Movie Slump in it's fourteenth week

[trevster2k]

I guess everyone has been hearing how the movie grosses have been below their expectations for weeks now.

But can you blame the public? We have the Honeymooners, Bewitched, Dukes of Hazzard and the Longest Yard this year. Blech! I saw Nicole Kidman on Letterman last night and just hearing her say the plot aloud, " they hire her play a witch but the twist is she really is a witch" HA HA, umm no.

Hollywood executives who make the final decisions on what films get made must be all smoking crack. The best stuff out there is by renegade filmmakers like Robert Rodriguez and the independents. Documentaries are more entertaining then most of the crap the big film companies put on the screen.

Trends in filmmaking are killing the industry. Remaking a Japanese horror film only works for so long, putting a faux actress/singer like Jessica Simpson or Beyonce is a gimmick, and who are the agents for Oscar winners like Paltrow, Berry and Kidman, can't they pick better roles. And for the love of God, stop remaking old TV shows. Society is not waiting with baited breath for remakes of the Facts of Life, the A-Team, Hawaii Five-O, or the Jeffersons. No wonder my DVD collection is made up of mostly older films. The lowest common denominator strategy may seem like a good way to make money but it makes for bad cinema. The Pacifier made over 100 million, can you say sequel? More wasted money on a film we don't need.

I enjoy all the film genres, comedy, action adventure, sci fi, drama, etc. but maybe my expectations are too high. I like my films to challenge me to some extent. I like to interact with the movie and not just sit there like a sponge, absorbing the screen mindlessly. Maybe I am just a movie snob but I know I'm not alone.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

My mom's a big fan of the show "Bewitched", and she is not happy to hear that there's a movie being made about it. I don't think she'd even mind it that much if the movie looked to her like it'd be good, but she doesn't think it'll appeal to her at all.

I gotta say, there's not a ton of movies coming out right now that I have a real desire to see, either. Perhaps I'll catch 'em when they come to various movie channels or something, 'cause sometimes a movie can look better than the previews indicate. I dunno.

Angela

 

[dandy]

The best stuff out there is by renegade filmmakers like Robert Rodriguez and the independents. Documentaries are more entertaining then most of the crap the big film companies put on the screen.

one good thing about this: i save a lotta cash because i rarely go to the theatre anymore.

 

[nbcrusader]

The industry will probably blame the downturn on internet downloads

 

[phanan]

Actually, it's being blamed more and more on DVD's and home theater systems. Why spend $10 on a movie when you can see it a few months later on DVD for a fraction of the cost? And in the comfort of your own home? With a decent surround sound system and excellent picture quality, there's no reason to go unless it is the major film of the summer, like Star Wars this year.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

The bottom line is the bottom line.

You can also blame Hollywood all you want, but if there are 10 million people paying $10 to see the Pacifier, who are the morons?

The truth is, good movies generally don't sell, just as good music generally doesn't sell. The cream very rarely rises to the top, and business is business.

Blame the 80's.

 

[learn2kneel]

Batman Begins, War of the Worlds, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, King Kong will be huge this year.

And I generally disagree with the statement that good movies don't sell. Good movies that aren't marketed well don't sell. Bad movies don't sell unless they're horror or teen-friendly. Look at Napoleon Dynamite tho, its still selling huge, Lord of the Rings were massive - critics play a much bigger part in movies than they do in music. If the movie has a "bad hype" it'll usually miserablly fail.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I still love going to the movies, always have. I will go to something mediocre just to get out, for me it's an escape..except for the rude talkers, etc. who behave as if they're at home. Even I have my standards though that Bewitched looks like crap, and so does that Dukes Of Hazzard.

I don't like waiting for movies to come out on DVD, and I don't have a huge fancy TV or surround sound.

There is a total lack of originality, and I live in a suburb w/ a chain theater..usually they don't get movies that are out of the mainstream, and I don't want to go into the city just to see a movie.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Batman Begins, War of the Worlds, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, King Kong will be huge this year.

Yes they will be. 3 of them are remakes. 2 of them are sequels (but I'll excuse Harry Potter for that). 1 of them would not have been made if LOTR hadn't gone beserk.

And I generally disagree with the statement that good movies don't sell. Good movies that aren't marketed well don't sell. Bad movies don't sell unless they're horror or teen-friendly. Look at Napoleon Dynamite tho, its still selling huge, Lord of the Rings were massive - critics play a much bigger part in movies than they do in music. If the movie has a "bad hype" it'll usually miserablly fail.

Good movies are damn tough to market. It's rare for one to break through regardless of what the critics say.

 

[trevster2k]

A new poll released Thursday reveals that a large majority of people – 73 per cent – prefer to watch movies at home on DVD, VHS or pay-per-view.

The same poll found that only 22 per cent of people preferred to see movies the old-fashioned way – in a movie theatre.

The numbers may provide fodder for those who believe the proliferation of at-home entertainment technologies is permanently changing moviegoing patterns.

It also comes on the heels of a prolonged box-office slump. So far this year, theatre revenues have been off for the past 16 weekends, compared with the same weekends in 2004.

The poll of 1,000 Americans was conducted by Ipsos for the Associated Press and AOL News.

Among the other findings:

* When asked if they think movies are getting better or worse, almost half – 47 per cent – said worse.
* Sixty-nine per cent of respondents said that they see movie stars as negative role models for children.
* Only a tiny number – five per cent – said that they had downloaded a movie from the internet.

