NYT: Hollywood Worries as Decline Continues

[DeepModem Mom]

Hollywood Worries as Decline Continues
By SHARON WAXMAN

Published: May 10, 2005


....The poor box-office performance last weekend of the first major film of the summer, "Kingdom of Heaven," released by 20th Century Fox, made for 11 weeks in a row of declining movie attendance and revenue compared with last year, adding up to the longest slump since 2000 and raising an uncomfortable question: Are people turning away from lackluster movies, or turning their backs on the whole business of going to theaters?

The historical epic about the Crusades, which stars Orlando Bloom and was directed by Ridley Scott, took in just $20 million at the domestic box office, a puny opening for a film that cost about $130 million to make and was supported by a major marketing push. The film was helped by a stronger performance abroad, where it took in $56 million in 93 territories....

***

Since 2002, attendance is down about 10 percent for the comparable period, to about 433.7 admissions from about 485 million. The decline has provoked speculation that a rising DVD market and the advent of more elaborate home entertainment centers, along with the shrinking window of time between a theatrical release and the appearance of the DVD, is causing moviegoers to stay home and wait for discs....

***

Still, some of Hollywood's most seasoned executives insist that this year's problem is a simpler one: The movies have not been good enough. Usually, they said, a sleeper hit comes along in late winter or early spring to wake up the box office, like last year's "Mean Girls" or "Starsky & Hutch" - or the crucifixion blockbuster "The Passion of the Christ."...

***

Others blamed last weekend's raft of R-rated films, which cut out a major segment of the audience, for the continuing drop...."R-rated pictures aren't working in this marketplace like they used to," said John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners. "They still seem to work overseas, but they're not as easy to sell in the U.S. Parents are more concerned. We're enforcing the ratings really hard. Anytime you have an opening weekend with all the opening movies rated R, you don't have the same demographic potential as you do otherwise."...


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/10/movies/10holl.html

[Atman]

1. How about "Bush's lies about the economy being rosy..."

"...are finally impacting the market."

Who the bloody hell can afford $10 for a movie ticket when their $80,000 a year job has been outsourced and they're washing dishes at Denny's now?

Chickens are coming home to roost.

[UpInArms]

21. I guess those people that are eating their houses

have decided not to watch them burn?

[AP]

56. Movies are recession proof -- it's relatively cheap entertainment that...

...always does better when people cut out fancy dinners and vacations.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

77. Except for the fact that movies at the theater are greatly over-priced....

...and people have far less disposable income, your post might make sense.

They want people to go to the movies? Tell them to cut their movie prices in half, and their concessions by two-thirds.

[MADem]

92. I agree with you totally

My cheap heart will not permit me to pay eight bucks to see a movie, when I can wait a while, and see it on premium cable, or rent it at the Blockbuster--where you can stop the show if you need to go the loo, or decide you want a snack (an affordable snack, from your own kitchen!).

It's a good venue for kids on dates, or out with their friends, but it costs too much, and at my age and stage, give me the comfort of my home!

[One_of_8]

123. Agree - most movies aren't worth the expense

To take my child to the movies will end up costing me over $20, and that's with us sharing a soda and a popcorn. Then the sound is waaaaay too loud, plus I have to sit through about 10 previews for upcoming movies, and for what? Usually just a mediocre kids movie that at least doesn't have curse words in it.

I wouldn't mind paying $25 or $30 every other month to see a high quality kids' movie with my son. But most of the movies are simply not worth the expense. I love my Netflix!

[AnneD]

105. Cheap entertainment?????.......

In Houston, adult ticket $8, student ticket $6, sm popcorn $3.75 (large was $4 tub $6 )sm coke $3 and candy $3. This was the sticker shock I endured when my daughter and I went to theater for Mother's Day. Now I watch my pennies and despite all the MSM saying gas prices are down, I haven't seen it here. I need to fill my tank to got to work. I'll wait for it to come out on video, rent it, and microwave the popcorn, the difference goes into my gas tank.

[Imagevision]

120. Movies aren't inexpensive when you have a family of four

$48.00 with popcorn to see a movie today!

[lovuian]

2. They are right the Movies are No Good!!! and the audiences

don't want the message Hollywood is giving!!! I hate to say it but Hollywood has totally lost touch with what the consumer wants!!!

The writers are very poor and the Hollywood is a monopoly and the creativity part is in desperation!!!

It will fall further... We don't need them anymore we have the Internet!!!

[tjdee]

23. They treat writers like shit in Hollywood.

It's all about the director and the director's "vision"....guess we see where that got us!

[AP]

57. they treat directors like shit too. It's all about the test audiences.

[deacon2]

53. Please don't blame the writers

There are many excellent scripts submitted in Hollywood - I've written a few myself - but few ever make it to screeen, and fewer still survive the process of getting to screen. What happens after they are accepted is at the root of most of the crap you see today. They are taken through numerous rewrites ordered by self-important folks who decide they know more about your story and your characters and their motivations than you ever will. They request - make that demand - changes that defy all logic. It is "writing by committee" overseen by the all-powerful marketing execs. As abysmal a creative process as you're likely to find. Contrast this with some truly wonderful movies that were released recently: "Million Dollar Baby" and "Mystic River." Both were shot virtually as written by a director who could have changed anything he wanted to - Clint Eastwood. But he didn't change much at all because he trusted the script that he fell in love with and trusted himself to sheperd what he loved about it through the very difficult process of capturing it on film. That's how it's supposed to be done, and rarely is anymore.

My two cents, anyway.

[midnight armadillo]

108. This post is the damn truth!!

I have two friends in the movie business - one is an agent for writers, the other is a screenwriter and director.

