(dmeyer)
Although ever-growing ticket price inflation somewhat masks the slowdown, fewer people are going to movie theaters. Sales slumped to 1.35 billion in 2010, a 5.4 percent drop from 2009 and the lowest mark since 1.33 billion tickets were sold in 1996. Revenues were still high, surpassing $10 billion for the second time ever, thanks to high ticket costs and 3D surcharges.
USA Today reports the average movie ticket price was the highest ever, at $7.85. Back in 1996, tickets averaged $4.42. Rocketing prices are only part of the reason fewer people are braving movie theaters. Increased access to streaming movies and shorter windows from theatrical release to appearance on home video are other major factors.
Did you see fewer movies last year than in previous years? If so, what kept you away?
Hollywood finishes dismal box-office year [USA Today via Hollywood Elsewhere]
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Same as everyone here: I pay for netflix. As soon as a new-release comes out in theatre, I put it on my netflix queue to be “on hold”. They stay at the top of my queue when they get released so that I’ll get it. Been using this process for a while now.
We’ve only seen a few movies this year. Because of the high ticket prices and obscene prices for even a bottle of water, the movie just really has to be worth the hassle. Most aren’t. And yes, having Neflix and movie streaming is MUCH more pleasant. Everything goes to DVD eventually.
I make my own movies at home.
I don’t really buy the Hollywood hate. Movies are investments. They’re risky because they are BIG investments and can bomb rather unexpectedly. Case in point, this year’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World – great cast, very original movie, widely considered a good, fun movie. Box office bust.
A sequel is simply a really, really good investment. If the first movie was successful history shows people WILL, more often than not, come out for the sequel. The risk of a total flop is essentially zero. This isn’t anything new, movie studios have operated this way for years. Go back and check any year for top grossing films and you’re bound to find a few sequels in the top 10. Admittedly it may very well be worse this year than 1980 or 1990, but if it keeps the industry afloat, I’m all for it.
I get that sequels and remakes aren’t interesting for those with a more, erm, discerning movie-going eye, but there are PLENTY of great movies out there waiting to be seen. I only saw two of the top 10 grossing movies this year and I probably saw more than a dozen movies total. I do sympathize with you if you live in an area that doesn’t get anything besides the big-ticket features (which I did for years, until I moved to a city). In that case, your complaints are warranted.
Also, can we stop factoring in popcorn and soda when discussing movie prices? I’ve never had a problem sneaking a soda past my geriatric ticket-ripper.
“Revenues were still high, surpassing $10 billion for the second time ever, thanks to high ticket costs and 3D surcharges.”
Lower ticket prices, sell more tickets, sell more overpriced concessions, prices stay the same or go up.
Hiring people with balls to ensure that people don’t ruin the movie for everyone else is the next step. Why should I pay $9 for a movie if you are going to allow people to act like douchebags in the theater?
Of course, it’s also more enjoyable to watch a movie at home. This is especially true since home HDTV.
I stay away due to the prices. Where I live ticket prices for a 3D movie are around 30 a couple. For the same price I can rent 6+ movies depending on where I go. Or for 100 dollars we get as many IMAX movies as I want for a year. It is a brainless choice.
Not counting the crap on the please, the ONE movie in Jan 2010. That was Avatar, and as a techie, I was curious to see the effects. The ONLY reason I went to see it was because I was in the Philippines at the time, and the ticket was US$ 5. Yes, the story was crap, and I certainly would not buy it on DVD, Blu-ray or go to see in a theater again.
My repeat business is unobtainable. Sorry I can’t post in Comic Sans.
Aside from that, every week we see new high box-office gross figures. Of course they are higher, the ticket price is always going up. Does anyone (in the general public) ever see statistics of how many tickets are sold? I would be very interested to see a comparison of ticket numbers for “Gone with the Wind” vs. “Avatar.”
What kept me away the most is COST! 30$ for an afternoon showing and all I get to eat is popcorn and a soda?! Why do that when I can rent it when it comes out have friends over, buy pizza and have a grand old time for about the same amount? I personally only went to see 4 movies last year, Harry Potter, Iron Man 2 and Alice. The last was a kids movie I took my godson out to see on his birthday. He loved it that’s all that mattered. I’ve rented about 10 times that over the last year in ‘new movies’ from Redbox. There is about four I’ll watch in the theater again this year, none of which are going to be in 3D!
Well, I guess there’s only one thing they can do to fix this: make crappier movies and raise ticket prices.
I’m seeing fewer movies, and one of the major issues is the big 3D push. –The non-3D versions are increasingly only shown on the smaller screens. I’m blind in one eye, so I can’t see the 3D versions (technically I can watch them, I suppose, but all I get out of it is a headache). Why should I pay to get a substandard experience in a theater?
