Revenues Up, Ticket Sales Down

I have previously mentioned my opinion on the ever-rising ticket prices of movies today, but I have yet to really delve into the revenue aspect of the price hikes. After doing some research, I came across some interesting information.

Ticket sales are low, but revenue is still high

From looking at the chart, we can see that ticket sales are low, very low. In fact, they are at the second lowest amount since 1995, and yet revenue is actually at it's third highest amount in the past 16 years! It seems ridiculous, but when you think about it, it makes sense. Not as many people are buying movie tickets--instead choosing to illegally download new movies--so the film industry must compensate for this by raising the prices. As a result, they are still able to make enormous revenues even though less and less people are buying tickets for films.

Is this a trend that will continue? I think so. With the ever-increasing popularity of 3D films and the higher ticket price that comes with seeing such a film, the movie industry will still be able to make near-record amounts of revenue even if the number of ticket sales continues to fall. This trend is interesting because it shows that there are people out there who just cannot be bothered to spend so much money on a ticket and instead are not attending the movies, but on the flip side of that there are still many, many people willing to shell out whatever is necessary to go see a new film. Ticket prices will continue to go up, so even if the number of tickets sold continues to decrease, the industry will still be doing well. So well, that this may not even be a concern to them.

Nonetheless I find these numbers extremely interesting, although unsurprising. Piracy and illegally downloading movies is very frequent and I think there will be more people turning to this means of watching film the more tickets go up in price. However, barring a serious change in things, the movie industry will be fine. Well, not just fine, but better than ever.

Enough with the Superheroes... Seriously...

Jeez, what's gotten into Hollywood these days? As I mentioned in my second blog, Hollywood has seemingly run out of ideas, and this makes me upset. Why does it seem that the majority of movies these days are sequels (Pirates of the Caribbean is planning a 5th and 6th film in the future), remakes (the recent The Three Musketeers for example), or based on superheroes? Oh wait, that's not just how it seems, that is how it is. Seriously, what superhero doesn't have a movie about them now? Just in this past decade we've seen two different Hulk films (with two different lead actors).

Do we really need another movie about this guy?

One from 2003, and another in 2008. What is the point of this? Why did they remake a film they made just 5 years earlier if they simply did not have any better ideas? But wait! It doesn't stop there: We've seen 3 Spider-man movies with Tobey Maguire as the star, and now they are making yet another Spider-man, except this time with a different actor!

It's preposterous, superhero films are incredibly popular, yet when you actually think about it, you will realize how unoriginal they are. They are rehashed and slightly modified versions of the comic book stories--but the fans love them, and Hollywood will let this trend run it's course until the financial results tell them otherwise.

I, however, am still bothered by this movement, as it gives strength to the belief that Hollywood is running out of ideas for movies. A few more superhero films that have been made are the recent Captain America, Green Lantern, Green Hornet, the 2006 Superman Returns. And how could I forget Iron Man and Iron Man 2? (Iron Man 3 coming in 2013 as well). Really, what superheroes are left that haven't been made into films these days? As I've stated before, the films usually do well so I can see Hollywood's interest in them, but as a critic and overall fan of cinema, it pains me to see this as the direction Hollywood is going in, where there are so little new, original ideas for movies, and instead an abundance of sequels, remakes, and superhero films.