This post by deacon2 is the gospel truth.

[kysrsoze]

112. It's Hollywood's fascination with marketing that ruins everything

It seems movies just aren't movies anymore. Everything is put together with the idea of having multiple side promotions, toys, etc. The script becomes something they throw together. I don't remember the last "good" action movie I've seen. Ever see 2 Fast 2 Furious? We watched it as a joke. It make the first one seem like an Oscar shoe-in.

On a similar note, comedies aren't funny anymore and dramas are mostly pathetic and trite. Someone else here remarked that hte remake frenzy is also responsible. Hell yes. It all started with that awful Adams Family movie and now every TV show ever made is being made into a movie. Hollywood would rather risk the marketing campaign than the script and they're losing.

[katty]

116. Too much replication of same product-trailer overkill

[Trajan]

63. This is bullshit ...

I will not bore you with a list of INCREDIBLE films made in the last decade ... Beautifully written, acted, directed, scored, edited and produced .... You apparently didnt notice .. or perhaps you didnt recognize ? ..

This attack against 'art' is pitiful ....

There is NO accounting for taste: Stay out of the theater, and put your nose back to this screen .... and leave it there ...

[FrankBooth]

70. Most of the moives are terrible

I went and saw "Hitchhiker's" last week ... which was OK ... but was very unimpressed with the trailers. Everything was either a re-make, a sequel, or the spawn of some terrible, terrible 70's/80's TV program. Nothing looked the least bit interesting or human, it was all just schlock.

The terrible irony is that there are lots of talented writers and filmmakers out there who could deliver tighter, higher impact films at a much lower cost than the average film being made now, but the studios are so enamored with the blockbuster and concerned about keeping up with the other studios that the execs lose their will to take risks, and seemingly their taste at the same time.

Personally, I hope for a resurgence of gritty, smaller films. Not grit for grit's sake - fewer explosions and more humanity.

[Zynx]

104. Some writers are very poor; most aren't

The problem is that you have dozens of different voices telling the writer what to do. And unless the writer is a personnal friend of the producer or director, or with a track record of anything he puts out making so much money the studio worships him, the writer has very little if any actual imput.

[xray s]

3. I read the list of summer movies in the paper

I must say, after SW III, there really isn't anything coming out I want to see.

[fishnfla]

4. remakes of "bewitched" and "bad news bears" aint gonna help

what, the fourth batman and a remake of war of the worlds? zzzzzzz

I havent been to a movie in almost 10 years. I cant like Hollywood, too violent, and the celeb worship is grating to me

[alarimer]

54. I think they've totally run out of ideas

I mean, a remake of the Bad News Bears???

[losdiablosgato]

101. STOP THE REMAKES!!!!!!!!

Hows is this for an idea, made original scripts. If I want to see Flight of the Phoenix I will see Jimmy Steward thank you very much. Be original.

[Selatius]

5. Shitty movies + higher gas prices + weak economy = lower ticket sales

[KurtNYC]

100. I have to agree

I used to work for a major film company. A couple of statistics have haunted me since then.

The mean average for the number of movies an American sees in a theater is zero. In other words the majority of Americans NEVER go to the theater. The overall average is around 2 movies a year. And the core audience is people 14 to 24 years old who see, on average, 6 movies per year.

11 bad weeks would seem to be high gasoline prices sucking up discretionary income. Also video games continue to take a bigger slice of the male half of the 14 to 24 year-old pie.

[mccoyn]

113. Games are seeing really big growth.

"Also video games continue to take a bigger slice of the male half of the 14 to 24 year-old pie."

You hit it on the head there. I've read a lot about how the video game market is growing very fast. It only makes sense that some other entertainment market is feeling the lose. What do you expect, I can spend $50 for a new-released game and get 50+ hours of entertainment in my own home. My brother gets a bonus 50+ hours off my money as well. Compare that to watching a new-released movie in the theater. $10 for 2 hours of entertainment. I definantly prefer to use my entertainment money on games.

Add that I don't see the commercials since I setup a personel video recorder and I don't even get caught up in the hype machine. I'm in the unfortunate position of making a clear choice with my dollars (unfortunate for Hollywood.)

[wicket]

6. Maybe if they'd release something worth going to the theater

I'd rather just wait until it comes out on DVD and watch it on my home set up :)

[billbuckhead]

30. All markets are fragmenting, there is so much narrowcasting.

It's hard to get enough people interested in the same thing in today's markets.

[MasonJar]

7. I went to see almost all of the Oscar nominees in the winter.

Such a varied and exquisite dispaly of talent in front of and behind the camera is seldom seen in such numbers. Traditionally the rest of the year generally sucks. I did see The Merchant of Venice which was quite impressive, especially Al Pacino as the Jew.

[Worst Username Ever]

8. Funny, I watch about 3 movies a week. On Netflix.

No reason to go to the theater when I have my theater at home.

[Miss Chybil]

19. I'm a Netflix junkie, too. Actually, we've been watching a lot of really

good foreign films. There hasn't been anything at the theater we want to see. We're waiting for the next Harry Potter...

[Cha]

61. I've been seeing all the

2 sets(4 discs each)of "Foyle's War" on netflix.

It's British tv about a detective during the start of World War II in Hastings on the South Coast of England.

The acting is breathtaking with its nuances and the writing is brilliant..all taken from true events in the summer and fall of 1940.

[MADem]

93. I loved that series (miniseries over here)

Great acting, great plot twists, fantastic locations, and the costumes were spot on.

[Cha]

122. Happy to meet someone who

knows and loves that series besides me and the woman who suggested it to me. She lives in New York but happens to be from Mass!


