Box Office Blahs: Blame It on (Fill in the Blank)

Washington Post (WashingtonPost.com) ^ | December 30, 2005 | William Booth

[RayChuang88]

LOS ANGELES -- Hollywood ticket sales took a little swan dive in 2005. Why? The consensus hypothesis appears to be that the movies were -- brace yourselves -- not good.

The industry and its observers are also variously blaming DVDs, video games, iPods, cellular phones, HBO, crying babies, $10 tickets, Chinese pirates, big screen plasma TVs, an aging demographic, liberal bias, video-on-demand, annoying pre-feature commercials and the Bush administration's energy policy.

The Great Box Office Slump has been covered by the entertainment press with a kind of giddy obsession ever since the summer proved blockbuster-deficient. Each week, the prognosticators sought deeper meaning in the weekend tallies for undercooked turkeys such as "Stealth" and "The Legend of Zorro." There was hope in the Hollywood press that "King Kong" might "save the day," but alas, the big ape has so far "disappointed," if it is possible for a $66 million opening five-day gross to disappoint (which it is, since Peter Jackson and Universal spent $220 million making the monkey movie).

[joylyn]

Here's another suggestion: How about a movie about the Crusades in which the Christians are the good guys. And another: A movie about hunting terrorists in which the terrorists are villains, not soulful victims who have no other means of self-expression.

[Blue Eyes]

Years ago when I went to see movies on Army posts before the movie they ran Old Glory waving while the Star Spangled Banner played and some even sang along while we stood with hands over hearts.

Take heart. This practice continues. Only now, they show footage of jet fighters, tanks, guys rapelling from helicopters and running through creeks, air craft carriers, with take-offs and landings, and more. It causes the screen to blur just before the song ends.

[Blessed]

>I havent seen the theater trailer, but the one I did see on the TV did not lead anyone to believe the two were Homo's. <

Same for the Family Stone.The stars have been all over the TV and not once have they mentioned it's main plot line is about queers.

[Lucretia Borgia]

Youngest kidlet is 10, so we just need some to ride herd on him. That's about $5 an hour. Just wish we could persuade older kidlets to give us a night out, they all have cars, jobs and a busy social life them selves.

[cookcounty]

"annoying pre-feature commercials "

I would eagerly pay an extra couple bucks to be spared the insulting and nauseating preview after preview of the stoopid films. We have, at times, decided against going to the movies because a film was marginal and just not worth wading through the muck to get to it.

[loreldan]

Yep. You're exactly right! I purposely listed the expected biggest movies of the year - and the reason why I won't see them until DVD. (Except Pirates, because my kids want to see it) It's a shame that Hollywood has to rely on rehashes and sequels to make money, isn't it? None of their new ideas make money unless it's based on a book! They have no new ideas for new movies which is why attendance is down. Also we always have to hear the "stars" pontificating on TV interviews so do we want to see a movie that pontificates too? i.e. Syriana

[JLAGRAYFOX]

You must remember that Fahrenheit 911 was attended over and over again by the liberal Democrat scum. The $119M gross box office did absolutely nothing for John Kerry and the Democrats. Actually, a $100K advertisement by a group called the Swift Boat Vets destroyed John Kerry and the Democrat Party in 2004. The liberal vermin just don't get it!!!

[DTogo]

I went with a same-aged (middle-age) friend and two 11 year-old boys. We all enjoyed it very much: the F/X were great, the action was good, the story/character development was good, the scenes were great. And, despite having seen previous versions, I thought there were still some suspenseful scenes and such.

No rowdy teens in our theatre, and we just missed (on purpose) the 10 minutes of ads/previews.

My humble experience and opinion.

[WKUHilltopper]

Who wants to see a bunch of gays, whores, splattering brains and moral degenerates while paying 8 bucks to watch this in a movie?? I can go downtown Louisville and watch this for free.

[mysterio]

$20 for the tickets, $12 for the popcorn and two drinks. When the DVD costs $15, it's pretty easy to just wait.

I still go to the movies though. Several times a month. It's a fun date, and it doesn't matter if the movies suck. But I've had several weekends when my date and I were the only ones in the theater, and that's never happened to me before.

I think if I'm the only one in there, I should be able to light up, as well.

[GianniV]

All I need is 'Animal House' and a twelve pack of beer.

[purpleland]

Exactly. Things that win "critical acclaim" are hardly ever entertaining. I'm sure that Brokeback Mountain hit home for many critics...for their own personal reasons.

