The Movie Scene: Summer 3D and Fall Expectations

The future of the movie industry has been a hot topic in recent years, with more individuals turning to in-home viewing, and more movie studios reaching out to 3D technology to compete. According to Sean Phillips, executive producer of Yahoo! Movies YHOO, ticket sales for the current summer are down by 7% to 8% over last year — yet ticket prices are up by 40 cents per ticket on average, the highest year-over-year increase in ticket history. “The summer movie season was a bit disappointing,” said Phillips. “Studios relied heavily on the strength of 3D movies, but I think the titles just weren't compelling enough this year.” Phillips said that although Toy Story 3 and Iron Man made for a great start to the summer, overall audiences — and some of the studios themselves — were let down. “When studios are spending more to make a movie in 3D, they want to make sure the fan base is already there, but it's not a sure bet,” said Phillips, who referenced Sex and the City 2 as one that surprised Warner Brothers when it fell flat this summer. But 3D isn't just for theatres anymore — 3D TVs have recently been introduced to the market by manufacturers like Sony SNE and Samsung. However, Phillips said we are about three seasons away from those being “even remotely a competitor.” “Going out to the movies is still an event. People are still willing to spend their $6 for a bag of popcorn, and it's part of our culture,” Phillips said. “A movie is still one of the most affordable nights out you can have when you leave the house, and anything that falls on the cheap end of the spectrum like that, people will continue to gravitate to it.” But the reasons why people are drawn to movies has changed, according to Kirthana Ramisetti. Managing editor at survey company Predicto.com that polls individuals on a Friday afternoon about their weekend movie-making decisions. “What we have found is that there is a fine line between people knowing too much about a movie and knowing just enough to be interested,” Ramisetti said. “With Inception this year, people rushed to see it because they didn't want the ending to be spoiled, and they wanted to be a part of the conversation.” The summer movie season overall reflects that a little mystery and a good topic will trump an “A” list movie star any day, according to Ramisetti . It's the concepts — not the celebrity — that attracts moviegoers today, she said. Of course, the term “moviegoer” today can have many different meanings. In-home movie company Netflix NFLX boasted 15 million customers in June of this year, up from 13 million last year. When the company got its start 12 years ago, it sent DVDs by mail, yet now the company offers “instant streaming” and movies can be watched within seconds of pushing play. To read the rest, head over to Fox Business.