Mr. Ebert makes a very valid and very true point in that film revenue is not dropping because of piracy, but rather the goons in charge of Hollywood are addicted to sales figures and not in producing quality entertainment. He says:
1. Obviously, the absence of a must-see mass-market movie. When moviegoers hear about “Avatar” or “The Dark Knight,” they blast off from home base and land in a theater seat as quickly as they can.
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.
4. Refreshment prices. It’s an open secret that the actual cost of soft drinks and popcorn is very low. To justify their inflated prices, theaters serve portions that are grotesquely oversized, and no longer offer what used to be a “small popcorn.” Today’s bucket of popcorn would feed a thoroughbred.
5. Competition from other forms of delivery. Movies streaming over the internet are no longer a sci-fi fantasy. TV screens are growing larger and cheaper. Consumers are finding devices that easily play internet movies through TV sets. Netflix alone accounts for 30% of all internet traffic in the evening. That represents millions of moviegoers. They’re simply not in a theater. This could be seen as an argument about why newspapers and their readers need movie critics more than ever; the number of choices can be baffling.
6. Lack of choice. Box-office tracking shows that the bright spot in 2011 was the performance of indie, foreign or documentary films. On many weekends, one or more of those titles captures first-place in per-screen average receipts. Yet most moviegoers outside large urban centers can’t find those titles in their local gigantiplex. Instead, all the shopping center compounds seem to be showing the same few overhyped disappointments. Those films open with big ad campaigns, play a couple of weeks, and disappear.
All of the above is spot on in my opinion – but his later comment that it’s the theatres that are failing isn’t something I can completely agree with. The theatres are very much at the mercy of the distributors and studios – their very existence depends on it. Few theatres can afford to be picky as to what they can show and how.
Personally I have very rarely bought any refreshments from any cinema. Why, when I can go and buy it from any supermarket beforehand? The reason that the cinemas jack up their prices is to make up for the loss from the sales of tickets – probably because the cinemas are charging an arm and a leg for the films they’re showing. As as a consequence of buying snacks elsewhere this will affect the cinema’s profits, yes, but then again if these foolish cinema chains (or independents) kowtow to the studios every time then more fool them. That said, if the cinemas did put up a fight, the studios could simply pull out the theatrical system and go straight to HD delivery via the internet or Blu-Ray and to homes with big screens/projectors. Home kit is getting less expensive.
As for cinema ticket prices – yes, they’re high. Even more so when you’re dealing with public transport. But I rather have a cinema experience than watch a film on my own kit. Unless I can buy a house that can play host to an Empire-size cinema screen and projection/sound system.
As for choice, what Ebert says above can go the other way. Finding the right film is made even more difficult when you’re dealing with smaller cinemas which pretty much covers most of the UK. None of the so-called UK megaplexes come anywhere near that of the US theater system. I’ll happily admit to getting lost in a Los Angeles megaplex back in 2000 trying to find the right screen. Walking between them took forever – and required a map. And a torch.
As for indies and “art-house” movies, I’ll admit that I almost have never watched any of these kind of things in the cinema. Lack of availability HAS been one factor – these kind of films have been very readily available via the likes of LOVEFiLM or iTunes (even). That’s the problem – lower budget indies have an enormous battle to get their movies exhibited wide and far in cinemas. And there lies the problem. Ouroboros. The snake eating it’s own tail. Where do you start and end? There doesn’t seem to be any start or end for anything other than having a big distributor behind your film.
Don’t get me started about watching movies in the West End – the choice of films there can be completely underwhelming and you’re paying a lot more for your tickets too. I don’t go too often, and when I was working in the film industry between 2002-2008 I only really went along to cast & crew screenings which were free – and then never revisited the films again on any other format.
