Box Office In a Slump...
July 8th, 2003
Movie audiences may not be so keen on superheroes as everyone thought, or maybe they've just been inundated to the point of saturation. Though "The Matrix Reloaded," "X2: X-Men United," "The Hulk" and "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" had big weekend openings, Hollywood revenues lag behind the record pace of 2002, when "Spider-Man" and "Star Wars" ruled the summer.
Since early May, when "X2" kicked off the summer blockbuster season, domestic revenues are at $2.11 billion, down 3.3 percent from summer 2002, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. For the year, revenues are $4.65 billion, a 4.5 percent drop from 2002, when movie grosses hit an all-time high of $9.32 billion.
Raised ticket prises could also be to blame (the exhibitors are always looking to rake in more if they can). With an average admission cost of $6.03, up from $5.80 in 2002, Hollywood has sold about 772 million movie tickets this year, off 8.2 percent from 2002.
None of this year's explosive action flicks has approached the $400 million-plus performance of "Spider-Man" and $300 million payday of "Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones." Audiences most likely are worn out by Hollywood's obsession with comic books and sequels (some 2 dozen to be released this year). According to some theories, mviegoing tends to breed more moviegoing, but this summer, the films are not catching people's fancy in quite the same way, and that's a good thing. Hollywood is dishing out so much of the same thing people are sick of it. But most importantly, the movies that are coming out this summer are just plain stupid. From "The Hulk" to "League of Extrodinary Gentlemen," moviegoers are turned off and thank God.
-- Chris
(Source: AP)
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