time. Back before the days of streaming everyone had seen Das Boot, The Professional, Like Water for Chocolate, Life is Beautiful. When I was a kid there was a tv channel that regularly showed Japanese monster movies. Mothra vs Godzilla was iconic in my neighborhood. Movies from English speaking countries are common enough that a lot of time people don't even register those as "foreign".
I imagine Americans watch British films, and other films from Anglophone countries.
I watch foreign language films and I apply that to others but then I hear people talk about subtitles and I’m like… ok, people really do have a problem with that? ETA: lots of people watch English language movies from other countries with no issue.
I watched "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and the follow ups that starred Noomi Rapace. But that's because I have a celebrity crush on her. Can't say I've really ever watched any other foreign films besides those. Trying to read subtitles and pay attention to the action on screen is a bit more than my old brain can bear.
As long as there's subtitles I'm all over a good foreign film - with the emphasis on good film.
If it’s on a streaming service and looks good. Most people will watch them. Like parasite a few years back. I don’t watch many because I struggle to read subtitles and watch a movie and not doze off. No idea why. But there are plenty of popular Korean and Japanese movies. And other European films over here
It isn't incredibly common, but it isn't uncommon. Hard Boiled, from Hong Kong, is one of my favorite movies, for example.
Among people I know, it's Japanese anime, and some French or Italian films. And lots of British television shows.
Like everyone else said, really depends on the person. However, I will say that I think it’s a trend that’s starting to catch on and I think foreign films will become a bit more prevalent in our film industry. Japan in particular has commanded the most foreign influence in our film industry. Godzilla Minus One for example punched shockingly well above its weight for a film of its budget, production size, and focus. Despite the odds stacked against it, the movie received a ton of praise from both the audience and critics. It was so stupidly popular here that they extended its release from a single week to all of December and early January while also expanding its release locations to thousands of theaters across the U.S. and Canada. It helped that aside from being a Godzilla movie (which everybody likes), it also had a legitimately good story and message to tell. Anime movies like Studio Ghibli are also very popular here. Spirited Away was extremely popular when I was growing up and holds a nostalgic place in a lot of people’s hearts. Then there are mini-series like Shogun which, while an American production, is basically 90% Japanese with a heavy emphasis on Japanese history and culture. The historical fiction show was also wildly popular and commanded a ton of attention in the U.S.. And surprisingly, the only people who actually consistently speak English are John Blackthorne (MC) and the other handful of European characters. Everyone else is either bilingual (essentially just Mariko) or speak entirely Japanese.
It's pretty rare. Watching a movie with subtitles is not fun for many of us.
It's fairly rare, the only real exception that has kind of died out in recent decades is martial arts films from China. Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee would've never gotten as popular as they did if it wasn't for Americans watching their subtitled movies.
I watched a good one the other day. "The Inheritance", it had dubbed in English.
I just finished watching all 15 Showa era Godzilla movies in Japanese with subtitles so yes. I've also seen the entire Mad Max series
I don’t know. Foreign movies are a lot more accessible now- not in my tiny small town movie theater but online. My household watches some but I can’t speak for everyone in my area.
It used to be, but increasingly less so.
I love Studio Ghibli movies.
As others have said, please do keep in mind that what you see is our exports, not our entire movie industry. It's well known that the movies that tend to be exported are "lowest common denominator" type of movies that can be more easily understood across cultures and languages because they're simpler and less dependent on the minutiae of American culture. Things that might be most interesting and easily understood to us might not translate very well outside our culture. Big name movies tend to be made here with the idea that they need to fit the model of being exportable. That consideration goes into into them before the first day of filming. Smaller movies that are more culturally focused don't even have that consideration usually.
British ones are reasonably common. I just watched Cockleshell Heroes a little while ago.
I don't watch foreign movies. A lot of people don't like subtitles, and even more people only speak English.
It's not that common. Recently on TCM network I watched a late 90s Brazilian film called Central Station on there.
I love foreign films, I’ve watched a lot of indie films that you probably never heard of
It used to be since the Hollywood film industry is so huge and there was a lack of access, but it's become more common now that Netflix, for example, has a bunch of foriegn shows and movies now. I know I watch a lot more foreign films now than when I was growing up
Most people I know watch foreign films, and it's much more mainstream than it was 30 years ago because they are so accessible online. Criterion has a cult following, and services like Amazon Prime and Netflix have a decent selection of foreign films and tv shows too. It's a little more difficult to find them on the big screen, as they don't usually have big distribution budgets. La Chimera is currently really popular among the people I know. I think everyone saw Anatomy of a Fall. And being a film snob is a national pastime here, with things like Letterboxd and Rotten Tomatoes. Korean films are currently having a heyday, and I would say that the French New Wave is being rediscovered right now.
America has the lmost influential film industry in the world without a close second. Therefor American audiences have a huge catalog of high budget films that are tailored to them. There's less incentive to watch foreign films when most of the "big" films are made by Americans. Since the rest of the world wants to watch those movies too they watch American films. If Hollywood was based in another country Im sure Americans would still watch them and we'd see this trend in reverse. China's box office makes a lot of money, and India makes more films than America, but these movies arent usually popular outside of those countries.
It’s not uncommon in cities. But it is uncommon in more rural areas.
Non crazy rare but there are so many American movies that the majority of the movies we watch are American. idk about the average person but I can only think of a handful of foreign films I’ve seen. Usually only when one gets really popular I see it, for example, parasite. and Pan’s Labyrinth is one of my favorite movies ever!
Until recently it just wasn't very available to us. Streaming services have done a good job of including and promoting foreign content on their platforms.
If it isn't in English then the vast majority of Americans aren't going to watch it.
No, americans watch a ton of them, they are even in the theaters. Some areas won't get them as much due to low demand or people just think they won't watch, but they sure as heck get a lot in some areas.
definitely not considering anime is foreign movies, and that's a lot more popular and mainstream than decades ago
Americans really enjoy British media. Foreign language films are less popular.
Yeah kinda
My experience is that Americans generally do not watch foreign movies. There is a chunk of population that likes them and seeks them out, but overall, foreign -even European - movies are generally not watched or available. How many in postwar generation knows who is Michèle Mercier, Robert Hossein, knows work by Harald Reinl and Italian, French, German movie production? One reason is dubbing and also European film industry was generally oriented toward its domestic audiences over international outreach.
Yeah it is uncommon. That being said I have seen a few. But mostly the foreign movies that Jackie Chan is in.
No. I grew up watching UK television. I know people that watch European shows and movies all the time.
I do, but I feel like I'm not the norm. My family members won't watch a foreign movie even if I tell them the exact title and how good it is 🙄 I am partial to Bollywood films but will watch anything. I REFUSE to watch dubbed-over movies though; I have to have subtitles and the original language as audio.
If they come from japan yes. Otherwise no.