Movie Industry failing? Weekend Box the worst in nearly 30 years.
There are several different ways to measure the “total box office”, but any way you look at it, it’s bad. Box Office Mojo calls it “the worst weekend in two years”. Forbes says it’s the worst weekend in over a decade. Thompson on Hollywood says it is the worst movie weekend in nearly 30 years.
Not adjusting for much higher ticket prices, the initial estimated total places it below all weekends I can find going back to Halloween 1998 (often weak if Oct. 31 falls on the weekend). And with adjustments, it looks like the number of tickets sold hasn’t been this low since 1988. Full weekend gross totals only go back to 1982, but if you add in population growth, who knows how long it has been since so few people were attracted to theaters (it looks like about six million went this weekend).
This year was already pretty slow. In the last two weeks, November Man, As Above/So Below, and When the Game Stands Tall all were released to a very small audience. But, even if you factor in several movies that nobody really wanted to see and the weekend after a Labor Day, it is pretty clear to see that the movie industry is on a critical downturn.
Guardians of the Galaxy surpassed Man of Steel in domestic gross and became the biggest August movie release in history. It is now on track to pass Iron Man’s $318 million earnings, with international releases in a matter of a few weeks in Japan and China.
It may appear as though people are no longer going to the movies but, ‘Guardians of The Galaxy’ demonstrates that people will not spend their money just to see just anything in the theaters. Instead, audience members want to see something worth their $15.
Related:
- Why ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Won’t Last as the Highest Grossing Movie of 2014
- Al Pacino Loved ‘Guardians of The Galaxy’, Wants to Be in a Marvel Movie
- Marvel Studios Feature Film ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Casting Call Information
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