Movies were not popular last month! Box office sales were way down—it was the worst October since 1997. Why? There are lots of reasons.
Big-budget flops like Disney’s Tron: Ares and A24’s The Smashing Machine dragged down numbers. Halloween fell on a Friday, making movies compete with trick-or-treating and the World Series Game 7 (Dodgers vs. Blue Jays). There were few new releases too and horror titles underperformed big time except Black Phone 2, which didn’t do incredible either.
There also seems to be a growing lack of interest in going to theatres. Many people see it as an expense that’s easy to avoid, especially when movies hit streaming just weeks later.
I still love going to the theatre, and I think there will always be a place for them in society. But maybe ticket prices need to come down or the experience needs to change. Or maybe the movies just need to be better!
