Hollywood is headed toward another record year at the box office thanks to a lineup of blockbuster films, from the private lives of pets to foul-mouthed superheroes.
The box office has increasingly become a winner-take-all game, with grosses hoarded by a handful of dominant films such as Universal’s The Secret Life of Pets.
Los Angeles Times
Hollywood is headed toward another record year at the box office thanks to a lineup of blockbuster films, from the private lives of pets to foul-mouthed superheroes. But while projections of $11.3 billion in U.S. and Canada ticket sales would seem like a cause for celebration, the rosy numbers mask underlying challenges in a cinema business that is facing rapid changes in a period of digital upheaval.
Higher costs of making and marketing big movies, as well as plummeting home video revenue, have dragged down studio profits. The home video falloff has made theater-going even more vital to the studios’ bottom line. With expanded streaming and video game options in the home, fewer young consumers are watching movies on the big screen. And the box office has increasingly become a winner-take-all game, with grosses hoarded by a handful of dominant films such as Disney’s Finding Dory and Universal’s The Secret Life of Pets.
While international growth remains a bright spot for the industry, Hollywood’s largest foreign market — China — experienced a dramatic slowdown in box office receipts this year.
In response to the challenges, cinemas have tried to boost sales with better accommodations, such as recliner seating, high-end food and beverage, and premium screening technology. Some analysts believe raising ticket prices to pay for the improvements may be keeping some consumers away from theaters.
Studios also have been forced to adapt to the rising competition from streaming services and premium television shows. They are focusing more heavily on costly franchise films with lots of spectacle that are more likely to lure people out of their homes. If the movie isn’t a must-see, executives say, audiences opt to stay home and wait until it comes out on iTunes or Netflix.
Disney movies have accounted for five of the top 10 movies this year in the U.S. and Canada. If Rogue One does as well as expected, that number could grow to six.
Warner Bros. currently has three films in the top 10 (Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad and Fantastic Beasts), while Fox (Deadpool) and Universal (The Secret Life of Pets) have one each. Sony Pictures and Paramount, on the other hand, were shut out because of a lack a blockbusters.
The risk of failure also has increased. This year, the major studios fielded high-profile films that almost nobody went to see. For example, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, a $40-million movie with an Oscar-winning director in Ang Lee, multiple stars and a wide release from Sony Pictures, grossed less than $2 million in the U.S. Twentieth Century Fox’s Keeping Up with the Joneses, starring Jon Hamm and Zach Galifianakis, wiped out with $15 million. Even Disney fielded a big turkey with Alice Through the Looking Glass.
The swift and hard landing for such titles is partly because of social media. Audiences now know very quickly whether a movie is worthy of their time and money.
Adam Goodman, president of Le Vision Entertainment, said studios need to rethink how they pick movies. But that’s a difficult task given the lack of sophisticated data about what audiences want to see.
“The historical data set up until recently was pretty reliable,” Goodman said. “Now you may as well throw a dart against the board and pick something.”
Footnote: The article has been edited due to space limitation.
