If you believe the Hollywood spinmeisters, this was the best summer movie season ever! Disney has become the first studio to release two $1 Billion movies in one year (Alice in Wonderland and Toy Story 3).
Box office take was $4.35 Billion for the summer, up 2.4% from last year, and setting a record. However, the money lies.
While Hollywood is happy to be making more money than ever, every studio head should be looking very closely at the real story.
Ticket sales for Summer 2010 were the lowest since Summer 1997 (the year George Clooney was rocking the rubber Bat Nipples in Batman and Robin). Down 2.6% from last year, people are buying less tickets at more expensive prices, and that's not a recipe for more ticket sales next year.
It's easy to make more money when ticket prices keep going up, and more and more people are being convinced to purchase the higher priced 3-D and Imax tickets. Yet, how can any studio executive feel better about less people wanting to buy their product? How can they feel good about this strategy as people start to rebel against 3D?
Why was attendance down? Did I mention Marmaduke? Vampires Suck? Predators? Step Up 3D? I could go all night with this list, and that's the problem. We didn't have that many movies to get excited about this year, and even fewer you wanted to see a second time.
Believe it or not, quality matters! Look at the biggest successes of Summer 2010. Inception and Toy Story 3 are getting Oscar buzz. Iron Man 2 lived up to the original and then some. Even Shrek Forever After was entertaining, funny and gave us a new look at what should have been a tired franchise.
So, it is up to you, Mr. Highly Paid Hollywood Studio Executive. Do you want to work hard, search high and low, encourage a talented filmmaker and find the next Inception? Or, do you want to make Vampires Suck: They Suck More Than Ever? The choice is yours, but, then we get to decide.
Ticket sales for Summer 2010 were the lowest since Summer 1997 (the year George Clooney was rocking the rubber Bat Nipples in Batman and Robin). Down 2.6% from last year, people are buying less tickets at more expensive prices, and that's not a recipe for more ticket sales next year.
It's easy to make more money when ticket prices keep going up, and more and more people are being convinced to purchase the higher priced 3-D and Imax tickets. Yet, how can any studio executive feel better about less people wanting to buy their product? How can they feel good about this strategy as people start to rebel against 3D?
Why was attendance down? Did I mention Marmaduke? Vampires Suck? Predators? Step Up 3D? I could go all night with this list, and that's the problem. We didn't have that many movies to get excited about this year, and even fewer you wanted to see a second time.
Believe it or not, quality matters! Look at the biggest successes of Summer 2010. Inception and Toy Story 3 are getting Oscar buzz. Iron Man 2 lived up to the original and then some. Even Shrek Forever After was entertaining, funny and gave us a new look at what should have been a tired franchise.
So, it is up to you, Mr. Highly Paid Hollywood Studio Executive. Do you want to work hard, search high and low, encourage a talented filmmaker and find the next Inception? Or, do you want to make Vampires Suck: They Suck More Than Ever? The choice is yours, but, then we get to decide.
