Do people still care about movies?

A few weeks ago, Roger Ebert wrote a theory about why box office receipts are their lowest since 1995. You might have already heard that attendance was down 3.5% compared to the year before. That said, with the cost of a movie ticket being what it is these days, the cash take was still pretty decent. Mr. Ebert lists a few valid theories why attendance has dipped, and I would whole-heartedly agree with him that factors like high ticket prices and poor theatre-going experiences are in play. However, in trying to settle on something definitive, I ask again:

Do people still care about movies?

Obviously, I’m not talking about you since the time you took to drop by this space likely comes with a healthy interest. I’m wondering about the public-at-large. The sorts of people who used to see nine or ten movies in a year and now are don to four or five. You know, the people who listen to you mention a great film you saw with a look like they want to pet you on the head when you finish. Less the sort who make plans to see a specific film and choose the least objectionable option on the designated night.

Those people. The ones who pad the overall numbers. Do they still care?

I wonder his because I have in fact noticed my multiplexes getting quieter and quieter as time goes on. It used to be that the opening of an event movie would have lobbies jammed (and before that, send box office lines snaking down a city block). There was an excitement in the air, a buzz that had drawn the avid and passive moviegoers together. Now it seems like that electricity is widely gone. The event films are only playing to fans of the property – because, let’s face it, almost all event films now are based on a pre-established property. Those who come out are the same ones who always come out; none of their parents, none of their bosses, none of their kids.

I wonder if people still care because everywhere you turn nowadays, people talk about being so busy. They live further from where they work, and that’s not taking high volume traffic into account in major urban centres. For these people, who get home at 7pm on a good day, there’s no such thing as a quick bite and then a movie after dinner. Seeing a movie spontaneously is almost a ridiculous an idea as flying to paris spontaneously – though in Paris the food would be better.

Then there are those who used to care, but for whom movies have become a commodity. They aren’t interested in fighting the crowd, forking over the cash, or travelling the distance. However they are more than happy to use on-demand services, stream whatever’s available regardless of what they might actually want to see…or of course, pirate the latest Hollywood fare illegally.

Perhaps the short answer to my question is simply “No – people don’t care anymore”. Perhaps the interaction and entertainment of it all has given way to hassle and ambivalence for the rest of them. Perhaps that old saying is true and they don’t ”Make ‘em like they used to”. Perhaps  those who used to be thrilled and engaged have become apathetic; after all, not only do we now know how the magicians are doing their tricks, but the magicians are going so far as to tweet us their daily anxieties.

Perhaps, like many other art forms before it, the motion picture has entered into its decline into a smaller, focused audience. Perhaps, the party is truly over. We live in an age where any normal Joe can be a household name if they get stranded on an island with fifteen other Joe’s. We live in an age where any spoiled Jane can become a household name if she drops any sort of mental filter and lets TV cameras follow her around her daily life. And we live in an age where people will find themselves watching both of these offerings not necessarily because they want to, but because they can’t find anything better to distract them as they turn off their brain.

So no Hollywood – your attendance isn’t down because you didn’t have an event film to give you that extra layer of cream. Your attendance is down because with every passing day, more and more people just don’t care.