If you were spending millions of dollars more each year to make and market a product, then sold less and less of it, you would be scared, too. Sadly, this is where Hollywood is heading when it comes to business in the United States, and this summer was no exception.
Last summer, Hollywood studios brought in $4.4 Billion at the box office, which rose to $4.5 Billion in Summer 2011.
However, ticket sales are going downward. Last summer, 551 million tickets were sold, but only 543 million were sold in summer 2011. To give you some perspective, 653 million tickets were sold in the summer of 2002. The gain in revenue comes from higher prices, and people are starting to rebel against the 3D movies that are driving the higher prices.
When your business model is failing, it's hard to look in the mirror and
admit your own faults, but that is what Hollywood needs to do. Theater
owners need to do it as well.
Hollywood execs have gone on the warpath to stop movie piracy, fearing the film business would be destroyed in the same way the music business was changed by downloading on the internet. However, that's not what is killing the movie business.
1) Make better movies. How many times have we complained about some movie that was conceived of as a marketing vehicle instead of as a movie? Stars, plots, special effects and more seem to be tailored to reaching certain demographics or audiences. And, stars don't sell movies the way they used to (Just ask Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and the actors who thought they would graduate to that status and haven't). Just make a good movie and people will actually come. Ever heard of The Social Network? The King's Speech? Bridesmaids?
I know evaluating quality is much harder, but it pays off in the end.
2) Use 3D when it matters. Most 3D stinks because the movie was not conceived to be shown in 3D, and most movies are not shot in 3D. The conversion process from 2D to 3D hurts the final product, and filmgoers are smart enough and aware enough to see the difference (and know some greedy studio is using the 3D to charge higher prices, not to enhance the movie). The reason Avatar was a huge hit in 3D is because it was made in 3D and looked better than anything you had ever seen before. It was worth the extra cash to have that magical experience.
3) Improve the movie going experience. I wish I knew how to stop morons from texting, taking phone calls and talking through movies, but the first person to figure it out will win the Nobel Prize. However, theater managers can improve the movie going experience by paying attention to the proper display of movies.
Theaters outfitted with 3D projectors need to have the lens changed to project a 2D movie, but many fail to do so. Not doing it right can render the projector unusable for long periods of time, but hiring qualified employees to do so fixes that problem. When the lens is not changed, the movie looks very dark on screen.
You also have to have the proper lighting to project a 3D movie. How many people barely saw Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides? This movie notoriously was shown improperly, leaving ticketbuyers, again, looking at a dark, murky screen where it was hard to tell if Johnny Depp or Penelope Cruz was speaking. Many projectionists balked and bristled when Michael Bay urged them to use the proper projector lighting for Transformers: Dark of the Moon, but his public calling out of them lead to a better experience. They shouldn't have to be shamed into doing their jobs well.
Don't even get me started on how many times I go to a movie and the sounds isn't right because the film wasn't fed into the projector properly, so not all of the speakers are employed.
I love the theater experience, but it gets less fun every year.
4) Give it up and go home delivery on everything. This is a radical proposal, but one Hollywood seems to be moving towards. The window between theatrical release and DVD/On Demand release has been shrinking every year. More movies are being released On Demand, On DVD and in theaters on the same day. We even had Time Warner Cable announcing a major theatrical release would be available on its cable system the same day it hit theaters.
As home theaters get more impressive every day, screens get larger, the picture looks more amazing, the sound system sounds more realistic and dynamic, it becomes plausible to have an amazing experience at home. Would you pay $50 to see Harry Potter at home with several friends instead of hiking to the Cineplex? You might get the chance sooner than you think.
Hollywood execs have gone on the warpath to stop movie piracy, fearing the film business would be destroyed in the same way the music business was changed by downloading on the internet. However, that's not what is killing the movie business.
1) Make better movies. How many times have we complained about some movie that was conceived of as a marketing vehicle instead of as a movie? Stars, plots, special effects and more seem to be tailored to reaching certain demographics or audiences. And, stars don't sell movies the way they used to (Just ask Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and the actors who thought they would graduate to that status and haven't). Just make a good movie and people will actually come. Ever heard of The Social Network? The King's Speech? Bridesmaids?
I know evaluating quality is much harder, but it pays off in the end.
2) Use 3D when it matters. Most 3D stinks because the movie was not conceived to be shown in 3D, and most movies are not shot in 3D. The conversion process from 2D to 3D hurts the final product, and filmgoers are smart enough and aware enough to see the difference (and know some greedy studio is using the 3D to charge higher prices, not to enhance the movie). The reason Avatar was a huge hit in 3D is because it was made in 3D and looked better than anything you had ever seen before. It was worth the extra cash to have that magical experience.
3) Improve the movie going experience. I wish I knew how to stop morons from texting, taking phone calls and talking through movies, but the first person to figure it out will win the Nobel Prize. However, theater managers can improve the movie going experience by paying attention to the proper display of movies.
Theaters outfitted with 3D projectors need to have the lens changed to project a 2D movie, but many fail to do so. Not doing it right can render the projector unusable for long periods of time, but hiring qualified employees to do so fixes that problem. When the lens is not changed, the movie looks very dark on screen.
You also have to have the proper lighting to project a 3D movie. How many people barely saw Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides? This movie notoriously was shown improperly, leaving ticketbuyers, again, looking at a dark, murky screen where it was hard to tell if Johnny Depp or Penelope Cruz was speaking. Many projectionists balked and bristled when Michael Bay urged them to use the proper projector lighting for Transformers: Dark of the Moon, but his public calling out of them lead to a better experience. They shouldn't have to be shamed into doing their jobs well.
Don't even get me started on how many times I go to a movie and the sounds isn't right because the film wasn't fed into the projector properly, so not all of the speakers are employed.
I love the theater experience, but it gets less fun every year.
4) Give it up and go home delivery on everything. This is a radical proposal, but one Hollywood seems to be moving towards. The window between theatrical release and DVD/On Demand release has been shrinking every year. More movies are being released On Demand, On DVD and in theaters on the same day. We even had Time Warner Cable announcing a major theatrical release would be available on its cable system the same day it hit theaters.
As home theaters get more impressive every day, screens get larger, the picture looks more amazing, the sound system sounds more realistic and dynamic, it becomes plausible to have an amazing experience at home. Would you pay $50 to see Harry Potter at home with several friends instead of hiking to the Cineplex? You might get the chance sooner than you think.
