Americans bought 50 million fewer movie tickets in 2011 than the year before, continuing a downhill plunge for Hollywood that began in 2003. Feeble ticket sales - the lowest in 16 years – negated yet another hike in ticket prices, causing box-office revenue to fall for the second year in a row.
Is it because people are staying home watching movies on their wall-sized flat screens or playing "Modern Warfare 3"?
Maybe, somewhat.
I favor the explanation offered by Ron Meyer, President/COO of Universal Studios, and the longest-running studio head of his generation. While attending the Savannah Film Festival at year's end Meyer confessed:
"We make a lot of s****y movies. Every one of them breaks my heart."
There were mediocre movies in the mix a decade earlier, and a decade before that, and a decade before that.
But look at the historic core sample below (data from Box Office Mojo) and ask yourself, which year's roster would you rather see?
TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2011 BY DOMESTIC GROSS1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 2 Transformers: Dark of the Moon 3 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 4 The Hangover Part II 5 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides 6 Fast Five 7 Cars 2 8 Thor 9 Rise of the Planet of the Apes 10 Captain America: The First Avenger 20011 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone2 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring3 Shrek4 Monsters, Inc.5 Rush Hour 26 The Mummy Returns7 Pearl Harbor8 Ocean's Eleven9 Jurassic Park III10 Planet of the Apes (2001) 19911 Terminator 2: Judgment Day2 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves3 Beauty and the Beast4 The Silence of the Lambs5 City Slickers6 Hook7 The Addams Family8 Sleeping with the Enemy9 Father of the Bride10 The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear 19811 Raiders of the Lost Ark2 On Golden Pond3 Superman II4 Arthur5 Stripes6 The Cannonball Run7 Chariots of Fire8 For Your Eyes Only9 The Four Seasons10 Time Bandits
