Opinionated: Beatle...Mania?

Can Sam Mendes' Fab Four flourish?

Image Credit: Sony Pictures

While the news on the project, including rumoured casting, was known for a while, Sony Pictures used its big presentation at film trade show CinemaCon to formally announce the cast for its ambitious, four-movie biopic of The Beatles, still among the most famous musical acts in history.

So now we know that Harrison Dickinson is playing John Lennon, Paul Mescal is Paul McCartney, Barry Keoghan will be Ringo Starr and Joseph Quinn has scored the role of George Harrison. And Mendes confirmed that the four films, one each from the perspective of the Fab Four, will all be shot together across a year, under the somewhat burdensome portmanteau The Beatles –– A Four-Film Cinematic Event.

But perhaps the biggest wrinkle as announced at the event was that this is intended to be “the first binge-able theatrical experience,” per Mendes. Which is the bit that gives me pause. It’s not yet clear whether the plan to release all four movies in one month (April 2028, to be exact) means they’ll land in one burst or spread across the weeks, but “binge-able” is not the first word I normally associate with cinema experiences.

It’s one thing to binge a TV series or movie, because you’ve already paid the cost for the streaming service and the effort involved is primarily you plonking yourself down on the couch with some snacks and hitting start on the first episodes. Before you end up a desiccated husk hours later, having watched far too many in one go (just me?)

But audiences are increasingly balking at the cost of moviegoing –– there’s arranging cover if you have children, getting to the cinema, potentially buying concessions and the ticket(s) themselves. Are people really going to turn out for four films across such a short period of time.

Don’t get me wrong; I trust Sam Mendes to pour himself into this gargantuan effort. This is, after all, the man who brought us American Beauty, Skyfall and 1917 among others. And if any subject is likely to draw a big crowd (at least of a certain age), it’s the Beatles.

Add to that the fact that this is the first cinematic effort to be granted full music rights to the group’s considerable back catalogue of hits, and you have the makings of something special. That’s a solid cast of rising (and fully risen) stars, and the band’s awareness is high thanks to the likes of Peter Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Back.

Yet if the films don’t work, this is one giant gamble that might not pay off. And are the Beatles really what someone wants to build a cinematic universe around? Younger audiences might spark to the unique strategy but as mentioned above, the sheer cost of going to see all the movies is something that could turn off big chunks of the potential crowd.

I’m not advocating for this to be a streaming-only release; I want to see more good quality, and successful films in cinemas to help the business recover. But there’s always the chance that the movies could only end up finding viewers (and therefore a solid financial return) on, say, Netflix (where Sony has a deal and its movies usually head once their theatrical windows have closed).

In summary, I wish the Beatles team the best of luck, and that this turns into Come Together rather than Can’t Buy Me Love.

Agree? Disagree? Leave me a comment below!