Topic: Box Office Slump caused by....

[Nemesis]

Link to full article

"It's the movies, stupid," said John Fithian, president of the National Assn. of Theatre Owners. "That's what we've been saying all along."

Now, the studios are fessing up and taking their lumps. Last month, for example, Disney Chief Financial Officer Thomas Staggs explained to investors that the company's studio operation stood to lose as much as $300 million in its most recent quarter because "in fairness, the difficult results at the studio have more to do with the performance of our titles than the marketplace as a whole."

Ok which of you guys beat them with the clue bat?

[Dash Jones]

Yes, but how long until they realize that it's bad movie making and not US piracy (it actually could be due to piracy in some parts of the rest of the world) that makes their movies not sell as many tickets?

[Chris Johnson]

I don't think piracy hurted Star Wars: Episode III... It was a big hit as far as ticket-selling.  And yet people had downloaded copies of it from various file-sharing programs (as to whom and where, I don't know and don't care; I'm buying the DVD sometime after it's released), and I recall some that used bits of it for modifications in a video game or two...

[Nemesis]

In this locale I suspect movie going has gone down for other reasons as well.

Formerly we had two major chains an a significant number of independents.  The independents were slowly declining when the two chains merged.  After the merger the independents found it next to impossible to get new movies and I currently only know of one that is left.  The chain then began closing theaters as their leases expired and building new ones way out in the suburbs.  So those who don't drive (kids and others) have a hard time getting to the theatres. 

They also used their newfound marketing might to tell the studios that once a movie stops filling the house its gone.  It used to be that movies had a set minimum run.  So those like myself who either don't like or can't tolerate crowded theatres don't go any more.  I'm allergic to perfumes, in a crowded theatre perfume is unavoidable.  I am not going to make myself seriously ill just to see a movie.  The last one I saw at the theater was the 2nd Matrix film and perfume was a significant issue for me.

All these things combined with low quality movie making has dropped attendence.

[Captain Pierce]

Leaving the quality of the movies out of it for the moment, there are plenty of other reasons not to go to a movie.  Price is a good one, but not even the best.  And I'm not even talking necessarily about the price of the ticket; you have to expect those to rise just like the price of everything else rises with time.  But the concessions are highway robbery, pure and simple.  Yesterday at Serenity, it was $3.55 for a large Coke.  (And you have to get the large just to have any actual liquid in the cup around all the ice.  )  I can get the same size (or larger) drink down the street at the local Kwik-E-Mart for around a buck, maybe even less if it's on sale, and put as much or as little ice as I want in it.  Never mind the equally inflated prices on candy, popcorn, or anything else you might want to snack on.

Then, you move into the theater, where they're using playing bad music and showing ads and stupid movie trivia questions via slide projector.  The projectors are usually out of focus and shooting either too high or too low on the screen.  As an A/V guy, that just bothers me.    Then, the commercials come on.  Commercials.  I understand why they're advertising Coke, because they're trying to sell you one at a 1000% markup, but "body fragrances?"  (Whatever the hell those even are?)  And what's with this "Fandango" thing?  The movie theater is advertising another way to buy tickets?  How does that even work?  Then the trailers, which I used to like, but now either tell you the entire plot of the film or nothing at all about it.  These days, trailers turn me off to movies more than they make me want to attend one--even the Serenity ad that played on TV was starting to turn me off to the film.

Finally, a good twenty minutes after the start time printed in the paper, the movie starts.  These days, if it's not a sequel to a movie that shouldn't have even been made in the first place, it's a remake of an old movie or an old TV show.  The last movie I went to before Serenity, I even forget now what it was, I looked around the theater, and literally all the posters were for a movie in one of those three categories.  Duece Bigalow, Bad News Bears, Bewitched, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory...  it's enough to make a guy swear off movies forever.  Are there no new ideas left in Hollywood?  Or at least a way to take an old idea and put it in a new package, as Whedon did with Serenity?  Apparently not...

All in all, it just makes me that much more determined, when I finally get a house of my own, to start putting a home theater together.  Maybe I can avoid going to movies entirely at that point...

[Commander Maxillius]

Thank god for video rental

I don't care if I see the movie 6 months after it's in theaters, it's better than paying $20 for 2 tickets and 2 drinks 

[jualdeaux]

I guess I.m lucky here. They don't play commercials and other crap brefore the movie, just the usual trailers. Oh, I always tell them to not put any ice in my cup. They don't seem to mind.

Then again, I see maybe 2 movies, at most, a year. Things may be geting different now though.

[Just plain old Punisher]

Thank god for video rental

I don't care if I see the movie 6 months after it's in theaters, it's better than paying $20 for 2 tickets and 2 drinks 

So..that's 2 sodas, a large popcorn, and one hotdog.

Let's step on over to financing, do you own or rent your home?

[Commander Maxillius]

Thank god for video rental

I don't care if I see the movie 6 months after it's in theaters, it's better than paying $20 for 2 tickets and 2 drinks 

So..that's 2 sodas, a large popcorn, and one hotdog.

Let's step on over to financing, do you own or rent your home?

In line at bankruptcy court...


"So, what brings you here?"

"Went to see 'Star Trek 17: Wesley's Big Adventure'"

[EmeraldEdge]

Yeah, think about it.  For the price of going to a movie you can buy a movie to watch at home, as many times as you like.  If you're going out with a date, or a family, you could probably buy a couple of them (depending on the price of the DVD).  Hmmmm.  What to do.  The only movies I really go see anymore tend to be effects films, that are meant to be seen in a big theatre.  Otherwise, it's either a rental, or just buy the darn thing.  We do have an indie theatre here, that I go to, but it's much cheaper, so even if the movie isn't as good (but most of the foriegn films I've seen there are great) it's still worth it.  For a long time, I couldn't have rented a DVD as cheap as going to that theatre, at least until Hollywood dropped the price of their older DVD (really why on earth would you rent an old release when it's the same price as a new one.  And just how long does something have to be out before it finally gets bumped from the new release shelf anyway?  They are there forever).

So, couple that with the fact that a lot of stuff is bad (even when it's a remake they always seem to find that one special way to really screw it up) why would you bother to pay for a theatre ticket on a regular basis?

I do find the world changing for the better lately.  Think about it.   Braga says no more Trek for him, studies realize the movie going public is still there but their product may not be up to snuff.  What's next, the cancellation of neo-BSG because they realize now that it was morally wrong to do what they did to it, and then announcing that they will relaunch with a new BSG that does it up "right"?    Oooh, I've got one.  Paramount hiring someone to the position of "continuity manager" for Trek, who will be in charge of a small team of folks who know Trek inside and out and will stop the writers/producers from doing really boneheaded things (especially when they don't even have anything to do with the plot in the first place)!

[E_Look]

They didn't learn from the slump at the gates for baseball games.

It used to be that everyone I knew had gone at least once to a ballgame, whatever town you were from.

Now, there are all too many kids even in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc., who have not ever been taken to a big league game because their parents really can't afford that kind of outlay for ticket$, yearbook, pennant$, soda$, hot dog$, peanut$, and whatnot to see some juiced hitters and minor league pitchers on most days.

If the movies aren't in tune with what people want (too racy, too offensive, too political for a supposed nonpolitical movie, too cheesy, etc.) and they cost, what around ten bucks here in the NYC area, more and more people will just smarten up and say, "Forget it, I can watch the tube, a DVD, or... "How quaint" (-Scotty in ST IV), read a book!"