(Note: An edited version of this post was previously submitted for my AFTRS Screen Culture course, Distribution Task, June 2010)
In the ever changing marketplace of media consumption, one element has remained constant for over 50 years, the cinema. Cinema goers have been and still are having the cinematic experience down at their local art-house theatre or regional multiplex. Ticket prices have drastically increased, screens have grown in size, an extra visual dimension has been added and luxury food and seats are furnished for the viewer’s pleasure.
In the ever changing marketplace of media consumption, one element has remained constant for over 50 years, the cinema. Cinema goers have been and still are having the cinematic experience down at their local art-house theatre or regional multiplex. Ticket prices have drastically increased, screens have grown in size, an extra visual dimension has been added and luxury food and seats are furnished for the viewer’s pleasure.
Despite all this, 2010 was a record year for cinematic attendances. Since 1998 the total number of tickets sold in the Domestic (and of course by domestic I refer to the United States) has largely unchanged, while box office intake has grown as prices have inflated. Yet amongst this, there is a belief that cinema is dying. Its the ageing distribution plan that is no longer applicable to today’s market. Indieflix unveiled an indie distribution plan at Cannes and more and more plans such as this are beginning to pop up as cinema, distribution and story evolve with the times.