Some observers believe that this year's poor box-office numbers are not due to changes in viewing habits, but have been caused by a number of lacklustre releases, such as Cinderella Man, The Honeymooners, Kingdom of Heaven and XXX: State of the Union.

"I think this slump is product-driven," Paul Dergarabedian, the president of the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations, told the Associated Press.

"That, to me, is a much less chilling problem than some sort of cultural shift in people's moviegoing habits. A cultural shift takes longer than 16 weekends of down box office."

Indeed, the poll found that people who use things like DVD players actually go to more movies in theatres than those who don't, suggesting that home entertainment options and theatres are complementary.

Some have also argued that comparing this year's box-office with last year's totals is a dicey proposition since 2004's The Passion of the Christ was an anomaly that drew people into theatres who wouldn't normally have gone to the movies.



Well, that didn't solve anything really except that it supported everyone's arguments.

 

[impy13]

Most of the stuff that's coming out is drivel.

It makes me sick. At the midnight Batman Begins, there was a preview for Dukes of Hazzard, and when it was over, the three buddies of mine i was with all lean over and say "we're seeing it".

Why are they seeing it? Jessica Simpson. I know sex sells, but I wish the people I associate myself with were smarter than that. I can't imagine seeing a movie just because of a sexy girl being in it. I appreciate beautiful women as much as (if not more than) the next guy, but I would never drop 10 dollars just to see one for an hour and a half.

Boycott Dukes of Hazzard

 

[trevster2k]

Most of the stuff that's coming out is drivel.

It makes me sick. At the midnight Batman Begins, there was a preview for Dukes of Hazzard, and when it was over, the three buddies of mine i was with all lean over and say "we're seeing it".

Why are they seeing it? Jessica Simpson. I know sex sells, but I wish the people I associate myself with were smarter than that. I can't imagine seeing a movie just because of a sexy girl being in it. I appreciate beautiful women as much as (if not more than) the next guy, but I would never drop 10 dollars just to see one for an hour and a half.

Boycott Dukes of Hazzard

No offense to your friends but maybe there's a poll out there suggesting 3 out of 4 people think with the wrong head.

Thus leading to studios putting out films which appeal to that 75% which really aren't out there and pissing off legitimate moviegoers.

Actually, I have joked in the past to friends, that most of the people going to movies every weekend are the exact same people who go out of habit. Week in, week out, they are responsible for the same $25 million gross for the top film each week. Every now and then, hype pushes the rest of the public out to the theatre to see a film, which if they waited for the word of mouth, would probably not have seen due to its poor quality.

In the old days, films had theatre runs lasting months. They would have sellouts for weeks and weeks before everyone had a chance to see it. Today, with multiplexes and the internet, everyone sees the film during the first weekend and within a day most people know if it is worth seeing or ignoring. I think that is half the marketing strategy by studios, "let's get everyone to watch it the first weekend before they realize it is a piece of crap" Sometimes it works.

 

[impy13]

No offense to your friends but maybe there's a poll out there suggesting 3 out of 4 people think with the wrong head.

None taken. I agree with the rest of your post, as well.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

If you don't want to spend 10 bucks to see Jessica nearly naked, just watch the video on MTV. She's in a nothing bikini and she's having sex w/ a car.

I saw some of the "making of" show, her father was sitting there watching the whole time

 

[Liesje]

Why would I pay $7.75 (w/ a student discount, still $5.75) per person when I can either wait and rent it for less than $3 or have a friend download it for free the day it comes out in theaters?

That said, Cinderella Man was worth every penny!

 

[Dalton]

She's in a nothing bikini and she's having sex w/ a car.

I am pretty sure that is illegal in Michigan....

 

[learn2kneel]

Yes they will be. 3 of them are remakes. 2 of them are sequels (but I'll excuse Harry Potter for that). 1 of them would not have been made if LOTR hadn't gone beserk.

Good movies are damn tough to market. It's rare for one to break through regardless of what the critics say.

Batman Begins is not a sequel, nothing close to any of the other movies.

War of the Worlds is a book adaptation with a Steven Spielberg spin not unlike Minority Report.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory isn't a remake it's a book adaptation, its straying away fron Willy Wonka.

Harry Potter isn't a true sequel as you noted before.

The Chronicles of Narnia movie has been in the works before Lord of the Rings came out, LOTR just gave it a boost on the production table.


What do you consider to be good movies? Are they movies that noone has ever heard about, that don't get released in theatres? Even good movies that don't get any box office attention, when given critics awards and such do great in DVD (where most of the money is made anyway). Sideways is doing very well on DVD after a modest box office.

 

[trevster2k]

Both Earnie and learn2kneel are right, many good movies don't do well in the theatres. I think that one possible reason is the multiplex factor where theatres would rather have the "newest" films sometimes in 3 or 4 of the theatres instead of keeping a modest film which slowly develops a buzz through word of mouth. I have seen many postings about how people would have liked to see a Sideways or Mystic River but their local theatre wasn't showing it. But they were showing Kingdom of Heaven.

Shawshank Redemption is a perfect example of a film which has benefited from DVD after being a bomb in theatres. The success of home theatre makes one wonder where movie companies would be today had they won their lawsuit against the Betamax long long ago. Now look where home videotape has led us. Hmm, they are doing the same thing with downloading , at least big business is still consistent in its inability to see long term.