Let’s see: lackluster movies, bad theater experience, increasing ticket prices, poor economy.
Sounds about right!
I actually was at the theater more often this past year than previously. That was only because my gf at the time was a real big movie person.
I saw more movies in the theater in 2009 than I did the year before, when I took a 35% drop in salary after 3 months unemployed at the end of 2008.
I saw a few that I really wanted to see that were blockbusters and would benefit from the full theater experience, but mostly I watched Netflix discs and, after the gift of a Roku, streaming.
In 2009 I discovered 2 things that allowed me to go out to movies more:
1. There is a dollar theater the next town over.
2. There is a drive in that shows double features about an hour west of my house.
Between those 2 things I could go out more and spend less money per film. The only movies I paid full cost for last year were Avatar and Tron: Legacy, both of which I saw in 3D, because I couldn’t see them cheaply elsewhere or at home.
I always think there will be movies it will be worth seeing in the theaters, if you are interested enough. Most theaters are just pricing themselves in such a way as to eliminate me a a regular, full price customer is all.
Each year I see fewer and fewer movies in the theater. The price is the main reason. Right now an adult ticket for my local theater is $11, $10.50 for seniors and $8.50 for children. That is just too expensive for me. The only movie I saw this past year was Harry Potter.
What keeps me away is other people. Talking on cell phones.,,,talking to each other…..bringing 2 year olds to 2 hour movies. Too many people just don’t care about anyone else in the theater.
The only movies we go see these days are IMAX where the high price which limits the audience to people who are serious about seeing the movie and keeps most of the people who do these thing away.
Crappy movies. Crappy 3D computer animated movies. Crappy 35mm projection. Theaters projecting D-Television. I can watch digital television at home, 1080p Bluray projected on my 10′ screen looks as good ad 2000p projected on a theater’s 35′ screen.
While the high prices are a factor, if I want to see the movie projected really big, I’ll pay the price. I just don’t buy any concession items.
Broken Record Warning:
Box office numbers really should be reported by ticket sales and not by dollars grossed for this very reason. Or at least adjust for inflation!
Example: You will hear “news” reports like “X Movie broke the box office gross record for this weekend which was previously held by Jurassic Park…” Well the thing is, when Jurassic Park came out (again just an example) the average ticket price was maybe 40% less than it is today. Meaning that Jurassic Park had sold WAY more tickets than X Movie. So by that measurement, X Movie didn’t really surpass JP at all…if you look at gross sales, it is not very hard at all to beat a record that was set 15 years ago when you don’t adjust for inflation.
When not adjusted for inflation, Avatar holds the spot for most money grossed. When adjusted for inflation by looking at ticket sales, Gone with the Wind (a movie from 1939!!) holds the top spot and Avatar gets knocked way down to number 14.
Not Adjusted:
http://www.imdb.com/boxoffice/alltimegross?region=world-wide
Adjusted:
http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm
Interesting information. Thank you!
Why do I no longer go to movies?
1 – Tickets cost WAAAAY too much
2 – Jackasses on C-phones during the movie
3 – Half an hour of ads before the movie
4 – Morons who think they’re as witty as Tom Crow and Joel and wont shut up
5 – Movies these days are mostly shit.
Plus some other stuff I probably forgot to mention. . . .
Oh, forgot one!
6 – That 3D shit gives me a headache.
Ah, finally the numbers that matter! I don’t care how much money hollywood made; show me how that breaks down per ticket.
Probably the most ironic double-edged sword in all this is the short window from theatrical to video release. It was done to combat piracy, to limit the window that sleezy DVD-mills would have to crank out their product with maximum profit, but at the same time discouraged people from going to the theater because they know they can watch it in the comfort of their home in a couple months.
Are these ticket prices being averaged out with dollar theaters in mind? Because the average around my side of the city without dollar theaters is closer to 13.
Where did they get the average price of $7.85? Is this for evening movies or earlier in the day Matinees?
The Cinemark in my area is
$9.75
Adult Fri/Sat after 6pm (*Price also applies to Special Advance Showings)
$10.25
Adult Matinee before 6pm
$8.00
Early Bird 1st Matinee Showtime (7 days a week). Note: Check below for multiple listings of a movie (i.e. DLP, Digital, Regular, 3D, etc.) to find first showtime.
$6.25 About 10:20 am
The AMC in my area is
Ticket Pricing:
ADULT: $10.00 – After 4:00 pm
MATINEE: $8.00 – Before 3:55 pm
A.M.Cinema: $6.00 on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays & Holidays
Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays for shows before noon (tax included)
I went to a 3D movie recently, it was horrible.
I wear glasses, so the glasses they give you didn’t fit right over mine. Its not possible for me to get contact lenses according to my eye doctor so I cannot solve this problem myself.
