The Further Decline In Hollywood
Disruption is ravaging Hollywood at a pace that I cannot remember. What is most fascinating is how public this is and we can all watch the meltdown before our eyes.
This is how technology works, something few fail to realize. It starts slowly then picks up steam. Over time, it becomes like a snowball rolling down a hill, destroying whatever gets in its path.
So what is the latest inspiration for another Hollywood article?
The results.
Lowest Box Office In 40 Years
In the United States, Memorial day weekend is a big deal. It kicks off the "Summer season". Schools are about to get out, providing businesses with opportunities. Things such as theme parks see their attendance rise during this time of year.
For the movie industry, this is huge.
The weekend is the official open of its Summer release schedule. Many look to the results as an indicator for the prospects for the rest of the season although some movies are sometimes released ahead of this weekend.
If the early results are any indication, it is going to be another losing year for Hollywood.
Here is the headline from the New York Times:
‘Furiosa’ Is a Memorial Day Weekend Box Office Dud
Memorial Day weekend ticket sales in North America are expected to total $125 million, down 40 percent from last year.
Read the last part again: down 40 percent from last year.
It doesn't matter what business you are in, a 40% year-over-year decline is tough to take. The sad thing is that was down from 2022.
As for the top film, this is what it looked like.
“Furiosa,” which cost $168 million to make, not including tens of millions of dollars in marketing costs, collected an estimated $25.6 million in the United States and Canada from Thursday night to Sunday. Box office analysts expected the film to take in about $5.4 million on Monday, for a holiday-weekend total of $31 million.
Some are claiming that with marketing costs factored in, the film will have to bring in around $500 million when accounting for the splits with the theaters to break even.
It is not off to a good start.
So what is the reason for this?
An Industry In Decline
Why are we seeing this?
There are many reason feeding into this. Jerry Seinfeld opined on this exact matter last month:
Jerry Seinfeld says the movie business is over: ‘No longer the cultural pinnacle’
Source
It is hard to argue with a guy who pulled in over $1 billion in his career. That said, I think this is only part of the issue.
There was a picture of a Tweet in a video I came across (I couldn't locate the Tweet itself) that might explain the situation.
In the area for the one making the post, at an AMC theater, the price of an adult was $28 with children tickets going for $25 apiece.
This could be one major factor.
Of course, this is not the end of the story. Another major obstacle for Hollywood is the fact these entities all have to fill their streaming services. This means we are conditioned to wait for a film to come out on that platform.
With a price of two going to the theater costing near $60 just to walk in the door, it is no wonder people wait. Based upon the reviews of films that most people discuss online, there are very few must see. Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Maverick all did well out the box office last year so there is a market if people really want to see the picture.
For most, this is not the case.
A final reason is one that rarely gets mentioned but I think is at the core of this issue.
People have more options today with regards to where their attention is placed. With so many options to receive entertainment, movie theaters are low on the list. Even seeing the movies themselves, anywhere, is fading as expressed by Seinfeld.
I regularly post the stats for YouTube. This is not done because I am some Google fan. Actually, that is a company that I am not very high on personally. However, they have done a tremendous job taking over the streaming market. Along with their television service, Google is a major player in the world of entertainment.
The point is that, with over 30K hours of video uploaded daily, there are many choices. Even if most of it is garbage and uninteresting, the numbers are in their favor.
Plus, YouTube charges nothing for the service, instead opting for the ad-revenue model.
Denial About What Is Happening
The problem for Hollywood is they appear to be clueless as to what is happening. While they can see the result, they are in denial about it.
Furiosa had the makings of a successful film. It was another in the Mad Max series. From the reports it was a pretty good script with the writer (and director) being the one who did previous films. Hence, we are not dealing with someone who is unfamiliar with the genre or lacks the ability to create a success.
The challenge Hollywood is facing is technology is making them obsolete. There are a lot of choices for people. Being down for the year is not a good sign considering where things were the past couple years.
Here is what Llama3 had to say about the previous two years:
According to Box Office Mojo, a reliable source for box office data, here are the worldwide and US box office grosses for 2022 and 2023:
2022:
- Worldwide gross: $23.3 billion
- US gross: $2.3 billion
2023:
- Worldwide gross (as of December 31, 2023): $21.4 billion (note: this figure is subject to change as more data becomes available)
- US gross (as of December 31, 2023): $1.8 billion (note: this figure is subject to change as more data becomes available)
Comparing the two years, we can see that:
- The worldwide box office gross in 2023 is lower than in 2022, with a decrease of approximately 8%.
- The US box office gross in 2023 is lower than in 2022, with a decrease of approximately 22%.
It is not as if 2024 is chasing a smashing year. In the US, 2023 saw a 22% decline in box office sales. Globally, as we see, it fared a bit better.
This is the epitome of an industry in decline. The disruptors are grabbing attention while the incumbents make excuses. It reminds me a great deal of the sentiment within the shopping mall business a decade or so ago. At that time, the retail apocalypse was in full swing, with holiday shopping seasons suffering while online sales were skyrocketing.
The Internet was filled with articles by industry "experts" offering excuses as to why that was the case. Ultimately, it came down to not acknowledging what was truly taking place.
What is ironic is you can spend time on YouTube watching videos that people made of abandoned shopping malls and their decline.
Just one more thing movie theaters have to compete with.
Posted Using InLeo Alpha
I totally agree Task, Hollywood is losing touch with the audience. Independent creators offer fresh, relatable stories that mainstream movies lack. It’s exciting to see new voices emerge and challenge the old guard,😁😁
It is actually bigger than that.
While what you say is true, that is the icing flower on the cake, not the cake itself. Even if they didnt lost touch, this would be happening.
The technological disruption that came from the break in the monopoly on distribution was enormous.
