NYT/AP: U.S. Box Office Hits Longest Modern Slump

U.S. Box Office Hits Longest Modern Slump
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 27, 2005
Filed at 7:59 a.m. ET


LOS ANGELES (AP) -- ''Batman Begins'' took in $26.8 million to remain the top movie for the second straight weekend, but it could not keep Hollywood from sinking to its longest modern box-office slump.

Overall business tumbled despite a rush of familiar new titles -- ''Bewitched,'' a ''Love Bug'' update and the latest zombie tale from director George Romero.

Revenues for the top 12 movies came in at $116.5 million, down 16 percent from the same weekend last year, when ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' opened as the top movie with $23.9 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

It was the 18th weekend in a row the box office declined, passing a 1985 slump of 17 weekends that had been the longest since analysts began keeping detailed figures on movie grosses....

***

If the slump continues, Hollywood is on course for a third straight year of declining admissions and its lowest ticket sales since the mid-1990s....


http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/arts/AP-Box-Office.html

and people don't have the cash. Other than Batman, there hasn't been much quality this year.

... Hollywood keeps making the same 10 movies over and over. I want something new - else I'll just watch old movies on my Tivo :)

While Batman and Star Wars were both good for the action blockbuster type movies, there have been very few quality adult films.

Cinderella Man was good, and from what I heard Crash was good but I didn't get a chance to see it but aside from that what good adult movies have there been?

Hollywood seems too eager to avoid controversy. They do not want to upset their corporate backers so they don't want to put out too many Farenheit 9/11's. Just think of all the great movies that could be made in this day and age where our country seems to be on the brink of dictatorship. Too bad that the studio executives think we need a Confederate flag waving Dukes of Hazard movie instead of a powerful film on the struggles of our day.

we had a big snowstorm here in NYC. I managed to haul my ass in and my reward was two free movie passes. They expired at the end of this past March - I never used them because even for free I was NOT impressed by any movie.

Gratuitous violence, anachronistic plot twists, nothing actors (aside from Michael Caine) and just plain boring (every 15 minutes, there might be a minute of plot or character development, but then back to snooze).

I couldn't even stay the course and left for the lobby after an hour. I never saw a movie that whined before....

Now, Bewitched was worth the entrance fee--but then, anything that has Nora Ephron's name on it is. I can't understand the reviews it's gotten (unless they were all written by violence-prone, car-crash, car-chasing sex fiends). It has plot, character development, real actors, and a point.

I loved it. It had a few holes in it, but it had a message that went beyond the obvious.

Ken Wan tanabe and Christian Bale aren't bad themselves.

Saw it this weekend at the small, alternative theater in our town. Plays art films, foreign-language films, and American films that are too deep for blockbuster status. I actually felt energized because it was the first good movie I'd seen in a long time.

steady my entertainment spending.

I suspect Hollywood makes slightly less because of this.

I think it's good that Netflix is getting some of the Hollywood dollar, because they're a small company (relative to the media empires they're taking money from) and because they're not a vertical monopoly -- they control distribution but not production.

For $20 a month, I usually get between 6-10 movies per month (probably closer to 10 depending on how much time I have to watch them.). You could spend that or more even on a single movie at the theater. Pluse I get to see a lot of mivies that never make it to theaters around here. Tv series, foreign films, etc.

If the movies were better, I might consider going more. But it also the people in the theater that are to blame. They talk all through the movie, talk on the cell phone (in my opinion theaters should have cell phone jammers installed to keep calls from going through) or they bring very young children who get bored (inevitably) and start to whine and/or cry. Some of those problems can be avoided by not going at peak times or going to late shows but it is just such an unpleasant experience that most of the time I would rather stay home.

...plus higher housing/rent costs, and lower salaries/hourly wages.

Hollywood and the theater chains should understand this and be pricing their movies accordingly. At the very least, they could lower the press of their concessions.

in the last twenty years, so the following economic phenomenon might no longer make sense.

However, film attendence has traditionally been inversely related to the economy.

Attendence increases the most during recessions. (The Great Depression was great for Hollywood.) It's considered cheap entertainment. When people feel rich, they go out to restaurants and bars and go on vacations, or go out of town from Friday night until Sunday.

When people feel poor, they go to a movie.

I guess now they stay home and rent a movie.

...more money being spent on gas, food, etc...Hollywood and the theater chains should understand this and be pricing their movies accordingly...(and) lower the prices of their concessions.
Paid four dollars for a foot-long hot dog at the beach yesterday. They wanted five dollars for a burger and three for bottled water. And of course they had the nerve to have a tip jar. Here's my tip: You'll get MORE tips by NOT charging four dollars for your hot dogs!

