- Sam Raimi Wants to 'Get Back to the Basics' on Spider-Man 4 (111 Comments)
- Must Watch: Teaser Trailer for A Nightmare on Elm Street! (109 Comments)
- Must Watch: Intense Trailer for Mel Gibson's Edge of Darkness (81 Comments)
- Must Watch: Second Official Trailer for Lee Daniels' Precious (78 Comments)
- Check These Out: High Res New Na'vi Photos from Avatar! (77 Comments)
- Paul Blart Director Steve Carr Hired for the Short Circuit Remake (Oct 27, 2009)
- Hitman's Xavier Gens Set to Direct Action Thriller 'The Fallout' (Oct 27, 2009)
- Bruckheimer & Straczynski Adapting 2K's Shattered Union (Oct 27, 2009)
- Steve Carell on Par for Rick Reilly Golf Comedy 'Missing Links' (Oct 26, 2009)
- Jason Reitman Calls Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim 'Matrix for Love' (Oct 26, 2009)
- Matt Damon & Josh Brolin Joining the Coen Brothers' True Grit (Oct 26, 2009)
- Ricky Gervais to Host the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards (Oct 26, 2009)
- Woody Allen's New Film Titled 'You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger' (Oct 26, 2009)
| Inglourious Basterds | 10/10 |
| It Might Get Loud | 9/10 |
| Inglourious Basterds | 8.5/10 |
| Star Trek | 9/10 |
| Monsters vs Aliens | 5/10 |
Dreamgirls Reshaping the Theatrical Experience?
December 18, 2006
by Alex Billington
Our colleague Peter from SlashFilm wrote a great article about "Dreamgirls and The Future of the Movie-Going Experience." Dreamgirls, which just about already has enough buzz flying around it, has been playing in a limited opening in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco in one theater in each city. The catch - tickets are $25 a piece, there are no trailers, and there is an intermission. Why, you ask? It's a special engagement, with limited edition glossy programs and exhibits out in the lobby showing the behind-the-scenes. It's a special showing tying into Dreamgirls days on Broadway, where people now pay upwards of $100 for a ticket for a Broadway show (Dreamgirls isn't showing anymore) that plays (almost) every night for years. This sort of event is something that may help reshape the future of the movie-going experience. As Peter says:
The movie-going experience has become akin to eating at McDonalds. Gone are the days of the grand theatrical events. Filmgoers rely on sequels and studio tent-pole films to create a buzz worthy of a theatrical movie-going experience of yesteryear. Attendance is dropping.
He couldn't be more correct about the current situation, and it's rough. All the studios will go around saying they've had great years (hell, we just published one saying Sony has broken all box office records ever), yet it's impossible to dodge the obvious - numbers officially (besides earnings) are down. Just look at Peter's article!
He states that in 1930 weekly cinema attendance was 80 million people. Given that was a much different time where it probably cost a dime to go see a movie and Frankenstein, The Indians Are Coming, and The Wizard of Oz were the big films, it still is an important statistic. That many people accounted for nearly 65% of the entire population. The most recent statistic from 2005 states that weekly only 26.8 million people head to the theaters, which is only 9.1% of the entire population. What happened? Why has it dropped from 65% to 9.1%? Is it the quality of the movies, the cinematic experience (problems at the theater), or something else?
I wish I could go to one of these Dreamgirls showings, as I just want to see what it's all about and see what the reaction has been. Obviously incredible, as nearly all of the shows have been selling out - even at 25 bucks a piece. I saw Dreamgirls at a screening back here in November, and it is incredible, but it's not topping my list for this year, so there's obviously just a little bit more to it. This is a very interesting consideration and it just may open some new doors as to possibilities that studios can head down to rekindle the movie-going experience.
What would you say if they did something similar to this for Spider-Man 3? Or Transformers? Or The Simpsons Movie? Do you think it would help or hurt?
•  |
Related Articles
- » Dreamgirls Review: A Bright and Energetic Musical Surpassing the Unexpected
- » Mark Cuban and Landmark Trying Again to Reshape the Theatrical Experience
- » What Is Your Theater Doing for Spider-Man 3?
- » FS.net's Weekly Openings Report - Christmas Day - Dec 25th
- » The FirstShowing.net Summer Experience Kicks Off May 4th
- » Introducing Theater Hopper - Feb 18: Why Doncha?
Reader Feedback - 2 Comments »
1
I feel like this is being forced down my throat. The more everyone tells me to see it the less I want to see it.
I know Hudson is going to a fantastic job,she's beautiful inside and out. Jamie Foxx is a remarkable actor,it's all just over kill for me. 
But I do like to attend limited engagements,cuts the riff raff. :p
tzarinna on Dec 18, 2006
2
Simple really. Theaters were a new experience, something cool, like the new roller coaster at a theme park. Now people have really nice TVs with good sound systems at their homes. Plus people probably can't justify $10.00 on a movie that has been made three or four times in the past; or they don't want to listen to screaming children etc! The movie theater was good for the last 100 years but some things change. 
Bruce Keller on May 10, 2007