Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Movies Losing Popularity at Box Office

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the good-scripts-also-lost dept.

andyring writes "Without the slightest mention of piracy, the MPAA said box-office revenues declined by 8 percent last year. About 40 percent of the decline came from the U.S. Now if only they'd realize that the decline is from movies sucking more than my shop vac." It's been a while since a film warranted spending the money to watch it in a room full of strangers.

4 of 795 comments (clear)

  1. Why Movies Suck by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Really. There's jibes all over in the press about it. Most of the films in the past year I spent my money on were at a place like this.

    Why?

    Because I've seen it all before, now they're re-doing it all and nothing surprises me. Then I go to the Del Mar or The Nick and see something

    • See a story which is either deeply thoughtful or genuinely entertaining.
    • I have no idea where the story is going.
    • See really good acting.
    • See a production done so well I forget for a moment I'm actually watching it on a screen.
    • Suprising. Innocent Voices, that was an eye opener. Amelie, that was a charmer. Run Lola Run, that was just cool.
    Steve Martin in the recent remake of The Pink Panther is a prime example. I already have some idea where jokes are going, long before the punch. The acting isn't anywhere near as good as the first (Sellers may have been an ass, but he could act comedy.) Honestly. Steve Martin (The Spanish Prisoner) and Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda) are really capable of great acting, but this was pretty weak.

    I'm a real flim buff. You can tell. I take my own popcorn salt, rather than risk they'll have table salt shakers from SYSCO.

    Hey, get that guys post! i want to create a movie based upon it! car chases! beautiful women! huge fireball explosions! sophomoric humor! It'll be great!

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    1. Re:Why Movies Suck by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Interesting
      The reason for that is that they have choked off the supply of works going in to the public domain. Historically, Hollywood has dipped into the public domain for ideas. Nothing new into the public domain = nothing new in Hollywood.

      There's still buckets of stuff in the public domain. That said, there were a lot of great movies made of stuff copyrighted, like Gone With The Wind and The Wizard of Oz. I just think they've got some twisted idea that they won't take a risk. I think Heinlein's Tunnel In The Sky would make a killer film, but not with the calibre of actors I've seen cropping up lately. Lord knows they did a real job on Starship Troopers.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    2. Re:Why Movies Suck by rlauzon · · Score: 5, Interesting
      There's still buckets of stuff in the public domain.

      Most of which has been already used in something "new" that is still under copyright, making it a risk to use.

      Last estimate showed that 80% of the currently available works are still under copyright but have no known owners.

      I think Heinlein's Tunnel In The Sky would make a killer film

      Agreed. But who owns the copyright? Heinlein's been dead for nearly 20 years.

      Also, Hollywood doesn't want to pay for writing. Disney, for example, timed their version of Peter Pan so that it wouldn't come out until the story passed into the public domain.

  2. Box Office Down... DVDs ??? by TubeSteak · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Box Office sales dropped.

    What happened to DVD sales?

    --
    [Fuck Beta]
    o0t!