:headbang:
rocknation

When a hard hitting, truth telling, and courageous movie came out, Fahrenheit 9-11, people found the money and time.

I think your exactly right. My family does okay financially, but $50.00 for a movie is a bit much. Especially when you don't know what gas will cost next week. Also, many bars and restaurants are going out of business in our area. The only ones that are making it are the ones that have all you can eat buffets. I think our economy is much worse off than most would care to admit.

Libraries are a great resource -- if one branch doesn't have something, you can probably get it transferred from another. New films, like new books, have waiting lists, but if you are trying to avoid a cash outlay at the theater do try the library. It's not only free of charge, you get to keep the film longer than overnight.

Hekate

Isn't it an oxymoron to use "familiar" and "new" in the same description?

And isn't that why this year's blockbuster movies aren't busting so many blocks?

Me, I just hate the multiplex experience, but I didn't like it any better in 2004, so I'm not the audience they're losing.

Honestly if you subtract sequels, remakes, and tv show movie adaptations the amount of new and good product out there is next to nothing. Look at the big movies this summer. Batman? Star Wars? War of the Worlds? Bewitched? Herbie? The Longest Yard? I mean seriously. How can anyone in that industry honestly ask what the issue is with a straight face?

I'm not even saying any or all of these movies are bad (although I'm suspect), but the fact is none of them are particularly compelling reasons to go spend $20 on movie tickets and another $20 on concessions when you can see the same movie for less than $5 within 2-3 months time.

I actually do go to movies all the time. (I'm a bit of a film buff.) However, I have yet to see any domestic releases this summer that I've been the slightest bit inclined to go see.

The result? I've been spending all of my movie money at the revival and art-house theaters or on rentals.

I have the money and *would* legitimately go see good summer movies in the theater -- except that there haven't been any so far this summer.

THE AMITYVILLE HORROR, BATMAN BEGINS, BEWITCHED, HERBIE: FULLY LOADED, THE HONEYMOONERS, THE LONGEST YARD and WAR OF THE WORLDS are all out in cinemas at the same time? Well, SURPRISE!

Wait until THE DUKES OF HAZZARD comes out, it'll clean up. :eyes:

the bad news bears remake ;)

Rather regressive, me thinks. Maybe the "slump" in ticket sales for remakes ought to say something to the movie makers.


And $50 bucks for a family to be entertained by sitting on our asses for two hours is just way out of line. That's just sick greed. After the initial allure of the first ads, it goes away and I can wait for it to be a rental... or even just forget about it. I'd rather live my own life anyway.

...a zombie flick from George Romero. It's 1969 all over again.

Thats all we can afford to do!!!!

the rich have all the money.

Movie supposed to start at 6:10. Commercials and theater promos went until 6:30. And we are paying for them to show this crap to us!

One of my pet peeves.

I wouldnt pay a dime to go see 20 somethings cavorting around in their skivvies mouthing bad dialogue with an adolescent script backed up by an overload of computer-generated antics..

waste of my money and time.

from merchandising, cable and Netflix and the like, not to mention the million other ways they make money. Not to mention the fucken ads at the begining of the movies. Puh-lease! They are crying poor mouth and their revenue stream is coming in from more angles than ever.

Wahhhhhh, wahhhhhh, wahhhhhhh. Save our poor industry. How will we ever pay these hardworking actors their $20M for 4 months work if you don't support us.

Gimme a break.

Hollywood has spent the last 15-20 years gearing every expensive movie to a small subset of the population - teenage boys. Now suddenly teenage boys are pirating music, movies and porn off of the Internet and have little interest in dropping $8-$14 (depending on refreshments) to see a lukewarm PG-13 action movie. So now Hollywood is losing out? Cry me a river...

:nopity:

We need more Alexander Paynes and less Michael Bays. Not to mention a hell of a lot more Michael Moores.

the celebrity worship, the gratuitous sex and violence, the lame plots and insipid dialogue

I havent watched television for over 2 years now or been to a movie theater in 11

...and some even become successful (i.e. Sideways, Million Dollar Baby, F911) just as there is some great programming on cable (and even public) television if you know where to look.

It isn't fair to blame the technology (TV, film, radio, etc) when it is the broadcasters and media conglomerates that are abusing the medium by releasing floods of crap.

making movies that appeal to adolescents. Why? Surely they are not the group with the most disposable income? I don't understand how they intend to make money when they cater to one specific, economically limited group.

...or at least it was the base of customers that could be depended on to fill the seats for whatever mind-numbing summer shlockbuster they decided to release.

Now their most dependable audience has been lured away with other technologies and forms of entertainment.

why pay when you can see free, and not have to get up and go anywhere!

