◆ Entertainment
Stoner Movies Are Dead, and Weed Killed Them — Opinion
×
Read Next: 23 Years of Obsession Led to the Most Revealing Yasujirō Ozu Documentary YetNewslettersSearch Icon CloseOpen Menu
CloseSearch Icon Open Search
Close Menu Follow Us
- [
X](https://twitter.com/IndieWire)
- [
Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/indiewire/?hl=en)
Alerts & NewslettersBy providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
PMC Logo IndieWire is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2026 IndieWire Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.Opinion
Stoner Movies Are Dead, and Weed Killed Them — Opinion
How 420-friendly films and their fans got flattened by legalization and existential malaise. By Alison ForemanPlus icon_
Alison Foreman
More stories by Alison Stoner Movies Are Dead, and Weed Killed Them — OpinionRead more
A24’s ‘Elden Ring’ Film Adaptation from Alex Garland Will Go IMAX-Big in 2028Read more
Nathalie Baye, Known for Iconic Roles in ‘Catch Me If You Can,’ ‘Day for Night,’ and More, Dead at 77Read more
April 20, 2026 4:53 pm'Inherent Vice' (2014)©Warner Bros/courtesy Everett Collection / Everett CollectionShare
Google Preferred](https://google.com/preferences/source?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiewire.com)
Show more sharing options
Print This Page
Weed movies just don’t hit like they used to, huh?
It’s 4/20 in 2026, and never before has the nation’s unofficial marijuana holiday felt less potent in TV and film. That’s not because our tolerance for stoner comedies, or even dramas, has gone up. If anything, today’s audiences are more primed than ever to enjoy stories that help them escape the mundanity of daily life. Rather, it’s because the culture around weed, and the drug itself_, have fundamentally changed.
That shift is measurable. As of the mid-2020s, a majority of U.S. states have legalized marijuana in some form, and legal cannabis sales have ballooned into a multi-billion-dollar industry worldwide. Americans spend tens of billions annually on THC, CBD, and hemp-derived products. What was once considered an illicit, communal, and vaguely transgressive symbol is now sold as a mainstream product through sleek dispensaries that, at least in California, seem to crop up around every corner.