And, I would like to make a different commentary that someone may have already made, but I hadn't read it, so I'll post it here. And, will readily admit that it is slightly uninformed because I haven't seen and have no intention of seeing. It's my understanding that the 2 main characters aren't really cowboys. They're, essentially, sheperds.

Hmm. Now, let's look at Hollywood's values and perspective when they are making films.

I just wonder if it is a coincidence that these gay dudes were sheperds (sheep cowboys), as opposed to cattle rustlers?. Anyone else remember a famous Sheperd? Is it a coincidence that Jesus Christ is known as the Good Sheperd and Hollywood chose sheperds?

And Hollyweird wonders why, well, most everyone in America might find that allusion a little disturbing?1

*EXCELLENT POINT! Gollyweird and its Cocaine Culture do wonder$ with disturbing lefthanded subliminal allusions.

For me this is a great paradox: Historicly, Hollywood's MegaCorporate capitalist establishment preaches neoMarxist anti-capitialism? I think, I hope pseudo-liberal hypocritical Hollywood is self-destructing. I wouldn't spend a dime on any movie. In the past 15 years, I've seen three movies: Eliz I (just awful and superficial for a true anglophile), Dances with Wolves (worthwhile) and the one with Johnny Depp and Marlon Brando (fair).

Read the original source - it's guaranteed any book will be better than any movie made from it. Gollywood does not deal with truth - it embraces "effect."

[discostu]

I'll be seeing most of that list in theaters. I'll avoid Mission Impossible because I just don't like Cruise and Wu (the best pure action director in the system today) isn't directing this one. Da Vinci Code is stupid so I'll be avoiding that. But other than that I'm a big comicbook nerd so X-Men and Supes are definitely on my list, the first Pirates movie was pretty awesome, always like Miami Vice and Michael Mann's look so that's in the list.

Sequels and rehashes have been the coin of Hollywood since it started, historically there have rarely been truly "new" ideas for movies. Back in the early days Hollywood mostly made movie versions of plays and sometimes turned around suprisingly quick remaked of movies (leading to some of Hollywood's all time great movies like Heston's Ben Hur which was a movie once before and a play twice before). Most of the big flops this year were the new movies with no backing in previous movies or other media. As for stars pontification if you ignore the entertainment media you'll never hear it. And there's nothing wrong with movie pontification just so long as they realize that movies heavy on message will make money more because of the message than the movie, and that blade cuts both ways as Passion proved in 2004.

[SMARTY]

Filmaking is an industry like any other in this country. They don't make cars or refrigerators, but they produce and must compete. The film community, which absolutely salivates over achieving a moral and cultural equivalent with the guy who actually contributes to this society by WORKING...and answering to some higher authority... I say - this film 'community' has consistently and ferociously attacked whole geographic and cultural segments of this country while continuing their unrealistic anticipation of support at the box office. When the film 'community' (and I mean all those clowns from the prima donnas to the directors, etc.) finally ends it's love affair with the gutter and with our national enemies, maybe the American ticket buying population will take them seriously again, like a necessary and significant element of this economy.

[shield]

I agree. My other reason is the movie makers continue to try to set an agenda and jam it down our and our kids throats like homosexual. Trying to make one think it's just another type of lifestyle that is normal. When in fact is one terrible SICKO lifestyle with the same evil spirits as are part of porn.

[lone star annie]

I know Tony Bennett is a great talent, but he is off my list due to the fact that he refused to sing our national anthem due to its reference to war. No thanks Tony.

[RSmithOpt]

We (and the sheep) all anxiously await the interspecies sex sequel. :-)

I await the movies for interspecies sex depicting mega orgy interaction between sloths, sheep, skunks, lizards, snakes, ticks, leeches, badgers, vermin and RATS copulating simultaneously in a huge orgy with a live orchestra playing and NAMBLA members singing just left of center screen. :>) Special effects are not needed, cause, then again, that's what we routinely see happening in society anyway.

Should be a tremendous suckcess in the blue states. :>)

[Real Cynic No More]

My take: Too many of the new movies receiving most of the hype are remakes, sequels, or are trying to justify extreme beliefs or actions.

[Starter]

Actually, one of the Baldwins (Stephen, I think) is a born-again and is pretty vocal about his faith. So they're not all bad.

[I still care]

When I saw the first advertisements for Munich, I naturally wanted to see it.

After hearing that it drew moral equivalents between the terrorists and the avengers of the victims, I was very disappointed and decided to take a pass.

Nowadays I check out every film to see if I am going to be lectured to by oh so much more intelligent liberals. If the answer is yes, I stay home.