Reality is much more entertaining!
Posted on 08/30/2005 7:25:27 PM PDT by bayourod
A new study based on Internet comments posted to thousands of sites about the 2005 box office slump sheds some light on why people have been going to the movies less often. Canada-based Brandimensions Perspective, after surfing thousands of weblogs, forums, discussions boards and chat rooms, found that moviegoers are, among other things, frustrated with what they believe are mostly bad or mediocre movies, with the high cost of tickets and concessions and with pre-show commercials and previews.
The shrinking DVD release windows and popularity of such services as Netflix have also made going to the movie a less frequent outing.
"The current quality of the movies is not good enough for people to put up with all that stuff at the movie theater that frustrates them," Brandimensions' Chief Executive Officer Bradley Silver said Monday. "I think America's relationship with movies is in turmoil."
Despite such major hits as "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith," "War of the Worlds" and "Wedding Crashers" this summer, the sentiment of more than half of the people whose comments feature in the study indicated that this year's summer movies did not appeal to them.
Domestic attendance for the season that typically accounts for about 40 percent of the year's ticket sales are projected to lag behind summer of 2004 by 12 percent, according to figures provided by box office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co.
Brandimensions, which based its study on approximately 1,350 Internet mentions about the box office slump, said this online data should be taken seriously by Hollywood.
"It's becoming the new traditional form of research," Silver said. "It's near real-time, unscripted, unbiased, and it's giving you a consumers' perspective in their own words. They are not answering a question in a focus group. It's what they truly want to say and speak about."
As evidenced by the multitude of comments included in the study, moviegoers are an opinionated bunch:
"Tell Hollywood to keep paying ... Tom Cruise $20 million per movie and keep losing their drawers. I, for one, refuse to drop $9 for each ticket to the theater. The entire family can watch (pay per view) for $1.99." (Posted on the site Free Republic)
"The bottom line is this: make better movies and your troubles will disappear." (Life Goes Off)
"It's the same overhyped actors playing the same roles or the same movie just spit out a different way." (All Things Considered)
"I think Hollywood's Internet threat will come from movie review sites, not file traders." (Slyck Forums)
Brandimensions' Michael Coristine, project manager of the study, said the online sentiments show that audiences are less likely to be sucked in by marketing if a movie is bad.
"The moviegoing public has become so much more educated," Coristine said. "Moviegoers are much more wary. They do their homework more." l=8s=8 Greg Hernandez, (818) 713-3758 greg.hernandez@dailynews.com
And of Tom Cruise being a loon....
Someone finally gets it? Those are exactly the reasons we don't go to many movies. The only one that's coming out soon that looks good is the Chronicles of Narnia one: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The trailers looked high quality.
"Bad movies don't sell? But it's worked in the past!"
The boycott of films with antiAmerican types as leads hasn't helped Hollywood.
One of the main reasons I stopped going to the movies was the pre-movie commercials. I remember the first time I saw them I was really pissed off. I went right to the manager and complained. He said there was nothing he could do about it. I said there was something I could do. I never went back. I refuse to pay $8.00 and be forced to watch a commercial or 10.
Somehow I feel if you pay you should not be subjected to this shit.
The politics of the producers, directors and actors play a big part in my decision whether or not to see a movie or purchase the DVD. I will not support Liberal limousine DemocRATS who are out to destroy my country.
Hear, hear. The one movie I've seen in the theater in years, the latest Star Wars, wasn't worth the trip.
Even the $2 flick theatres are too much for most films. I don't even want to support many of the actor's now either.
Maybe because even the so-called hits were yawners?
Revenge of the Sith: Special Effects, even brilliant special effects are no substitute for a good story.
"War of the Worlds" The HG Wells story was good. By the time they got through cutting out the good parts (ie HMS Warchild) and sticking in stupid stuff that made no sense (ie Martian Technology has not advanced in the past Bazillion years?) HG Wells was spinning so fast in his grave that he could have provided the energy to light up NYC.
"Wedding Crashers" How many times must we be subjected to the same cardboard caricatures? Is there no one left who can write a screen play where the players have to show some depth?
Reality is much more entertaining!
The best actors I've seen lately at the movies were the puppets in Team America.
I just hope they don't distort the message.
Like I am really going to spend my money to watch a movie staring some pampered spoiled brat that I saw on TV telling me what a low life red neck I am. Yea, right.
I have to constantly reiterate to my wife that unless I am 90% sure that the movie I'm about to see is high quality, I'm not going. When all is said and done a Movie takes 3 hours and 30 bucks. Life is too short for those 3 hours to suck and $30 bucks will buy a good steak or a fine bottle of Pinot.
That a big part of it. Many of us avoid the movies since so many leftists dominate the major roles.
Keep anti-American Alec Baldwin out of the picture and I can think of two major movies od recent years that I would have seen if Baldwin was not in it. I refused to see Star Wars because of George Lucas' injection of political crap into the movie.
You are so right. Many conservatives refuse to go and watch these anti-American scum earn millions while trashing the USA. They did not report posts like this because, well .........Hollyweird thumbs their nose at Red America.
Thing is that if they made good movies, people would pay the $11 or more to see them. The price is only an issue when people feel they don't get their money's worth.
Perhaps you missed Duece Bigelow, European Gigalo ?
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