2011 wasn’t a good year for film studios, with the fewest tickets sold since 1995. Theatrical revenues dropped 4.5% overall, and it didn’t look much better on the home entertainment, DVD and streaming front. However, if some analysts are to be believed, 2012 will be better.
The Hollywood Reporter cites analysts from Barclays Capital and MKM Partners, who predict growth in 2012, but not because of increased attendance. Instead, growth, or rather, revenue growth, will come from increased ticket prices. The same analysts predict a price increase of about 2 to 3 percent per ticket.
The analysts were still optimistic for an increased attendance rate, and said that we could see a 1% (a whopping 1%!) increase in attendance due to big titles like The Dark Knight Rises, Men in Black 3, and The Hobbit.
While major Hollywood studios keep fighting everyone from pirates to Netflix in their quest to retain ownership and profits for their content, Sony Pictures executive John Calkins has some other words, words that moviegoers will be happy to hear.
Calkins, who runs the digital content division of Sony Pictures, said in a recent interview with PC Magazine, that prices of digital downloads are too high, and that Sony is pricing their content at “a couple of bucks lower”. Calkins said,
“If you look at our pricing on new releases today, the pricing for online ownership is too high. For us, the number one mission in Hollywood today is to bring more value to ownership. Collecting offline has been a great success story for us; we’d like to replicate that online.”
Calkins went on to say that most people prefer the rental option because it’s much cheaper, and that in order to get consumers to buy the movie instead, it has to be a combination of offering extras and a lower price.
Of course, many people have been saying this for years: the prices are too high, and as the late Steve Jobs once told content owners, “you’re competing against free”.
The battle between cine camera makers RED and Arri has reached a new high: RED has filed a suit against Arri, alleging that Arri engaged in corporate espionage with its former executive Michael Bravin. RED is on to something, as Bravin has already plead guilty to email hacking charges. RED alleges that Bravin accessed the email account of RED founder Jim Jannard, and that Arri is now using the information against RED.
On top of that, RED claims that Arri is engaging in false advertising against RED and its products. RED and Arri are competing with different cameras for marketshare in the current transition to digital cinema, RED with its Red One, Epic, and Scarlett, while Arri recently launched the Arri Alexa.