...while you're at it, why pay for food? You can eat from a dumpster for free, or you could stick a few candy bars in your pocket when the security camera is pointing the other way! It sure beats actually spending money on a product you choose to consume!

Grandparents who might want to see moviews with a little more plot, though. :shrug:

Used to be kids had less money than their parents or grandparents. I guess something has changed.

any more family oriented rides. Market Research indicated that, although they don't have the most disposable income, adolescents are willing to spend all of their money. This thinking is short sighted as there are very few attractions built anymore that would appeal to both you AND grandma...unless she enjoys going 0 to 60 into a vertical loop.

I find the lack of investment amongst my peers saddening. Though, in the end, it will be good because the vast majority of the next generation will be in heaps of debt while the few of us (thanks to my parents teachings) who spend wisely and save, will be ALOT better off in the scheme of things.

Its good to be conservative (in the dictionary sense, not political) with your money.

because their parents are loath to say no to them (lest they hurt their "self esteem"), many parents are too busy working to spend time with their kids (either by choice or necessity) so they give them things rather than their time.

They are the group with the least life experience, so the are the most easily led, except for the kids who watch childrens tv and are exposed to all those commercials aimed at children.

:eyes: That's what I don't understand. I didn't have that kind of money as a teenager or late teen to spend every weekend. Even when I got my first job I didn't have the kind of money that the Advertisers seem to be thinking that 18-24 year olds have.

What's changed?

Tthe 15-25 range work alot. I noticed that 2/3 of the kids in HS (3/4th in college) had part or full time jobs. They also get the money from parents who throw it at them to keep them happy. Huge allowances, not just in pure money but in the form of cars, phone bills, cable bills, insurances, licenses, college money) much more than 'back then'. A double whammy of cash flow and virtually NO expenses.

We (not I :)) also do not save anything, most spend it with in days of getting it, like it was going to self incenerate if it isnt spent now.

and if that werent enough, just about every kid as at least one, if not several credit cards (they are gullible enough to apply for one on the way to class in lieu of a free stuffed animal or electral device). and guess what, they rack up a debt with it... I call it the plastic burning generation.

Im convinced the plastic burners of today will be exponentially more burdened with debt, from poor finance descions, marketing, and the 'gotta have it now' mentality.

edit: Im willing to bet that adults today didnt have a credit card as a kid, which is a way of basically spending money you dont have and I make it a point to avoid them.

just to catch my breath.

I didn't have a "credit card" and neither did my daughter's parents allow her to have a credit card until she was 21.. ugh..

Twilight ZONE! ((((((((credit card...credit card))))))))

Thanks for your post...it was a good read for me who must be clueless and you "clued me in." :toast:

In fact, it was almost unheard of then. At that age your job was school and nothing else.

But a lot of these kids do. and I'd bet they spend everything they have or get.

And I didn't have a credit card. Nor was my old man peeling off $20s on Friday so I could go to the movies, etc.!

And for the record, I'm 49.

Bake

I worked nights! I was brave then, because now at 44 I can't imagine doing that-LOL! I had good grades and was a good kid never got in trouble. I made $2.65 an hour and saved about $500 of it to put towards a car-my parents helped with the rest-which I felt guilty about at the time because we weren't well off and I sensed it put a strain on their finances.

And as far as movies go, dh and I haven't gone to see a "grown up" movie for years-probably 10. Our local library is awesome-I reserve dvds there on an ongoing basis and while I've found netflix to be very useful, lately I like renting from blockbuster since I don't want an ongoing payment and they have no late fees anymore. I agree with those who feel that the quality of movies has gone way down hill. Lately, I'm been turning to independent and foreign films as a result.

the most disposable income... true they may not make as much, but they have very few expenses, especially those from 'richer' families.

Same thing goes with the 'fashion' industry, which not only markets to boys but girls too, who have alot of $ too.

I read a while back that the average teenager spends upwards of $70 a week, and none of it is on lifes 'adult' expenses (rent, utilites etc).

when I grew up and I didn't grow up poor...I was what then was called "upper middle class" but back then we didn't "stimatize ourselves with that crap." SHEESH!

$70.00 a WEEK? What the hell are they doing that they make that much?

:eyes:

We didn't have jobs, we had school, chores and an allowance. We earned what we got and appreciated what we bought with it.

Not today. Both parents work so kids can be given all they need as well as all they want. I wonder how many families will regret not spending more time together.

He sits through more "date movies" with his GF than he does shoot-em-up flicks with his buds. They'd rather all show up at our house and play Halo2 or Worlds of Warcraft.

theaters. Polar Express and Star Wars because of their amazing special effects. Matinee, sm popcorn and soda = $30 each film for two people.

I buy or rent all the rest to watch on my 36 inch t.v without a big fat head in front of me :) Priceless!

was in the 80's. Funny how there was no big slump in the 90's...

