There is a general consensus among some of the American public that film is in a state of decadence, destined to fail in an era of remakes and poor acting performances.
However, this is quite far from the truth. The film industry is indeed prospering, with titles like “Looper,” “The Master,” and “Moonrise Kingdom” re-enforcing film’s powerful influence.
It is true that ticket sales from the past few years are down, as compared to previous years.
According to Box Office Mojo’s website, only 1.283 billion tickets were sold in 2011. This was a sharp decline, an 18.5 percent decrease, from the number of tickets sold in 2002, which was 1.575 billion.
The drop in ticket sales should not be seen as a result of films being poorly made.
In today’s age, more filmmakers have the opportunity to release their films in larger markets than ever before.
Small films like Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom” are able to survive because of increased exposure.
Although “Moonrise Kingdom” did not sell as many tickets as certain blockbuster films (profit of only $45.3 million), its quality surpassed the vast majority of many other films.
“Moonrise Kingdom,” the story how a small town reacts to two young lovers running away, is Oscar-worthy from start to finish.
Just because many people didn’t see the film, doesn’t mean it was bad.
According to Box Office Mojo, films from this July to September in the U.S. made a profit of $2.1 billion, a 17.7 percent drop from the same quarter in 2011.
Does that mean the films were bad from July to September? Not by a long shot.
Films like the sci-fi action flick “Looper” and Christopher Nolan’s epic “The Dark Knight Rises” were among many great films released in that period.
Poorly made films as a reason for low ticket sales is a purely absurd argument.
Now, it is true that there are a large number of poorly made movies today. However, there have always been low quality movies and today is no different.
The real reason why ticket sales have dropped is the bad economy.
It’s a well-understood fact that many Americans are struggling to make ends meet every day. If someone is worried about keeping their electricity on for the month, they are not likely going to worry about seeing a movie in theatres.
Also, movie services like Netflix and Redbox are reasons why ticket sales have dropped.
Why pay for a $12 ticket when you can rent a movie for only a $1 a few months later?
Shane Newell is a sophomore journalism major and an assistant city editor for the Daily 49er.