Editorial: Slide at the box office

Friday, July 1, 2005 | 8:44 a.m.

People are staying away from movie theaters in droves. Compared to the same time frame in 2004, movie revenue in the United States has declined for 18 straight weekends. Hollywood and movie theater owners are hoping that the remake of the alien invasion classic, "War of the Worlds," might just be the ticket to reverse this trend. "War of the Worlds," which opened midweek, certainly has star power behind it, with the movie being directed by Steven Spielberg and actor Tom Cruise in the leading role. Maybe "War of the Worlds" will give the industry the shot in the arm it needs, but we don't think Hollywood should bank on it.

It doesn't take an MBA to figure out why the industry is struggling. The quality of movies is down and there is a staleness to many of them as well, especially the sequels and remakes of long-ago movies or television shows -- the originals of which are almost always superior to the rehashed versions. Compounding the problem is that Hollywood spends obscene amounts of money to hype the big-budget movies, which invariably don't match up in quality to the amount spent to produce them, while doing nothing at all to promote better films that don't have large budgets or big-name stars in them.

Then there is the too frequently miserable experience of actually watching a movie. For starters, ticket prices are exorbitant and the concessions are so overpriced that it forces many people to smuggle in drinks and candy they buy from the grocery store at lower prices. Then there are the talkers who rudely chatter throughout the movie no matter how many times they are asked by other moviegoers to be quiet. The advent of VCRs and DVDs also has put a dent in the box office, as people don't mind waiting for awhile after a movie is released to watch it at home -- for considerably less money and less aggravation.

As long as moviemakers turn out schlock and theater owners charge obscene prices for tickets and concessions -- and refuse to put a lid on incessant chatterers -- people will take matters into their own hands. They'll simply stay away and watch movies at home until Hollywood wakes up.