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This topic comprises 9 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
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Topic: Is 3-D Still Going Strong?
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Justin Hamaker
Film God
Posts: 2253
From: Lakeport, CA USA
Registered: Jan 2004
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posted 02-19-2015 08:13 AM
I'm not talking about people who have seen the most popular movie and think it was a good movie. I'm talking about people who hear a movie was #1 at the box office or made X dollars, so it must be a good movie. Especially in an age where the majority of a movie's business is crammed into the first few days, it is not practical to use ranking or gross as an indicator of a movie's quality. A movie like American Sniper is the exception because it has done strong business over a period of time and as a result of word of mouth, rather than pre-release hype and marketing.
I also think you're confusing quality with value. Most people know the average Adam Sandler movie is crap in terms of movie making - poor writing, mediocre acting, and so forth. In other words, poor quality. However, many people enjoy watching Adam Sandler movies because they make them laugh. They walk out of the theatre having been entertained. Thus they feel they got value for their money.
I will agree that quality is subjective to an extent. But the average moviegoer does not watch enough movies to really know the difference between a poorly made movie and a well made movie.
It's kind of like eating a steak. If all you ever have is chuck, then you judge one chuck steak vs another. But when you have a rib eye or fillet, then you realize the chuck wasn't really a very good steak after all. Moviegoers who watch a wide variety of movies tend to be more discerning about what constitutes a quality movie.
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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."
Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted 02-19-2015 02:15 PM
Bad movies and "we've seen this 1000 times before" movies are the biggest problem for Hollywood movie studios right now. Instead of taking any chances on new, untested ideas they keep feeding us the same old shit, just put into partially new packaging. It's getting bad enough that when I'm in the theater I'll hear the audience buzzing with groans and comments like "why are they remaking that" out loud when the trailer for yet another sequel or remake gets going. But you're going to go see it anyway! What the hell else are you going to do on Friday night!? Stay home and watch Shark Tank?
quote: Louis Bornwasser
They just assume that all movies are 3D and since they don't like 3D movies, they stay at home. They now assume that all films are expensive, too. This may not be right, but it is well deserved when you remember the nonsense that occurred just after Avatar.
I think the IMAX company deserves a lot of blame over this. They're the ones who showed it's possible to stick a pair of HDTV resolution digital projectors into an existing theater booth, enlarge the screen a little and then jack up the price by $3, $6 or even more than $10 per ticket, passing it off like it's real IMAX.
Big theater chains jumped on board with that. 3D was a part of the recipe, but wasn't always necessary since people could be price gouged just the same for a 2D movie (like 50 Shades of Grey in "IMAX"). Theater operators just automatically assumed no one minded if no one bothered to go out of their way to complain to management about it. The truth is people see $13, $17 or even over $20 per ticket to enter what only looks like a moderately bigger auditorium and they silently decide to just wait to see that movie on video.
quote: Justin Hamaker
Especially in an age where the majority of a movie's business is crammed into the first few days, it is not practical to use ranking or gross as an indicator of a movie's quality.
Artistic quality and popularity are indeed two entirely different things. 50 Shades of Grey isn't going to win any literary or cinematic awards from film critics and other knowledgeable film buffs. Despite the mixed reviews for the book and worse movie reviews 50 Shades of Grey ranked in a respectable opening weekend haul.
Grosses alone don't mean anything because they don't reflect actual attendance numbers, much less take into account the effect of ticket price inflation which has been pretty significant in recent years.
We live in a time now where a movie can gross $100 million and not just be a box office failure, but a complete financial disaster. I remember being impressed when movies like Jurassic Park, The Lion King and Forrest Gump crossed the $300 million gross mark. A new movie grossing $300 million doesn't impress me at all. Not one bit. Those early 1990's movies had no benefit of double digit ticket prices artificially pumping up their earnings.
The movie industry can keep on publicizing dollar gross figures if they like. But if they really want to track just how popular a movie is, particularly compared with releases from years or decades ago, they have to count how many tickets were sold.
I don't think a movie qualifies as a "hit" until 20 million people have seen it in the theater. That's not to much to ask, especially living in a nation of 318 million people. The loosely used "blockbuster" term ought to be reserved for movies that sell 50 million or more tickets.
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Terry Lynn-Stevens
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1081
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Dec 2012
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posted 02-19-2015 02:17 PM
quote: Justin Hamaker
I'm not talking about people who have seen the most popular movie and think it was a good movie. I'm talking about people who hear a movie was #1 at the box office or made X dollars, so it must be a good movie. Especially in an age where the majority of a movie's business is crammed into the first few days, it is not practical to use ranking or gross as an indicator of a movie's quality. A movie like American Sniper is the exception because it has done strong business over a period of time and as a result of word of mouth, rather than pre-release hype and marketing
Justin why do you care so much? So would it be any different if they reported it as "how many tickets were sold" instead of dollar figures?
It is hard enough to get people to go the movies, usually when a movie that is doing really well at the box office it seems to suggest that the movie is pretty good, not always but more often then not the critic, polls, Cinemascores and Rotten Tomatoes or IMDB would agree.
quote: Justin Hamaker
But the average moviegoer does not watch enough movies to really know the difference between a poorly made movie and a well made movie
Sure they do, you Justin just think you are smarter than them, which you are not.
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Mike Blakesley
Film God
Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 02-19-2015 03:25 PM
How smart a person is, or isn't has nothing to do with it. It's all objective. A "movie snob" might look at something like "This Is Spinal Tap" and think, wow, this is a poorly made movie. But a person who enjoys that type of movie would love it. They don't necessarily care about things like camera angles, composition, the sound mix or whatever. Some people are more picky or critical than others.
There are a lot of movies I like that aren't necessarily "well made" but they tell a story I like and/or have people I like to watch in them.
quote: Bobby Henderson
if they really want to track just how popular a movie is, particularly compared with releases from years or decades ago, they have to count how many tickets were sold.
We have to report all our opening/closing ticket numbers, so you can be sure they DO track how many tickets are sold. They just don't publicize (or even release) those figures. Even Rentrak doesn't show that information, although the studios might get a more detailed version of Rentrak than we do.
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