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slew of quality movies and higher ticket prices helped Hollywood
hold its own in 2008 despite recession, while 2009 promises
more 3-D pictures and some big blockbusters to keep audiences
coming in.
Box office
revenues in the United States and Canada fell less than 1
percent to $9.6 billion in 2008 compared to $9.68 billion
the year before, tracking firm Media By Numbers said.
Attendance
fell by about 5 percent in 2008 but with average ticket prices
up slightly, revenues held firm.
Paul Dergarabedian,
president of Media By Numbers, said the high quality of the
2008 releases insulated the industry from the economic downturn.
He expects
well-reviewed movies late in 2008, such as "Slumdog Millionaire,"
"Gran Torino" and "Doubt," to entice audiences
to come out to movie theaters in 2009.
Batman
movie "The Dark Knight," the top grossing film of
2008, ranked second only to 1997's "Titanic" on
the all-time U.S. and Canadian box office leader board, with
$531 million.
The critically-acclaimed
"Iron Man," starring Robert Downey Jr., ranked second
in the 2008 box office race with $318 million.
"The
movies were so exciting, the product was so good this year
that it is instilling in the audience a lot of goodwill,"
Dergarabedian said.
Experts
said box office revenues are resistant but not immune to the
recession.
"It's
not necessarily that people rush out to see movies because
the economy is bad, but because it's a bargain compared to
other out-of-home entertainment it doesn't suffer as badly,"
said Patrick Corcoran, director of media and research for
the National Association of Theater Owners.
Movies
slated for release in 2009 that industry watchers expect to
post big numbers include "Transformers: Revenge of the
Fallen," "Terminator: Salvation" and "Star
Trek."
ABSENT
MAGICIAN
One major
film that was absent from the slate in 2008 was "Harry
Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," which was scheduled
for release in November 2008 but was moved to July 2009, when
the anticipated blockbuster would benefit from a summer rush.
"If
'Harry Potter' had been back in the (2008) lineup we wouldn't
be talking about a down year," Corcoran said.
The last
"Harry Potter" film made $292 million in 2007 in
the United States and Canada, according to the firm Box Office
Mojo.
In 2009,
studios will increasingly rely on 3-D technology to attract
audiences, Dergarabedian said. Upcoming 3-D movies include
"Monsters vs. Aliens" and "My Bloody Valentine."
"People
are willing to pay a premium for that, even in this economy,"
Dergarabedian said.
On another
front, the number of movies released next year could decrease,
said James Goss, an analyst with Barrington Research who follows
the entertainment industry.
"There
was some feeling that there was a bit of a glut of titles
this year," Goss said.
The 2007
box office total was a record. Box office revenues generally
increase year over year, but an exception was in 2005 when
revenues fell by 5 percent to $8.96 billion, with attendance
dropping by more than 8 percent, according to Media By Numbers.
For 2008,
the estimated 5 percent drop brought attendance to more than
1.3 billion.
"The
fact that they were able to raise prices in this sort of environment
is interesting," Goss said.
"But
still, a 5 percent decline in attendance in one of the more
challenging economic environments in memory I think is a reasonably
good showing," he said
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