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Hmm lets think about this is for a sec, anyone really surprised?
Lets break down some numbers and get an idea why movie sales are suffering.
2005 top Box office gross: (information pulled from www.boxofficemojo.com)
| Rank | Movie Title | Studio | Total Gross / Theaters | Opening / Theaters | Open | Close | ||
| 1 | Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith | Fox | $380,270,577 | 3,663 | $108,435,841 | 3,661 | 5/19 | 10/20 |
| 2 | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | WB | $269,447,715 | 3,858 | $102,685,961 | 3,858 | 11/18 | - |
| 3 | War of the Worlds | Par. | $234,280,354 | 3,910 | $64,878,725 | 3,908 | 6/29 | - |
| 4 | Wedding Crashers | NL | $209,218,368 | 3,131 | $33,900,720 | 2,925 | 7/15 | - |
| 5 | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory | WB | $206,459,076 | 3,790 | $56,178,450 | 3,770 | 7/15 | - |
| 6 | Batman Begins | WB | $205,343,774 | 3,858 | $48,745,440 | 3,858 | 6/15 | 10/30 |
| 7 | Madagascar | DW | $193,202,933 | 4,142 | $47,224,594 | 4,131 | 5/27 | 10/13 |
| 8 | The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | BV | $191,991,322 | 3,853 | $65,556,312 | 3,616 | 12/9 | - |
| 9 | Mr. & Mrs. Smith | Fox | $186,336,279 | 3,451 | $50,342,878 | 3,424 | 6/10 | 12/15 |
| 10 | Hitch | Sony | $179,495,555 | 3,575 | $43,142,214 | 3,575 | 2/11 | 7/21 |
Ok so I see that four of the top movies belong to a series of some sort, two are remakes of old films. Which leaves only three original, or at least to my knowledge, I'm sure they are probably based off of something that was already done prior. Hollywood is getting fat and lazy, I only wished sheeple would stop supporting so much of this crap. I miss the passion of a good film, one that resonates clearly the intent and vision of the director. Too often I feel that the major studios look at us and treat us a cattle. Heaven forbid that you might watch a film that catches you so offguardd as Pi did for me. applauddd films that leave you with a knot in your mind that forces you to pick at it for some time in place of that warm and fuzzfeelingng others strive for. Donnie Darko is a great example of a movie that accomplishes this feat.
Now I know that plenty of people would argue that they really like going to the movies to loose themselves for a few hours. I fully understand this sentiment, and find no fault in it. All that I ask is for Hollywood to work harder and release more movies like Serenity and Corpse's Bride, and cut back on the Cheaper by the Dozen 2, Herbie reloaded, Bewiched, and all that other tripe they found by pulling out old tv shows and films from the 70's.
The other shoe that is about to drop on the film industry itheirer delivery method. One has to wonder what impact the increasing ticket prices have had over the past few years. I for one would not put it outside the realm oposibilitieses that the actual number of people going to theaters has been dropping steadily over the passeveralal years. Thsteadydy increase in ticket prices would have a good chance to buffer the decline in attendance. But this point is actually a micro view of theater's woes. The fact is the quality of home theaters has increased drastically over the past several years, some to the point of blowing your average theater out of the water. High ticket prices, lines, even higher food prices, and the chance that you might have the misfortune of getting a director'commentaryry while watching the movie at no additional charge all way heavy upon the theater. I for one already have my HDTV loaded up and waiting for the firsreasonablele HD DVD player (Blu-ray or HD-DVD, I have no idea, I'll save that for another time). The point is, when I do get my HD DVDs, link it into my 7.surroundnd sound system, and fire up my own popcorn, why on earth would I want to spend $16-20 for a trip to the theater?
We are sitting on the crossroads, and it will be interesting to see how the industry reacts and adjusts. Mark Cuban has seen the writing on the wall, and wants to revolutionize the fildistributedin model. Instead of the tiered model we have now, release movies to DVD, theaters, on-demand, and digital download all at the same time. There has beea lotot of jocking behind thscenesns to take advantage of thipossibilityty, and I do predict you will see some form of it apear some time in 2006. Should be an interesting event to watch unravel
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