Arts and Culture - Are We Still Going To The Movies?

Wanna See A Movie? Yeah, But Where?

Going to the movies is one of the great American leisure pursuits. Over the last decade, we have seen the rise of the "blockbuster" — films with big stars that make big money on their opening weekends. We've seen stars make huge paychecks. We've gone to our local multiplex and taken out second mortgages to pay for tickets and popcorn. So the industry must be doing pretty well, right?

Well, not exactly. The graph above charts admissions and box-office revenues over the last decade. Some things to notice here: The industry has seen box office revenues rise steadily, with grosses jumping 2.7% to hit $7.7 billion in 2000. However, fewer people are actually going to the movies. Admissions have dropped for two consecutive years, from 1.48 billion in 1998 to 1.47 billion in 1999 to 1.42 billion in 2000. Several sources have pointed out what accounts for the increased revenues: the increase in ticket prices. The average price of a ticket is now $5.39, up 28% from 1990. In large cities, the cost of a ticket is far higher.

The industry is suffering in another way: oversupply. The number of screens has increased 52% over the last decade, with a total of 36,264 screens in 2000. The multiplexes that seemed to spring up on every corner simply could not generate enough revenues to keep going.

This ties in to the other point to be made from the panel. People aren't going to the movies as much because they watch them at home. The home video market has seen some troubles too as preferences shifted between rental and direct sales and DVD began capturing share from VHS. This market has consistently generated billions (the rental segment generated over $8 billion in 2000, beating theaters for the second year). This is another example of one of the major themes of this book's leisure section: Americans are cocooning. People are spending more time at home; families are trying to spend more time together.

Sources: "Media Forecast: Strong Spending." USA TODAY, July 25, 1997, p. 2B; Jim McCullaugh. "Special Interest Looks for Retail Respect." Billboard, October 31, 1992, data from the Motion Picture Industry of America; some home video figures are estimated.