Attendance at movie theaters was flat in 2007, after a slight increase in 2006 and three sharp years of decline before that, the New York Times reported. A big reason I don’t go that often is that there isn’t much playing locally that I want to see. I even have trouble finding anything at Blockbuster that I want to rent. Most of the highest grossing movies last year were sequels that are running out of gas — “Spider-Man,†“Shrek,†“Pirates of the Caribbean.†Big-name stars couldn’t save many movies, and most of the Iraq-related movies flopped.
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26 Comments
Movies have gotten into the sequel rut and have been for a while. Sure a new one will come out every so often but many of them are rehashes of other movies.
Movie prices keep going up, as seen locally with the movie mogul BW. Concession prices have also gone up. The last two dozen movies we watched with sans concessions and future ones will be too.
Dont get me wrong a good sequel is worth watching, but those are getting rarer.
I care not what anyone says, “Transformers” was the best movie of ‘07.
I think with today’s busy life, the video options are making people more apt to wait till they can ‘on demand’ it. If movie theatres are to survive, they’re going to have to do some things to make people like me want to go. I don’t know what that is, I never fancied having to run to the bathroom, pay triple popcorn and soda prices…to see a movie I can watch in my own home 3 months later.
OHhh, and I do want to go to the Drive in this year…I keep saying that and never go. I so miss the drive in.
The fast action bothers me..maybe I’m just getting old, but I had to shut my eyes during the last Priates of the Caribbean to keep from getting sick..and it went on and on and on. I was so glad to get out of there when it was over.
I wish they would make movies that had more plot than action.
“Across the Universe” was the best movie I’ve seen this year, but I’ve been a die hard Beatle fan since 1964.
Brownlee writes, “and most of the Iraq-related movies flopped.”
. . . such as what?
I don’t remember any Iraq-related movies even coming to Wichita, unless one counts the Murdoch Theater’s documentary line up on Thursday nights.
Except for the steady list of dead American soldiers featured in “Portraits of Courage,” you’d hardly even know there was a war on . . .
In the beginning, movies were made from the great Classical literature, and then the great writings of the day. Then the various forms of Genre Fiction (Westerns, Detective, War Stories, Science Fiction Romance etc. Now it’s down to “Graphic Novels” IE. comic books. The film and television industries are so voracious that they’ve chewed up and spit out two thousand years of writing for a hundred years of movies. There is still an occasional terrific flick being made, but it’s ratio to dross is falling fast.
If there is going to be a vibrant film industry, we need to find, train and culture good writing starting in grade schools and training them soon.
Jed,
Agreed.
Movies are all about “spectacle” today.
I watched the new “King Kong” with Jack Black on HBO: it was ridiculous.
It was like one of those Mario Bros. video games, bouncing up down and sideways fighting giant bugs, dinosaurs and man-eating leeches.
People want excitement from an action film–not manipulation. That’s all we get these days.
Well
I thought the new King Kong was fantastic! And it needed to be made to make up for that disaster they made in the 70’s
But I do agree. They can do SO much with visual effects now that they OVERDO them.
I saw Alvin and the Chipmunks the other day. It was pretty good and faithful to the legacy.
But there was a promo for “Speed Racer” that made me airsick! They’re gonna take a cheesy cartoon and turn it into an acid trip.
With better and better home systems ranging from the simple TV to in-home movie systems why go out? As noted above, I can make my own popcorn and settle in for a nice show without going out. Unless the big screen can really blow me away what is the advanatge of the Warren over my Laz-y-Boy?
Mrs XXX and I went to see “I am Legend” last night. It was a little disappointing, especially for Will Smith. The movie depended more on startling than scaring you.
As for Iraq-related movies, I enjoyed “the Kingdom”.
Movie theaters make more on concessions than ticket sales. Popcorn and 2 medium drinks cost $13 at Warren. That’s a little outrageous.
I’m told “Chalie Wilson’s (?) War” is quite good. Apparently it shows the decision made to abandon Afghanistan to the taliban/alQuada after the Soviets left.
