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Author Topic: Boxoffice Magazine rant Robert Throop Master Film Handler Posts: 412 From: Vernon, NY USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-25-2008 08:43 PM                     When I was 14 I subscribed to Boxoffice and Motion Picture Exhibitor. Boxoffice was $3.00 per year and MPE was $2.00. They were both WEEKLIES. I don't know what Boxoffice costs now as I haven't subscribed in years. Bob  |  IP: Logged Mark Ogden Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 943 From: Little Falls, N.J. Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-25-2008 09:21 PM                     Geez, let's not forget The Modern Theatre , Film Journal, Greater Amusements, and of course, International Projectionist. I have back issues of most of these reaching back to the mid sixties, including buyer's guides (Introducing the new Strong Jet-Arc!! Pays for itself in satisfied patrons!!) . I still get Boxoffice after 35 years. Your right, it's not the same, but at least it's survived. As recently as a couple of years ago, I recall getting issues that were only 30 or so pages tops, more like pamphlets than magazines. I thought for sure that they were at death's door.  |  IP: Logged Sean McKinnon Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1712 From: Peabody Massachusetts Registered: Sep 2000 posted 03-26-2008 08:24 AM                        Sometimes I get the feeling that this whole industry is just dying a slow and painful death around me.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-26-2008 08:42 AM                        Well, it is. At least the mainstream/multiplex end of it. I fully expect that the AMC/Regal/Cinemark screen count will be down by 20-40% in a decade. Ticket prices keep going up, theatres have become generic, and the number of alternative options for both in-home and out-of-home entertainment keeps increasing. This is why I'm tired of reading articles in Boxoffice about how healthy the industry is. The last thing that the exhibition industry needs right now is to be told that it is doing a good job and should continue the status quo.  |  IP: Logged Mitchell Dvoskin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1869 From: West Milford, NJ, USA Registered: Jan 2001 posted 03-26-2008 09:18 AM                     Back when Boxoffice Magazine was the Pulse Of The Motion Picture Industry, the magazine was the main source of motion picture industry news. Back then there were many hundreds of theatre owners, and thousands of theatre managers who relied on Boxoffice. The magazine provided a venue where they could share ideas and keep track of new technology. It was filled with stories about ideas and promotions that managers could use to boost business. Now, 75% or more of the theatres are owned by 3 large chains. Managers have little say on how their theatres are run, they just implement company policies. About the only decision a manager has in regards to promotion is where to place the standee in the lobby. Managers have little or no say in what equipment is purchased for projection or concession. Nowdays, the information that Boxoffice supplied is available quicker and easier online. The magazine has become totally irrelevant, the industry it serves no longer needs it.  |  IP: Logged Martin McCaffery Film God Posts: 2481 From: Montgomery, AL Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-26-2008 09:43 AM                        Ditto on all the bad feelings towards Boxoffice. Up until its redesign a couple of years ago it was a must have for me. The release charts for the indie movies and the annual buyers guide were essential material for any small theatre. Now it is just ugly clutter. First Variety went from being a Showbusiness magazine to a business magazine and now Boxoffice has turned into a collection of PR inserts. I want real data and information. At least I have my collection of Boxoffices from 1944-46 to keep me amused;>  |  IP: Logged Doug Willming Film Handler Posts: 45 From: San Antonio, TX, USA Registered: Jan 2001 posted 03-26-2008 12:03 PM                        I can tell you as a former occasional advertiser in BoxOffice some years back, their content (like many other trade magazines) is dictated by their largest advertisers. If the digital cinema guys are the ones buying the full-page color ads, you can bet there will be plenty of "puff" pieces about the virtues of going digital with the articles "happening" to feature quotes and commentary from those advertisers. I also used to advertise in "Post" and "Millemeter" magazines; the only time my company ever got called to provide a quote for an article was when we had an ad running.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-26-2008 01:17 PM                        quote: Doug Willming If the digital cinema guys are the ones buying the full-page color ads, you can bet there will be plenty of "puff" pieces about the virtues of going digital Well, that's understandable. I mean, the industry IS going digital. There are probably no computer magazines with tips on how to keep "Windows 98" running, either.  |  IP: Logged Christopher Crouch Expert Film Handler Posts: 128 From: Holywood, ca, usa Registered: May 2006 posted 03-26-2008 03:55 PM                  quote: Sean McKinnon Sometimes I get the feeling that this whole industry is just dying a slow and painful death around me While I know you were refering to the theatre industry, that also brings up the subject of another industry's struggles. Part of Box Office Magazine's decline could be reflective of the magazine industry. Over the past decade, I've noticed many periodicals (non industry related) have declined in quality or disapeared all together. As many people have mentioned already, the internet provides information for free and in a more timely fashion, thus cutting in to the demand for such magazines. Perhaps, Box Office's decline is partially tied in to an attempt at surviving within a drastically changing market. Unfortunately, such an effort would also be a double edged sword; i.e. in their effort to find a means of financial survival, they alienate their remaining readers.  |  IP: Logged Brad Allen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 688 From: Evansville, IN, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 03-26-2008 07:16 PM                     Wow, Boxoffice is still around! I wrote it off as dead years ago.  