Memorial Day weekend box office at its worst in nearly 30 years

I couldn't tell you for sure the last time I was inside a movie theater.

The sad state of cinema for the rest of the year:

BAD BOYS 4: Two words: Will Smith.

TWISTERS: The big budget studio films always get released the third weekend in July. However, I don't understand why it has a $200 million budget. I think it will at the very least break even and anything beyond that will be great luck. Furthermore, this is a Glen Powell vehicle so the studio will be pushing it relentlessly.

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE: Either the studio is trying to dump it or get Halloween audiences to come. If the studio wants Halloween audiences, they should've released it in October. September 6th isn't even Labor Day weekend.

JOKER FOLIE A DEUX: The trailer did get at least 160 million views. I don't mind the October release date. I think the film has an autumn vibe to it. The one thing it has going against it is it is a musical. That may be a problem or it may not look at Wonka and Mean Girls.

GLADIATOR 2: It cost $300 million to make. I don't think it's making that much money back. Also, the November release date is a terrible idea - looking at you Napoleon.

So this is a long way of saying that Wicked will be this year's Top Gun or Barbenheimer.

Great. I am sick and tired of movie actors being put on the pedestal for people to worship. I hope the whole movie industry crashes

Variety

The last two times I have been, both on Saturday evenings in busy parts of Manhattan on the opening weekends of the movies I saw, the theaters were 80% empty. It feels the way malls felt in the aughts, when they started bringing out new revenue streams (at my theater, its bar service and multiple upgrades like 4D).

That's what happens when you build a roster of movies that appeal to t eenagers. Who wants to see this shit. We used to have at least one classy movie released during the summer months but there's nothing.

We know

Garfield? That stupid orange cat with the lasagna? What year is this?

r7, that thread was just about one movie.

Stop being such a control freak.

Anya Taylor-Joy is an alien looking clothes horse, not a summer blockbuster opener. That being said, the movie's supposed to be great and I want to see it.

Most people don't want to go to movie theatres anymore - that's the crux of this issue. Eventually opening weekends will become a thing of the past as Hollywood finally works out that they need to move to streaming altogether after the writings been on the wall for decades. Movie theatres will then go the way that drive-in theatres did - a few nostalgia movie theatres will remain for the very devoted fans of the experience.

Too expensive. No one wants to spend a couple hundred to take the kids to a movie when they can stream and drink at home. Times have changed and people are poor.

The Wall Street Journal said the other day that Hollywood realizes (based on Barbie and Oppenheimer) that audiences are looking for something different and it's trying to change course, but the movies coming out now were all greenlighted two years ago. It's not exactly a nimble industry.

Grease 3 is looking good right now isn't it?

Hollywood refuses to learn the lesson of NOT making 200M+ movies all the time.

[quote] Most people don't want to go to movie theatres anymore

Why would anyone want to see most movies in a theater? Even before COVID, who wants to listen to or watch other people talk, to each other or on their phones?

I live near a theater in a gay friendly neighborhood....someone was talking loudly at a movie and a guy asked them to please be quiet...of course they beat the shit out of him and his partner, called them f*gs, etc. Why on earth would I want to experience that and deal with human cesspools of behavior when I can do it in my home in my underwear for half the proce (or less)?

R11 I will go to a theater for something special. I believe certain movies benefit from a big screen in a dark auditorium. It enhances the experience. But there's nothing out right now I care about. I don't care for Anya Taylor Joy either. I don't like her looks. PEtty, I know.

The older I am, the more tired I get of these annual hand-wringing pronouncements of the imminent death of the film industry. Barbenheimer happens and it's "the movies are saved!". Then a dry summer happens and it's suddenly "the movies are dead!" Year in, year our, the exact same conversation. And through all that hysteria, movies keep getting made and seen; good ones and bad ones, and film festivals operate as usual.

I still go to the theater - but only like 2-3 times per year. I have a cinephile friend who likes to go; and I'll occasionally go by myself just to do something different. I joked to my friend that I should have picked up the one other guy who was in the theater for a Thursday night screening of Challengers because who would be going to see Challengers on a Thursday night other than gay men.

But overall, going to the theater just doesn't feel essential. Even when I get the urge, I better act right away, or I'll just say "I'll wait" until it's streaming. Theater CAN still be busy for certain movies - but much more intermittently than before.

There's a theater in Portland (Studio One) that my friend took me to last month. Comfy sofas, excellent food brought to you by a wait staff that took your order as you sat down, full bar, drinks delivered to you throughout the film, easily the best popcorn I've ever had, decent sized screen, tasteful interiors. No obnoxious fucking ads played at high volume before the trailers. The movie - Monkey Man - was good but the theater experience was a total revelation. I was completely enthralled by the whole thing.

A week later I saw Civil War in IMAX at a Regal chain theater and the whole experience fucking sucked. Oh and unlike the other movie theater, the Regal theater was completely empty.

I have a 60 inch screen in my apartment. I'm fine.

Terrible weather across the country. Don't panic.

R18 Covid and streaming changed everything. People don't want to go out anymore. They made their places comfy and bought big screens TVs.

Movie theaters will soon go the way of mall stores - fewer places to go, as everything moves online as the society grown more and more isolated from each other.

With fewer people going to the movies, the thrill of enjoying a film with others will be lessened completely. In a few years, they will be back, but only for major spectacles.

R20- The theater 🎭 you liked- I bet all that cost a fortune.