Snow, Greenspan and so many others!

Wait! They haven't switched to the birth-death model of ticket taking, silly kids! They're still actually counting tickets! How old-fashioned! The * people have pioneered phony job numbers using this model, and look how happy they are!

Movie guys need to get with the program!

Remember: things are better than they've ever been, and freedom's pretty much up to a dead run by now!
;)

If they actually counted the asses in the seats, the numbers would be way, WAY worse.

American people are tired of the crap and the manipulation!!!

Writers generally do what the studio tells them to because otherwise, they get fired and replaced.

Gas, taxes, cars, rent...

It's all going up for the poorest and the money has to come from somewhere. It would seem natural that it would come from "entertainment".

move!

For the first time in YEARS (maybe since OJ) there is no big trial diverting attention.
Nobody is going to the movies.
Isn't American Idol on hiatus? (I don't have a t.v.)
And most t.v. is reruns?

OKAY! No wonder *'s numbers are down!
People are starting to pay attention.

Now, if I can see that, why can't somebody in our camp who can actually DO something about it see that?

It's either WE MOVE (left side of aisle) OR/AND.... they (RW/*) are gonna do something BIG... like drop a bomb on Houston or something.

The last time *'s numbers were this low was a few days before 9/11.

Bewitched yesterday. It was all pretty new to them. They are not big fans of TVLand. Anyhow, considering the line-up included Nicole Kidman, Michael Caine, and Shirley McLaine, and Nora Ephron directed, I was at least expecting to be mildly entertained.

My God, it was vapid junk. Not well written. Not funny. Will Farrell played a big jerk. Michael Caine always rises above the material, but Shirley McLaine had little to do. I thought any moment Kidman was going to use to her magic to zap herself out of an obvious stinkbomb.

When I was in high school a night out at the movies meant The Graduate, Bonnie and Clyde, Easy Rider, Midnight Cowboy - movies made by people with the brain switch turned on.

When Hollywood gets the message that people have had enough of the junk food and are looking for a hearty, nourishing meal and fix the menu accordingly, maybe those box office numbers will start to improve.

It was pretty pathetic. I wanted to shoot Will Ferrell with a tranquilizer gun. Kidman as the witch was not even likeable. Too cutsie by a long shot. Every time she wanted something, she snapped her fingers and got it and then went, "Oh my! Oh, no! That's really, REALLY the last magic thing I'm doing! Really!"

I guess I should have known better. Lots of other people did. The theater was less than one third full on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

I think it's Ephron's fault. Kidman stank up the screen, IMO, and I usually like her.

Entertainment in America has forgotten to Entertain!!!

and the kids were terrified by the movie. They were covering their ears and squiming and their Dad didn't seem to be concerned with them at all.
They were very quiet but the squirming and covering their ears was distracting to me because I was worried about them. The theater I saw it in always turns up the sound so loud that I wanted to cover my own ears. It was so violent for kids that age with so much scarey imagery done in highspeed, I don't think they got much out of it except nightmares. :shrug:

I was disappointed in the plot, too. Action distracted from it. But, acting was great given the plot they had to work with...but still why couldn't they have made a better movie plotwise.

Is that part of some sinister plot, too; breaking our eardrums?

Another peeve I have: people who bring their (very) young kids to movies they can't possibly understand or enjoy. I realize babysitters are tough to find, but geez.

First of all, as you said, certain movies are too intense for kids. And the people who bring a two-year-old to an R-rated movie and expect the kid to sit quietly for two hours. What's up with that?

theatre

not fancy - they have a lower price 4-6 so got into one for $4 and the other was $4.75

I won't pay the prices they want for movies now
I wait until they go to dvd

It bugs me to even pay $4 to rent

If there is a family, that is the only way to go - for a family of four you are talking a small fortune to go to the movies

cheaper to cook popcorn at home and be comfortable -

I liked them both - I hate all the violent movies and special effect scary movies - these were cute

Left me feeling rather flat, but Nicole Kidman is one hot wench/witch. I just never could buy the whole premise. If I were married to a hot witch, we would be having some kinda serious fun.

BTW, didn't pay to see it. We used a gift card from this past XMAS, so they didn't get any new bucks from us.

With movies like this, I can understand why Hollywood is in tough times. Seems like every other movie is a re-make of some kind.

I like simple non violent films that are upbeat - there are few

It's a waste of time choosing, watching, and then being disappointed and bored. Two or three hours of your life is much too valuable to be spent on crap.

paying $10.00 for a movie ticket and having to sit next to rude patrons that have watched so many movies on their TV screen that they think that it is perfectly OK to maintain an inane running dialog throughout the movie. You know the ones that I'm talking about...they are the folks who get offended when you politely ask them to be quiet. Or how about the times when you don't take matters into your hands and are forced to seek the help of theater management...and they send a teenager to restore order.

