On Yahoo, it seems that critics and audience members are constantly praising multiple movies, exclaiming how wonderfully captivating they were. Due to this, many people seem to think that movies are still on the high, that the film industry is still thriving in spite of the depressing economy. Yet, that is not the case; according to Time Magazine, in the summer of 2011, the count of movie tickets sold was the lowest ever since 1997 and 2012 seems to be heading in that gloomy direction as well. According to data research from several sources such as USA Today and Hollywood.com, about 529 million movie tickets were sold this year during the long Labor Day Weekend, which appears to be a high number, yet compared to last year's Labor Day Weekend, it was actually low since last year the count was about 543 million tickets. About a decade ago, long before the economy took a deep plunge, an estimated 629 million tickets were sold which means that the 2012 film industry lost about 100 million tickets in between that time.
Yet, big blockbusters such as The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises, were great contributors regarding ticket sales and upcoming movies such as the final installment of the Twilight franchise, and the new James Bond film, may also boost ticket sales, making 2012 not such a big loss for the film industry.
I thought this article was extremely significant because it was evidence on the strong impact the poor economy has had on even one of the most powerful industries of all time. It proves how everything suffers one way or another when the country itself is going through troubled times. It is also like a testimony that states just how subjective a person's perception is, because due to the economy, many people are thinking differently regarding their budget. Due to this, the article grabbed my attention because I realized just how major this problem was turning out to be; all of a sudden, it wasn't a simple dilemma in a few households, but now it is affecting the whole nation by negatively affecting one of the strongest industries in the world. I found this very interesting because it was a problem I believe everyone could relate to because films are universal; they are truly infinite which makes them relatable, therefore, making this piece of news very important,.
As a student, this article taught me more about the film industry as well as the overall condition of the nation's economy. As a high school student, I am old enough to realize what the problem is surrounding the economy. so I always expect to hear about certain stores closing down, yet I never thought the film industry would be affected so greatly. I thought that such a business would always do well simply because it has been thriving for decades and decades and something like this would not affect it as much as it did with smaller industries. Yet, learning this new information really puts everything into perspective because now I realize that no industry is really safe when the nation is suffering.
As a future filmmaker, this truly impacted me because it served as a warning of what was to come later in the future. This article made me realize that this industry is very tricky and very passionate; it can go in either direction pretty fast, such as failing rapidly or succeeding incredibly, yet never knowing which path it will take. So as a future filmmaker, I will have to be willing to take a risk in devoting myself to this profession because I know that there is no safe net in case I fail and fall.
This article affected me as a consumer because I have to admit that I am part of the reason why ticket sales have been so low. Before, I use to often go to the movies with my friends, whether we went to watch the latest Oscar-worthy film or the simple romantic comedy, we always somehow contributed to the film industry. Yet, as the economy has taken its toll, everyone is feeling the consequences of sacrificing a trip to the movie. It appears everyone is doing this because now they need to prioritize what really matters in their life, and I am no different. Although I still enjoy movies and sometimes go the theater with my brother or my friends, I know I do not go as used to before.
Due to this article, I have many questions, yet they all seem to focus on the future of the industry: what happens now? Will the film industry keep having these crazy ups and downs, or will it slowly gain its pace as one of the most established industries in the world? After all, it is not really a question about whether or not more movies will continued to be made, because of course there will be, but will there still be people left to watch them in theaters? Was this a mere warning of what could happen, or is it a premonition of what is to come?
It seems that filmmakers will have to create even more imaginative and extraordinary films to truly captivate a person's attention so they could actually go to the theaters to pay to view it.
I agree, I also haven't gone to the movies as often as I used to. Besides from the economy, I also believe internet piracy has a role itself. I say this because there seems to be many laws trying to persecute those who go against copyright. However, the internet being the internet, it's hard to enforce or even pass these laws. In fact, some laws weren't that popular with the public such as SOPA and ACTA.
ReplyDeleteGosh Alexa its all your fault-_-... I'm kidding^-^. Yeah, with this economy its kind of hard to go out to the movies especially if one's family is large and there are other necessities in life that are more important. Although it may be hard to believe these hard times will improve, once you hit rock bottom, there is only one direction(^-^)in which you could go and that is up. Even if it will take forever.
ReplyDeleteIf only the tickets were cheaper. I remember a time when they used to be 5 to 10 cents each ticket but that was post world war 2 america. Not to go to far in the past, when I went to see titanic back in the 1990s the tickets were like 10 bucks. Now they are like 15-25 plus the concessions!
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