While the movie studios have been trying to spin the fair success they've had at the box office this year, as some type of break-through season, it's really not true.
Of course anything can look good compared to last year which had dropped over 8% from the year before. But even with some big hits this year like "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" and "Cars," ticket sales are still only 3.6 percent over last years sales, which isn't saying anything.
While it's obviously good to be better than last years horrible showing, this year isn't over yet, and with no real blockbuster in the offering for the Holidays, the 3.6 percent figure will drop even more.
Another issue that is making the studios nervous is that DVD sales are starting to slow down drastically, with sales next year expected to be less than this year. When you take away television shows and other DVD offerings, DVD sales could drop by 5 percent for 2007. Even including non-movie items, DVDs sales are still expected to drop by 4 percent next year.
Even "Pirates" may sell about 5 million less units than expected, as sales show that they'll probably reach about 25 million units. Original estimates were for around 30 million units sold.
Next years unique problem for film will be that there actually should be a number of solid offerings available to give Hollywood a chance at making some money. Sequels like "Pirates," "Shrek" and "Spider-Man," among many others, are slated for the big screen.
What could possibly be wrong with that? The high costs of making the films, coupled with how long the audiences will stay with sequel after sequel being offered, is a real potential problem. Which sequels will win and which ones will lose?
There's just not a lot of great news for companies that are relying on film as their major source of revenue.
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