Or the idiots who buy tickets for family films and sneak their small children (3-5 years old)into R rated movies because they insist on placing their own desires above the needs of their children.

I love going to movies. I am not overly concerned with the prices. I don't have any complaints about the quality of the movies being released these days (refused to go to Bewitched though...a person needs some standards), I just can't deal with all of the rude me,me,me behavior.

Hey, at least half the time, the running dialog is better than the film.

was all of the above.

Kids running around, crying, yelling (at an R rated film), an obnoxious couple next to us kept talking about the movie as if they were in their living room and the man behind us was eating popcorn, crinkling his popcorn bag right behind my husband's ear.

We came out of there saying we'd wait for movies to come out on DVD from now on.

And, I love going to the movies, too. My husband and I went to opening night of F 9/11, and it was a fantastic experience.

There's just so few of those kind of experiences anymore.


MKJ

Have a sliding scale. The more special effect, the more high priced actors, the higher the price.

I just don't see the logic in paying the same amount of money for an independant movie, at a chain theatre, that cost 1 million to make as opposed to the one that costs 200 million dollars. That's crazy.

With that said, the reality is: we are experiencing the geeking of Hollywood. Digital effects are all the rage and come with a high price tag. Forget story, put explosions up there. When the geek tide receeds, we should be getting movies based on story again. However, will they drop the prices accordingly? hell no.

I go to the dollar movie, matinees and independant theatres. Same movies, less money. I refuse to pay the prices they charge, no movie is worth those prices these days.

The very article mentions the three big movies this week:

Bewitched
Batman Begins
The Love Bug

And feigns surprise that they're not doing better.

Uh....jeez, could it possibly be "recycling" fatigue? People are tired as all hell of having to watch updates of old TV shows or remakes of older movies. I have not met a single person in the last five years who enjoyed ANY of these recycled movies. Not one. Every human I've ever talked to about this subject always comes out in favor of NEW ideas, NEW scripts, NEW story arcs.

America is SICK AND TIRED of rehashes, retreads, and remakes. That's one reason why "Fahrenheit 9/11" was such a success; it was something NEW for once. Even republicans and moderates came out to see it because they knew it wasn't another goddamn stupid "Starsky and Hutch" or whatever.

Look at the surprise hits of the last few years: Napolean Dynamite, Fahrenheit 9/11, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Sideways, etc. All of them fresh ideas, well-executed. All of them were given the kiss of death by the studios' PR department, and all of them overperformed in the theatres. The studios SHOULD have taken this as a message, if not an outright threat, that their tired-ass recycled movies just ain't cutting it with the folks out there. People are HUNGERING for movies they haven't seen before, but the studios just don't give a fuck that moviegoers will go out of their way to watch films like these, sometimes to theatres in neighboring towns, while they will avoid the overhyped overproduced extravaganzas like they were elephant turds in a punchbowl.

Nothing else to say about it.

We never see movies anymore because they are too expensive. I only pay to see a movie when it's something I really really think I'll like. $9.50 a seat is too much to see a crappy film (which 95% of them are). If they stop making films that pander to the stupidest common denominator I might go to the movies more often.

In the past 6 months, I went to see Star Wars and the Traveling Pants movie. And that's it. Luckily I liked both these films so I felt like I got my money's worth. They would have to PAY ME to go see that stupid Herbie movie, especially after I read that they digitally shrunk Lindsey Lohan's breasts because they thought they were too big for a kids movie. As a 38-D myself, that offends me greatly, so as far as I am concerned they can stick their damn VW bug where the sun don't shine. And I hope the movie flops and the breast-hating prudes who made it lose all their money.

:grr:

As for the breast part, yep they should be expose them a whole lot more than what we can see right now.

Live sex on screen is even better. Think about it, I have spent 10 dollars on the movie. I need to see something I can't see in daily life.

that are stinking up the joint.

Come this November/December, we get Harry Potter-Goblet of Fire (Nov 18), and Chronicles of Narnia-The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (Dec 9). Both are British films with British actors (although the latter is mostly filmed in New Zealand, and it's director is a contemporary of Peter Jackson, who did the Lord of the Rings movies)

Hollywood is getting skunked by the competition overseas, and it would not surprise me to see our best and brightest upcoming filmmakers and technicians go to Europe and New Zealand/Australia and establish citizenship there.

Bush and the neo-cons and their culture are killing our economy, and this is only another example of it.


