[Darkwolf377]

"They awarded Midnight Cowboy the Oscar and forfeited their mass market for the niche they now have. They never recovered the numbers they gave up in the 1960's."

Niche? The average annual box office per year has been climbing steadily since the 1980s. Even if one accounts for inflated ticket prices, that niche is greater than the audience used to be. DVDs and tapes didn't exist in the Midnight Cowboy era, either, nor did cable or pay per view. Considering that people who stopped going to theaters after a certain age have readily-available access to movies they didn't have when only networks played them, the audience for movies is enormous.

[colorado tanker]

Box office goes up, but not attendance. They've been making money by increasing prices on tix and concessions. And the newer tricks of the trade you mentioned.

[ComplexUnion182]

What is your source to the movie audience increase since the 1980's? I'm not arguing your point, but wouldn't it make sense that because of DVD's and pay-per view theater attendance would drop? Produce a source because that's an interesting argument.