Movie traffic hits 16-year low
Hollywood is fretting over a drop in audience numbers and ticket revenue. Will 2012 be any better?
This year was a bust for Hollywood.Movie crowds fell to a 16-year low in 2011. The number of tickets sold is expected to drop 4.4% this year to about 1.28 billion, the Associated Press reports. The price of tickets is higher this year, so the domestic revenue decline was only about 3.5% to $10.2 billion.
Worrisome numbers for studios such as Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Time Warner (TWX), and for theater owners, such as Regal Entertainment Group (RGC).
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Now, everyone's trying to figure out what happened. The economy is obviously one reason for the decline.
And then there's this: Of the top-grossing movies this year, only one out of 15 was not a sequel or some sort of spinoff. That would be "Bridesmaids," which ranked No. 12.
The top five movies were all sequels: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2," "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," "Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1," "The Hangover Part 2" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides."
Another reason cited by the AP is all the portable and at-home gadgets that now keep everyone occupied. People can watch movies on their phones and iPads, and Netflix (NFLX) and Coinstar (CSTR)-owned Redbox make it easy to find something to watch instead of going to the theater.
"Consumers are being more specific with their choices on how to spend their money," the general sales manager at Warner Bros. told the AP. "The options are a little greater than they were a few years ago with gaming and social-networking opportunities."
I don't go because I think a lot of people have forgotten how to behave in public. Crying babies, seat kickers and foot propper uppers, people taking calls on their cell phones and texting with bright screens, talking during the movie. They act like they're in their own living room! Better watch out if you ask someone to move their smelly feet away from the back of your head, you might get stabbed nowadays!
Sorry, I have to go, darned neighbors kids are on the lawn again.
Hey you kids! Get off my lawn!!
Nobody can go to a movie with there family anymore just cant afford it .By the time you buy tickets for mom ,dad and 4 children you have spent way over your budget .
What about seniors they do not have a reduced rate for them either .I hope someone comes up with some budget prices for familys and senior .That about covers it except to say something to say about not everyone likes to share popcorn and drink a drink and everybody drinking out of the same cup .That happens all the time .They would sale way more drinks and etc. if they would cut down on the total cost of a night out to the movies with the family .
Thanks Rhino5
Add to that the fact that I don't tolerate obnoxious people in my living room and I don't have the sound up twice as loud as it needs to be. Should anyone at all be surprised that I don't go to movie theaters?
There are a lot of reasons why movie sales are down. Aside from a bad economy, there is high ticket sales, watching films illegally, illegal downloads, and getting the DVD or Blu-Ray three to four months after the film's release.
Another factor seems to be a lack of good films that offer creative, original, or decent plotlines. Sequels, remakes, and franchises are one thing, but too much of it can be bad or wear the consumer down. I have not seen many movies in theaters this year, in fact, the last time I was in a movie theater was June 2011. I am going to the movies this weekend to see 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,' I feel that will be worth the cash just like 'Bridesmaids' was for me.
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