Yea, I think that hollywood needs to go back to movies that actually have a plot. Plus there is way too many movies being made that the few good movies there are people forget about because they aren’t on long enough at the first run movie theaters because they have to make way for crappy new movies coming out every week. I’d rather see a movie that has a good storyline than non-stop action and violence. The best movies I’ve seen latley have sadly been childrens computer animated movies.
Why go to the movies? I cant speak for everyone but here’s why I go. Theirs something different about seeing a movie on a big screen seeing Star Wars Lord of the Rings Die Hard or 300 is much different than setting at home. Usually I go to movies with friends so theirs a camaraderie element. Im single so when going on a date setting at home watching TV isn’t the most exciting thing, and if I was married I dont think setting at home every night is going to lead to a vibrate stimulating relationship. You really only got a couple entertainment options when going out anyways Going out to eat, Movies, or Live shows Comedy, Concerts, plays. or if your lucky sports. While I dont like the price of movies going up its still cheaper than most entertainment
Jed,
And I say this as a life-long reader and an increasingly grumpy old fart, the main problem with movies is they are made by people who grew up watching movies and TV and not reading books.
Plot? Whut’s that? Writing? Not when I can throw in tons of action and car chases. Who needs writing?
The reason I won’t watch a Spielberg movie is I hate to walk out feeling manipulated and used. He just recycles every cliche he ever watched as a kid. Unfortunately, apparently I am the only one who feels that way; his flicks make billions.
And theater owners, TURN DOWN THE DAMNED SOUND!!.
Dennis, I concur in toto. I want to reiterate my concurrence with your final sentence; my hearing is just fine, thank you, but might not be after attending the movie.
Movie theaters make more on concessions than ticket sales. Popcorn and 2 medium drinks cost $13 at Warren. That’s a little outrageous.
Posted by: XXX
Yes, they do, depending on the movie, it can be as high as 90% of a ticket price being lost by the theater, and at least 40% after a prolonged run.
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Yea, I think that hollywood needs to go back to movies that actually have a plot. Plus there is way too many movies being made that the few good movies there are people forget about because they aren’t on long enough at the first run movie theaters because they have to make way for crappy new movies coming out every week. I’d rather see a movie that has a good storyline than non-stop action and violence. The best movies I’ve seen latley have sadly been childrens computer animated movies.
Posted by: WhiteElephant
Me too on the plot issue.
Why go to the movies? I cant speak for everyone but here’s why I go. Theirs something different about seeing a movie on a big screen seeing Star Wars Lord of the Rings Die Hard or 300 is much different than setting at home. Usually I go to movies with friends so theirs a camaraderie element. Im single so when going on a date setting at home watching TV isn’t the most exciting thing, and if I was married I dont think setting at home every night is going to lead to a vibrate stimulating relationship. You really only got a couple entertainment options when going out anyways Going out to eat, Movies, or Live shows Comedy, Concerts, plays. or if your lucky sports. While I dont like the price of movies going up its still cheaper than most entertainment
Posted by: Tom Paine
I agree Tom the big screen is one of the few reasons to go to the movies, but other than that, you can get the other elements at home much cheaper. We have friends over (girls nights, guys nights, friends nights, etc.) and we watch movies, eat, spend time, etc. It is hard to do too much camaraderie stuff during the movie. We have friends that have those superhuge TVs and you get a similar feel with those. We have a friend that has a fairly large screen setup, not sure how big, but he uses a projection DVD on a wall that covers at least 10′x10′ of viewing area, maybe a bit larger. He has set up the viewing area to be like a theater. He purchased some old theater seats and had them mounted correctly to enhance the experience. He doesnt throw parties often, but the experience is almost as good as a theater.
There are a number of free or cheap going out options, depending on your tastes. The Final Fridays are good for those interested in the arts, for example. Some of the better (IMHO) free or cheap events are ones that you have to hunt for since they are not well advertised.
To us, it is not always a price issue, but a quality issue. We went to the movies several times last year with bad experiences. In one, the tape kept breaking or at least they stopped the movie six times for whatever reason and spent at least 10 minutes addressing the issue. When the movie started back, several minutes were cut from each restart, including some scenes that were important to the plot.
