Average movie-ticket price edges up to a record $7.93 for 2011

The average movie-ticket price in the U.S. climbed to an annual record of $7.93 in 2011, up from $7.89 the year before, the National Assn. of Theatre Owners said Thursday.

Rising prices paid by moviegoers reflect an increase in premium-priced tickets for 3-D movies, IMAX screenings and other specialty formats, said Patrick Corcoran, spokesman for the theater association.

In the fourth quarter, however, the average ticket price dropped to $7.83, down from $8.01 in the  last three months of 2010, as theater owners offered more specials and discounted tickets on Tuesday nights.

Total box office revenue last year slumped 4% from the year before to an estimated $10.2 billion, while cinema attendance dropped 5%.

Some analysts blamed rising ticket prices for the decline in box office revenue last year, but theater owners have cited other factors, including the types of movies Hollywood released. Business has rallied so far this year, however, with box office revenue up about 11% and attendance up about 12% compared with the same time last year.

The trade association's ticket-price figures are based on data from across the country and include lower-priced matinee and children's tickets.

RELATED:

Discounts on movie tickets make theaters uneasy

U.S. theaters get a lump of coal at the box office in 2011

Flagship Theatres' Cinemark lawsuit a test for independent chains

-- Richard Verrier

Photo: Asa Butterfield plays Hugo Cabret in "Hugo" from Paramount Pictures. Credit: Jaap Buitendijk / Paramount Pictures

Kia Motors USA to premiere Super Bowl ad in theaters

The Super Bowl has become television's biggest stage. Within days, Kia Motors USA will begin touting its Super Bowl commercial on big screens.

To kick off its football championship advertising campaign, Kia Motors will release a teaser trailer for its upcoming Super Bowl commercial in 18,000 movie theaters, beginning Jan. 27.  Then, four days before the big Feb. 5 game, the car company will introduce the full-length 60-second commercial, called "Drive the Dream," on the same 18,000 screens.

It is believed to be the first time a Super Bowl commercial will premiere in movie theaters. 

The move by Kia is part of a growing trend by marketers to give sneak peaks or unveil their entire ads before the Super Bowl to get a jump on competitors and gain traction in the increasingly important social media platforms. 

"We are trying to continue to push the envelope,” Michael Sprague, vice president of marketing for Kia Motors America, said. “Consumers at the movies will start tweeting about the ad, and that should help us build momentum and awareness.”

Kia's Optima sedan ad -- created by the car company's longtime agency, David & Goliath of El Segundo -- features super model Adriana Lima, MMA fighter Chuck Liddell and the rock band Motley Crue.  The concept for the commercial came during research sessions in which a consumer on a panel said the Optima was his dream car, said David Angelo, chief executive of David & Goliath.

Kia doesn’t think the early release will spoil the freshness of the ad, which will make its television debut during the Feb. 5 championship game broadcast by NBC. 

“Every year, the Super Bowl audience grows. And if we can tap 5 to 10 million people who see it early, there will still be 100 million people who haven’t seen it when it breaks during the Super Bowl,” Sprague said. “We are simply trying to create the buzz and get people talking.”

The Kia ad will be distributed in theaters by National CineMedia, which describes itself as the largest in-theater network in North America.  The company -- a joint venture between AMC, Regal and Cinemark -- also programs sporting events and concerts.

The Super Bowl ad stakes are increasingly high. This year, companies are paying NBC an average of $3.5 million for a 30-second spot, and more than $6 million for a 60-second spot.  

Related:

Companies try to build buzz for Super Bowl ads

O.C. native a finalist in Super Bowl commercial contest

 Super Bowl mania kicks off with a commercial for a commercial

-- Meg James

Photo: Kia Motors USA advertisement in the 2012 Super Bowl features fashion model Adriana Lima, fighter Chuck Liddell and Motley Crue. Credit:  Kia Motors USA

 

Fight over premium VOD between studios and theaters reaches new level of vitriol

The fight between theaters owners and studios over premium video-on-demand releases is getting downright ugly.

The trade group representing the nation's theaters Thursday dismissed efforts by Time Warner Chairman Jeff Bewkes and CBS President Les Moonves to defuse tensions with exhibitors, who have been angry about moves by studios to make movies available for purchase in viewers'  homes only 60 days after they debut on the big screen.

Speaking at an industry conference, Bewkes appealed for calm. "There's too much excitement about this" he said, while stressing mutual interests shared by studios and exhibitors. "Nobody wants them to be at risk." Moonves, who also spoke at the conference, said: "I know theater owners are scared" but "they are going to have to change a bit to prevent a crisis."

John Fithian, president of the National Assn. of Theatre Owners, would have none of it. "Forgive us if we decline to take business lessons from the end of the industry that enabled the erosion of value in the home market,'' he said, referring to proliferation of low-cost DVD rental services. Fithian said offering movies for $30 in the home would only encourage piracy.