It only took about 5 min for me to start getting a headache and my eyes were burning, and this comes from someone who normally loves video game motion simulators and amusement rides (and doesn’t get sick on them). The rest of the theater didn’t seem to be having problems, it was only me.
It was very expensive, its like 10.50 to go to a regular movie, and even more to go to a 3D one.
The smell in the theater was atrocious, if anything would make me avoid the place its the smell. The smell of greasy popcorn is quite disgusting to me, not to mention the smell of the other patrons in the theater on top of that. This may be an isolated case however.
It was also really, really cold in the theater, if I go again I am making sure I bring my winter coat, really glad I had it with me.
I did not have the screaming children or people on their phones problem, though the kids must have been pretty bored with the movie as a few of them were running up and down the stairs more than once during the show, not distracting for me though unless I would have needed to leave the theater myself for some reason.
Its simple: They are pricing themselves out of reach.
When there are cheaper alternatives we will go there. Home watching is far better now than many theaters. Matinees have disappeared in our area. I know I cant justify 12-14$ per movie ticket and then another 20-30 for popcorn and a drink. Insanity! I worked at a theater in high school and I remember that we didnt get paid squat. So the money rolled somewhere.
Perhaps the Actors can stop getting 20-30 million EACH to be in a movie? Maybe back off to maybe a reasonable amount per hour? I mean how many beach houses and limos do they need?
I have netflix and honestly the commercials for Blockbuster and the others bragging that they screwed me as a Netflix user by getting movies from certain companies earlier smacks of collusion and shenanigans. Turns me off to them as a company. If they cant compete on the service dont try to get over by getting special treatment. We all know Blockbuster is done its just how long until they go away. DirectTV pay per views are too sketchy. A squirrel farts and I lose signal where is my HD movie now?
Bottom line: You want people to go to movies lower prices 7-8 was the price point when we stopped going. Its a simple thing really.
Supply and demand. Ticket prices keep going up. Less people go to watch. At the end of the day, its about the revenues and earnings. Based on this article, revenues continue to be high/growing despite fewer people going to watch movies.
And I can somewhat agree on the movie selection theory. However, horrible slasher films, cheesy rom-coms, Jason Statham action movies, etc. continue to be made because….gasp….people go and watch them. We’re a nation of idiots. Movies that actually make money are going to cater to those idiots. The 5th installment of the Fast and the Furious should be example enough.
I pretty much only go to the theater if the movie is by a director who I want to get to keep making movies. I have no idea how effective this strategy is so I’m probably just being stupid, but it makes me feel better anyway. I just assume theater success == you get to keep putting movies into theaters.
Darren Aronofsky, Rian Johnson, Brad Anderson, David Lynch, Gus Van Sant, Sofia Coppola – if any of those people is directing it, I’ll see it in the theater. There are probably a few others I’m missing too, but those are sure things for me.
#1 Price – the cost of a movie is outrageous. Spouse & 3 kids (5 people) cost over $50 just tickets.
#2 Cost of snacks – More than a meal in a restaurant! How do they justify charging $7 for a bucket of popcorn that cost them a quarter.
#3 Quality of movies – it seems like half are remakes and the other half sequels. Hollywierd is too cheap to pay for original work.
I have been to 1 movie in the past 2 years. (not Avatar). Tickets and snacks cost nearly $80. This was the regular price and not a special movie. I can’t afford that. For what I would pay for ONE movie at a theater I can rent a dozen or more. And my popcorn is just as good and costs about twenty five cents.
I don’t think I went to any less movies in 2010 because most of the stuff that comes out just feels like one of a small group of predictable genres. So, the idea of going bores me to tears much less makes me want to spend my non-existent kids’ inheritance on one.
I stopped going to the theatre when they started showing 20 minutes of TV commercials at the movie’s start time. I bought an HD TV instead. I got excited and started going again when they came out with 3D movies. But then they decided to gouge people wanting to see 3D by raising the already premium cost of 3D. So I bought a 3D TV this Christmas.
I can wait to see it on Blu-ray.
Naturally the studios/MPAA will see this as proof that the government needs to crack down harder on illegal file sharing. They don’t see such things as crappy movies not drawing viewers or dirty smelly movie theaters not enticing people to visit.
Going to the movies used to be fun; big screens, decent sound, clean theaters, decent patrons. Now you get tiny tiny screens, sound that will deafen you, sticky dirty floors, constant ringing of cell phones, people talking loudly, endless commercials before the movie starts, filthy bathrooms, etc.
And they wonder why we don’t go to theaters.
Hmm, maybe if they lowered prices people/families would see it as a more viable entertainment option and go see more movies.
Who wants to take a chance on a $15 3D movie that you aren’t positive you’ll enjoy.
Perhaps if there weren’t so many Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Jennifer Anniston and Ben Stiller movies, they would’ve done better
I love going to the movies, but they’re so freakin’ LOUD!
