The alternaTV
From a pure ticket sales perspective, peak cinema was all the way back in the early 2000s. But, whilst movie tickets — unlike those for concerts or the Super Bowl — have broadly risen in line with inflation since the late 60s fewer and fewer of us are making the effort to get down to our local screens to watch the latest releases. In addition to the obvious answer “it’s because of streaming”, another factor is simply that getting a quality experience at home is increasingly affordable.
Home cinema
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that the cost of televisions as a category have fallen an astounding 98% since 2000. A 55-inch TV, which even 15 years ago would have cost a smallfortune, can now be picked up for just $250 from any number of retailers.
So, despite the stratospheric success of some stand out blockbusters like Tom Cruise’s Top Gun follow up, the Avatar sequel, and Barbenheimer last year, the US box office still hasn’t quite bounced back to where it was before theaters were shuttered across America. If there’s one thing we know about Hollywood, however, it’s that everyone’s always holding out for a strong follow up.
