box office

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

I believe box office figures are falling mainly due to new alternatives to cinema. In 2015 most cinematic experiences can be replicated elsewhere such as in our own homes. 3D technology is now available in our own homes where as in 2009 it was only available in cinemas, which is arguably one of the reasons adding to Avatars success. Videos games are now longer and narrative driven therefore offer a similar cinematic experience as most franchises also have video games based on the films. Instead of watching a character on screen, you can become the character in an interactive game. 

Debatably, illegal pirating is a reason box office figures are falling. MPAA suggests illegally downloading films and piracy costs the industry $20 billion per year however piracy does not take money away from a studio. It just prevents potential profit. Subscriptions to satellite TV, or streaming sites such as Netflix are a popular cinema alternative and are much cheaper than going to the cinemas. In 1999 a cinema ticket would have cost approximately £3 however in 2015 a ticket is £11. It is too expensive to visit the cinema very regularly. In 2014 the US box office hit it’s lowest since 1995. Around 1.26 billion consumers bought cinema tickets despite the year containing many box office hits. This was a 6% drop from 2013 as 1.34 billion tickets were sold. However 2015 had the largest global box office ever. This was for a number of reasons. China had a 48% increase in cinema attendance. China has the largest population therefore an increase in attendance is likely to carry on increasing. China is predicted to over take North America for the largest cinema market by just 2017. I believe this to be because there is a larger focus on global marketing. 2015 saw highly anticipated franchise films return such as Avengers: age of Ultron, Jurassic World and Star Wars: the Force Awakens. Jurassic Park and Star Wars are two of the biggest franchises loved around the world, including China and neither of the franchises had released a film in many years, which may be why they were the most successful films of 2015. Social media was used in the marketing of the biggest films of the year.

Although 2015 was the largest box office year ever, I believe that box office figures will fall again. As most franchise sequels are released 2 years after the previous one so dips are expected. franchise films often rely on repeat viewing. In 2015 star wars and jurassic park were released and also had global success but they wont have films out next year there will be a decrease in figures. A star wars film is due out for 2016. I believe this will either maintain or or beat the force awakens as i think it will carry on star wars 2015 success.