Movie theaters lose profits, compete with growing media

Lindsay Law LAW05002@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

Ah, the smell of hot buttered popcorn, the huge posters plastered all over the walls, the lines of smiling faces.  This is what the movies are all about.  But for many, the movies just don’t hold the excitement they used to.

Box-office grosses are down almost 8 percent from last year, according to Newsweek. Why?

“Ten years ago, everybody kind of fell for the ads, and we went and saw the movies. Now people can get online and write [about the movie] and it’s out in the world by Friday afternoon,” Charlie’s Angels director said in Newsweek.

Bad reviews on the Internet certainly don’t stimulate people’s interest in seeing movies, but some experts have other ideas as to why movie attendance has dropped.

Howard Lichtman, president of the Lightning Group in Toronto, says he’s certain that bad movies are to blame for the drop at the box office.  “It shows that Hollywood has missed the mark on what people are interested in,” he said in Canadian Business.

Money also plays an important role in whether people will see a movie or not.

“Due to my $45 a week paycheck from The Plasma Center, it’s too expensive for me to go to the movies, “ said Wayne Bass, a sophomore from Vinita, Okla. 

This is an issue for many college students.  With ticket prices in Rexburg ranging from $3 to $8, going to the movies isn’t cheap anymore for students on a tight budget.

In an unofficial poll of 50 BYU-Idaho students, 46 said they go to the movies two times or less per month.  

Some students have found better forms of entertainment, especially when it comes to dating.

“Actually, I enjoy talking to my date, and you just can’t do that in the movies,” said Brent Cook, a sophomore from Wasilla, Alaska. 

Despite the decline in theater attendance, some people in the movie business are still hopeful that things will change.  

“It’s more fun to watch a funny movie in a crowded, uproariously laughing audience than it is watching it at home yourself, and given the right physical experience, people will leave their homes and enjoy [movies] in theaters,” said Art Levitt, CEO of online ticket retailer Fandango.com, in USA Today.