With ticket sales down and newly released movies hitting streaming and video-on-demand (VOD) services in record time, it’s not surprising that films are struggling to make it big in theaters. For comparison, 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road grossed a whopping $45 million over a non-holiday opening weekend, which ultimately led to an impressive $380 million global box office draw. Meanwhile, Furiosa, which is equally well-received, earned just $32 million over the four days that make up Memorial Day weekend. Sadly, Hollywood’s slump is becoming much more of a pattern, and there are clear-cut reasons why.
They are:
- The Movie Theater Experience Isn’t Always Great
- Movie Theaters Are Expensive
- Bigger Budgets Puts Greater Box Office Expectations On Some Movies
- The COVID-19 Pandemic Changed Moviegoing Habit
- Audiences Have Been Conditioned That New Theatrical Releases Will Quickly Go To VOD
- Streaming Means There’s More Choice At Home Than In Theaters
My nearest movie theater’s projectors are going wonky. The most noticeable issue is that they look like they’re not projecting enough red in the center of the screens, but the color on the edges is fine. It makes everything look way too blue, and it’s often a toss up if you’ll end up in a theater with a bad projector or one that’s still working right. Definitely makes me go less, and usually only when I can guarantee which theater a showing will be in.
I’m sure this isn’t a nationwide issue, but it’s my reason for going less at least.
A Regal cinema that I go to is also somewhat in disrepair. I’m guessing the theater chains aren’t very interested in paying money to keep them up. Every time I go there are maybe 5 people in a single theater.