:smoke:

about moviemaking and the global market a few years back, and even though we're hated more than ever thanks to chimpy, one point made by a very powerful executive in that documentary still stands out.

the american market is becoming peanuts in comparison to the global whole. movie goers exist in asia by the billions, SA and africa and of course europe. while asia and europe have moviemaking traditions, they still can't 'compete' with hollow-wood, in terms of production budgets, technique, and 'pretty' people.

the exec made this point: while you, smart american, may be sick and tired of lame, recycled, boring movies that cost 10$ and are buffered between commercials, joe asia boy is not. in fact, compared to what he's used to, "kangaroo jack" is the funniest, most exciting movie he's ever seen.

he gave a couple of examples i forgotten, but the gist was like this: bland, stupid pg-13 movie X with stars Y and Z costs 65$million to make and market. add another 25$mil for international marketing, plus inflationary (read: egos) costs. but it's really dull, and even morAn americans only go to see it to the tune of $50mil. But- because the marketing situation is cheaper in asia, africa, and even some parts of europe, that $25mil will return $150m over the year around the world. add to this the money many movies make via DVD and cable rights, and even the stupidest movie can become a profitable investment.

so they don't really care if you like it or not, spoiled american. you're not the 'big picture" anymore.

but i agree with most of what others have already said: no new ideas, overpriced tickets and concessions, idiotic plotlines that insult my intelligence, netflix, tivo, the internet. i hope hollywood eventually ceases to market that shit in the US altogether, i'm happy with fanfic, foreign films, and the netflix archives...it'll take the rest of my life to see all the GOOD movies from the 30s, 40s, 50s, etc. i'll probably stop in the early 90s, when to my mind, most american films turned to shit.

People will look at something and decide...big screen or wait until the video? Most will chose the latter, especially if they have kids. We went to see Batman last weekend with budget tickets from work $11 for 2. By the time we bought popcorn and drinks, we had spent 26 bones for 2 hours of entertainment.

For $26, we could have stayed home and rented several movies, ordered a large, deluxe pizza, and had money left over for a pint of Ben and Jerry's.

The movies are just not a good value anymore.

I love going to the movies and thought I'd be spending a lot of time there these past weeks what with "Batman Begins," "Bewitched" and "Herbie: Fully Loaded" all stroking my nostalgic obsessions.

But a funny thing happened ... between the high ticket prices, the way-too-high concession prices and the glut of must-see summer movies, I find myself completely burnt out.

I usually rush to major title films like "Batman" and "Bewitched."

Suddenly, I just don't care. Eventually I'll see them on DVD and maybe save a few bucks.

Looks like Hollywood needs to find something new to interest me and come down on the prices a bit to lure me back.

I've got better things to do.

...pulls in as many viewers as the Big-Name Hollywood Spew, you KNOW the industry is in trouble! (Disclaimer: I live in Los Angeles, the Belly of the Beast as it were.)

Recently I went to a local 6-plex after work, taking advantage of the Early Bird Matinee (which is up to like $7 or 8 damn bucks now!)

Went to see the German movie Untergang ("Downfall"), about the last days of Hitler in the Berlin bunker. It starred the excellent actor Bruno Ganz as Hitler.

Furrin' film fans will remember Ganz as the unhappy angel in Wim Wenders' gorgeous movie "Wings Of Desire."

Oh, speaking of bad movies, that classic was unnecessarily re-made as the gooey "City Of Angels" with Nicolas Cage and Meg F***ing Ryan...as if we needed ANOTHER indication of how bad Hollywood sucks. (The city of Berlin was literally a character in the Wenders movie. Setting the re-make in L.A. was a cutesy, Nora Ephron-ish touch that only GUTTED THE WHOLE DAMN STORY...FEH!)

Anyway, there seemed to be about as many people watching "Untergang" as there were in the other 5 theaters...and they were all showing current Hollywood product.

I pretty much gave up on going to the theaters years ago. I generally only go if it's a movie I want to support (F 9/11) or a "spectacle" where I believe seeing it on the big screen will add to the experience (Gladiator, Saving Private Ryan).

or um... maybe because of it?

Like the "news" media, Hollywood's "management" is in a headlong rush to the lowest common dominator and continually recycle old (and often bad) ideas.

Like any other business- if you make a lousy product people aren't going to buy it... take a chance and make innovative, interesting and halfway well written films and people will come to the theator.

Although I'd been chafing for years before then...and I've continued to follow a handful of favorite directors (David Cronenberg, Alan Rudolph, John Carpenter, Joe Dante), but even their work this past decade has felt halfhearted.

Instead, over that space I've been riding the crest of the wave in international movies...Hong Kong first, then Japan, then Iran, then India. Most recently it's been Korean cinema, and their long and intricately plotted TV series like Jewel in the Palace (Dae Jang Geum). The disappointment perhaps in each instance is that by the time they've started to make inroads in American cineplexes, each industry has already faded away to producing glossy, soulless, shallow Hollywoodesque drivel. (DreamWorks is pouring money into big Korean productions now...sigh.)

