Revenge of the Feature Film? Why Movie Theater Owners Expect a Blockbuster Year

For quite some time, the assumption has been that year in, year out, fewer and fewer people would bother seeing movies in the theater. Then a funny thing happened in 2012. Against trend, consumers went back to the movies, in fairly large numbers. What’s more, a repeat performance is expected for 2013. The rise of tablets, home theaters, Redbox, Netflix, and other forms of easy, affordable entertainment that doesn’t involve the cost or hassle of going to the movies has a lot to do with why movie theater attendance had been waning.

Are you a frequent moviegoer? That’s the term the Motion Picture Association of America gives to someone who sees at least one movie per month in the theater. And the association’s report says that across the board for all age demographics, there was an increase in frequent moviegoers last year. A Los Angeles Times story concerning the MPAA’s 2012 data pointed out that there was an especially sharp rise in older frequent moviegoers: 5.8 million Americans ages 40 to 49 went to the movies at least once per month in 2012, compared to 3.3 million the year before.

Are you a frequent moviegoer? That’s the term the Motion Picture Association of America gives to someone who sees at least one movie per month in the theater. And the association’s report says that across the board for all age demographics, there was an increase in frequent moviegoers last year. A Los Angeles Times story concerning the MPAA’s 2012 data pointed out that there was an especially sharp rise in older frequent moviegoers: 5.8 million Americans ages 40 to 49 went to the movies at least once per month in 2012, compared to 3.3 million the year before.

Matt Damon defended his new anti-fracking feature, Berlin film festival contender "Promised Land", Friday against poor reviews and ticket sales and said it was getting harder to make "issue movies".

Hollywood had a pretty good 2012. Movie attendance rose by around 6%, and theater revenues and average ticket prices both hit all-time highs. Curiously, the numbers also indicate that it was a pretty good year for consumers hoping to get decent value at the movies. How could consumers be paying more than ever, and yet still arguably be getting better value? Well, as Deadline.com and others have reported, the average movie ticket sold for $7.96 in 2012. Yes, that’s an all-time high. But it’s up only a smidge from the 2011 average of $7.93.

Hollywood had a pretty good 2012. Movie attendance rose by around 6%, and theater revenues and average ticket prices both hit all-time highs. Curiously, the numbers also indicate that it was a pretty good year for consumers hoping to get decent value at the movies. How could consumers be paying more than ever, and yet still arguably be getting better value? Well, as Deadline.com and others have reported, the average movie ticket sold for $7.96 in 2012. Yes, that’s an all-time high. But it’s up only a smidge from the 2011 average of $7.93.

Mark Burnett said yesterday that his mega-rated History Channel miniseries The Bible is being recut into a single three-hour edition for theatrical release.