In the second instance, a group was loud and disruptive and ruined the movie. The theaters attitude in both instances were we could pay more money to see the movies again. I expect small interruptions, but when they are very loud and ongoing and other people are also complaining about the issue, something needs to be done.
The second run theaters, dont know how many are left, are much cheaper, but if its a movie my wife wants to see at the theater, she wants to see it now.
We do go during the cheaper part of the day since it makes no sense to pay the extra $2+ to see it after a certain time.
Dennis, the sound can go both ways. We try to pick a spot in the middle because the sound can get too soft during an important scene.
Another issue is lighting. I appreciate you may need to have dark lighting to enhance a scene, but they go too for at times or keep it too dark for too long. I have seen movies where I was in the dark (pun intended, sorry) for most of the movie. I couldnt see what the actors were doing and their words could not always convey the actions or context. If it was based on a book, I could read the book to figure out what I missed, but many movies are not book related.
We had several politically motivated anti-Bush or anti-war movies, out of Hollywood.
They all tanked at the Box Office, didn’t they?
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2007/10/antiwar_films_bombing_at_box_o.html
http://www.eagletribune.com/puopinion/local_story_337100644
Years ago there was a Gridiron skit where the actors complained about their newspaper carrier throwing the paper in the yard, getting dog doo on it.
The other actor said, “I don’t care about the dog doo on it, what about the doo doo IN it.”
That’s pretty much what I feel about the run of movies the past few years.
I sure would like to have seen “Redacted”.
Unfortunately, the movie market in Wichita is cornered by a Republican.
I agree J R. I’d like to see some group get the DVD and show it as a benefit.
We don’t go to the movie theater often to see a movie. Maybe a couple of times a year, and 2007 was once. We saw the latest Harry Potter, but that’s a given that we see them. My youngest (18) is still an avid fan and won’t miss. We missed Pirates 3, but bought the DVD. Planned to see National Treasure 2, but haven’t yet and will probably wait until it gets to the “cheap seats” at the Palace if we do go.
Unbelievably, I enjoy action-adventure movies. Among my favorites are ConAir and The Hunt for Red October. Strange for a woman, but I really like them both and will watch again and again on DVD. I haven’t liked most RomComs (Romantic Comedies) out for the last few years. The comedy is juvenile. I like suspense thrillers like Silence of the Lambs, but there are few of that caliber made. I won’t bother with what passes as horror. Blood and yuck doesn’t thrill me. And sitting in a theater seat for long epics makes my back hurt, not to mention giving me a headache.
We buy DVDs, sometimes digging through the cheap bin or shelves to find something we might like. It may be a few years old, but $5 for a movie to take home and watch more than once is far better than paying $12 for two of us (we take advantage of discounts) to see once. This year the pickings for new movies on DVDs have been slim, especially from summer through fall and end of the year.
While it’s nice to get out and see a movie on the big screen, the cost, including gas to get to the theater and the concessions and tickets is getting to be too much. And I’ve gotten so accustomed to watching TV that my old eyes don’t adjust to the big screens as well as they used to. But then there’s a big difference between watching a movie at the Orpheum from the first row of the balcony to seeing it in the smaller theaters of today. I do miss the days when you bought a ticket for $1 or under and could watch it (and the cartoons & additional short) over and over and over. I think I was spoiled by the good stuff during the good times. :)
Dennis,
As one grumpy old fart to another, yes that’s certainly a factor. Probably accounts for the fact that about 50% of movies today are remakes or cannibalizations of other movies, and contain endless references to still other flicks.
There is also a trend to not only make comic books into movies, but make movies that are comic books ab initio, ie. Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Tin Man, Pirates and The Matrix and the Classic Comics like Troy, Alexander, The 700, etc. Nothing the least bit intellectually challenging here! I’ll admit to enjoying something a bit mindless when I’m tired, but when I’m not, it’s damned hard to find something interesting when I’ve only got 125 channels!