"Great acting, great plot twists, fantastic locations, and the costumes were spot on."

And all true stories! Feel like I know a bit more history now.

[tedoll78]

68. That's why I haven't been to the movies in a while.

I bought a 52" DLP television set last year, and, to make myself feel a bit better, I promised to only go to the movies at maximum twice a year (contrast this with my usual once a month).

There are tons of movies that I haven't seen, old and new, and I can now watch them on own home theatre system. No having to fight noisy neighbors in the row behind me, overpriced food, etc etc.

I'm pretty happy with the decision to buy the TV. And playing video games on it.. orgasmic!

[Lynxian]

9. Commercials before the movie...

No surprise about the lack of original ideas in Hollywood but I'm surprised they're bitching about revenues. Along with the jacked up ticket and concession costs, they now subject viewers to at least 10 to 15 minutes of TV COMMERCIALS before running upcoming pre-views! I'm sure advertisers pay top dollar for that crap.

[DeepModem Mom]

10. Thanks for posting, Lynxian -- and a big welcome to DU!

[Lynxian]

17. Thanks for the welcome!

Thanks DeepModem, been reading DU for a while!

[AuntiBush]

84. Welcome Lynxian

:hi:

[joeunderdog]

27. ding ding ding!!!!!!!

People go the the movies to get away from that shit. I HATE paying $10 and then having to watch commercials. Just makes me mad. I'm not surprised people are staying away.

They pay their stars $20m per film and make us watch car commercials and 20 minutes of previews and wonder why we don't like shelling out big money for products with no plots? I need more entertainment for my dollar...er, ten dollars.

I now go to 1-2 movies per year.


Hit em in the wallet!

[flygal]

85. I live overseas and hated not being able to see first run movies

after two years of coming home to absoulute CRAP I don't miss it at all. I watch previews on the internet and I swear there is NOTHING I will be shelling out my cash for this summer.

Last summer we went to Shrek 2 and Bourne Supremecy. The only worthwile ones were sequels to decent movies. I've been spending more money on decent HBO/Showtime series on dvds - and of course the Golden Girls :)

[kath]

59. I HATE paying $8 for a movie ticket and then having to sit through all

those commercials. It sucks. I hated it when they started doing it years ago, but at least then it was only one commercial.
Wish we could go back to the old days of having a cartoon before the movie instead of all the %*#*!#^&! commercials. Pisses me off so much that it's hard to settle down and enjoy the movie...

[mccoyn]

111. Commercials are on early.

In the theaters I've gone to at least the commercials and even the previews have been shown before the listed start time for the movie. They just fill in the time while people are finding their seats.

[420inTN]

124. Concession and commercial revenue go to the theater...

not the hollywood studios. Hollywood get's its "commercial" revenue from product placement in the films.

[KingOfLostSouls]

11. It's because Orlando Bloom SUCKS!!!

he's possibly the worst actor in history

besides vin diesel

and the new Batman will be good, Christian Bale is starring and Chris nolan is directing

NO MORE JOEL SHITMAKER!

[DeepModem Mom]

13. From the article, re. Orlando Bloom --

"Analysts said that the 'Crusader' movie's R rating contributed to its weak opening, along with reviews that declared Mr. Bloom's performance inadequate."

[tjdee]

20. What? His movie was #1 this weekend!

A weak opening compared to...say...Harry Potter, but it's not like it opened at #20 or something!! Orly Bloom has at least drawn an audience.

[tjdee]

22. Orlando Bloom's films make money.

He may suck (which is a matter of opinion), but every film he's in has grossed a lot of dough, which is the bottom line. Granted, he was never the star.... but now he is, and it's too early to tell. If this film makes some money, get used to seeing him, LOL!

[KingOfLostSouls]

26. No, its not opinion, he does suck

badly

the more he speaks, the less good his movies are

hardly any lines in lord of the rings = FABULOUS!!!

lead role = BOOOOO!!!

even jeremy irons can't rescue him this time, before he was just riding viggo mortensen, eric bana, and johnny depp's coattails

[tjdee]

40. Too soon to tell, though.

It really is. And he opened at number one, so his supposed suckiness apparently doesn't matter!

[Sandpiper]

28. Bloom has great versatility as an Actor

He's been:

A swashbuckling elf

A swashbuckling pirate

A swashbuckling Trojan warrior

And now...

A swashbuckling crusader

[KingOfLostSouls]

31. And he fires a bow and arrow

[CAcyclist]

115. And he's gorgeous.

Hey, I never claimed to have good taste. I wasn't going to see this movie because I thought it was another fundie movie, but since it isn't religiously biased, I might just go see it because Orlando is soooo cute. Flame away!

[tjdee]

41. He got good reviews as Paris, though.

I'm not saying he's like...Marlon Brando or anything...I think it's too soon to tell.

[radar]

71. Kinda lost...

...Was the swashbuckling ranger he played in BlackHawk Down.
Easy to miss him without the hair in that one.
Blackburn - soldier that fell outta the chopper...
http://imdb.com/name/nm0089217/

[AP]

58. He's Legolas, and Legolas can't open a picture.

[Toucano]

12. It's the "lackluster" movies

More like complete garbage.

There's been nothing I've wanted to see in 6 months.

[Protagoras]

74. Exactly

I've completely stopped going out, paying 7-9 bucks to sit through 20 minutes of commercials (REGAL CINEMAS SUCKS)...followed by spoilers..er...Cliffnotes...er..Trailers for movies I might have wanted to see if the trailer hadn't ruined most of the major plot twists and ending.... Oh and $6.50 for .32 worth of popcorn and a $4 dollar coke?