"Studio bosses should spend more time talking to their partners about models that might work, instead of asking us to calm down,'' he said.

Representatives of Bewkes and Moonves declined to comment.

RELATED:

Theaters to studios: Share data on premium VOD experiment

Theater chains escalating fight with studios as premium video on demand looms 

Hollywood firming up launch plans for premium video on demand

-- Richard Verrier 

Photo: John Fithian, CEO of the National Assn. of Theatre Owners. Credit: Ryan Miller / Capture Imaging

 

 

Theaters to studios: Share the data on premium VOD experiment

Firing another round in its war with Hollywood's big movie distributors, the National Assn. of Theatre Owners on Wednesday called on the major studios to disclose results of their "experiment" in the early release of premium-priced movies into the home.

Theater owners have been up in arms over moves by studios to charge consumers about $30 to watch movies distributed through video-on-demand about 60 days after their opening in cinemas. While studios say they need to experiment with new approaches at a time when DVD sales are falling, exhibitors contend that such early releases will hurt their business by discouraging consumers from watching movies in theaters.

The movies released by DirecTV so far include Sony Pictures' "Just Go With It," which debuted on VOD two weeks ago, followed by "Cedar Rapids" from 20th Century Fox and "Hall Pass" from Warner Bros. The Universal Pictures movie "The Adjustment Bureau" is scheduled for release this week.

Although studios don't normally disclose VOD results for individual movies, NATO executives said they should make an exception given how much is at stake.

"What's an experiment without data?" NATO President John Fithian asked in a statement. "Every weekend -- usually before the weekend is over -- the performance of movies at the U.S. box office is reported around the world.  Studio executives are working the phones, touting the stellar box office for hit movies and explaining the underperformance of the flops. When it comes to premium VOD --crickets."

Studios declined to comment on NATO's remarks. A person close to Sony said the recent VOD release for its comedy "Just Go With It," starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, had no effect on box-office results for the film, which opened in February and has garnered $210.4 million in worldwide ticket sales to date.

RELATED

Theater chains escalating fight with studios as premium video on demand looms 

Hollywood firming up launch plans for premium video on demand

DirecTV poised to launch premium video on demand as theater executives voice outrage

-- Richard Verrier

New MPAA chief Christopher Dodd delivers first formal address to Hollywood

In his first speech to Hollywood since becoming head of the Motion Picture Assn. of America nine days ago, former Sen. Christopher J. Dodd delivered a reassuring message about the state of the movie business.

Dodd, speaking at an annual gathering of cinema owners in Las Vegas on Tuesday, acknowledged concern about this year’s falloff in theater attendance — about 20% so far — but predicted that the slowdown would be temporary.

“I for one do not believe the sky is falling,” Dodd said. “Yes, people have a wider variety of entertainment options these days. Yes, gas prices have gone up. But you have seen attendance ebb and flow in the past, and I believe audiences will be coming back to our theaters to see our films because there really is no parallel to the incredible experience that we, together, provide.”

He noted that the industry had rebounded from previous slumps and would do so again with “incredible entertainment later this year,” alluding to a number of upcoming adventure films such as Marvel Studios’ “Thor” and Paramount Pictures’ “Super 8”  that are expected to boost ticket sales.

Dodd was addressing concerns fueled by the box-office slump that the industry is facing long-term challenges, such as the proliferation of cheap entertainment in the home. Theater owners have been alarmed about plans by some studios to release movies through video on demand closer to when they appear in theaters, viewing such moves as potentially detrimental to their business.

Showing some of diplomatic skills that served him well in Washington, where he served five terms in the Senate as a Democrat from Connecticut, Dodd did not broach the sensitive issue but instead stressed the common interests shared by theater operators and the studios.

“The production and exhibition industries cannot succeed — cannot survive without each other,” Dodd said. “If we fail, you fail.... I passionately believe there remains no better way to see a movie than in a theater, and no more important relationship for our studios than to maintain the one we have with you.”

Distributors and exhibitors, he added, should work more closely on issues of mutual concern such as combating piracy from rogue websites and the illegal use of camcorders in theaters, as well as promoting greater access to movies in countries such as China, which limits the import of non-Chinese films to 20 a year.

In an interview, Dodd said he planned to visit China this summer in an effort to open access to American films there.

“We are excluded from a market that represents a huge untapped potential,” he said.

John Fithian, president and chief executive of the National Assn. of Theatre Owners, which hosted the convention, also downplayed the attendance slump, saying it reflected the quality of movies, not any systemic problems facing the industry.

“The first quarter of 2011 has been difficult,” he acknowledged. “But that is a function of the movies in the market. The strength of the studio product being shown here this week demands confidence in the industry’s future.”

-- Richard Verrier