Bringing Back the Theatre Crowds

I recently caught a showing of Beowulf in IMAX 3D and was suitably impressed. Not only because it was the first 3D film I'd seen in many years (the technology has come a loooong way) but because I saw the future of film in its infancy, and if it looks this good this young, I can hardly wait to see what's going to be the standard in 10 years time.

It got me thinking about the history of film, and how the current situation with dwindling attendance and the rise of a new type of distribution (the internet, Netflix, etc) is similar to what happened in the 1950's. Back then, the industry changed in a drastic way but take notice - we're on the cusp of a similar change, which will again drastically alter what we consider the movies to be. It's an exciting and slightly scary time for the industry. The history lesson follows.

Back in the 1940's, movies were the only way to see pre-recorded entertainment. You went to the theatre and watched moving pictures projected onto a square screen. The aspect ratio of this screen was 4:3, which is a measure of its width to its height.



But then a new invention called the television came out and suddenly, you could watch moving pictures without even leaving your home, also on a 4:3 screen. The fact that the screen was much smaller didn't matter to most people - home entertainment had finally been born.

This resulted in a sudden and very noticeable drop in attendance and revenue, which made movie executives sit up and take notice. They decided the best way to lure people back into the theatres was to give them something they couldn't get back home - a wider screen, which until then had only been used as a gimmick.



Essentially, attendance inched back up and TV and film diverged into the separate industries we see today. But the thing is, it's happening all over again.

The rise in kick-ass home theatre systems, hi-def digital presentation, legal and illegal internet distribution, video games and higher prices for popcorn, tickets and even parking have again resulted in diminishing attendance and falling return on investment, with one article even claiming that movies don't make money anymore.

Enter a few visionaries like Robert Zemeckis, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg - even Robert Rodriguez - who are aiming to again give us something we can't get at home - near-immersive 3D. From this Variety article by Ben Fritz:

"Digital 3-D is rolling out at a key moment for the film biz. Though box office revenue rose last year, attendance is in the midst of a four-year decline, and execs are increasingly worried that new technologies such as high-def television and digital downloads will make the home viewing experience increasingly attractive compared to heading out to the multiplex."

The biggest test of this new technology will be James Cameron's epic Avatar, set for release in 2009. Cameron (my personal movie god, thank you very much) has said "We're going to blow you to the back wall of the theatre in a way you haven't seen for a long time."

Apparently, the camera system that Cameron will use has been designed by him from the ground up and will literally change the way we look at movies, as he says in this great article from Newsweek.

The audience is ready. The weekend results after Beowulf are clear - "The majority of moviegoers who saw Beowulf over the weekend sought out 3-D theaters to see it in, Paramount indicated Sunday. Although the film played in just 740 theaters equipped with digital 3-D projectors, the film earned twice as much in those theaters than in all the rest combined."

I can't wait.