Then I sit in the sticky floor'd theater and the flick starts. Acting? So-so. Directing? Hit and miss. Editing? Usually sucks beyond belief. And the Writing? Well I now believe that locking monkeys in rooms with typewriters would produce superior work in far less time. Have all actual writers left the movie industry? The abysmal crap that comes out of the actors mouths...and the rediculous actions and plot lines is usually enough to make the strongest stomach turn.

That's ok though because I'm often distracted by the idiots kicking my seat or talking loudly about whatever behind me.

But it's a BLOCKBUSTER and it'll make money overseas and when it goes to video...so who cares about storyline or dialogue. Apparently very very few people in hollywood.

As a consequence, it's worse odds than Vegas that I'll leave a theater and think "Wow they were really smart picking that script".

besides, I can get 10X the movies and watch documentaries and indies without any of the other hastles if I just register for Netflix.

[Deja Q]

14. It's all internet pirates. Crap economy and crap movie quality are lies.

Really.

:eyes:

Sheesh, "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" is enough to scare anybody with even one working brain cell from wasting more money on more flicks. (hell, they're not movies anymore. They're FLICKS. You do to them what you'd do to a booger... which might just be why the term "flick" was coined for the movie screen industry filled with overpaid homophobic egos on legs with the bodies of mannequins...)

[jumptheshadow]

15. Video games, Netflix and pay-on-demand

I suspect they're cutting into the time and dollar budgets of many American entertainment consumers. I pay $15 a month per account for the game I play. Compare that to the cost of one movie ticket, gas to get to the theater and a trip to the concession stand. I used to go to movies two or three times a week. Now it's once every two or three months. I know that the same films I shell out big bucks for will be available in six months on my local cable station for free and viewable on a nice home entertainment system.

It helps, too, that with cable or DVD rental you can cut out those increasingly ubiquitous, horribly annoying loops of commercials in the theaters.

[KDLarsen]

45. Playing World of Warcraft?

I haven't been to a movie in ages - I get all the entertainment I need to bashing hopeless rogues :D

[jayctravis]

62. /nod

[jumptheshadow]

91. I'm old fashioned

I'm still hooked on Dark Age of Camelot, and, as a Hib, have an appetite for Albs myself. I've met many people from all over the world, have helped to launch a guild, and haven't seen many movies since I transplanted myself into medevial times.

[jumptheshadow]

16. Dupe post

Don't know how I did that.

[tjdee]

18. Too many remakes, sequels, book-to-films + Bush's suckass economy=decline.

The studios are playing it safe because of Bush's suckass economy, and people are bored. Plus, you have to watch half hour of commercials, pay 10 friggin dollars so that Francis Ford Coppola can buy a new island somewhere...

Complete no-brainer.

[Sandpiper]

24. Oooh Boy!!! Another movie with Orlando Bloom swinging a Sword!!!

They sure haven't run that premise into the ground:

Lord of the Rings I
Lord of the Rings II
Lord of the Rings III
Pirates of the Carribean
Troy


I think there should be at least another 5 films involving Orlando Bloom and swords.

[CoffeeCat]

25. Last time I went to the movies...

...I ordered a medium popcorn and a large Diet Coke. After totaling my bill, the cashier informed me that I could apply for a Carmike Cinemas Credit card and save 10 percent on my snacks--and they'd bill me later and only charge 16 percent interest!

America is tired of paying $18.00 for stale popcorn and Diet Coke.

That's why they stay home!

;)

[Cha]

67. At home the popcorn is great and

you can pause to take a powder room break.

I love it..I don't go to the big house(as I call it)anymore for a long time now.

[CoffeeCat]

75. LOL...."the big house"...good one. Have you tried

...the Jolly Time Marshmallow flavored popcorn?

Yummy stuff!

[Renew Deal]

29. Stop putting out crap.

That's all. Movies have been booming the last few years with all kinds of records set. People don't want a slimmed down version of lord of the rings.

[joldnir]

32. Why go to theater to see a movie?

I just wait for them to come on DVD. With the price of $11 for two people to go the show, you can get 4 movies (new releases) and watch them in the comfort of your home. You do not have to put up with all the hassles (IE. babies crying, cell phones, people talking, etc.)


At one time it took forever before the movie came out on video. Now it is 3 to 4 months.

[DeepModem Mom]

39. Hi, joldnir -- welcome to DU...

and thanks for posting!

[amazona]

33. well let me say this

I'm not sure who feels like seeing a movie on the freakin' Crusades during a time of war. I'm sure it's a good movie and all, but I'll be honest, I won't be lining up.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[sendero]

34. I hardly ever...

... go to a theater any more. Who needs the bother?

I don't care if I see the movie when it first comes out, with few exceptions. I'm happy to wait and rent or buy the DVD.

But one thing I think I do agree with - movies coming out lately are just not that interesting. Sure, part of it is because I'm getting old. But a lot of it is that Hollywood has taken to playing it safe, using tired premises, tired plots, tired formulas, and I go to see movies to be intellectually and/or emotionally invigorated, and the crop of crap coming out of Hollywood can't do any of that.

[jon strad]

35. I think this year will rake in some big money

I mean look what's coming out:
Batman Begins, Bewitched, Land of the Dead, War of the Worlds, Fantastic Four, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Bad News Bears, The Island, Dukes of Hazzard, Pink Panther, Corpse Bride, Serenity, Wallace and Gromit, Doom, Zorro, V for Vendetta, Harry Potter, Zathura, and the Chronicles of Narnia.
Oofta, what a list! Speaking as a Netflix junkie and hater of high ticket prices, I can't wait to go to the theatres, plunk down (3rd row, center) and enjoy those fine Hollywood products.

