Ok, anyone who knows me knows I LOVE movies, to death. Therefore, nothing makes me happier than to see Hollywood's worst box office results in years, especially during the summer, which usually fills its coffers for the rest of the year and then some.
This year has marked, I believe, the longest box office slump in recent memory, with 19 straight weeks of receipts lower than the previous year in the same time frame. And I love it!
The movie that broke the streak, incredibly, was Fantastic Four, which I haven't seen (and don't know if I will) and which had quite terrible reviews. Too bad. But the slump would have ended the week after anyway, when Charlie and the Chocolate Factory opened HUGE.
Ever since, however, the total receipts have been either lower than in the comparable frame last year, or barely above them. And the reason I love the slump? Because, although I love some of Hollywood's productions, I despise many others, the so-called cookie cutter movies that all look and feel the same.
Where is the originality, the adventurousness, the freshness in a product like Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo?! Com' on, it's ridiculous. I'm so glad people are finally waking up and realizing that they don't need to go to the movies just because that's what "good Americans do," no matter the offerings. If the movie sucks, stay home. It's not like nowadays you can't find other ways of watching a movie without commercial interruptions: DVD, VHS, TIVO, PayPerView, OnDemand, HBO, STARZ!, Showtime, CineMax, Encore... The possibilities are infinite.
I hope Hollywood takes notice of the current state of affairs and doesn't take us for granted anymore, and starts giving us something new and good again. We're sick and tired of the remakes, and sequels, and reimaginings, and reworks, and prequels, and whatever else. Just earn the goddamn money you want me to give you!! And the best way to make sure they get the message is to cut their earnings.
And this was the summer of a huge blockbuster like Star Wars: Episode III - Reveng of the Sith and a big hopeful like War of the Worlds, which saw the convergence of the biggest director (Steven Spielberg) and the biggest movie star (Tom Cruise.) So it's not like they didn't try. But in the end, too many movies were either bad, or so-so, or reworked, or overblown... as usual.
And the same goes for movie theaters. People are starting to be real tired of waiting 20 minutes before the supposed start of the movie they paid good money to see. And they're sick and tired of the noise from chatting patrons, ringing cell phones, rude teen agers, screaming infants, and full blown meals that stink up the place.
The last time I went to the theater I had a ticket I had bought over a year earlier when the theater was owned by a different chain, and that was now expired. I told them I was surprised of the expiration, and that I had called and had been told the ticket was still good (which was sort of true, I did call and ask, but months before, and I "knew" the ticket might be expired.)
Since I wanted to see a movie that was at least a month old (something that nowadays is a rarity, apparently!!), the manager took the ticket, and let me in. Why? Because he knew, if he had turned it down, I might have left the place altogether, and never come back. And now they can't afford that anymore.
Which is great news for the consumer.
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