SSC Film Studies

Box office figures are falling.
Why do you think this is? &
Do you think this trend will continue?

Box office figures have been falling gradually ever since 1995, 2014 being the lowest the figures have ever been; this is partly because of the over saturation of the film industry, films over the years have become more and more generic, in 1981 seven of the top 10 films were original ideas, in comparison with 2011 were none of the top 10 grossing films were original ideas and only two of them weren't franchises, this is partly because the studios as of lately have been dumbing down the audience thinking they only want big blockbuster films instead of more thought provoking complex films. However films such as Interstellar (released in 2014) would suggest that the audience want more complex films its just that there options are limited as blockbusters and sequels are continuously being released. Companies such as Disney on average used to make around 10 films per year, in comparison with modern day where the company only tends to make around 3, the company invests all their money into these films known as 'blockbusters' limiting the diversity of films produced, much safer for the industry but less appealing to the audience. Big companies more and more invest into tent pole films; films which have a high chance of success and little chance of failure due to there prestige and they make less risky films.

Another reason that cinema attendance and box office figures would of decreased would be the fact that there is a development in society and technology as a whole; home screen televisions now offer the 3D effect that was once restricted to the cinema screens now the audience are allowed the cinematic experience at home with better sound and quality on their home appliances. Further reasoning behind the advancement in technology would be the fact that the range of entertainment is much more vast; consumers have much more options of entertainment rather than going the cinema, as they can evidentially as an example play games regarding the franchise they would more then likely see anyway, more examples of the advancement in technology would be things such as the Internet and piracy, people are allowed to stream movies from there computer/handheld without any cost, instead of paying the price and actually going to a cinema, yearly on average preventing the cinema from an extra £446 million due to the effects of piracy alone. The development into things such as Netflix has introduced the term 'binge watching' audience members now spend numerous hours consecutively watching TV box sets as it a more convent; cheaper and more practical - series's on Netflix offer the audience hours of entertainment without even leaving there home; furthering this point TV subscriptions now offer there audience to buy films which have been newly released in cinema, movies on demand and DVDs encourage consumers to stay at home rather then taking a trip to the cinema. 

A reason for the decline in box office figures would be programmes like kick-starter; this allows unheard of film makers to put there ideas across towards the general public; if there idea gets the numerical support desired then their product will be created; the increase in this type of film making is a threat to the industry as it imposes new competition which is already desired by the audience.
Another reason which would influence the decline in box office cinema is that less tickets are sold to the audience; this is partly due to the cinematic experience being ruined over the years as mobile phones have become more popular and ruin the experience for other people in the cinema. There is also another factor influencing why less tickets are sold year by year and that would potentially be due to the prize of cinema tickets rising gradually as they used to be substantially less then they cost today; the world as a whole is in a financial crisis; meaning people have less money to spend on things, never mind the rising prize of cinema tickets.

Up until 2014 box office figures where in decline; until 2015 known as a 'freak year' for film topped the box office charts as the most successful year ever; this is partly due to the return of the big franchises such as Jurassic World and Star Wars The Force Awakens making resounding amounts of money; it is estimated that this trend in the increasing numbers at the box office will continue as franchises used to operate on a 2 year schedule but Disney and Marvel are attempting to break that with the films they are releasing in 2016; it is estimated that 2016 will be the biggest year for box office history with the release of the newest star wars which will star china's greatest/biggest star (name) and many others from the likes of north Korea and Japan; in its attempt to appeal to a world wide audience; this is becoming more of a norm year after year as it makes them more successful. Other films such as Batman vs Superman are due to be released and are highly likely to attract a mass audience as they are more than likely the two biggest films of that year if not the decade. Franchises are now becoming universes with many characters and they can now make films to release year after year consecutively.