Ash Ketchum

An article in today's New York Times business section sums up the summer boxoffice:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/03/bu...ef=todayspaper

I suspect most of the members here go to more movies on a regular basis than the average moviegoer, but, speaking for myself, I only went three times this summer: THE AVENGERS, DARK KNIGHT RISES and EXPENDABLES 2. The first two were, of course, the biggest hits of the summer. The last didn't even get mentioned in the article even though there's a paragraph devoted to Lionsgate and EX2 is still in the top 3.

I was astounded to read that something called THE OOGIELOVES IN THE BIG BALLOON ADVENTURE cost $55 million. Perhaps less astounding is the fact that it made only $448,000, making it "one of the biggest flops of all time," according to the article. What genius would spend that much money on something with that title? Are the Oogieloves some new kiddie pop cult phenomenon? I never heard of them.

So, did you guys go to the movies fewer times than normal this summer or not?

TGM

but to answer your question, I get to go to the movies one, perhaps twice a year since the kids were born. So, it's pretty much been the same.

PopcornTreeCt

I've actually gone a bit this year. However, there really weren't any big movies other than Avengers and Batman. Only one I can think of is Prometheus.

So, not at all surprising.

Coral

I've gone to 0 movies this summer. But then again, I haven't gone to a theatre in 2012.... or even 2011.

I rarely go anymore... and really just go to the theatre for must-see films - otherwise I wait for video.

I do plan on seeing "The Master" in theatres however.

kgrogers1979

The last time I went to a theater was in 1998 to see Mortal Kombat 2.

Matthew Chmiel

This summer's lineup sucked. If studios and theaters want to combat all the various venues of entertainment out there, they have to provide quality. People need a reason to leave their house when there's so much else one can do with their free time.

The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, ParaNorman, Safety Not Guaranteed, Ruby Sparks, Ted, and Brave all were magnificent films released this summer. However, some of those films didn't make a dent in the box office as they should've never been released in the summer.

On the flip side, I thought Snow White and the Huntsman, The Watch, Nitro Circus 3D, Piranha 3DD, Savages, The Amazing Spider-Man, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Magic Mike and Moonrise Kingdom were the biggest pieces of shit I've seen all year.

That being said, there were a lot of films released in the summer that are in that middle ground. They were entertaining, but I don't know if I would've seen them theatrically if I didn't have MoviePass or if I would've even sit down and watch them again.

E Unit

I watch more revivals then I do new movies. Been hitting the Drafthouse 70mm series lately, There's nothing new worth watching this summer outside the ones called out by the OP. In fact, those are the only 3 new big release movies I've seen this year. I also caught a couple of limited release stuff.

fumanstan

I've seen as many movies as I normally do in the summer. Everything seems about the same to me

stingermck

Same here, in fact I may have seen more than usual.

TomOpus

As was mentioned in the article, the low domestic BO was offset by the high overseas BO. It's not the doom and gloom as the title suggests. Now if there's a decrease over the next 5 years... might be a concern.

I think the studios, for the most part, will be fine.

EdTheRipper

Same for me. I know I've seen way more movies theatrically this year than any time in the past.

PenguinJoe

Well I mean with shit like Battleship, That's My Boy, and Madea's Witness Protection was anyone really in a rush to go to the movies?

Also, that gunman put a damper on things. Americans are fearful people anyway now not being able to enjoy a movie without thinking about some dude wanting to kill them prob freaked them out.

wm lopez

So anybody have the Labor Day end of summer totals?

Dr. DVD

I hope movie theater managers don't lose their jobs over something like this, as it's not their fault if people choose not to view the product they are show-casing.

Axeramm

Over half of the movies I have seen this year were paid for using movie cash from blu-ray or dvd purchases.

DonnachaOne

Hasn't happened yet, but it's in the mail, that's for sure. The armchair speculators who regurgitate Box Office Mojo's figures can say what they want, since they're not affected, but the sad fact is that this summer was very disappointing and very hurtful. After the surprise with The Avengers, everything dropped, we all rode it out until The Dark Knight Rises would inevitably do well, and then that did poorer than predicted. The belt just gets tighter.

When attendance suffers, studios more than ever dump their funding into stuff that audiences have paid to see before in the hopes they'll want more. Battleship was trying Transformers again, audiences have gobbled up whatever shit Adam Sandler made in the past, and Tyler Perry has a huge and reliable following.

FUCK YES that psycho ruined things. It was bad before and he made it worse. I still get phone calls asking about our security precautions. We've had security in our buildings before, we've had police patrolling the lot before, and now we have even more of a security presence - going to the movies has only gotten safer since that lunatic murdered innocent people, and I've had bastards yelling at me for not having armed police outside ever theater door. I can't do that! You don't think it kills me that some guy brutally murdered people at a theatre? It kills me that he did it period.

That's still money for the studios; when you buy a disc with moviecash inside, by the studio's logic, you're paying for the new movie and getting a free disc with it. So you're still helping the studio's profit, and you're helping the theatre by coming in; most attendees bring at least one paying guest and most everyone buys concessions. If that doesn't apply to you, that's fine, you're an exception - and you're still watching movies the way they were meant to be seen, so you're cool in my book.

Dr. DVD

I work in management for a niche retail market that is experiencing a major change in consumer habits. Couldn't help but wonder if they try to use managers as scapegoats for things that are more or less beyond their control in other industries as well. It's times like this one needs to make sure that they are squeaky clean from the operational standpoint as anything out of compliance can carry much more weight than if business were thriving.

Spottedfeather

Looks like people are wising up to the fact that 99% of movies these days are utter crap.

resinrats

You need to tell them that you don't want their business since they are being such pussies. Seriously, 1 incident and people act like millions die every day in movie theaters. Has it EVER happened before? You have a much more chance of being killed in the car going to the theater then dying in one. Besides, what do they want to be done? Metal detectors, pat-downs, guards in the theater watching over people in the theater? No thank you.

Groucho

auto

Matthew Chmiel

DonnachaOne

Doesn't matter if I want their business or not if I need it, and while you're correct about the statistics, rational thought and facts have never deterred the small-but-vocal moron/coward percentage of the population.

I don't like talking about this, and usually I try not to complain, but reports like the Times piece can pierce my calm. It's a very worrisome state of affairs. Smarter and more polite moviegoers gravitate to their home theaters these days, and I can't blame them.

Hazel Motes

I've seen 29 films in theaters this year so far. After the Vancouver Film Festival next month I expect it to be around 75 or so. By the end of the year i'll probably have seen close to 100 movies in theaters for 2012.

kd5

Assuming the dollar theaters don't count, the last major motion picture(s) I went to see was the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I just can't bring myself to pay upwards of $20 (excluding snacks) for my wife and I to go see a movie. Not when I can wait a little while and buy it on DVD (after it's made its pricing rounds) and watch it whenever and however many times I want to. Money is tight, I have better things to spend it on. -kd5-