>> The academy awards are just
around the corner and
Hollywood's big night this year
comes as what it means to watch
a movie is changing.
Theater box office receipts have
bounced back from the darkest
days of the pandemic, but they
are still below what they were
before the fear of covid emptied
theaters.
Add more people say they prefer
seeing a movie for the first
time at home than in the
theater.
Matthew Bellamy is host of the
town podcast which looks at the
inner workings of Hollywood.
Everyone talks about box office
theater business getting back to
pre-pandemic numbers.
But has so much changed in
viewing habits and technology
that the whole industry is going
to look different?
>> Even when people say we are
back, we are not really bad.
The gross receipts for 2022 were
down about 35% from 2019
pre-pandemic.
That came with a 35% reduction
in the number of movies that
went to the theaters that year.
It's going to be a little bit
better this year.
The hope is that the box office
will bounce back a little bit
more.
We are not in pre-pandemic
levels and the question is will
we ever go back to that.
Because it's pretty clear that
audience habits and preferences
have changed and they want to
watch more at home.
>> Movies going to theaters has
declined.
Our movies being produced, has
that changed?
>> It's funny, there have
actually never been more
original movies produced in a
year than there are right now.
It's just that the majority of
them are going to streaming.
If you look at what Netflix is
doing, they are producing dozens
of original movies every year.
Other streaming services are
doing the same.
And then you have all the movies
that go directly to theaters and
go through different windows on
paid TV and streaming.
It's a pretty significant number
of movies.
It's just that the entire
business of Hollywood for more
than 100 years has been based on
the theatrical model horror
movies go to theaters first
primarily and then they hit all
the different windows and that
is changing.
>> Is there a type of movie that
still draws people to theaters?
>> There are some obvious ones
like the big budget intellectual
property driven movies like the
superhero movies or a movie like
top gun maverick or avatar that
are big budget spectacle type
movies.
And then there are genres like
horror, it can still draw an
opening weekend audience.
Action movies.
For certain types of stars, they
control moviegoers.
But other genres like adult
dramas, romantic comedies,
comedies in general.
Those movies have really
struggled in theaters and
increasingly they are going
direct to streaming.
>> Steven Spielberg has said
that after the disappointing
performance of his movie the
fabled and that he worries about
the audience for adult dramas.
Is it just shifting to streaming
away from theaters?
>> Spielberg is a big proponent
of the theatrical experience and
he had a meet up with Tom Cruise
at an event a couple weeks ago
where he basically told him, you
saved the theatrical business by
getting adults in general
moviegoers to come back top gun
maverick.
Spielberg sees the writing on
the wall.
His movie which is an adult
drama, the movies that you want
to see too well in the run-up to
the oscars before they are
nominated, best picture
contenders like women talking or
even something in prior years
like the banshees of inisherin
which would have been a slow
burn Oscar movie that became a
hit, those movies are not
catctcng on in theaters because
people are saying to themselves,
I can just wait a little bit, it
will be on my streaming service.
I've got a giant TV in my living
room.
It's ok.
I don't need to go out.
That is where the industry is
really having problems.
>> Theater owners are talking
about trying to compete with
streaming.
AMC is going to the prices for
different seats in different
areas.
Are they just missing the point
that habits have changed?
>> The theaters are in a really
tough spot right now.
If this 30% decline in business
is a permanent thing, the
theaters are going to have to
downsize, close theaters.
Perhaps some will go out of
business entirely.
The second largest cinema chain
has already declared bankruptcy.
AMC has tried to do this dynamic
pricing with different seats
cost different amounts of money.
That's probably a good idea.
They should try to do dynamic
pricing or certain movies cost
more than others.
But that is a temporary or kind
of cosmetic solve for the more
fundamental problem they have,
which is that they have to
innovate and improve the quality
of the theater going experience
to make it more of an event
where they can then charge more
and people will be willing to
pay because for movies that
people deemed worthy of the
theaters, they are willing to
pay more for the experience and
they are willing to pay more for
these premium events like imax
or the premium format or extra
sound or reclining seats.
These things that give added
value to people.
They are willing to pay for.
But the old days of just packing
the multiplex in the mall I
think are numbered.
>> Have these changes affected
the studios?
>> The studios are positioned a
little bit better because they
make more money when they put
these movies on premium
video-on-demand where you pay a
fee to watch it at home.
They are increasingly doing that
at earlier times for these
movies that used to just go in
theaters.
It is sort of chaotic now in the
movie business.
Streaming for free, streaming
for an up charge, putting it out
at the same time as it's in
theaters -- there's all these
different strategies you can
take and no one quite knows what
the magic formula is.
>> Matthew Bellamy, thank you
very much.
>> Thank you.