Live from the big screen, it’s theSaturday Night Livemovies! In its nearly 50-year history, NBC’s iconic sketch comedy series has seen several hit sketches jumpto the film world. Some have seen massive success (Wayne’s World,Wayne’s World 2,andThe Blues Brothers). Others have returned with less-than-stellar results (nearly every other movie).
There is no doubt that the'90s were the peak ofSNLandSNLmovies. From 1992 to 2000, roughly one new film was released per year.SNLtook the 2000s off before returning with the 2010 filmMacGruber, the most recentSNLmovie to date. It seems like the days ofSNLacting as a launching pad for a feature film career may be coming to an end. Instead,several stars have pivoted to the small screen, headlining comedies on NBC and Peacock.SNLhead honcho Lorne Michaels hitches his name to the wagon as an EP on several of these projects, so is TV the future? And could we ever seeSaturday Night Livereturn to the big screen?
Saturday Night Live
SNLfirst made the jump to the big screen withthe 1980 filmThe Blues Brothers,starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. It was a critical and commercial hit, stillenjoying cult statustoday nearly 45 years later. With the early seasons having countless iconic sketches, it’s surprising that none of them also made it into theaters. Instead, the next movie came in 1992 withWayne’s World. Mike Myers and Dana Carvey’s outing also boasted rave reviews and grossed the most of anySNLfilm.
Then came the rest of the decade. The ’90s gave usConeheads, Wayne’s World 2, It’s Pat, Stuart Saves His Family, Blues Brothers 2000, A Night at the Roxbury, Superstar,andThe Ladies Man. Just three of these (Wayne’s World 2, Roxbury,andSuperstar) made back their budget, though none could really be considered profitable.Wayne’s World 2was also the soleentry that scored higher than 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, at 61%. Most others sit in the lower middle, between 30% and 50%.RoxburyandThe Ladies Manfell hard into “rotten” territory, each at 11%. Then there’sIt’s Pat, earning that elusive perfect score of 0% and grossing a paltry $60,000 against an $8 million budget. With a track record like that,taking a break seems understandable.
SNL’s Kenan Thompson Thinks the Show Should End with 2024-2025 Season
SNL comedian Kenan Thompson says it would be expensive to keep the show going after Lorne Michaels' exit.
After ten years away,SNL returned to the silver screenwithMacGruberin 2010, starring Will Forte. It also did not make back its budget, hovering around 50% on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite that stellar improvement, theSNLfilm factory again closed up shop. Some consider 2023’sPlease Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountainto be anSNLfilm, as the titular comedy troupe are writers who regularly appear in their own series of sketches on the show. However, it’s not based on one specific sketch like all the others on this list.
The Decline of Theatrical Comedies as a Whole
While it’s true that five-minute sketches rarely translate into feature-length stories,SNLdoes not shoulder all the blame here. Studio comedies, in general,have been on the declineover the last decade. It was a rapid shift, as movies likeBridesmaids, The Hangoverseries,and21 Jump Streetsaw huge critical and box office success in the 2010s. What changed? Mainly, the attitudes of filmgoers,especially with straight-to-streaming releases changing what audiences are willing to pay for in the theaters. When one of the numerous streamers puts out a comedy that doesn’t require purchasing a theater ticket, most viewers will opt for that selection.
Lorne Michaels' Star-Studded TV Failure Was Canceled After 9 Episodes and Sent Him Back to SNL
Steve Martin, Jeff Goldblum, John Candy, Carrie Fisher, Kevin Kline, Gilda Radner & Catherine O’Hara all starred in this quickly canceled show.
Comedies can still be successful if they have a big-ticket star attached. Also, movies that blend two or more genres, such as action and comedy or romance and comedy, see better results. As our culture has gotten more socially aware over the last decade, the jokes that audiences find acceptable have changed. Look at any 2000s comedy, and you can make an entire listicle of “moments that did not age well.”
SNL Went From Movie Stars to TV Stars
In the days of yore (the ’90s and ’00s), the natural stepping stone for an actorpost-SNLwas the movies. Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Tina Fey, and Kristen Wiig, among many others, graduated from their sketch comedy beginnings to become some of the biggest movie stars on the planet. But in the last 10 years,SNLhasn’t put out the same number of talent. This is no shade on the current cast, of course, but it’s clear that things have changed. Pete Davidson and Kate McKinnon, in particular, have enjoyed significant success after SNL, but it’s becoming increasingly rare.
Release Date
Box Office Total
The Blues Brothers
August 18, 2025
$115,229,890
Wayne’s World
June 25, 2025
$183,097,323
August 16, 2025
$21,274,717
Wayne’s World 2
August 08, 2025
$48,197,805
June 22, 2025
Stuart Saves His Family
August 08, 2025
Blues Brothers 2000
July 31, 2025
$14,051,384
A Night at the Roxbury
June 29, 2025
$30,331,165
August 09, 2025
$30,636,478
The Ladies Man
July 19, 2025
$13,743,212
June 03, 2025
$9,259,314
Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain
August 23, 2025
$14,582 (streaming release)
The track fromSNLto movie star seems to be a relic of the past. Instead, cast members are turning to headline their own small screen TV series.Tina Fey hit it huge with30 Rock, whileAmy Poehler delivered onParks and Recreation. Maya Rudolph and Martin Short had a brief sketch show of their own in 2016, andWill Forte revisited hisMacGruberrootsfor a limited series follow-up in 2021. Pete Davidson also played his most iconic role – himself – in 2023’sBupkis.
Over the last few years, Lorne Michaels has also exhibited more flexibility in allowing cast members to work on other series while they’re still members ofSNL. Of course, it helps that he executive produces them all.Fred Armisen was onPortlandiafor his final few seasons as a cast member in the early 2010s, whileCecily Strong juggledSNLandSchmigadoon!in 2021 and 2022.
Aidy Bryant hadShrill, and evenSNLlegend Kenan Thompson managed his own self-titled sitcom for two seasons.Weekend Updateco-anchor Michael Che took his comedy chops toThat Damn Michael Che, which featured guest spots from fellowSNLalums like Strong, Thompson, Heidi Gardner, and co-anchor Colin Jost. So, will we see anotherSNLmovie? In the near future, likely not. Big-budget comedy films are out, and straight-to-streaming television is in.Wayne’s World, arguably the most successfulSNLfilm, is streaming onParamount+.
