Films Slump

Poor films explains box office slump - survey

LOS ANGELES - The main reason for the box office slump is the quality of the movies themselves, according to a survey of moviegoers' opinions found in Internet chat rooms and posted on message boards.

Even when moviegoers cite other reasons for going to theaters less often than they used to, they still circle back to the quality of films as the root cause for their disaffection, according to research company Brandimensions.

For example, potential moviegoers who cited the ease and selection offered by DVD rental firm Netflix as one reason why they visit the multiplex less, then said they were driven to try Netflix because of the dearth of decent theatrical releases.

The study found that audiences also cited such other factors as the rising costs of movie tickets, onscreen commercials shown before films and even inadequate parking. But those consumers whose views were collected in the study also said that if the movies were more appealing, they would put up with the other factors.

This year's box office take is about 8% lower than it was for the same period a year ago, and the number of tickets sold is off about 11%.

Brandimensions searched 1.9 million Internet blogs and chat rooms where users were discussing the box office slump. Relevancy algorithms were used in choosing 1,350 posts to dissect by using software coupled with human data analysts. The result was a 16-page analysis.

The sites that were culled in creating the study run the gamut from the obvious, such as iFilm and other movie-related sites, to the not so obvious, such as a site for criticizing the president and another dedicated to professional musicians.

In one of its findings, the study said that when a movie's DVD release closely follows its theatrical debut, consumers often consider it the sign of a bad movie.

Many Internet chatters also expressed dismay about what they see as Hollywood's incessant focus on piracy and said they'd gladly wait longer for DVD releases if the trade-off were better theatrical releases.

The demographic that indicates most that it is seeing fewer movies are males ages 25-49, followed by females in the same age bracket. Those age groups are increasingly deciding that a sporting event or concert offers more value than movies do.

"They're not only cross-shopping movies against each other, but they're also cross-shopping movies against other entertainment experiences," Brandimensions chief operating officer Bradley Silver said.

Silver said that 44% of Internet chatters on the subject of the box office slump cite bad movies as their reason for shunning theaters, and among those citing other reasons, the quality of films is usually their second or third reason. He also said that the data indicates that even movie stars don't have the same cache as they once did.

"With Charles Bronson and Clint Eastwood, you knew what you were getting," he said. But, he added, with many current stars, audiences don't often know exactly what a movie promises.

Asked to sum up the attitude of disaffected moviegoers, Bradley said: "Going to the movies used to be fun and exciting. It used to be an event. It's none of those anymore."