Hollywood is in a full on panic as ticket sales dropped five percent in 2011. Combined with ticket sales for 2010 and Hollywood has seen a drop-off of eleven percent in ticket sales.
Some in Hollywood are quick to blame a lack of a big blockbuster like Avatar to lift the tide at the theaters. But long time movie critic Roger Ebert has some other ideas about why audiences are staying away.
Here’s a sample of why Ebert says the audience isn’t showing up at the local multiplex as much:
2. Ticket prices are too high. People have always made that complaint, but historically the movies have been cheap compared to concerts, major league sports and restaurants. Not so much any longer. No matter what your opinion is about 3D, the charm of paying a hefty surcharge has worn off for the hypothetical family of four.
3. The theater experience. Moviegoers above 30 are weary of noisy fanboys and girls. The annoyance of talkers has been joined by the plague of cell-phone users, whose bright screens are a distraction. Worse, some texting addicts get mad when told they can’t use their cell phones. A theater is reportedly opening which will allow and even bless cell phone usage, although that may be an apocryphal story.
Ebert details other reasons, such as the high prices for concessions as well as their huge portions, in his column. You can read the full article HERE.
I honestly think there's been a major disconnect in regards to the movie-going experience.
Hollywood spends so much money making PG and G films, to cater to the family, yet it's costs between $60-$100 to take a family of four to a movie (once you add in drinks and snacks for everyone)... meaning that fewer people are going to make that expenditure, much less make it to theaters once or twice a month like their box office projections are expecting.
I don't think the studios have taken into account yet that moviegoers habits have changed. It used to be that you would go see a movie you liked 2-3 times in the theater because it'd be a year before you saw it on HBO or on home video. Now with the theater-home video window being 4 months or so (less in some cases), many people are more inclined to either see the movie once and wait, or just wait and watch it at home on their personal big screen from the comfort and relative quiet of their own sofa.
I used to go to movies by myself all the time, because I liked to immerse myself in the movie experience. When you go see a popular movie, during opening weekend, the experience is so overrated as to be meaningless anymore. I purposely avoid seeing a movie on opening weekend anymore, unless I can go before 11am on a Sunday. I haven't seen a movie on a Friday or Saturday at all in over 15 years.
How long has it been since you've heard someone talk about seeing a movie 2, 3 or more times in the theater?
How long has it been since you've seen more than 3 movies in the theater in a single year?
Someone's missing a lot of pieces when they're making these projections, and until they figure that out, they will continue to ask themselves "why aren't people going to the movies like they used to?"