What Affects Movie Attendance?

As a studio and producer how would this economy affect your movies? Obviously they are a little bit pinched in money. Where they might usually spend $15 million on something, they will reconsider and spend only about $10 million. Studios and producers are trying to be more cautious about their movie decisions so they can save and make as much as possible. So movie ideas that might not be brilliant and got produced willed be looked over a second time to see if they really want to take that risk. It’s harder to get loans to make big budget movies, so anything they can cut they will. However they will produce what gets the most money, not always the best movie. If people are more willing to go to a horrible movie for laughs, but nothing more than a one time thing they’ll produce that one. Where other movies that are though provoking and highly rated by critics might be waited on to make (article below). We might have to suffer with bad movies being produced for a while, at least until studios get a steady place on the ground.

For more information:

http://www.film.com/movies/will-people-skip-the-movies-in-a-down-economy#fbid=18Rdi9_4Www

The Dark Knight, Great Outcome

Does this economy keep people out of the theaters? Surprisingly not really. Yes, some people have decided to go to less movies since the recession, because all that extra money is going towards other things more important in their budgets than a little fun. However there are still some movies that have been highly successful even through this economy. The biggest example would be “The Dark Knight”, the second installment in the Batman movie series. This may be one of the most, if not the most, successful movies that has ever come into theaters. With a hefty production budget of $185,000,000 this movie took a lot of money and time. However just alone in IMAX grossing it made $55 million. But the most impressive number is the total grossing as of 10/02/2008 is $984,954,094. This movie is the best example of how even through the hard times producers and studios have in this economy, it’s possible to have a great outcome.

For more information:

http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2008/BATM2.php

Blockbuster vs Netflix vs Redbox

You want a movie for the night, where do you go? Sure, you’ve got three typical options usually, the movie stores like Blockbuster, Redbox, or maybe if you’ve subscribed Netflix. But which one gives you the best deal? Depending on which movie you want could determine where you go. Redbox mainly offers newer movies, where at Netflix and Blockbuster you can find older movies. Maybe you want a new movie, but this also depends how long you’re willing to wait. It takes 28 days for Netflix and Redbox to get the newest movies. So if you want them the day they come out, you’ll be going to a movie store like Blockbuster. The downside of that is you’ll be paying about three times as much as Redbox for a one night rental. Netflix has different offers for monthly paying. The lowest gives you unlimited web streaming, the problem with that is there are only so many movies to pick from in each category. You’re best luck at finding the movie you want nearest to you is Redbox, there are always movies being restocked (article below). Talk about convenience too, you can return you’re rental to any Redbox. To get a movie from Netflix it takes a few days to deliver to you, and that’s if there’s no waiting list for the movie. Each of the three has it’s pros and cons, but it really boils down to what type of movie you want and how long you’re willing to wait.

For more information:

http://vspages.com/netflix-vs-blockbuster-vs-redbox-comparing-movie-rental-services-657/

Netflix Expands

Netflix is growing once again! Not very long ago Netflix made a decision to move their business to even more places. Now these places are already in many people’s homes. There are three to be exact, the Wii, the Xbox 360, and the Playstation 3. Now making it even more convenient for more consumers to get and use Netflix services. It used to be ordering DVDs and internet streaming, but with all these new services for major consoles, the business can expand by a lot more. Not surprisingly Netflix is the biggest source of web streaming traffic in America during peak hours in the evening (article below). This business is really quite revolutionary to the way consumers will watch movies now and in the future. On the web streaming movie platform, Netflix does not have many competitors. It is so popular it has a market value of $10 billion. Netflix has over 16 million subscribers (article below). There looks to be nothing but a bright future for this company and web streaming.

For more information:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/25/business/25netflix.html

Does Redbox Kill Jobs?

Since the release of Redbox kiosks, the company has been under a lot of heat. There are many movie companies that want to kill Redbox completely. They are saying that Redbox is harmful and kills job. For instance in one article they claim that 9,280 jobs are lost due to $1 rentals. But in another part of the same article they say the new technology and idea brings up new revenue. It would be good for companies and bring up new opportunities (article below). It could even bring in new jobs with the growing numbers of Redbox. While in the past certain strategies might have worked to sell more as a movie store, now there are fights between kiosks and internet streaming. The new generation is getting movies now and at the best convenience. Most people would now rather reserve a movie online or have it delivered. The is helping a lot of companies with the opportunities to use internet to connect with more consumers than just having advertising at their locations. So, yes, in small cases a few jobs might be lost here and there. Yes, some movie stores will close. But as we’ve seen they will not die completely, with Blockbuster using kiosks now and still having stores in certain locations, we’ve really just changed the game, but we haven’t gotten rid of it.