[DeepModem Mom]

37. Welcome to DU, jon strad --

thanks for posting!

[PSPS]

36. Who wants to see the stupid movies they make today?

Usually, they said, a sleeper hit comes along in late winter or early spring to wake up the box office, like last year's "Mean Girls" or "Starsky & Hutch" - or the crucifixion blockbuster "The Passion of the Christ."...

I think that's part of the problem. As long as these "jeniuses" in Hollywood consider "Mean Girls," "Starsky & Hutch" and "The Passion of the Christ" to be "good," they're going nowhere. They're believing their own PR spin.

Plus, given the dreadful morale in the country these days with criminals having free reign to ruin our society, it kind of takes the wind out of most people's sails. It's hard to enjoy a movie knowing that, while you're watching it, people are being tortured and murdered on a wholesale scale in your name.

[DeepModem Mom]

38. Welcome to DU, PSPS --

thanks for posting!

[taught_me_patience]

42. The time between the movie theatrical release and DVD release

has shortened considerably (I know because it makes my job a living hell). This has caused the public to become accustomed to having DVD's shortly after the movie is in the theater. Why go to the theater when you can buy the movie for $14.99 or rent it for $5.00, watch it at home with a bottle of wine and good food? Consequently, DVD sales are through the roof. There's only so much money the American family can allocate to entertainment, and with the rampant inflation and wage stagnation, its ever dwindling.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

43. Gee, I can't figure it out

Movies made up mostly of special effects and gross-out jokes with no interesting plots or characters, high ticket prices, 20 minutes of advertisements before said movie, sound cranked up to ear-shattering levels, rude audiences, overpriced refreshments--what's not to like? :sarcasm:

I'm also tired of pretentious indie flicks that consist mostly of chain-smoking, foul-mouthed lowlifes yelling witless insults, getting drunk/stoned, and screwing one another.

I love movies. I attended grad school on a campus that had four film societies, and I patronized all of them and have seen most of the greatest movies of the twentieth century. I look forward to foreign film festivals, and I saw nine films in two weeks at this year's Minneapolis-St. Paul Film Festival. This past year has been a great one for documentaries.

But sad to say, it is highly unlikely that any of the 6 out of 9 excellent films that I saw last month at the festival will ever find a U.S. distributor. They're too intelligent.

[donco6]

44. Let's see:

Got to a movie:

Find one you like - ??
Park in lot; worry about break-ins
Pay $10 per
Maybe a drink and popcorn if you want to double that
Crunch your way to a seat over obstinate legs of oversexed teenagers
Watch a bunch of commercials
Unstick your feet from the floor
Try to listen to movie over voices of said oversexed teenagers
Movie ends as bladder signals FULL
Wait in line at bathroom behind - yes - oversexed teenagers
Find car; examine dents in doors
Leave

Or:
RENT and STAY HOME

[BadGimp]

46. NETFLIX and a souring economy

that's whatz up :)

[taught_me_patience]

47. Actually

netflix is hardly making a dent in the entertainmnet DVD market.

[jayctravis]

65. Yes they did...

They actually sent a survey to their customers, raised prices temporarily, then lowered them. Blockbuster is scrambling and made a movies by mail service, which my parents enjoy very much being way out of town and not local to a video store.

You can also subscribe to Blockbuster...my friend has two movies out at any time, and swaps them in the store. Problem is everyone swoops the new releases. Blockbuster's one saving grace was they always had copies of any movie in, now they don't. My friend has been trying to rent NATIONAL TREASURE for a week, but with the subscription service, the people who grabbed it on release day can bring it back whenever they damn well feel like it.

[sendero]

95. Yes..

.... but having watched Blockbuster as a company for 15+ years I'm not about to do any business with them.

And besides, I hate it when the big boy geniuses like BB have to copy upstarts to stay in business. Really tacky :)

[Dulcinea]

48. Here are some reasons....

Movies are overpriced. $10? WTF?

Theaters seem to attract jerks who talk through the whole movie, yap on their cell phones, and/or bring kids too small to sit through a whole picture. GET A FRIGGIN' SITTER OR STAY HOME! That's what I do!

Why should I pay to watch commercials? I like the previews, but I hate the commercials.

The quality has really gone to pot. What happened to plot & characters? All the special effects in the world didn't stop "The Matrix" from boring me to death.

Whose idea was it to make "The Dukes of Hazzard" into a movie?

I'd rather stay home & watch IFC or Sundance! The only thing I'll go out of my way to see this summer will be "Star Wars 3."

[Julius Civitatus]

52. Right on!

I agree: high prices + rude people + crappier movies = low box office revenues.

[shanti]

79. you were BORED by the matrix??

geez, it's one of my favorite movies. action up the yin yang! and i was surprisingly entertained by 'the chronicles of riddick' first run on hbo on saturday. you don't watch action/adventure movies for the plot!

[agincourt]

49. Bush liar economy

and epic-ed out are a factor in this.

[Dora]

50. It's the money, honey

Twenty bucks for two too see a movie where one neighbor smells funny and another's cell phone is ringing is NOT a bargain. Throw in the cost of a babysitter, and I gotta ask...

Who wouldn't prefer to stay home and order a pizza with the money saved?

[Julius Civitatus]

51. Movies should be good if they want me to pay $10 tickets

Ticket prices crept up incredibly over the last few years. It costs over $10 to see a new flick here in NYC.

