No One at The Theatre? How will Movie Companies React?

"The number of movie tickets sold in North American fell 7% in 2010 to 1.3 billion from more than 1.4 billion in 2009" -Motion Picture Association of America.

"Even more worrisome is the precipitous decline in DVD sales. At $7.8 billion, last year's level was 43% below the 2006 peak of $13.7 billion" -IHS Screen Digest data

People just aren't as willing to go to the movies or to go to the video store to rent a movie. There are so many more convenient and less expensive ways to view different kinds of media today. NetFilx is a widely used and convenient way to watch movies by getting them sent to you in the mail. Another way is Pay Per View which shares the convenience of NetFlix. Movie prices have raised in order to keep up with the lack of demand, this is ultimately drawing people away from going to the movies. So how are movie companies overcoming this problem? They are trying out a variety of strategies. One strategy includes the use of sequels. Because there was a first movie to the sequel there will not have to be near as much promoting the movie and ultimately would be cheaper. Some sequels that were and are expected to be successful are Toy Story 3, Pirates of the Caribbean, Scream, Mission Impossible, and Transformers. Another way that these companies are overcoming the lack of sales is to incorporate items to the movies that could be sold such as toys for Toy Story 3. Another way is to incorporate the use of franchises in order to overcome lack of sales. Another idea is to appeal their media overseas. I personally have noticed that I am not going to movies or renting them anymore, I wonder how companies can appeal to people who have found cheaper and more convenient ways of watching media?

In Response to Britney Perkins

If Wal*Mart is selling milk for $3.00 per gallon and your local farm is selling milk for $5.00 per gallon, which milk do you purchase?

When everything else is equal I completely agree I would buy the $3 dollar milk from Wal-Mart just like Britney. I also agree that companies should be socially responsible and I would like to say I would support a more socially responsible company over an unethical one.Supporting local farmers who are being ethical is a more optimistic choice rather than buying from Wal-Mart who does not have the same ethical standards in animal treatment.

Why do you think Wal*Mart has been so successful when they have been criticized about so many socially irresponsible aspects of their company (paying women lower wages, sweatshops over seas, child labor over seas, poor animal conditions, etc)?

To answer Britney's last question I can see how people would still buy the cheaper milk. Even if people want to support local farmers and an ethical company, some people just cannot afford to. An extra $2 for milk and an extra $2 for fruit and an extra $2 dollars for vegetables adds up! In today's economy where the unemployment rate is still high Wal-Mart strives to serve people who cannot afford other products.