For more information:

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091207/2310207240.shtml

Blockbuster Kiosks

Although you’ve probably seen the Redbox kiosks almost everywhere, have you ever seen the Blockbuster express kiosks? Probably not. This is because there only putting a major deployment out in Florida right now. By mid-year of 2010 they wanted to have at least 10,000 out, but it’s 2011 and for now Redbox is the big company for kiosks everywhere. However there are Blockbuster kiosks out in America. The company plans to put kiosks in grocery stores in Massachusetts, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. By the end of 2009 the company wanted to have 2,500 and the NCR will have put $60 billion on the business. To get even more customers, Blockbuster is thinking of forming a team with Target. Redbox has formed a team with Walmart that has more than 3,500 locations in the nation. Target on the other hand only has more than 1,300 locations in 47 states. (article below) Maybe in the future there will be Blockbuster kiosks a lot of places, maybe more than Redbox. For now we’ll just have to watch the kiosk war.

For more information:

http://www.betanews.com/article/Blockbuster-gains-ground-in-rental-kiosk-turf-war/1253116199

How The Economy Changes Movie Types

Feeling down and need a little escape? The movies offer a great way for people to get out of the house at least for a couple of hours and take things off their minds, especially in this bad economy. Not only does the economy affect the number of people going to the movies, but the movie types being made. Based on the numbers in the box office, studies have shown that the most successful movies are comedies and action films. The top three grossing movies in 2009 were, “Mall Cop”, “He’s Just Not That Into You”, and “Bride Wars” for comedies. For action films the top two movies were “Hotel for Dogs” and “Taken”, so far when the study was done. “Mall Cop” made an estimated $121.4 in sales in mid-January (article below). On the other hand you can see examples of movies that didn’t do well, with some connection to the recession, like “Confessions of a Shopaholic” which surprisingly only made $15.07 million although it was a widely successful selling book series. Experts think this is because the film didn’t connect much with viewers. Another movie example is “Friday the 13th” remake that did well in the theaters, because thinking about how scary the Jason movie is doesn’t make you think about mortgage or other problems in your life. In another case, sometimes the most successful movies are the stupid movies. The dumber the better experts say, they will actually make a lot of money (article below). Don’t be surprised if you see more comedies and action films during this recession.

For more information:

http://articles.cnn.com/2009-02-24/entertainment/economy.movies_1_movie-ticket-sales-film-studies-department-mall-cop?_s=PM:SHOWBIZ

Netflix = Winning

As many companies and businesses are struggling to make ends meet, Netflix is cherishing the recession. When Americans are looking for cheap entertainment to sit and watch on their couch, they do it right from the internet. The Netflix shares have soared 15.5% or $4.67 and closed the day on $34.82. This is a huge milestone for Netflix who has been gaining momentum due to the popularity internet streaming has made in America. Netflix profit from the fourth-quarter was $22.7 million, up from the $15.7 million the previous year. That made the company’s revenue $359.6 million, when the previous year had been $302.4 million. Netflix stated that it added 718,000 customers in the fourth-quarter. By the end of the year it had 9.4 million customers! (Forbes Article) Soon, “Why don’t we Netflix it?”, could become a common expression.

For more information:

http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/27/netflix-dvd-streaming-markets-equity-0127markets40.html



Is Blockbuster Dying?

Ever since Netflix and Blockbuster came into the movie industry, it seems like Blockbuster is getting closer to next up on death row. Last year as the economy took a fall, it lost $374.1 million dollars (Daily Finance). It’s also no secret that Blockbuster is in debt, due to bad decisions. Speaking of bad decisions, Blockbuster took another large blow when they decided to end late fees a few years ago, cutting profits way down. By the end of this year it may close as many as 960 stores, up from the usual 380 to 425 stores (MSNBC Article). To save itself, Blockbuster hopes to spread 10,000 kiosks across the country. But with Redbox already booming in business with cheap one night movie rentals, it will be hard for this company to get customers away to their kiosks.  Looks like we’ll have to wait and see if Blockbuster can bail itself out.

For more information:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32861720/ns/business-local_business/t/blockbuster-close-many-stores/

and

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/04/07/reports-of-blockbusters-death-are-exaggerated/



Should Studios Blame Redbox?

Redbox kiosks have been sprouting up everywhere in the last two to three years. The studio executives are saying 80% of the decline is due to the economy, but still 20% is due to Redbox and other factors (Lowe, article below). Consumers get a great deal of $1 per night rentals, while the competition makes consumers spend anywhere from $3 to $5, depending on where you live for Blockbuster at least.  It's obvious you'd rather spend $1 then $3, so is it just for studios and stores to place blame on Redbox? Yes, it is, but it's great for consumers. Redbox CEO, Mitch Lowe, said in a Wall Street Journal interview that he's saving consumers $50 million to $60 million a month (Lowe, article below)! Another huge plus is the new offers Netflix and Blockbuster have started offering in order to catch up with the competition, although it will be a struggle since Redbox has set the bar high.

For more information:

http://www.insideredbox.com/redbox-ceo-we-save-consumers-50-60-million-every-month/