Add the annoying teenagers talking on their cellphones through the movie, the outrageous prices for popcorn and beverages, the waiting lines, the sold-out shows, the inconvenience of it all, and the ever declining American economy: People can't afford it anymore.

They'll rather rent. It's simple.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

55. Sideways pretty much sums it up

The hype around that movie! And then you see it, and it's a nice small, somewhat interesting movie with good acting by all involved - and that's it. Nothing earth shattering, nothing major, just a nice small, tight, movie. What it says is that everything else was so absolutely abysmal that Sideways ratcheted itself into the forefront by being bearable. Often, when we watch movies at home nowadays, our major criteria is " wow, thank God we didn't blow money to fork out to see that turkey in a theater."

I always like to see spectacle in a theater, but when I see the ads,nothing compels me. I guess Orlando Bloom is a modern day Errol FLynn, but he might try to get at least one role that keeps him away from tights and swords.

[Rainscents]

60. It's recession...stupied!!! I went movie last night and by the time,

I bought a ticket, popcorn and pop, it totaled $20.00 just for me. It's getting very expensive to go to movie anymore.:banghead:

[SleeplessinSoCal]

64. 'Kingdom of Heaven' gets a "Thumbs Up" from aljazeera!!

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/9E3A5428-3D75-4800-B433-41DF8473DD8C.htm

[Trajan]

66. I've taken my family to the movies ONCE ...

.. in the last two years ....

NOT because 'writers are exploited' ...

NOT because 'Orlando Bloom wears tights too much' ...

NOT because 'The internet is more 'artful' or 'interesting'' ...

NOT because 'My car 'might' get burglarized' ...

But because I DONT HAVE ANY FUCKING MONEY !! ....

Because I DIDNT HAVE A DECENT JOB !! ...

Movies NOW are just as good, or bad, as movies THEN ... arguments that 'movies now are bad' simply dont hold water ... GREAT movies are RARE, good movies are available, BAD movies plentiful ... SAME as it ever was ....

The price of the ticket isnt that bad either, if you catch the matinees ...

I havent seen any movies, at movie theaters, because I cannot afford to .... because the american economy sucks: simple as that ..

[blue northern]

69. The major film studios are relying on focus groups too much.

Alternate plot lines and endings are filmed and presented to various focus groups.
The ones that test well with the desired demographic are kept in.
The major studios want maximum market share and believe focus groups are the way to achieve them.
Then the studios market the focus group leftovers as bonuses and special features on the dvd release.
The end result is a lotta crap that people won't pay premium dollar to see in a theatre.
If the studios film more real movies again that are true to an artistic and creative vision and have logical and congruent plots, more people will pay premium dollar to see it.

[ckramer]

72. How about those who pay 100 bucks for a RedSox ticket?

These filthy rich suckers!

[Robworld]

73. To expensive, inconvenient, and uncomfortable

The movie experience has diminished over the years. I can't go into a pg 13 movie because kids scream and talk on there cell phones during the movies. There are 20 minutes of commercials before the film starts (not including the trailers) The tickets are really expensive. (11 bucks) I rather wait for DVD or cable. Beside that, there really is only 4-5 good movies that are worth going to the theater to see each year.

http://www.dumdumgoestothecircus.com

[Media_Lies_Daily]

76. Less disposable income means less to spend on entertainment....

...particularly movies that have become greatly over-priced at the theater.

[shanti]

78. what about the teen customers?

my son and his buddies go to the movies at least twice a month. for them tho, it's more of a social occasion. it's usually guys and girls in a big group. me, i almost never go unless is something BIG, like the return of the king. if it's a "big screen" movie, i'll go, but other than that, it's ppv for me. i don't even rent at blockbuster anymore. netflix is looking good too.

[nine30]

80. Movie theaters mostly good for collective laughter.

If its a really good comedy you will enjoy laughing with other people. I saw "Me Myself & Irene" during a visit to Canada some years ago and I cannot imagine any movie that I have enjoyed more in a theater. I later watched the same movie after returning home and found that I laughed much less. I guess the "laugh tracks" really made a difference !

Other than that if you have a big LCD screen and a Bose Lifestyle along with a $25/as-many-movies BlockBuster subscription why would you ever need to enter a theater ?

80% of movie going audiences are high school kids anyway, where the guy makes a (2 x $10 + 2x $5.00 (pop corn)) investment for returns later in the evening.

[depakid]

81. Make shitty films that appeal to some lowest common

denominator- and that's what's going to happen.

Reading this just tells me that the major studio execs are JUST AS CLUELESS as management at Ford and GM.

[barbaraann]

82. It's the monthly rent-as-many-as-you-want deals from the video stores.

Also, the outrageous price of snacks. My husband and I paid $8 for a small bag of fake Whoppers and a large soft drink when we went to see Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!

[Carolab]

83. It's too expensive.

NetFlix, rentals, etc. are all much cheaper. And you don't have to waste gas, you can pause it, forward through the parts you don't like, replay those you do, and you can eat your own snacks (and not at theater-inflated prices).

[progressivebydesign]

86. As someone who studied then abandoned screenwriting...

.. I can clue Hollywood in to why they are having such a hard time:

When you started developing scripts in staff meetings of 20-something guys from San Fernando Valley, whose only taste of real life was 4 years at Encino High, 4 years at USC, and lots of coke, you started losing it.

When you started acting as if no writer over 29 could EVER produce anything worthwhile, you keep heading downhill.

When product placement became more important than creative integrity, you really were getting near rock-bottom.

When you could think of nothing more interesting to produce than movie versions of 70's shows, sequels of banal movies, and remakes of movies that were dogs to begin with OR should never have been screwed with, you shot yourself in the foot.

