Hey look at that: a NYTimes piece about the box office slump where they didn't claim copyright infringement was to blame. And even better, it comes up with some interesting points as to why the box office isn't bringing in the masses like they have in years past. I think it chronicles many of the reasons why I am loathe to visit the cinemas these days.
The last movie that got me to ante up $20 (I never go to the movies alone) was Batman Begins, a blockbuster that still manages to be a good film. But that's been an exception over the past few years. Let's face it, there's little to be excited about when movie studios rely on old favorites to bring in new audiences. Bewitched or Dukes of Hazzard or Herbie could only inspire the most nostalgic and least jaded of movie watchers.
And then there's Netflix... I am a big fan of this service for a few reasons. First, it's not BallBuster. Second, unlike pay-per-rent, you don't get penalized for picking poorly. No matter how many bad films you happened to see, your membership price stays the same. You can't roll that dice in the theaters and you certainly can't watch a movie you liked more than the one entrance your ticket allowed you. And the other thing about Netflix is that you are part of a community. Rate movies and they will recommend other titles. And after using those recommendations, they've turned me on to some really great stuff. Netflix killed the theater experience because they make movies a fun endeavor. Loews and Regal just seem like all the other big corporations that exist merely to extract dollars from you. Why the endless crap film trailers, NBC's latest TV lineup, or car commercials? The theater should be insulation from the world outside where it's all but impossible to avoid such advertising. Instead theater owners insist on bringing that world right back inside the cocoon.
The last big reason movie theaters have lost me is for the audience itself. Yammering on a cell phone through the presentation is bad enough. But worse is the hooting and hollering that ensues at the inappropriate moments. An ironic joke? You'd think moviegoers never heard of such a thing... Don't get me started on the seat kickers or the late arrivals. The shared experience you gain from watching the movie with others is totally lost when they aren't your friends and have no respect for your enjoyment of the film.
But in the end I think this story is similar to the music industry one. You can't expect the old paradigms to work for eternity. The home theater with the DVD as centerpiece has provided (as mentioned in that NYT article) an intimate version of the movie theater experience. This goes to show how powerful the medium of film really is, despite the lackluster box office sales. If the movie industry focuses on quality content, they can take heart in knowing that their material will continue being in demand.
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