The summer box office haul is officially down 20% from a year ago. Why do you think that is?

Just a bunch of sequels to movies I wasn't interested in seeing last summer.

 

T I C K E T----P R I C E S

 

WOW! looking forward to most of them.

 

Summer means fun!
The missing 20% is next month.
Still got august ( at least) to go.
Still july.

 

From my point of view, that should have been happened years ago. At the end of the 90s I went to the movies almost always twice a week; nowadays I´ll maybe see a movie at a movie theatre once a month, at most.

01. The prices have reached insanely highes. I had to pay almost 20€ for the last hobbit flick; and 13€ for a Godzilla Matinee. Crazy World!
02. The releases for the home-movie market now are coming straight after the theatrical run; mostly within a time frame of three months. For 20€ I can purchase simply also the BD.
03. The Fall of Cinema: To go digital. It´s no longer film for me, which looked quite unique. Now you have DCPs. Mostly they look crappy. And they are basically the same as the later BD release. So I can simply just purchase the BD right away, where I´ll also have the possibility to adjust my settings as it pleases me.
04. The Fall of Visual Effects: CGI. Crappy, crappy, crappy stuff. Not one of these current films will ever becoming a classic. In a few years they will look even more outdated. In the past Special Effects & Visual Effects were unique and in the best cases timeless. That´s been gone now, too.
05. The Fall of the Movies: Blockbusters. Two or three Blockbusters in a year was great fun; but if you´re aiming each and every movie to become one of them, you limit your creativity extremely. And in the end you have to make the same stupid, crappy, lousy Superhero - Movie over and over and over again, because this is what you think the perfect Blockbuster shoud look like...

 

The drop being discussed isn't for the whole summer - no one's saying 2014 is down from 2013 because 2014's not yet equaled the total from summer 2013.

It's a drop that spans the same time period, so as of July 2014, box office is down significantly when compared to last year through July...

 

It comes down to the quality of the movies being screened, maybe the public at large is getting burned out on superhero movies (let's see how Guardians does in a few weeks), the save the world from ---------is getting a little worn down, these movies need more content to connect with people.

 

I disagree, look at the prices for all forms of entertainment, movie prices are still reasonable compared to concerts (gougefests) or pro sporting events (even worse).

 

Two other factors...

1. More choices of things to do that don't involve movies.
2. Beautiful weather to date, at least in New England. We've only had a couple of weather clunkers thus far.

 

Thanks for the correction.

 

Streaming, ticket & concession prices too effin high, a-holes using cellphones irritating moviegoers with the common decency to not use them

 

I don't think the decline is about audiences being tired of certain genres or high ticket prices or streaming - it's about a lackluster set of movies this year. It happens - not every year comes with tons of movies that turn into big hits. Some summers are just duds...

 

This all began in the last year?

 

I'm just getting burned out on sequels, remakes and reboots. But since those films continue to make money, especially overseas, I don't think we're going to see the end of them anytime soon.

The biggest missing piece right now are mid-priced movies that focus primarily on character, it seems everything is either a huge blockbuster or it's a small indie film. The middle ground has vanished.

 

Bad economy, bad movies, personally I am sicked of getting raped when I want to buy a coke and some popcorn. I used to go to the movies a lot. Not I wait for the movie to come out on DVD or streaming is available. After all, it's just entertainment. I can always find something to watch on TV.

 

I disagree with your disagreement...maybe for you, but not for me...I wouldn't pay the current ticket prices..baragin? yea right! I'll wait for the home video version for less money and convenience. just my opinion my friend.

 

nothing like having a favorite movie in ones library to pick and choose the entertainment for the evening...I'd rather own it...

 

yes, that about sums it up for me as well...I found plenty to enjoy on home video this year so far...

 

Silly movies
Not many great movies
CGI looks fake no matter what. The audience can tell it is all CGI anymore.

 

Not always. Yes it's more obvious when the CGI is depicting something obviously impossible, like giant rampaging robots, however when it's used discreetly in a conventional non-fx type setting, then it's much harder to tell. For example, in Game Of Thrones (yes it's sfx-y), the dragons and the zombies are obviously CGI, but much of the background countryside, buildings and interiors are also CGI (or part CGI) which you'd be hard pressed to pick.

 

I disagree...you must be referring to early CGI...the more recent CGI is enjoyable in movies and TV! as mentioned Game Of Thrones, and others.

 

... for a TV show the Dragons are outrageous!

 

Mediocre films not worth the price to go see them. When the majority of films get too be predictable unoriginal drivel and the cost to see them makes you think twice (or more) before opening the wallet, you have a problem. Hollywood has a problem.

 

No, most recent big budget movies I mean.

Everything CGI is very obvious to me. It looks Fake.

No matter how hard they try, a lot of CGI simply looks like CGI to me. Maybe it varies depending on who is watching, but I am never fully convinced with many effects.

Enjoyable maybe, but totally transparent and real? Hardly ever.

Sure some of the "Backdrops" and stuff are real enough, but creatures, and all kinda stuff such as ships, and devices and so on, always seem not real to me. They almost pull me out of the action.

Not saying CGI is all horrible, but just about every big budget movie I watch has several scenes where it just does not look "real".

 

No matter how keen your eye, probably 50% of the CGI in movies is escaping your notice.