A Good Movie Is a Good Movie No Matter Where It's Seen Andy Marken July 18, 2024
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The life we enjoy is very much worth the sacrifice. - Rudolf Hoss, Zone of Interest, A24, 2023
Shortly after the end of CinemaCon, we were chatting with a friend down in SoCal about the roll-out of A24's action film Civil War because the build-up hype made it a project we both were determined to see.
The big question was how, when do we see it?
At the time of our discussion, it was going to hit the theaters right after the NATO (National Association of Theater Owners) week-long movies for movie houses event, but the thought-piece project was also scheduled to be available later for people to buy for their permanent home library (PVOD). Then, Warner was going to encourage folks to sign up for their Max streaming service to build their subscription base.
Then, at some time in the distant future, it will probably be made available on Prime then Pluto and/or Tubi.
Yeah, we both decided we'd wait to see it on our own screens with our own home popcorn.
And that just about summed up the shape of the movie-going industry, despite the optimism that Michael O'Leary, the new head of NATO, the studio executives and theater owners are facing.
Even O'Leary had a tough time believing the industry was prepared for a revival when he said, I believe the future of the theatrical industry is limited, and then quickly corrected himself and said limitless.
Yes, it's been tough for the movie house industry in recent years.
First, we had the pandemic shutdown that put padlocks on theaters around the globe and then just as they were struggling to reopen and entice people to come back and put their seats in seats, the creation industry had the double six-month SAG-AFTRA/WGA strikes.
Studios had to make a hard call - shift the most expensive projects to 2025 or push out as many projects as possible and beef up the potential for their streaming services to gain subscription numbers/profits.
Since they are all hustling to improve their bottom line, they did both without a huge bright outlook for theater owners who need a steady flow of great video content and ticket buyers.
Don't get us wrong, the theater industry isn't going to head in the same direction Peak TV seems to be moving toward, but it is going to have to reassess and realign its future.
AMC's CEO Adam Aron sorta set the tone late last year when he tweeted that AMC didn't fall into bankruptcy, that the company is still here and, in his words, is blazing new trails. In addition to investing in a gold/silver mine, it's offering its AMC-branded popcorn in grocery stores, and even selling popcorn holder collectables.
Collectors' Item - AMC has tried almost everything to attract folks to put seats into seats, including collector popcorn specialties. The Dunes Part 2 limited edition package even attracted the Utah legislature that probably never saw the movie.
Of course, the Dunes Part 2 popcorn bucket may have gone a little too far because the Utah state legislature banned it because it might give young men impure thoughts.
Maybe; but you kinda wonder what they thought when they first saw it, but the added drama probably did help sell added tickets and expensive buckets of popcorn.
But more importantly and professionally, they also signed direct deals with Taylor Swift and Beyonce to show their concert films in their theaters.
Now that and other modest events AMC is probably also exploring shows how thinking outside the box can rejuvenate the industry and was well worth Aron's salary bump to $25M plus!
Depending, of course, on the ups/downs of Wall Street.
Changing Habits - It takes planning and money to go out to the movies but on a whim, you can sit at home and watch what you want, when you want it. Tough choice.
The theater industry has been rearranging the lifeboats since 2002 when it had its true peak ticket sales.
Since then, people have been steadily turning to their home/personal screens as the cost and hassle of going out for a special evening became special.
Ups, Downs - Theater ticket sales may be down but the box office for theater owners remains healthy. Volume will take time to return with more, easier film viewing options.
With fewer seats in seats, theater chains made up the difference by raising ticket prices which helped their grosses but didn't do much to entice more folks to visit their houses.
Big Budget - Going to the movies on an impulse is becoming more difficult with the costs continuing to rise especially since the cost of one ticket can give you a month's of streaming enjoyment.
Since that didn't help much, they figured the next best thing was to improve the cost of the concessions which enabled them to brag about steady box office increases rather than a growing number of folks in the seats.
That helped them but didn't do a thing for the studios that had to foot all the marketing costs of the films that were gracing the huge screens but still only gave them a share of the actual ticket sales.
When tech giants like Netflix and Prime showed folks they could enjoy good to great films/shows without leaving their living/family rooms and that they could pay for a whole month of home entertainment for about a quarter of their burdensome cable bill, they caught the attention of consumers.
Delicious, Filling - A big tub of fresh, greasy popcorn at home may cost a dollar so at the movie theater, you need to savor every expensive bite.
But then Wall Street jumped into the picture and said after showing their movies/shows in the theater and on their networks, renting content to the techie streamers rather than going direct to the consumer themselves would be a lot more profitable.
After all, studios were great at pr
