It would be interesting to see total stats on how many people see a movie in all formats -- theater, DVD, for iPod, over Roku, etc. Because my guess would be that a lot of public theater-going has been supplanted by private watching at home, which is cheaper and more convenient, and often can look and sound almost as good if you've spent money on the right gear. That may or may not be a good thing but I suspect that's the way things are going.

There might be new opportunities there though. I live in NYC and I keep wondering if anybody can make a film's opening weekend feel more like a performance at the opera and less like a cattle call, but it might just be impossible.
# posted by  Francis Hwang @ 12/28/2008 12:14 PM  

 
Exactly as I suspected. In particular when you consider how absolutely hum-drum (I'm being kind in many cases) most...ehem, all...the movies mentioned in the article really are.

Yes, blockbusters really were blockbusters because they were GOOD.

I'm waiting for the next big shake-up, the one akin to the late 1950's/early 60's studio system failure and the 1970's break-with-Hollywood movement and the early 1990's "indie" period.

What'll happen? Who knows? But it sure will be fun to watch Hollywood topple...yet again.
# posted by  sullygulliver @ 12/28/2008 11:02 PM  

 
oh come off it. That last paragraph has the same melodrama they've been using since radio came along and killed the movies.
# posted by  Anonymous @ 12/29/2008 2:03 PM  

 
Okay, the last paragraph was a bit portentous...
# posted by  Scott Macaulay @ 12/30/2008 7:47 PM  

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