Is moviegoing changing before our eyes?

Based upon the stellar B.O. performance of Lion King: 3-D [#1 two weekends in a row grossing over $62M], Steve Zeitchit (LAT) ponders the present and future of movies:

Cinema can’t compete with what television does narratively, not with so many shows and the possibility of so many programming hours. And it can’t match the convenience of the television set or the computer laptop. So it distinguishes itself in another way — by serving up a communal experience that no living room can offer. And that experience, almost inevitably, is best enjoyed by viewing something familiar.

Sequels, franchises and revivals offer the most compelling pitch. Take a flier with a bunch of strangers on something I’ve never heard of? Maybe. Share an experience with hundreds of like-minded fans? Now you’re talking.

And so series such as “Harry Potter” and “Twilight” top the box office, while 3-D conversions of musical favorites like “Lion King” outdraw original films.

— —

Theatergoing in the next decade may increasingly need to concentrate not the frisson of the new but the comfort of the familiar. The more individuated thrill of discovery — which can be experienced at home as easily as in a movie theater — could be de-emphasized in favor of the communal uplift that can really only happen in a large public space.

First there were remakes. Now there are retreads. Does this worry you? Or are we beyond that point?

For more of Zeitchik’s article, go here.

Comment Archive