As home-theaters and other alternatives rise in the market, is it only a matter of time before movie enthusiasts stop going to theaters all together? Movies at a theater in general are becoming less and less appealing; not because of the quality of the production or the physicality of a theater but rather the experience all together. On the site The Big Picture , they listed a few reasons why theater attendance is declining. These reasons included high prices, cellphone use/talking in theaters, availability of movies on Netflix or other services, and a better experience viewing movies at home.

With all the various reasons concerning theater attendance decline over the last few years ( a five percent decrease this year alone), theater companies seem to be more concerned with the money made in the box office rather than the attendance of their movies. Chew on this example: In 1977, when Star Wars was released, 169.5 million tickets were sold to view this movie in theaters. If you compare this with the 72.3 million tickets sold to Dark Knight this year, we find there is a significant decrease in ticket sales. However, increases in the individual ticket price hides this fact. Canoe.jam.ca posted an article saying ” the $7.16 today’s average U.S. moviegoer paid to see “The Dark Knight” could have bought three tickets to “Star Wars” in 1977″. With this in mind, comparing gross box office sales in 2008 to 1977 is no comparison as far as theater attendance. It’s just not even applicable. When viewing movie statistics, you shouldn’t be asking yourself how much the movie made in the box office but rather how many tickets were sold. It’s a whole different world now a days.

It may be only a matter of time before people stop viewing movies in theaters all together. As attendance declines, prices will continue to rise, only pushing more and more people away. As a result, more ads will be in movies in accommodate for poor ticket sales. In the end, both viewers and the box office suffers. So for the people who have been thinking about getting a system in their home, now would be a good time.

Matt Scinto ( Nov. 3, 2008)