Thanks Mel. Interesting read.
ad On Sun, Dec 24, 2017 at 7:57 PM, MoviePoster Collectors < [email protected]> wrote: > Hollywood is celebrating the end of 2017 with astronomical sales from > “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” which is on track to soon exceed $1 billion in > global ticket sales and eventually become the biggest movie of the year. > But that won’t be enough to write a happy storyline for the industry. > > Although movie ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada are expected to dip > just below last year's record of $11.38 billion, the number of tickets sold > is projected to drop 4% to 1.26 billion — the lowest level since 1995, > according to preliminary estimates from studio executives. > > The falloff in ticket sales can mostly be explained by a handful of movies > that flopped, especially during the dreary summer season that posted the > worst results in more than two decades. Even such massive hits as “Wonder > Woman,” “Thor: Ragnarok” and “It” couldn’t make up for a lackluster summer > lineup populated by rickety franchises (“Alien: Covenant”) and poorly > reviewed retreads (“The Mummy”). > > *However, the long-term decline in attendance reflects systemic challenges > facing the industry. Audiences are spending less time going to the movies > and are consuming more entertainment on small screens and through streaming > services such as Netflix and Amazon that are spending billions on original > video content.* > > At the same time, while higher ticket prices have helped to offset > attendance declines, they have made consumers pickier about what movies > they’re willing to go see. And those increasingly discerning consumers turn > to social media and Rotten Tomatoes to decide what’s worth their time and > money. > > > > “You cannot pull a fast one on the audience,” said Greg Foster, chief > executive of Imax Entertainment. “The tools that are available for > consumers to decide how and where to spend entertainment dollars are so > vast. Consumers know what works and what doesn't long before the product > becomes available.” > > > Challenges at the box office are helping to fuel a wave of media > consolidation. Walt Disney Co. this month announced a blockbuster deal to > buy entertainment assets from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox for $52.4 > billion. > > > > Murdoch’s surprise decision to sell the bulk of his media empire was at > least partly motivated by concerns about the future of the movie business > in a world dominated by streaming, analysts said. > > > > Cinema chains also are bulking up to better compete. Regal Entertainment > Group, the nation’s second-largest theater owner, last month agreed to sell > to British theater company Cineworld for $3.6 billion. > > > > For studios, the box office has become a land of princes and paupers, with > a handful of movies and a couple studios increasingly dominating the > business. As of Dec. 17, Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. accounted for 40% > of domestic market share. In 2012, the top two studios (Sony and Warner > Bros.) only took up 30% of the industry total. > > > > Of the 165 wide-release movies this year, the top 20 claimed 51% of ticket > sales in 2017, representing a 2% increase from last year, according to > estimates from distributors. Five years ago, the 20 biggest movies > accounted for about 40% of annual grosses. > > > > “It's a really binary business between the haves and the have-nots,” said > Jeff Goldstein, head of domestic distribution for Warner Bros. > > > > Nowhere was that trend clearer than last weekend, when the animated Fox > movie “Ferdinand” opened against Disney’s “The Last Jedi.” The $111-million > kids’ film about a fighting-averse bull opened with a pitiful $13 million, > due to a lack of audience interest in the story and competition from > Pixar’s hit computer-animated movie “Coco.” By contrast, the new “Star > Wars” opened with $220 million — nearly 17 times “Ferdinand’s” debut > > > > Hollywood’s lack of fresh ideas also dampened ticket sales. Consumers > clearly rejected aging franchises and retreads of old concepts and > characters, especially during the summer months. Few people wanted to see > Paramount’s R-rated “Baywatch” revival or Universal’s reboot of “The > Mummy,” which was supposed to kick-start a series of monster movies. Ditto > for the fifth “Transformers” movie. > > > > “The films that underperformed were the fifth or eighth in the franchise,” > said Eric Wold, an entertainment and media analyst with B. Riley FBR Inc. > “Those franchises were already on the decline, so you can't expect people > to go run to them.” > > > > Originality and quality really pay off > > > > On the other hand, movies with the right combination of originality and > quality scored big numbers. > > > > Disney’s well-reviewed live-action version of “Beauty and the Beast” and > Warner Bros.’ “Wonder Woman” scored with audiences, grossing $504 million > and $412 million, respectively in the U.S. and Canada. Both offered fresh > takes on beloved characters that audiences wanted to see on the big screen. > New “Spider-Man” and “Thor” movies similarly avoided franchise fatigue. > > > > *It also helped if the moves appealed to women who’ve been underserved by > the studios. The three highest-grossing films — “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” > “Beauty and the Beast” and “Wonder Woman” — were all led by female > protagonists.* > > > > “Girls Trip,” an R-rated romp that centered on four black women, was the > highest-grossing live-action comedy of the year, in a moviegoing climate > that was not kind to comedies. > > > > “We continue to hear that comedies are dead, but great content will > disprove many current ‘rules’ as ‘Girls Trip’ did,” said Jim Orr, president > of domestic distribution for Universal Pictures. “The audience is often > saying, show us something new, something we haven’t seen before or done in > a new and exciting way.” > > > > Horror movies, which benefit from being seen in a dark room with a big > crowd, had a banner year. New Line’s “It” defied all expectations by > scoring $327 million, despite hitting theaters in the moviegoing dead zone > of September. Universal Pictures’ “Get Out,” a social satire that’s now a > front-runner for awards consideration, became a cultural phenomenon earlier > in the year by tapping into a national conversation about race relations. > It took in $175 million domestically. > > > > “Look what happens when you put out a good film that people want to see. > It breaks records,” said Phil Zacheretti, chief executive of Phoenix > Theatres Entertainment, which operates 13 movie theaters. “When you put out > mediocre product, people aren't stupid.” > > > > *Contributing to the winners-and-losers dynamic was the rise of social > media and review aggregation sites such as Rotten Tomatoes that let > moviegoers determine whether a movie is good or bad before it’s released. > Some producers have estimated that a very high or very low Rotten Tomatoes > score can cause a movie to miss or exceed pre-release estimates by as much > as 50%. Critical reviews this year damaged Sony’s “The Dark Tower,” Warner > Bros.’ “Geostorm” and Universal’s “The Snowman.”* > > > > Global market is profitable — and expanding > > > > The international box office remains a bright spot for moviegoing. The > global box office, which includes domestic and international revenue, is > expected to hit roughly $39.4 billion this year, up 2% from 2016, studio > executives said. China is still a lucrative market despite a substantial > slowdown in that market. > > > > “We have some huge challenges in the years to come, and there's no > question we're facing huge competition,” Goldstein said. “But when you look > at a global box office of $39 billion worldwide, there's clearly a lot of > interest in motion pictures.” > > > > AMC, owned by China’s Dalian Wanda Group, recently signaled its plans to > expand into Saudi Arabia after the kingdom lifted its ban on movie theaters. > > > > Beyond looking overseas, major theater chains are spending billions of > dollars on improvements to their auditoriums, adding recliner seats as well > as expanded menu options and even alcohol. > > > > “If we had sat on our hands five years ago and not started to upgrade our > theaters, I would think we'd be down a lot more,” said Zacheretti of > Phoenix Theatres, which is based in Knoxville, Tenn. > > > > The investments in premium services, however, have made moviegoing more > expensive. The average ticket price during the three months that ended in > September hit a near-record $8.93 in the U.S. and Canada, according to the > National Assn. of Theatre Owners. People in cities such as Los Angeles and > New York often pay double that amount. > > > > To lure patrons, some theaters are abandoning their traditional opposition > to offering discounts. > > > > Cinemark, based in Plano, Texas, and the nation’s third-largest theater > circuit, recently unveiled a subscription program that gives members a > credit of one ticket a month, plus discounts on concessions, for a monthly > fee of $8.99. The program is the industry’s first direct answer to > MoviePass, a fast-growing New York start-up that lets people see a movie a > day for $9.95 a month. > > > > “We want to make moviegoing a little more affordable and let people take a > little more risk when they go to the movies,” Cinemark Chief Executive Mark > Zoradi said. > > > > *** > > Mel S. Hutson > > Charlotte, NC USA > > www.moviepostercollectors.guide: Movie Poster Collecting Reference and > Showcase > > ------------------------------ > > To unsubscribe from the MoPo-L list, click the following link: > https://listserv.american.edu/scripts/wa-american.exe?SUBED1=MoPo-L&A=1 > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