When you allowed corporate America to dictate what should be on the screen, you fucked yourself completely.

Frankly, when you decided the precarious balance between art and business gave art too much credence, you became obsolete.

Now produce some fucking QUALITY films! Do you ever sit around in those stupid ass development meetings with a bunch of guys that look just like yourself, trying to think more old movies and tv shows and lame-ass concepts that could be turned into films, while not even realizing that a film like Amelie kicked your ass because it was INTELLIGENT?? Making films so you can sell cheap garbage toys to kids that arent' even old enough to see the movie you're creating, is NO WAY TO RUN HOLLYWOOD.

[Carolab]

88. Yeah. They could help a lot and get some action IF they'd help.

Help with the political scene that is.

Can anyone think of a stronger way to get the message out than via film? They need to think "independent" and get cracking on sending some truth out to the sheeple. You'd think they'd get a clue after watching what happened with Fahrenheit 9-11.

[tanyev]

98. Amen.

And it also annoys me that Hollywood now defines a movie's success solely on how it does on the first weekend, and maybe the second. My husband and I definitely want to see "Kingdom of Heaven" and "Hitchhiker" in the theater, but I HATE fighting the crowds on opening weekend. Somehow the studios have made opening weekend an event you must participate in if you want to be an informed member of our society, but I refuse to submit. We wait a few weeks and then go to a Saturday matinee in peace and quiet. Sometimes the movies we want to see don't even stay in the theaters long enough for our system, but then there's always Netflix.

[scavok]

87. One thing you haven't mentioned

is the product placement ads inside the movie itself.

Last week we went out to see this 'movie' that was just one long commercial for some guidebook or another. Every so often they would have to stop all the action just so they could have the book explain what was going on.

Then we spent over an hour at Barnes and Noble trying to find this stupid thing. They had Fodors, Michelin, and Mobil but we couldn't find a hitchhikers version of anything. Finally, we asked one of the employees there and they laughed at us.

The nerve of some people. I have half a mind. Maybe I should send Condi and Dick to straighten them out.

[Love Bug]

106. lol!!

:D

[CAcyclist]

117. The funniest thing I've read all day!

:thumbsup:

[Dr Fate]

89. Broke folks & bad flicks. n/t

n/t

[w4rma]

90. The same exact reason that retailers have been feeling a pinch applies.

This economy is a billionare's economy only. Regular folks have *very little* expendable income.

[MadHound]

94. Combination of factors leading to decline of theatres

First off, movies have become crappier and crappier as time goes on. Very few original ideas, just recycling the action/shoot em up motif, along with bad sixties and seventies TV remakes. I'm as much a fan of Beverly Hillbillies as anyone else, but that, along with a lot of other TV remakes, should have stayed in the can. Lots of sequels also, which is a drag on the market.

Weak economy combined with high ticket and concession prices means fewer people are going to go to the theatre. Most simply can't afford it, and why should they go when they can rent it for a few dollars in a few months? I've got a 33" wide/flat screen TV with a DVD player, I can afford to wait a few months, as do millions of other Americans. It is simply cheaper and more convienent to watch movies at home

In addition, for some of us in rural areas, gas prices are a consideration. Why should I add the price of burning a gallon or two of gas when I can pick the movie up on the way home?

If theatres want to pick up business, they need to drop ticket and concession prices, and start making better movies. I can count on one hand the number of movies that I've felt compelled to see in a theatre in the past year, and still have fingers left over. The only movie this summer that I feel I need to see in a theatre is the Star Wars finale, and that's more out of a sense of tradition, since I've seen every of Star Wars at the theatre. Everything else can wait until it comes out on DVD. The price is too steep, especially for the repetetive, formulaic crap that is coming out of Hollywood these days.

[THUNDER HANDS]

96. wait till Star Wars comes out

I think that will end up being bigger than Titanic.

[LizW]

97. $35 for a family of four

And that's at the matinee price and smuggling in our own snacks. We can't justify that when we can wait and see things on DVD at home a few months later.

[Mizmoon]

99. what decline?

the movie folks look pretty rich to me ...

[Vogon_Glory]

102. I'm Middle-Aged. Hollywood's Stuff Doesn't Interest Me

I'm nearing fifty. It may be my psychology or it may be my age bracket, but I'm just not that interested in a lot of what Hollywood puts out these days. I may turn out for escapist action/adventure movies or to track certain stars, or a science fiction movie (If it's any d___ good), but I can't get into a lot of what Hollywood puts out.

At my age, I just don't relate to kid or twenty-something movies. Maybe it's because I'm getting long in the tooth or because I'm a cranky bachelor, but I just don't relate to movies about young love--either comedic or dramatic.

Now what Hollywood needs to learn is that there are millions more like me. We're grown-ups. We're empty nesters. Some of us still have disposable income for a night out at the flicks, and now that the kids are capable of taking care of themselves we can again take in a night out.

We can turn out for some of Hollywood's stuff. I did see Meet the Fockers and that Jack Nicholson/Diane Keaton movie. I also turned out for The Incredibles--as a person near Mr. Incredible's age cohort, I felt that I could relate.

The thing about people in my age bracket is that we don't need a constant diet of explosions or special effects (Although a movie about a middle-aged duffer having to play superhero might be amusing). There are also a lot of actors who are past the first bloom of youth who'd appreciate not having to compete against some post-pubescent ingenue.

In the meantime it looks like a toss-up between the classic films I hadn't seen yet and foreign film.