I've seen articles in Vanity Fair and other publications touting the list of movies coming out this summer and the "must see" lists are garbage. Out of 25 movies I couldn't find more than three that were mildly interesting.

Theaters will always exist, the question is how many of them. There will be room for niche theaters that have a different vibe and amenities like the one R20 described. Not everyone wants to be in their homes all the time - even if many do. And there will still be chains for when lots of people want to go see a big blockbuster, or for kids movies - but again, how many theaters and how many screens. I have an AMC 12 near where I live, which is often pretty empty. One to four theaters of the 12 might be busy, but never all of them. That said, if AMC is going to keep it going, it's probably cheaper just to keep the existing 12 than start anew with a new building. An 8-plex not far from the 12 already closed.

This is sort of like what the recording industry went through with physical music sales and record stores as streaming became more and more popular. It took a while to work itself out. They had to give up that $12-20 per person charge for an album, and the stores were nearly completely eliminated. Studios could go to a larger cost for streaming a particular movie upon release (which they've already done at times), but the charge can be apportioned among as many people as the homeowner wants to host - they're not going to get the "ticket" price for every individual person. And if they do more "streaming upon release" then that hurts theaters. More theaters will close; but more theaters were going to close anyway.

I stopped going to the cinema so frequently before Covid and the rise of streaming. There was a time as recently as a decade ago I’d go on average 2-4 times per month, and 2012 was the last year I made an effort to see every Oscar best picture nominee on screen. Then, I started to not enjoy it more often than not. Texting and selfish behaviour by other viewers was the main reason much more than cost.

Now if I go, it’s to very specific cinemas. My fave has stadium reclining seating where I can visual tune out most other people. It’s also deep in a lower level of a building without a signal, so you can’t use your phone even if you wanted to.

These type of BO stats may have been relevant 30 years ago but are meaningless in 2024. Todays "movie goer" streams everything at home or on mobile. Actual attendance will pick up during summer when kids are out and hillbilles without AC need a place to cool of there fat carcasses.

It's a combination of things. The pandemic made people used to staying home and waiting for films to be released on streaming. The dual strikes pushed a lot of big films back an entire year or more.

Tickets are way too expensive. And the theatrical experience itself just isn't worth it. Every movie has 25 minutes or more of advertising garbage before it starts. I know theaters need every cent of revenue they can get, but it's insulting to spend a ton of money and then be forced to watch stupid commercials for a half-hour.

There are no movie stars anymore. No one who’s a guaranteed box office draw.

[quote] GLADIATOR 2: It cost $300 million to make. I don't think it's making that much money back. Also, the November release date is a terrible idea - looking at you Napoleon.

Being a man, I’d like to see another big movie about the Roman Empire, but I’m sick of sequels. I’ll keep an open mind about it, but I’m bailing at the first hint of wokeness.

^R33 Oysters or Snails? We're guessing snails.

There's a perfect storm of reasons.

- People would rather see most movies at home, unless they are water cooler moments (e.g. Barbie, Oppenheimer) or big budget fantasy movies.

- Fantasy movies have moved to the forefront of the market here in the US, since foreign investors now dominate the market and whatever is made here must translate if it has a budget of any size larger than a few million.

- In theater behavior is terrible.

R33.....

If one has a VR headset, you can get the Big Screen App for free and then you can sit in the comfort of you home and watch films in a virtual movie theater on a giant screen. It's weird how real it seems. I've seen two films in the theater in the past five years.

Every movie that's currently playing in movie theaters is a complete piece of shit. I wouldn't watch any of them for free.

If? Garfield? Furiosa? Babes? Please. A root canal would be more entertaining.

I didn't even know there was a Garfield movie. Of all the possible things that could be resurrected, it just doesn't seem like there would be a lot of clamoring for Garfield. Peanuts, sure, but Garfield?

True, r37. Watching a big screen movie at home of VR is amazing, it's my preferred movie experience these days

Last summer it was all about Barbieheimer. People had fun, it doesn't look like this summer will be as entertaining.

I remember when I was young, my friends and I went to an afternoon double feature at The Strand one summer and saw A Hard Day's Night with Jason and the Argonauts. Both movies were excellent and it cost 50 cents.

When I was a teenager, we used to go to the movies and the drive in every week. I’d see 2-3 movies every weekend.

Now I never go to the movies. Fucking idiots on cell phones constantly yapping, texting or playing games because someone dragged them there.

Or fucking kids screaming because the parents won’t get a sitter.

What movie is worth dealing with that bullshit? All theaters should have a “no people under 30” showing and cell phone jammers.

Honestly, IDGAF about reclining seats, wine bars, what sort of good is available or any of that nonsense. I want a theater where people are there to WATCH THE FUCKING MOVIE, not run their mouths or play on their phones.

Yes, the idiots who can't put away their phones for two freaking hours are so annoying. I always feel like saying to them "you're not the President. You aren't that important. Turn off your fucking phone."

The people who won't STFU and talk throughout the whole movie.

And the children whose parents drag them to an R-rated movie that's totally inappropriate for children to see.

It's too much to deal with.

I go to see a movie after it has been out for some time, and go to the earliest show or the one a dinner time. Very few people in the audience. I just saw Kong x Godzilla; there were four people in the theater, all spread out.

[quote] I’ll keep an open mind about it, but I’m bailing at the first hint of wokeness.

You're not good at words, snowflake.

I've actually had good luck with crowds the few times per year I go to see movies. A little bit of glow from people checking their screens, but usually nothing crazy. And, thankfully, not much talking at all during the movie.