Movie Business: “Bummer 2012 Box-Office Raises Critical Questions for Movie Biz”

Each day at noon this week, I have been taking a look at the current state of the movie business:

Monday: “Summer Movie Attendance Likely Lowest in Two Decades”

Tuesday: ‘Marigold’ and ‘Moonrise’: Summer 2012 indie B.O. champs

Wednesday: “Old People, Old Stars: Hollywood’s New Hot Demo Is Saving the Box Office”

Thursday: “So who’s making mid-budget movies?”

Today let’s circle back to where we started, looking at some key questions about the drop in movie ticket sales per this Wrap article:

In a summer of extreme highs and lows — “The Avengers” posted the best-ever opening and “Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure” posted the worst-ever start — one more set of crazy numbers didn’t shock insiders.

“If we’re seeing those same numbers in the middle of November, then I’ll be worried,” Chris Aronson, executive VP and general sales manager at Fox, told TheWrap.

Indeed, a comparison of this year and ten years ago shows that the sky isn’t falling. This summer’s grosses were down from 2011, but by less than 4 percent. And in the big picture, theaters still drew more people last year than all the theme parks and major sports in the U.S. combined, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.

But there has been a drop. Here are key questions per the Wrap article:

With the internet, videogames and dirt-cheap streaming, have movies become a luxury item?

Will fall 2012 be as uneven and underwhelming as this summer?

Isn’t anyone thinking about scheduling?

Why are there so many poor box-office performers?

What are your thoughts? Where do you think the domestic movie business is heading? And how does that impact you as a screenwriter?

For more of the Wrap article, go here.

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