(Either that, or I’m old.)
I had my fingers stuffed in my ears at TRON: Legacy.
I had to ask the theater to turn down the volume at one of the movies we took the kids to a while ago because the poor kids were literally cringing and covering their ears. Not just mine, mind you.
Let’s see, I can go to the theater and spend $24 so the 3 of us can see a matinee (or $45 to see a night showing) or I can wait and buy the dvd for less than $20 or rent it for $1. I’m willing to wait and go with the $1 choice.
I’ll try to catch Thor, in May, I think. My favorite writing team or I’d wait for the DVD. Matinee is still $6 but we don’t have a theater here so I have to drive to another town and I don’t like to drive alone at night. DH says the seats hurt his back. I’ll usually skip the popcorn, if they went back to using natural saturated fat I might reconsider, what they use now smells rancid.
I usually wait until the DVD price comes way down or I can buy it used. I have 3 TV seasons and one movie that I paid more than $10 for and two of those were mostly paid for with Amazon gift certificates and $10 off for being a pre-order.
Most of the DVD movies I have were $5-$7.50. I also bought DH several of those Timelife documentary sets for $9.99.
I’m glad I am not the only one who thinks the popcorn smells disgusting. They used to have popcorn at Walmart here and it was the same smell, and you had to smell it every time you went into the store and it wasn’t just me who complained about the disgusting smell everyone around me could smell it as well. They opened a new walmart here and no more popcorn smell since they only have Subway now which doesn’t serve popcorn!
The only thing stopping me from going to the movies is the lack of a representative of the theater from policing the movies from rude people who either talk, use their cellphones, or do something else that detracts from the viewing of the movie itself.
Fix that and I will come back.
umm. movies freaking sucked last year. There are so many times where we wanted to go see a movie. Would look at the listings, and ….. nothing.
Too many stoner fart movies, superhero movies, romcoms, too many action movies, not enough fun.
I blame the cellphone/smartphone. I refuse to pay that much for a movie in a theater when management takes a soft position on light pollution. It is not my job to get up and miss the movie to announce there is a problem because junior or miss debutant can’t manage their texting addiction for two hours. One employee per theater for the first 20 minutes of every film would be enough to send a message. If you can’t stop checking your phone for two hours in a place where darkness is required, don’t come to the theater.
Pirates. It must be the pirates fault. Number of movies worth pirating this year….ZERO!
Ticket prices, crappy movies, and some of the movies I might have gone to see were released only in 3D so they’re extra expensive. It’s not so bad for one person, but when you have to buy 3 or 4 people it gets to be a major problem. Sometimes I just wait for the movies to go to the crappy dollar theater if I really feel the need to sit in a theater to watch something.
Theaters really should start offering netflix-style subscription plans.
My wife had a kid last year, so that’s part of the reason why I don’t go to movies as much.
The other reason…cost. Dropping $10 plus on a movie is too much. I only saw three movies last year, and I held out for ones that were critically acclaimed and seemed fairly popular with audiences. When a movie was seven dollars in the evening, five for a matinee, I’d take more risks. I’d go watch a shitty movie just for giggles, or try out more midgrade stuff. Now, I wait for video for almost everything.
Three: the movie going experience is just not that much superior to watching at home, which is sad. It’s not just a matter of the technology being better (at a theater now, it’s mostly just larger). The experience of watching a movie with an involved audience can enhance things. But nowadays, it’s mostly just ghetto teenagers texting and yelling at the screen.
Did they stop to consider people who sneak in?
The Prices suck but for me what’s worse is sitting next to you people with your cell phones,flues, Big mouths and fat asses. ohh and for the love of god take your feet off the back of my seat.
What kept me away? Let’s see: crap movies, insane prices (tickets, refreshments … so glad I live near a city where parking is free pretty much everywhere other than downtown), uncomfortable seating, fake 3D gimmickry, more commercials than a baseball telecast, start times that rarely fit my schedule, no ability to pause the movie if I need to get up …
Oh, and no chance I can watch with my cats.
The movie studios are already frothing at the mouth and blaming piracy for the drop in ticket sales. Nothing else (like the economy) could be the cause.. nope, it all has to be ‘illegal downloaders.’ *eyeroll*
I’d say part of it is the ticket prices. They are getting so high that it isn’t even worth going.
See the video, “Why Do Movie Tickets Cost So Much?”, which examines a price fixing claim by the major theatre industry insider, Dan Harkins, at movie-goer-rights.org or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlVmiwvncMw
I saw 7 movies last year in theaters. 2 were free tickets from DVDs and online offers; 1 was taking the niece to see Marmaduke at the dollar theater; and 4 were full priced (or full matinee priced) tickets to movies I fully intended to see while in theaters.