Still, even though I've turned my back on American cinema, that doesn't mean I don't feel physically nauseous with each new movie poster announcing a big-screen remake of some '60s sitcom.

I'm sick of computer-generated crap like Batman, Star Wars, Superman.

If I ever sell a script, I think you guys might like it. I specialize in smaller character-driven stories with a mix of drama and comedy. I am never one to brag, but what I write is easily better than most of the crap that comes out today.

for "That 70's Show" on tv. Pure crap. Not even funny. Yet he gets paid big bucks -- all the result of getting a lucky break. His college roommate's father is a producer who introduced him around and found him a good agent. Talent, unfortunately, had nothing to do with it.

I wish you the best, and hope someone recognizes and rewards your ability. Hollywood desperately needs good screenwriters.

By the way, what's your cousin-in-law's name? I might check out his info on IMDB.

as part of my "I'm not going to help his friggen' economy one iota" but also can't see paying the prices they're asking in order to sit next to some obnoxious, loud, possibly obese person who takes up more than his/her seat and keeps elbowing me throughout the film. Also, they come out on DVD 4 months later and I work at a library and get first access to them. I can sit in the comfort of my living room, pop my own popcorn and enjoy it a whole lot more.

They need to quit catering to young people also. I don't care what you say, I'm a grown up and Disney doesn't speak to me.

:eyes:

Less cash, more crap.

:eyes:

It seems like these Hollywood directors just keep rolling out the same CGI effects and trying to rehash each other. I swear if I have to sit through another matrix style fight scene or John Woo style gun fight... :crazy:

This is why I've started watching movies that all the critics slam. Typically if the critics put down a movie it's because it didn't follow a prescribed formula and didn't use big name actors--meaning the movie is probably fairly original.

If I want to see a new movie, I usually pick up some low-budget movies or I'll turn to foreign films. Hell one of my favorite movies of all time is a Japanese film called Battle Royale...probably didn't cost them a whole lot to make either.

because I've been thinking the critics are on crack! They slam good movies and rate up ones that bore me to tears! Are they getting a cut of the pie? Hmmm....

I don't know about you, but I am tired of going to the movies and dealing with people who cannot be quiet. I tried again this weekend with my family, I have two children. We were sitting there trying to enjoy the movie while three kids up front, unattended by parents, under the age of 10 , were throwing trash near the screen, the parents would get up , walk down and discipline them and then go back to their seats all while the movie was on.

On top of that, there was a child, about three who did not want to sit and watch the movie, so she danced in the aisle the entire movie, singing in my ear. The father thought it was cute. I was completely annoyed and when asking for her to sit down, I was met with extremely rude comments.

For 36.00 for a matinee and popcorn it was not worth it. My family and I left aggravated. It is not that hard to teach your child values and proper manners. I will never understand parents nowadays.

I rent from netflix, have for years and will just patiently wait to see movies. There is no reason to spend that kind of money to put up with crap. I much rather sitting at home with my children and my popcorn and enjoying the movie. We have stopped spending major money at the movie theaters for just that reason, rude people and high prices. Netflix is a better option

just my two cents... :)

and spent more money than I did going out to the bar last week (and I went out four nights!)

Drop the ticket prices, let us take as much food and drinks into the movie as possible (I sneak soda cans and small candy in sometime) and make better movies!

Thank you.

My first job was working in a theater, and the reason for the inflated food and drink prices is because concession stand sales are used to pay the employees. The theaters make far less of a profit on ticket sales.

1) make better movies
2) dont charge so damn much (not just the movie theater, but the food, the DVDs and all other things associated).


In any event, I hope they choke.

for the youth entertainment dollar, and also for geezers like me. My understanding is that the video game industry revenues exceeded Hollywood box office a while ago.

My wife and I actually spend a lot more on PC games than the movies each year now.

mainly because most video games are of higher quality, and are much more interactive.

You watch a movie once, it stays the same again and again.
Videogames change everytime

and, incidentally, "real life" games are closer to real life than "real life" movies and "reality shows"

value than all but the best movies, especially when one considers the hours of quality entertainment I get out of it for 20-50 bucks. Crappy games are another story, but what are ya gonna do.

is there an echo in here?

Let's face it, who wants to shell out $9.00 plus the outrageous price they charge for the obligatory popcorn and soda just to see some crappy movie.

Unless it's something extroadinary that "has" to be seen on the big screen, I'll wait until it comes out on DVD where I can chill out with my own snacks and if the movie stinks and I fall asleep, I'm only out a few bucks--or less if I borrow it from the library.