:argh:

[Zynx]

103. Shocking idea: Don't make so much rehashed, braindead crap.

[Hidden Stillness]

107. Gee, What do You Think the Problem Might Be?

The whole corporate world has brought this on itself, and all the "venture capitalists" and "investment bankers" and accountants and Marketing Majors in college and all the rest of them, by turning the movie industry over to themselves, have killed it the same way--and for the same reasons--they killed journalism, government, the food supply, and any country with oil. I think this latest "crisis" is the result of a long process of killing off the movies as a separate industry, and subsuming it under the control of the 3 or 4 corporations that will be left owning everything.

The movie industry, the Hollywood "Dream Factory," (anthropologist Hortense Powdermaker's expression from the 1940s), has none of its former atmosphere left--no glory, no interest, nothing. It used to be considered just about the greatest thing in the world to be a movie star, and most kids grew up with favorites, acting out movie scenes with other kids, reading about the stars in movie magazines, etc. When I was a kid, growing up during the '60s and '70s, even though the great era of the studios was over by then, I wanted to be a movie star and write my own scripts. I hoped that when I grew up, I could get to work with people like Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Jimmy Stewart, all the greats from earlier eras, who were actually still active then. I lived in a fantasy I hoped would come true: going to Hollywood, meeting the greats I admired, and getting famous making great movies, like Orson Welles, etc. This was the last of the era where if you wrote a letter to a movie studio, they would send you a free 8x10" black-and-white glossy photograph, and the last one I ever got was from MGM, Richard Roundtree as "Shaft." Everything was done in-studio: writing, production, editing, publicity, acting class, and at one time, even distribution. There were considered many audiences, not just one,and many kinds of movies were made to appear to the wide, general audience. They were not trying to break all box office records at once, every time, the way these assholes do. Hundreds of movies were released every year, even up to the '50s, unlike the small number now.

Now there is no life to it left, and it is too late to get it back, because they destroyed the system, the goodwill of the audience, and they don't track and scout talent the way they used to. It is not a creative endeavor anymore, but a moneymaking arrangement and propaganda machine for the global capitalist. They don't even want the movies to be a heavily-populated industry now; they replace everyone they can with computers, animation, etc., and keep the profits. All TV, movies, and etc. are pitched only to their target audience, teenage males, which is not the world I want to live in. Gee, what will it be this time--a violent rape, shoving her head in the shit, or calling her vile names as she stands there and has to take it?... Anybody who thinks the level of quality of movies is all right nowadays, is obviously a male.

Now, a movie production is not even an individual endeavor anymore: now it is all agents with "Q" studies or whatever it is, showing how popular and bankable a "star" is, combining with other agents "packaging" a total deal with writers, rewrites, director, etc., and movies are not even made nowadays unless there are toys, books, CDs, etc., etc.--merchandising--bringing in what was actually the largest share of movie profits now. Many good scripts have gone un-filmed because there was no merchandising tie-in. It is so pseudo-"scientific," with studies of audience response, timing of scenes, dialogue, color on screen, etc., etc., that there is no free thinking and writing anymore. It is totally controlled, which is why it is so horrible.

The whole life of the movie industry--or plays, TV, music, anything else--is that the audience has to identify with the characters, the musicians, etc., and simultaneously, while you were looking at/listening to them, you were feeling and imagining yourself as the one doing the thing. You "are" on the screen, the star. It has no existence apart from this creative identification. This is what the heartless, corporate accounting-enterprise that all this has become so totally lacks. Now the movies are like the same soulless extension of the corporate empire, and the same furtherance of the corporate master's takeover of what used to be "the world." We don't even find ourselves there anymore, amongst all these productions for sale, only them. I don't even know why anyone would want to go into any entertainment industry anymore; it advances nothing of our culture or self-expression. It only makes the pimp richer.

I used to love movies, movie stars, scripts, and all the rest, and wanted to be there. Now I hate them.

[AnneD]

114. Amen...

And if I might add....most of the studio exec don't have the business savy of the founders. Mr Meyer (the last M in MGM) always insisted on movies that everyone in the family could enjoy. Why? As he put it, Why sell one or two tickets when you can sell 4,5 or 6. Thus he had pixs that kids could enjoy, but parents weren't bored to tears or insulted.
I saw Robots on Mother's Day. I thought the volumn was too loud and the plot line had the speed of an MTV music video, but it was very entertaining on many levels. Kids laughed more in some sections, parents really laughed harder in others.
I only go first run for the special effects (SciFi), everything else, I wait for the video. If they were really serious, they would cut the prices of the ticket and the theatres would reduce the stratispheric prices of their snacks. They would more than make up for it in bulk. They are pricing like Neiman Marcus, they need to think Wal Mart.

[BigBearJohn]

109. I have a big screen t.v. I wait for the DVD and watch at home w/friends

[Sandpiper]

110. Buy Movie tickets for four + Popcorn and drinks and you'll spend about

$60 for an evening at the movies.

Maybe they don't realize that most working class folks find this a little steep.

[CAcyclist]

118. Maybe if they didn't suppress

the movies I really want to see - like Enron.

It's playing on exactly one theater in SF and nowhere in San Mateo county, which is where I am. I wanted to see Control Room and the Corporation and other political movies, but wasn't going to take the train into SF just to do so. I would have seen F-911 more often if the theater had been more convenient. The movie houses are shooting themselves in the foot not showing this stuff.

[The Blue Knight]

119. Americans to Hollywood: Stop making shitty movies.

That is all.

[Nevernose]

121. Mediocre movies + $10 tickets + $5 soda = box office poison

Simple formula. Stop concentrating on turning out expensive movies and focus on turning out good ones, and there'll be not the slightest problem in Hollywood except unemployed, overpaid, phony "stars."