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I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...

rogerebert.com

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Re: I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...

#71

Post by cdcarter »

This is all anecdotal evidence of course, but last night I went to see Hugo at a new megaplex that just opened by my house. Not only was the movie incredibly heartwarming and reminded me of why I love the movies, the experience was great.

There were no commercials or PSAs, and only 4 trailers before the feature started. A nice woman politely told us to turn off our cell phones, as opposed to an annoying loud surround sound gimmick. The tickets were only $11 for a 3D film. Parking was free. And the film was absolutely perfect.

There was a time that the movie experience was bad. Theaters built during that time are still bad. But the new ones are fantastic.

Re: I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...

#72

Post by qdog »

msluyter wrote: post #34

I think Alamo Drafthouse in Austin is doing it right: 1. Food & beer/wine served with movie -- convenient and much preferable to overpriced popcorn. 2. Cellphones must be turned off. 3. They take talking seriously, and preface each film with a strongly (and amusingly) worded statement to that effect. 4. No babies allowed except on specified baby nights. 5. Creative and fun special events, such as quote-alongs, sing-a…

Alamo Drafthouse was great last time I was there (crap...6 years ago?).

For those of you not fortunate enough to get to Austin, the seating was not regular theater seating, you had some space and a table area for your food and/or bucket of beers. They often showed silly movies like Halloween I, where people will yell out things like "Don't open the door!" There is also wait staff, so you placed an order and they brough it to you. And they had a mix of films, from current movies to niche films.

From their website looks like they have expanded and are showing more first-run movies, but maybe it's still similar. When I started going there, there was only 1 theater downtown on 4th street. Ah...the good old days.

So far, Portland has a couple of theaters I've been to that serve beer/pizza, but you buy it at a regular snack counter and take it with you to your seat. Just not the same.

Re: I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...

#73

Post by jarito »

bradly wrote: post #51

The problem is movies have become too expensive to make. When a movie cost 100-200 million dollars to make, studios believe that to be successful they must make, or more typical take, a brand and develop a movie around that brand. Studios need a brand that ideally people already know that they can franchise into a cartoon, plush dolls, a theme park ride, and 3 sequels in hopes to try and get the 150 million back. Thi…

You say that like it is some force of nature. Movies don't have to be expensive to make and Ebert specifically called out that the bright spot for 2011 was independent films.

You are correct about branding, but the movie studios decided to make these big budget movies. They are gambling big for a big payoff when they certainly could make great movies significantly cheaper.

I bet if you looked at studio executives' compensation packages, you could draw a link between their compensation and the 'go big or go home strategy'. I would bet they make a lot more money in bonuses if the studio has a huge year than one with good year over year growth. Add that to very little downside if they create flops (just blame the pirates!) and you have a recipe that likely explains the current behavior of the systems. Just a guess.

Re: I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...

#76

Post by qdog »

callmeed wrote: post #67
msluyter wrote: post #34

I think Alamo Drafthouse in Austin is doing it right: 1. Food & beer/wine served with movie -- convenient and much preferable to overpriced popcorn. 2. Cellphones must be turned off. 3. They take talking seriously, and preface each film with a strongly (and amusingly) worded statement to that effect. 4. No babies allowed except on specified baby nights. 5. Creative and fun special events, such as quote-alongs, sing-a…

Never been but sounds awesome. McMenamins in Oregon does similar things: - Couches in some theaters - Order food and beer from their restaurant - special events (like Monday night football)

Oops, forgot about the McMenamins, but their beer/food isn't really very good imho. Also, I would like it if they had more table areas, I had to sit my beer on the floor. They do have awesome buildings, though.

Re: I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...

#77

Post by dangrossman »

dmbass wrote: post #43
dangrossman wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love movie trailers. That 15 minutes is one of the reasons I go to a theater instead of streaming something at home.

You might like this: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/ They even provide an RSS feed of new trailers.

Ugh, Quicktime. Of all the movie trailer sites, this is the only one that expects you to install some slow, clunky software first.

Re: I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...

#78

Post by chc »

tptacek wrote: post #12
jwallaceparker wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> these are all critiques you could have leveled with equal force in 2002 Netflix streaming wasn't around in 2002. This (and similar services) is the biggest factor in theaters losing market share.

I agree, but that's not Ebert's critique.

It was his fifth bullet point:

"Competition from other forms of delivery. […] Netflix alone accounts for 30% of all internet traffic in the evening. That represents millions of moviegoers. They're simply not in a theater."

Ebert didn't really tie it into the overall argument as well as I would have liked, but he did bring it up.

Re: I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...

#79

Post by dpcan »

brador wrote: post #13

I'd add two more: 1. Kids get bored quicker, This year, I've left the cinema four times before the movie finished because the kids were bored. This makes me less likely to go back, they prefer to stay home on the xbox/lappy or go out for pizza/bowling instead. 2. Mass appeal movies are shit. There's just no quality or focus anymore, every movie is trying to be everything to everyone and ends up crap. Don't get me sta…

Completely agree with "kids get bored". It's to the point we don't bother going. My kids literally groan if I mention going to a movie over the weekend.

Then there's going to a 3D movie. It might as well be a punishment. Making kids watch a movie with giant glasses that fall off their face and strain their eyes is just cruel. My son complains that his arms hurt by the end of the movie because he's tried keeping those glasses on the whole time. Then, of course, the movie had no right being 3D. Adding cut scenes of flying through a 3D town or a cat flying at the screen does not justify this awful experience.

Re: I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...

#80

Post by bradly »

jarito wrote: post #73
bradly wrote: post #51

The problem is movies have become too expensive to make. When a movie cost 100-200 million dollars to make, studios believe that to be successful they must make, or more typical take, a brand and develop a movie around that brand. Studios need a brand that ideally people already know that they can franchise into a cartoon, plush dolls, a theme park ride, and 3 sequels in hopes to try and get the 150 million back. Thi…

You say that like it is some force of nature. Movies don't have to be expensive to make and Ebert specifically called out that the bright spot for 2011 was independent films. You are correct about branding, but the movie studios decided to make these big budget movies. They are gambling big for a big payoff when they certainly could make great movies significantly cheaper. I bet if you looked at studio executives' co…

Thanks for the reply.

You are right that movies don't have to be expensive, but I do believe to get the kind of revenue that the big studios want, the studios believe the movies need the big name actors, the explosions and special effects, and 3D. The indies and docs were a bright spot in terms of enjoyment for the movie goes, but I do not know whether the studios believe they are a bright spot or not.

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