Is Movie Theater Attendance on the Rise or Decline?

Right now (2006) movie theater attendance is in the decline. A recent study showed a 9% decline in people going to movies from 2004 to 2005 despite an increase in movies and more movie theaters opening.

As a result the Motion Picture Association of America is looking at possibly running a multi-million dollar ad campaign to encourage people to return to movie theaters. At the Academy Awards, a promo was run as to why people should see movies on “the big screen”. In addition, the National Association of Theater Owners is looking at ways to stop cell phone use in theaters.

The position of Hollywood Lot Magazine on the issue of increasing attendance is the following:

1) Movie theaters need to cut costs or stop increasing costs. One study by research firm OTX found that cost was an issue in the decline of moviegoers.

2) Movie studios need to make better movies. Remakes of old movies or TV shows like the Dukes of Hazzard do little to interest people in returning to theaters. Let’s see a return to really good original concepts and execution like The Matrix brought us.

3) Movie theaters need to remember that people don’t want to go to a theater and see ads. Many theaters are showing as many ads as they are previews and this is annoying audiences. Concepts like “The Twenty” or Regal Cinemas new pre-movie program are a good outlet for a few commercials (before the movie start time). But when the time for the movie to start arrives, theaters need to go right into movie previews then the feature. Fandango ads, commercials, etc. after the movie’s start time only annoys patrons. Who wants to pay $9 to see car commercials?

4) Movie theaters need to include, with renovation plans, concepts like “quiet rooms” where people with noisy children (or a disability that results in loud noises) can enjoy the film without disrupting patrons who enjoy a quiet environment in which to enjoy a film.

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