No happy ending in '05 for Hollywood, as ticket sales drop again

Christian Science Monitor ^ | December 24, 2005 | Daniel B. Wood

[Daralundy]

The slump, now three years running, prompts the industry to ask: 'What's wrong with the movies?'

LOS ANGELES - Hollywood's year-ending good news is that moviegoers are opening hearts and pocketbooks for "King Kong" - more than $60 million on its debut weekend and counting.

The bad news is that audiences did not exactly go ape over the rest of 2005's cinema offerings, making this the third straight year of decline in Hollywood ticket sales - the first such stretch of bad news in 40 years. Because of the continued falloff - sales are down 12.6 percent from 2002 - a growing number of analysts wonder if America's movie habits are changing permanently.

"The industry has to consider whether or not American audiences are sending a message about the quality of the movies they are getting - or just the way and the place in which they get them," says Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, a firm that analyzes box-office trends. "You can bet that producers, writers, directors, and studio heads are all huddling intensely to consider what this means and change their behavior to keep it from continuing."

It could just be a continued shift away from multiplexes toward Blockbuster, Netflix, and other home-viewing options, Mr. Dergarabedian and others say.

In this scenario, consumers are changing their movie-viewing habits because of multiple complaints related to theater-going: soaring ticket costs, high parking and candy-concession prices, and, perhaps, decreased enjoyment of the movie-house experience because of unruly audiences and growing numbers of on-screen ads.

[Political Junkie Too]

The slump, now three years running, prompts the industry to ask: 'What's wrong with the movies?'

No originality -- who wants to see a remake of what they saw before, movie or TV:

• King Kong
• The Producers
• Cheaper By The Dozen 2
• Fun With Dick And Jane
• Aeon Flux
• Yours, Mine, and Ours
• The Legend Of Zorro
• The Dukes Of Hazzard
• War Of The Worlds
• Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
• Bad News Bears
• The Honeymooners
• Batman Begins
• Herbie: Fully Loaded
• Bewitched
• House OF Wax
• The Longest Yard
• The Amityville Horror
• The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy
• Miss Congeniality 2
• Guess Who
• Son Of The Mask

And that's just in 2005!

-PJ

[kenth]

Ha, reminds me. They have a Bareback Mountain commercial out that presents it as a "Great American Love Story". The commercial only shows the guys with their wives, but no showing at all of what the movie is really about. Schmucks.

[softwarecreator]

Let's see ... Syriana, Jarhead, Brokeback Mountain, Memoirs of a Geisha, Munich, Good Night and Good Luck, Paradise Now ...

And they wonder why box office receipts are down?

[hispanichoosier]

The bad news is that audiences did not exactly go ape over the rest of 2005's cinema offerings, making this the third straight year of decline in Hollywood ticket sales - the first such stretch of bad news in 40 years.

Good. Every dollar Hollywood (and the Screen Actors Guild union thugs) loses is one less dollar they can give to Dem candidates.

[djwright]

You are correct about Hitch. I was hoping for a good romantic comedy and this wasn't it. The girl is not nearly hot enough to explain why the supposedly smooth Will Smith gets so flustered around her.

The editing was bad. If you notice the editing it is bad editing.

This movie isn't even a good rental.

So I agree that part of the reason for the fall off in box office is the rise of home theater. I have a 10 foot wide screen. There are very few movies that are better in the theater than on my home screen. Mainly I like to watch comedies in the theater to get a good audience response. But there are very few good comedies. (the 40 year old virgin is surprisingly good)

[Brad from Tennessee]

You may be protecting your health by not going to theaters. I heard this guy on a radio talk show a year or two ago who calls himself "Dr. Germ." Dr. Germ and his assistant go around the country studying different public places, taking culture samples and such to determine which places are the most hazardous. Anyway, Dr. Germ said the seats in all the movie theaters he tested were tainted with human fecal matter.

[CindyDawg]

I had to pick something up at Walmarts today. It sounded like an ER waiting room. People hacking all over the place.

[at bay]

With high definition and surround sound, the only thing missing that's still at the the 'plex is the gum on the floor and spilt drinks, which I guess I could do at home if I get nostalgic.

I suppose I could set up a tape recorder with coughing and voices behind me to round out the "theater experience."

[PeteB570]

Well, I admit I saw three of those in the movie theater and one other on DVD.

Of the rest, no wish to see any of them any time or any place.

[ncountylee]

So many sheep, so little time.

[CindyDawg]

If we could demand our money back at any time during a movie or return a DVD, then they would really be crying.

[6SJ7]

Maybe Hollywood should ask itself, "Why do they hate us?"

Touche!

[starbase]

opening hearts and pocketbooks for "King Kong" - more than $60 million on its debut weekend and counting.

What abject spin! It cost $200 million plus I read they spent another $50 million in promotion and all they've got back is a paltry $60 million in the initial release. Of course the income will only slow greatly from this point. I wouldn't want to be out $190 million, would you? And that's the good news.

The movie itself always seemed kind of weird to me. I'm not saying I was offended by it, but just the premise is strange, giant ape loves human woman. I mean, if things worked out to a happy ending, what would we end up with, human on monkey sex? Plus the size difference makes it yet more freaky. Maybe the original was viewed more as humans touching the face of nature, but these days there'll be a more logical, literal translation that audiences expect to pan out in some reasonable way. Definitely don't need three hours of this crap.

[Archie Bunker on steroids]

Anyway, Dr. Germ said the seats in all the movie theaters he tested were tainted with human fecal matter.

Must've done his testing after the midnight showing of Brokeback Mountain.

[Brad from Tennessee]

I hope you didn't pick up a bug. I found a story on Dr. Germ.
Merry Christmas to You and all FReepers.

http://www.uagrad.org/Alumnus/w05/germ.html

[McGavin999]

The cost, the parking, the audiences etc. wouldn't matter if the product was decent. The problem is, the movies SUCK!

They keep doing rehashes of the older movies that made money because they don't have any new ideas. Perhaps it's because they're all democrats ;o)

[Tail Gunner John]

"cool was way better with Bogart, Grant and the Duke"

When I want to see a movie it might be one I saw years ago but a second or third viewing of Liberty Valence or Treasure of Sierra Madre certainly beats the crap hollywood has been making recently.

Also TV has never been better. My daughter bought entire seasons of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Combat and Paladin for me for Christmas. For the cost of one month of cable you can have forty hours of Andy Griffith dvds. Now thats entertainment!

Of course the a$$holes currently in hollywood get none of my money.

[no dems]

"Perhaps the theaters will go the way of the drive-ins."

I predict that in the not-to-distant future this will be the case. Also, the day will come when the Daily Newspaper's printed page will be obsolete. With the internet and a gazillion cable and satellite news networks, who needs to go outside in bad weather and get the paper and get news ink on their hands.

[zarf]

Didn't Bareback Buttbottom pull Hollywood's ass out of the fire?

[Tail Gunner John]

"Dr. Germ said the seats in movie theaters were tainted with human fecal matter"

Well of course, its falling off the screen.