by Sam Hendrix, Independent Writer
The holiday season has, in the past, always been a time when box office numbers hit sky high with the string of “Oscar worthy” movies that hit mainstream theaters but this year has seen lower numbers than 2006.
Bringing in $8.7 billion since January 1st, this figure is down 0.9% from the year-to-date totals in 2006 of $9.2 billion (www.boxofficemojo.com). Not since the 6.1% decrease from 2004-2005 has the movie industry lost money from the year before. This has many movie goers questioning what exactly has caused this decrease of box office intake. Some blame the high price of gas; others say tickets cost too much; many blame the lack of interest in Hollywood movies. All are valid points when considering the possibilities of the financial downfall of the movie industry this year. With gas so high as well as ticket prices, this limits the frequency of attending movies by the regular audience. A result of the peak of gas prices is the increase of most essential items such as food and other living necessities. This has scraped the pockets of audiences across the nation directly contributing to the less money available for entertainment purposes. The argument that Hollywood movies are less and less interesting is the sole opinion of the audience itself. This often reflects the narrow-mindedness of those judging the movies based on the trailers. The recent Hollywood trend of fantasy geared films has the more mature audiences seeing these as childish movies. The trailers fail to show the much more adult themes tackled within these films.
One movie in particular, “The Golden Compass,” appeals to children with its colorful cinematography and talking animals but deals deeper with the subject of Atheism. Based on the first book of Phillip Pullman’s trilogy “His Dark Materials,” “The Golden Compass” has raised much controversy with its anti-religious themes and has many refusing watch it.
When seeing a movie trailer lately it may be followed by the phrase “Playing in Select Theaters.” This has become more and more common with high budget Hollywood films and could be ultimately contributing to the loss of money being seen at the box office. Films like the Cohen brother’s new, highly acclaimed “No Country for Old Men” received a limited release and only found itself in one theater in the Kansas City area. Same with the uniquely crafted “I’m Not There,” the Bob Dylan story with five actors and one actress who all play the same 1960s folk singer in the midst of the Vietnam protest era. These two films, along with countless many more, caught nationwide attention through the media and had the potential to bring in high dollars but were only viewed by a handful of those lucky enough to see them.
There are many contributing factors, all with one product, the fall of the box office. As Hollywood keeps cranking out the money to make these movies for audiences to view, they keep bringing less and less in eventually leading to the death of movie theaters as we know it.
Filed under: Joe's Screening Room |