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August 24, 2005
Hollywood's Summer of Blah
The New York Times looks again at Hollywood's box office slump and comes to the obvious conclusion - people aren't going to see the movies released this summer because, for the most part, they haven't been any good.
With the last of the summer blockbusters fading from the multiplex, Hollywood's box office slump has hardened into a reality that is setting the movie industry on edge. The drop in ticket sales from last summer to this summer, the most important moviegoing season, is projected to be 9 percent by Labor Day, and the drop in attendance is expected to be even deeper, 11.5 percent, according to Exhibitor Relations, which tracks the box office.Maybe this will force Hollywood out of its terrible creative slump. Moviegoers are tired of unoriginal sequels, formulaic movies and most of all, the harvesting of old television shows.Multiples theories for the decline abound: a failure of studio marketing, the rising price of gas, the lure of alternate entertainment, even the prevalence of commercials and pesky cellphones inside once-sacrosanct theaters. But many movie executives and industry experts are beginning to conclude that something more fundamental is at work: Too many Hollywood movies these days, they say, just are not good enough.
Although it's partially dismissed in this article, I really think the unpleasantness of going to the movies does factor into the falling profits. Quite simply, we're a much more rude society than we once were, and nowhere is this more evident than at most movie theaters. The average person's moviegoing experience will likely be one in which he or she has to put up with ringing cellphones and morons who don't know their voices carry quite well, despite the movie noise.
If theaters want to keep customers, they have to start enforcing the rules - no talking, no cellphones. I pay to see a movie, not listen to some halfwit in the seat behind me babble. Ushers should be more willing to ask people to be respectful of others, or ask the offenders to leave. Theaters have been far too tolerant of rudeness in their establishments.
And one last thing - if you're going to play commercials, lower the prices of tickets and concessions. Making customers put up with both is just too much.
So what can movie companies do to change the growing culture of rudeness in theaters? It's easy. Already, some studios insist that theaters that show their movies be equipped with particular sound or projection systems. Extend that to theater culture. Studios should press theaters to start setting and enforcing standards to combat rudeness. The cost of non-compliance? No movies are given for screening at that particular theater.
I love movies, and I hope Hollywood comes out of its slump. But I also hope they start noticing the effect bad customers are having on its bottom line and take steps to ensure that those who go to a theater to see a movie actually get a chance to enjoy it.
Posted by slublog at August 24, 2005 12:00 AM
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Comments
I don't go to the theatre very often - just costs too much for the experience (see Slu's comments).
But I do believe the increase in downloading (bit torrent) and pirate copies is really having an impact on the bottom line.
Do people feel like they are 'stealing' if they download or purchase a pirated version - I don't.
B
Posted by: Bill at August 24, 2005 10:22 AM
Peter, I'm totally with you on this one, as you well know. Do come down to a show in Belfast some weekend to see how it's done.
Bill, it is absolutely stealing to download or make an unauthorized copy of anything without permission of the holder of the rights to that work.
Peace,
Tor
Posted by: Tor at August 24, 2005 04:28 PM
Just too expensive.
With older classic DVD's/VHS in the $1 range at the dollar store, why bother with all this new vapidness coming out of Hollyweird?
Allowing for technology available in the era they were produced, some 50 year old stuff is vastly superior to anything being produced today.
Glitz and F/X has caused Hollywood to forget how to actually make movies, and actors to forget how to act.
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