:sarcasm:

Hey, somebody's got to do it. And, just for kicks, it's not going to be a resurrection piece, (i.e. "Bewitched, etc.." On the other hand... Mel Gibson did pretty well with the Crucifixion stuff, maybe I should do a resurection... Ok, how about this: "Bambi's Mother Lives!" Or, "Return of the Wicked Witch of the West." Whadaya think, huh?

Who the hell wants to pay 10 bucks to see even more of them.

The stories have no cohesion, no plot, and no time line. They don't even try anymore, it's like it doesn't matter, the movies end after an hour and a half or more, of boring, unrealistic, characters, stories, and cliched plots, (they don't have a clue about the real world) and they're incredibly sloppy considering the amount of money spent on them. They pay off all the critics and reviewers and they're all in love with each other, anyway. They think everyone is stupid and they're just collecting their paychecks.

C'mon Michael...

They turn out bullshit movies that your kids beg you to take them to see. Best part of the movie are always the previews that the kids saw the last time someone took them to a movie that sucked.

I took my 9 year old to see Herbie Fully Loaded today because he and I are rebuilding a VW and he wanted to see it with me. By the time we got in, got popcorn, junior mints and a frigging bottle of water, I'm in this deal $25.

The theaters need a slump, they have driven the cost of going to a movie up to the price that it competes with other more fun things to do with the kids.

They deserve no sympathy from me.

Sorry, Hollywood, most of us out here are NOT adolescent boys!

How about something plot-driven? How about something with a plot? How about something where the women have roles beyond slut, eye-candy, and mascot? I'm not asking for much -- after all, most of what I went to over that past several summers was made by Pixar.

Sorry for your troubles... not.

Hekate

nt

I used to spend quite a lot on movies - rental and in the theater. I now spend virtually nothing. Crap. It's all crap. OK, I'm old. I was dating when there was a choice between "Taxi Driver" and "All the President's Men," not "Batman 12," "Love Bug 6," or "Bewitched." I wouldn't have spent money in 1976 at 18 on the crap that's out there today and I don't spend it today.

No story, no character, no ideas. Crap.

The Graduate, Little Big Man, Klute, Don't Look Now, Chinatown, They Shoot Horses Don't They, Annie Hall, Taxi Driver, All the President's Men, The Conversation, Three Days of the Condor, Bonnie and Clyde, Network, The Parallax View... All mainstream films.

You'd think that in this era, when there's so much to be paranoid about, that someone would be making something comparable to Three Days of the Condor or The Parallax View.

There ARE good movies out there, but they're almost all foreign or independent.

My most intensive stretch of movie-going since moving to Minneapolis in 2003 was the Twin Cities International Film Festival in April of this year: nine films in two weeks, all of them at least passable, some of them excellent, all of them stories I hadn't seen before.

Back in Portland, I belonged to a book group whose members were mostly elderly, and even though they were pretty well off and naturally had plenty of leisure, none of them had been to a movie in years. They objected to the stupid plots, the violence, the gratuitous bad language and perfunctory, obligatory sex scenes, and the excessive special effects. They liked the experience of going to movies and were delighted when I suggested the original Japanese version of Shall We Dance as a movie with an interesting plot, real humor, and likable characters. They also enjoyed Sense and Sensibility, Whale Rider, and Mrs. Brown (two from the UK, one from NZ).

The Sunday movie group I belonged to in Portland saw foreign and independent films almost exclusively. We really got into Chinese films such as King of Masks, Shower, Not One Less, Suzhou River, To Live, and The Blue Kite, again, all with interesting, original plots and characters, with the added attraction of offering a glimpse of a foreign culture.

Here in the Twin Cities, I've seen mostly documentaries, such as F9/11, Supersize Me, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, Morning Sun (excellent look at China's Cultural Revolution, featuring interviews with former Red Guards and their victims), and that doc about Fox News.

Personally, as long as I subscribed to movie channels on cable, I felt no compulsion to see American "blockbusters," because I knew that they would turn up on TV in a short time. In most cases, I watched about 15 minutes and decided I had better things to do.

Now that I no longer subscribe to the premium cable channels, I'm catching up on my backlog of VHS tapes recorded off the air at odd times of the night (I have 39 complete movies on tape). Since I live in an apartment with little tiny mailboxes and large items left out in the lobby, I hesitate to sign up for Netflix, but there's an independent video store and a library within walking distance, as well as a lot of exciting stuff available for purchase on DVD, so I don't except to increase my attendance at movie theaters.

It was funny, scary (when the bad guy tries to get his loot back), and intelligent. It was an appropriate film for all ages, IMO. I thought, "Why can't we make a movie like this in the U.S.?" We used to...