The Blame Game

The industry has been in denial over the issues facing the industry for many years. Last year box office was down but this year sees possibly the biggest drop in cinema attendance since 2001.

The year started off so well with 12 Years a Slave and The Wolf of Wall Street both taking £20m and then The Lego Movie taking £34.5m. But then since apart from Dawn of the planet of the Apes, X-Men Days of Future Past and Guardians of the Galaxy and most recently Gone Girl majority of films have been very blah there haven’t been the massive flops like years gone by but they also haven’t done the business that was expected. one of the reasons for that is box office cannibalization with several major releases opening the same weekend and close together meaning that the films never have a chance to open big and then can’t get the box office expected. that will only get worst next year. The problem is that there are now so many films being released but most are just blocking up screens for films that could be more successful.

Exhibitors are blaming the films and saying that next year will be better but next year never comes. Next year brings reboots, remakes, sequels and comic book movies many will open big and also drop big lasting a couple of weeks in the top 10. 10+ years ago films would last in the top 10 for months.

If you compare the top 10 films box office of this year and last apart from the top film this year was The Lego Movie last year was Despicable Me 2 all the other films released this year are £5-7m lower than their equivalent from last year.

If it was the film why was the wide ranging slate of 20th Century Fox a success with them having their best year in many with them having almost a 25% share of the box office for the year. Event Cinema has also been very successful this year with about 4% share.

I believe exhibitors are pricing out audiences the Cinema Exhibitors Association claim that the average ticket price in the UK is £6.53 there was another survey that said it was £9.53 which is nearer the price I pay for my local cinema. Using their figures cinema ticket prices have gone up over 30% in the last 10 years. But using other data some say that the figure is 26% in the last 5 years (which I believe is more likely).

There was a survey recently that said recently that cinema ticket prices had gone up 2133% since 1974 with only The Daily Mail and cigarettes up more and they have 77% tax. There was also an article in the Telegraph that said it can cost up to £100 for a family of 4 to go to the cinema. What used to be a weekly family trip to the cinema has become and expensive treat.

Then there has been the 3D rips off with cinemas charging a third more t see a film in 3D cinemagoers have realised that they are being ripped off and rarely does a 3D film outsell its 2D version even with the extra charges.

Exhibitors always say that they make more money from popcorn than they do with cinema tickets so it makes no sense that the prices are so high as if prices were lower more people would come to the cinema and more popcorn would be sold?

Rather than creating a 60 second show-reel that people who already paid to see the film will see more needs to be done to bring back audiences. To celebrate 100 years of cinema in 1996 was National Cinema Day when cinemas across the UK were only a £1 cinemas screened classics, current releases and previews and it was a huge success and was repeated the following year. Something like that needs to be held again to bring back audiences who are now waiting 3 months to see the films on their 4k TV at home.

Cinema has lost its sparkle and uniqueness since it went digital as most cinemas apart from IMAX feel like big TV screens with cinemas playing the films on half the level they should be played at.

I was going to see Nightcrawler yesterday at my local Vue cinema it was going to cost £11 but then I find it is in a tiny 50 seat screen to me is a complete rip off. I will now wait to see the film on my home TV in 2 months time.

The Evening Standard also reported this promo trailer and they said that there were 75 release in 6 weeks that is another problem there are too many films being released distributors are now releasing more film than ever because it Is far easier to do now cinemas are digital.

It disappoints and angers me that the people like Mark Batey of the FDA and other people that were part of this article are clueless of the real reasons why cinema attendance is in decline and has been for the last 5 years. Its only come to ahead this year as like Tesco’s losing £250 million in their accounts there will likely be a massive difference in cinema attendance this year from last and box office will also be under £1 billion for the first time since 2010.

The conversation of film to digital was a smoke-screen and a chance for exhibitors to increase ticket prices. Has the conversion from film to cinema made the cinema experience better for cinemagoers doubtful? Are there still technical issues with films being screened incorrectly or breaking down and now there is no staff on hand to sort problems out cinemas have to cancel screenings and refund audiences.

I am very passionate about the industry and it frustrates and angers me that there are people like Mark Batey and Phill Clapp who have senior roles within the industry but don’t seem to realise they are alienating audiences. They are like the man behind the curtain in The Wizard of Oz pretending that he has magic powers but it’s all done by mirrors and we are realising that the Emperor has no clothes. They need to wake up and see what everyone else who pays to go to the cinema sees and the issues that are facing the industry and not just think audiences are dropping increase ticket prices to subsidise the decline.

The Cinema Exhibitors’ Association hold an event at the end of the month Cinema of the Future they will say looking ahead to 2015 and beyond with the massive movies we will see a massive increase in attendance and box office. But this is said every year next years movies always promise so much but often don’t deliver.

I recently estimated the box office for films next year in the UK predicting that Disney would top with £230m (21%), 20th Century Fox second with £180m (16%), Universal third with £150m (14%), Sony fourth with £130m (12%) and fifth Warner Bros £120m (11%). With the biggest 13 distributors box office totally £1,072 billion adding other distributors to that total it would beat 2012’s record.

But all of it is guesstimates as you never truly know what films an audience will choose to see or not see. Critics may love a film but audiences won’t come out, and then a film surrounded by hype might be a massive turkey. But the important thing is to make going to the cinema inviting and something that everyone can enjoy and do and not feel that they are being priced out which is currently happening.