It wiped out newspapers and record companies quickly because text and audio were easier for the early days of the Internet. Video required more advancement with things such as telecommunication systems.
We are there now and the impact is being felt.
People watch 197.8 million hours of TikTok videos per day. That is a lot of time focused outside traditional Hollywood movie and television studios.
That's a very sad outcome... Wow task I'm really shocked with the numbers 😳😳 almost 200 million hours of TikTok... I really can't believe I'm also contributing to that... Infact I'm grateful for Hive Blockchain because it cuts down my time spent on TikTok and I exchange that for growth... I wonder if this Hollywood issue will be solved soon. In all this was an amazing awareness of the issue 😍 respect to you Taskmaster 🫡
It is why we need to get as much content on Inleo as we can. I have to get back to creating some shorts for Leoshorts on here.
Yes I was shocked at the number but it shouldnt surprise any of us. YouTube gets a ton of hours of viewing also.
Wow Task, your level of dedication is so inspiring for me .. you're one of the reasons why I keep moving fast building and growing on Hive🥰
I am glad. It is good to see others starting to get dedicated and take the potential of Web 3.0 seriously. It isnt an overnight process.
Indeed Taskmaster, I really understand that it's never going to be overnight.. I watched how you've been on this road for years and I'm willing to Work my way to grow overtime... Thanks big brother.... I'll tell you something a bit obvious... Part of my name was modelled after yours to give me the drive to push and be successful on Hive🫡😁😁😁
Focus upon what you can control. That starts with the action you take. Consistently show up like it is a part time business or job. Make it a priority.
That is what I see most failing to do. They also do not take ownership.
Wow, this is definitely going to be the number advice I run by, Hive is officially my part time job
🤩 !PGM
I definitely think streaming is a big part of it... Dune 2 hit HBO way quicker than I expected.
I also think Covid, etc is a factor. Even though cases are low at the moment, no one wants to catch Covid/Flu/RSV, etc while watching a movie... so add in the cost, the lack of FOMO because of streaming, and the potential to get sick and people probably upgrading their home systems in 2020/2021, there just isn't much appeal to go to the movies unless it's a big event like Barbiheimer .
Certainly factors in it.
The fact that people got out of the habit of going to the theaters means it is hard to get them to change back. During the lockdowns, the studios pushed films direct to stream, which got people accustomed to it.
For the money, how many films are must see, right now. Even if it is a couple months to hit streaming, most say they will wait.
It seems like the theaters themselves hit it bit with Taylor Swifts concert or whatever it was that they showed. Perhaps that is a path for theaters to take.
Yeah exactly... it now has to be an event that is way more fun than experiencing it at home.
I love going to the movies and used to go ever week. I rarely go now but it's because there just aren't many good movies being produced. I think a market is still there but it won't be for long if Hollywood can't produce anything that people want to see. I haven't tried to do a count but it certainly feels like the number of theatrical releases are WAY down from their peak.
There is no doubt there is still a market. When we look at the success of Barbie and Oppenheimer, both I believe went over $1 billion, it shows people will turn out.
The question might be how many times per year will they? Even if there were the quantity of good movies, how many can afford a $50 hit before popcorn and drinks are included each week?
I think there’s also a lot of economic factors at play - the economy is a pile of shit for a lot of people and the movie theaters are trying to charge an obscene fucking bill for a movie ticket alone. Goes to show how long it’s been since I’ve been to a movie - last I remember 15$ was absurd. 28$ guarantees I won’t be wasting a single second or dollar on that horse shit!
As you say, the list goes on and on. The forced injection of woke dogma with their litany of horrendous elements against the norms of society and civilization the last 5k+ years has a lot to do with it. I don’t trust a single thing to come out of these idiots that isn’t injected with some of that poison.
I don’t feel bad for them at all.
You've really struck the mark. Hollywood's struggles are a reflection of larger shifts in the way people consume entertainment. Audiences are becoming disinterested in theatres due to high ticket costs and a multitude of streaming possibilities. To avoid going out of style, the sector must swiftly adopt new technology and cater to the interests of its consumers. You have insightful observations.
It all comes down to attention.
Where are the eyeballs focused? We can see this in how people have so many more options.
The numbers repeatedly coming out with YouTube eating a larger portion of streaming shows exactly what is taking place.
Viewership shift.
There was actually years ago I enjoyed watching movies though I don't really know what kills the passion. I also below that Hollywood can still step up
I agree. Most of the movies I've watched lately have been through Netflix, or in the in-flight movies. The latest movie I watched in a theater is Dune 2, and that was because I was visiting my sister and they were big fans. If it was up to me, I wouldn't have watched it in a theater. And I think that is what is important now in the movie industry. Getting hold of popular IP, or really have a shock factor. The Mad Max name was popular when the last movie came out, but it was still pretty niche. Furiosa wasn't able to bank on it. The next movie I'm looking forward to is the Deadpool movie, and I think it has a lot of things going for it to become successful.
My latest is Tubitv. I find there is enough there to fill my time. I watch a lot of stuff on things like YouTube. It is why I would like to get more content on Leo, spend time viewing through there.
Yeah, if there are more, and better content in Leo or Threespeak, I would prefer to watch there as well.
Yeah. We have to get more content on there. I am going to get back to doing some Leoshorts so they start to rank again.
High ticket costs, competition from streaming and internet content, and changing consumer behaviour are the main causes of Hollywood's downturn, which has resulted in sharp declines in box office revenue and instability in the business.
Well I strongly believe that the world or industry of Hollywood can really bounce back if only they can put something's in place
How do they do that? Competition is coming from anyone with a laptop/phone and uploading videos to an online platform.
It is all a quest for eyeballs. If you are watching a video on Youtube, you are not watching something on broadcast television.