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 03-28-2008 11:24 PM                       I haven't liked BOXOFFICE since Shlyen sold it to whoever, and it became a small-format monthly. It lost its soul when that happened.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 03-29-2008 01:21 AM                     Box Office could still survive for many years longer if it would do what newspapers are refusing to do in order to survive: serve their specific market with exclusive articles and other content one cannot read from elsewhere. Normally when any newspaper, magazine or other periodical gets into trouble the idiots in charge simply move to cut costs by slashing their staff of talent. "Let's fire some writers and other creative people. Let's parrot even more worthless stories from the AP or Reuters or any other wire news service. Let's give the readers even more of the same shit they can find out on their own very quickly with Google for free." All publications depend on providing their market, their user base, their customer base, with exclusive content one cannot read anywhere else. This is why local newspapers and regional magazines are failing. This is also why Box Office is in trouble. What the hell are they reporting that is exclusive at all? The Internet really is merely only a scapegoat for a lot of do-nothing editors who are trying to sell publications on the cheap for the cover price of the past. They are pulling a con job. Those guys deserve to lose their damned jobs. How about this? Hire an editorial department worth a damn and track down the stories worth reporting instead of giving the same old worthless shit? Oh well, at least with a lot of trade magazines similar to Box Office you can get the issues free. But it's also that old saying: you get what you pay for. Free equals editorial spin in favor of the advertisers and articles featuring stuff everyone already knew about weeks in advance. [ 03-29-2008, 08:21 AM: Message edited by: Bobby Henderson ]  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-29-2008 08:24 AM                        What Bobby said. I would pay money for a magazine that included features such as the following: - release chart similar to the older-style Boxoffice chart, with dates, stars, directors, distributor phone numbers, picture and sound formats, etc. - video release chart - boxoffice grosses for films in current release - quality film reviews - articles about successful and unsuccessful attempts at film promotion - articles about independent exhibitors and their successes/failures - articles about theatres with unusual booking policies (silents, classics, etc.) - tech articles that are actually useful to more than 10% of the readership--i.e. "how to improve your presentation for under $100," "recommended projection and sound upgrades," and pretty much anything along the lines of the "tips" section of this site - article about a specific theatre's DLP installation--what was involved, what went right, what went wrong, what to watch out for, actual costs involved (yes, with numbers), assessement of benefits (or lack thereof) due to conversion, etc. - product reviews (yes, this will upset advertisers, but it would actually be useful to know what popcorn machines work best, etc.) - salary surveys for managers, operators, and floor staff for various chains and independents - some sort of discussion of the nontheatrical market--i.e. what types of programming have been tried at colleges, on cruise ships, in prisons, etc., and which ones are successful - some sort of discussion about theatres that present live entertainment in addition to films and how the two types of programming can be combined effectively - some sort of historical article in each issue, featuring a notable theatre (either still existing or not), film release, or personality in the exhibition industry  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-29-2008 07:41 PM                     Guys, Box Office rag has been biased for decades. Where have you all been? The best example is the sound end of things with the same section having been written by the same person for many years... that person is so convinced that his own speakers are the only good ones out there. HA! We all know better . There has always been some kiss someone's ass ads for the Showorst Edition for as long as I can remember... We really should blame Showorst for this... not Box Office... Everyone/Company placing an ad is merely kissing that persons ass for safety's sake down the road or in the future! Some of you may have to do this some day yourself depending on what level of employment you attain in the future . Of course all the anti-piracy stuff is total bull-shit... lunacy really! In fact many of the internet news group based movie downloads are preview tapes that came right from the editing room or lab. People will just continue to pirate movies right off the screen as they have been doing for the last couple of decades. 3-D... Well, certain locations can benefit financially big time from Digital 3-D... but not all. It entirely depends on the local competition and circumstances. Also, some theater owners DO want to offer their partons the latest movie going techology. But don't believe a word of the "You Have To Install It" Box Office attitude! Its totally rediclous! Those that think digital is not part of their Cinema Supply and Service buisness are fools. Digital HAS ITS PLACE in most theaters and many other types of venues. Film AND Digital will be living side by side for a very long time so get used to it, learn all you can about digital or retire.... you REALLY are not doing your customers any favor at all... they'd probably rather deal with you than anyone else for either format. BTW: We don't subscribe to BO magazine either... its usefulness died long before I entered this biz... over 32 years ago. However, the Showorst Rag certainly makes great toilet paper if you have an out house at your summer cabin! Mark  |  IP: Logged Tony Ratcliff Expert Film Handler Posts: 216 From: Madison, IN, USA Registered: Mar 2002 posted 03-29-2008 09:23 PM                     I agree that Box Office is useless. Even the release chart is useless, esp since IME's new web site came on line. I have been getting ScreenTrade magazine lately. I don't remember signing up for it, but it is pretty good. Still a little bias toward digital issues, but much more techy like Box Office used to be back when I started in the biz.  |  IP: Logged

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