“The Prestige” is a popular film, but I didn’t like it. The film starts as story about stage magic. The film promises there is no magic, everything is a trick. It then switches to a story with magic. I kept waiting for it to be a trick. I don’t know if this counts as a tonal shift.
Comedy in the Avengers movies maybe doesn’t count as a tonal shift because it happens so fast. It’s an action film, there’s a quick joke, then back to the action. It’s done this way on purpose and it’s done well. Contrast “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”. In that film there’s a scene where Poe Dameron is leading an attack against an enemy ship. The tone is dramatic action. Suddenly he interrupts the action with a prank phone call. Instead of being one line and going back to the action it goes on for maybe a minute. I think this is a shift in tone and it made the film worse.
“Breaking Bad” started as a drama/dark comedy. Does trying to do both count as shifting tone? It had trouble with the dark comedy bits, they ended up as awkward and unfunny. Later seasons focused on the drama and the show was better for it.
On the other hand “Barry” was one of the best TV shows ever made, and it straddled comedy and drama the whole time.
My final answer is: audiences like a tonal shifts executed well, but dislike a tonal shift done poorly.
It depends on what you mean by tonal shift.
“The Prestige” is a popular film, but I didn’t like it. The film starts as story about stage magic. The film promises there is no magic, everything is a trick. It then switches to a story with magic. I kept waiting for it to be a trick. I don’t know if this counts as a tonal shift.
Comedy in the Avengers movies maybe doesn’t count as a tonal shift because it happens so fast. It’s an action film, there’s a quick joke, then back to the action. It’s done this way on purpose and it’s done well. Contrast “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”. In that film there’s a scene where Poe Dameron is leading an attack against an enemy ship. The tone is dramatic action. Suddenly he interrupts the action with a prank phone call. Instead of being one line and going back to the action it goes on for maybe a minute. I think this is a shift in tone and it made the film worse.
“Breaking Bad” started as a drama/dark comedy. Does trying to do both count as shifting tone? It had trouble with the dark comedy bits, they ended up as awkward and unfunny. Later seasons focused on the drama and the show was better for it.
On the other hand “Barry” was one of the best TV shows ever made, and it straddled comedy and drama the whole time.
My final answer is: audiences like a tonal shifts executed well, but dislike a tonal shift done poorly.