Has Hollywood become too Dependent On Blockbuster films?

Home theaters can probably replace movie theaters. The big release can all be done on line, same way pay per views movies and sporting events are pumped up and sold. For the immediate future, if movie theaters want to open by thorough cleaning between shows, they will maybe have 2 showings per day, or maybe only one. And no one food. Its been years since I have been in a movie theater, what I remember most is my feet being stuck to the sticky floor.

Going directly on line for movie producers and directors who can afford it seems like a natural step forward. It is already happening for the big studios and broadcast operations. The go to next step for movies that didn't make it big was straight to DVD. DVDs are being replaced by streaming services, so part of the process is already being put into place.

The fact that studios can't make big bucks on a movie released to a streaming service is probably only temporary. That was preventing studios from using streaming services until corona came along. Now it is being tried out a head of schedule, which means the studios are able to see exactly what happens. In the beginning there were only a few TV channels. Streaming services are popping up all over the place, so it is only a matter of time before it happened, as it is, everything technical got speeded up by corona.

The rising prices to see a movie in a movie theater aren't helping to boost movie theater attendance in the long run. But none of this will change how the movies are made. Total reliance on video will probably only make the movies worse, not better.
 
If the film industry is moving away from cinemas to streaming platforms then I can only see the line between tv and film blurring. Take marvel as an example, you put them all online next to each other and it's essentially a twenty something episode tv series where each episode is feature length.

Film directors, writers and actors will therefore have more scope to actually start thinking about character and narrative as the length of the film becomes less of an issue
 
The response to the virus shows they do not care about maintaining cinemas--however, revival theaters did get business, so there was public interest in them (people like to get out of their homes and no home cinema set up can compete with screens the size of a building wall).
At some point the big companies will consolidate into oblivion.
Smaller companies may start up again and fulfill the normal cultural mandate which Wall Street suits are clueless or disdainful about.
 
I figure we'll see small town cinemas paired up with theatres have a bit of growth whilst your mid town cinema will close down. Your big town might retain one working cinema. The problem is the fewer people who go the higher the prices on the food gets which discourages people from going. What I've never worked out is why cinemas haven't seemingly bought into mass marketing merchandise for films. You'd think they'd be stocked up like crazy like toyshops to maximise that post-event pressure to buy toys - just like how zoos and the like have a gift shop. Then add on some higher priced options for more adult collectors and you've got a way to make more income per customer that isn't linked to overpriced food.
It also has potential to generate income from walk-in customers who imght not be seeing a film but are buying merchandise.


Sadly I figure that food was shown to have had a greater profit potential and is what many have gone nuts for whilst toy/merchandise appears to be pushed more and more to the side. Though I guess an issue is if they've dwindling income then that means less money to buy in the merchandise in the first place. Plus the quick turn around of films might make it hard for them to keep up. Though you'd think merchandising companies would be wanting their stock in cinemas and pushing it on them to help drive sales.
 
Overread said:
I figure we'll see small town cinemas paired up with theatres have a bit of growth whilst your mid town cinema will close down. Your big town might retain one working cinema. The problem is the fewer people who go the higher the prices on the food gets which discourages people from going. What I've never worked out is why cinemas haven't seemingly bought into mass marketing merchandise for films. You'd think they'd be stocked up like crazy like toyshops to maximise that post-event pressure to buy toys - just like how zoos and the like have a gift shop. Then add on some higher priced options for more adult collectors and you've got a way to make more income per customer that isn't linked to overpriced food.
It also has potential to generate income from walk-in customers who imght not be seeing a film but are buying merchandise.


Sadly I figure that food was shown to have had a greater profit potential and is what many have gone nuts for whilst toy/merchandise appears to be pushed more and more to the side. Though I guess an issue is if they've dwindling income then that means less money to buy in the merchandise in the first place. Plus the quick turn around of films might make it hard for them to keep up. Though you'd think merchandising companies would be wanting their stock in cinemas and pushing it on them to help drive sales.
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Bookstores and comic bookstores are both selling toys and games and in some case apparel. They're diversifying so that they'll survive. Cinema has to do the same thing, they have no choice.
 
The Pandemic has cost Hollywood a ton of money because it forced the closing of theaters.
 
Vince W said:
I read somewhere that Robert DeNiro went to court to try to have his ex-wife's alimony reduced from $100,000 per month to $50,000 since he was only going make 6 million dollars this year. We really should have a whip-round for these poor unfortunates so afflicted in Hollywood. :rolleyes:
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They could do a telethon . :D
 
Vince W said:
I read somewhere that Robert DeNiro went to court to try to have his ex-wife's alimony reduced from $100,000 per month to $50,000 since he was only going make 6 million dollars this year. We really should have a whip-round for these poor unfortunates so afflicted in Hollywood. :rolleyes:
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Actually he is going to be lucky to make $7.5 million this year.
www.newsmax.com

De Niro Says COVID-19 Has Drained Finances, Wants to Cut Down Spousal Support

Actor Robert De Niro says the coronavirus pandemic has drained his finances, according to Manhattan court documents in his ongoing divorce case with estranged wife Grace Hightower, reports Page Six....
www.newsmax.com www.newsmax.com
 
Well if he married into the Hightowers then he has only himself to blame. That Lord Leyton, by all accounts he is beyond crazy!
 
Narkalui said:
Well if he married into the Hightowers then he has only himself to blame. That Lord Leyton, by all accounts he is beyond crazy!
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He's a great actor, one the best but, he's in the twilight of his career and if you're an actor, that's the worst possible time to be running into financial difficulties.
 
The ridiculous increase in production costs is another culprit--when Bruce Willis paid something like $5 million for DIE HARD and then Jim Carrey got $15 million for something, it meant all the established actors would immediately see their fees jump up to match. Then after you get to a certain point, the companies say: "gee, we can't afford to make movies here-we have to send it to India."
No other business could work like this and stay afloat. Recipe for destruction.
Even the term "show business" is a dumbed down phrase for an artistic enterprise.
I read American theater went through a similar centralized phenomenon in the 1900 period, resulting in less theatrical choices and making theater tickets too expensive for the general public. And it led to far less creative diversity in productions.

Here we are again.
 
The problem is those big names are often what draws in huge crowds. For a director/producer they aren't just paying Bruce Willis, they are paying for his fan base. There's a large number of people who will watch the film, buy merchandise, buy the DVD and all just because Bruce Willis is in it. High end actors have cottoned onto this and its likely part of why they can command such insane money to act in a single film. Once the ball got rolling they all joined in.

Entertainment has some insane numbers, acting isn't even alone, the sports like football have equally insane amounts of money spent on wages. Sports has had a hard year though in terms of being shut down which who knows it might have a knock on effect of lowering pay for a while, though I'm sure once corona ends some pay will creep up once again. With sports it even creates an issue of fair competition because the big clubs can pay insane money to secure the best of players. Lower down clubs just can't even consider competing on such a scale and you can't blame the players totally; if someone offers you a vast amount of money to the same job most of us would jump at the chance.
 
maybe Hollywood needs a shakeup like the 87 NFL season when the big names went on strike over pay and they were replaced with lesser names to keep the league going. This may well happen again if the BLM protests cut into the profit line of the sporting world.
 
Vladd67 said:
maybe Hollywood needs a shakeup like the 87 NFL season when the big names went on strike over pay and they were replaced with lesser names to keep the league going. This may well happen again if the BLM protests cut into the profit line of the sporting world.
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May this is end of the big time overpays Hollywood stars.
 
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