Columnist Rails Against Box Office ‘Slump Scam’
MovieCityNews.com maestro David Poland has never been one to mince words. In a December 26 Op Ed, he decries “the bastardization of journalism” that is the coverage of this year’s purported domestic theatrical box office slump and berates the “profoundly undereducated media group covering the film beat.”
He argues that because the studios do not report ancillary revenues the way they do weekly theatrical box office, a film’s full earning curve is rarely documented or even properly understood. Poland also points out that from April through September of 2011, domestic grosses for Hollywood were actually up. Writes Poland:
Would it surprise you, amidst all this slump talk, that two of the six Hollywood majors were up for this year, and a third will end up about even?…
Would it surprise you that the difference between 2010 and 2011 at Fox… and ultimately, the entire domestic theatrical box office… is almost completely made up of the $466 million Avatar holdover gross?
In the comments, Poland reiterates one of his major underlying arguments: beyond all the Gone with the Wind, “good old days” adjusted-for-inflation theatrical box office math, studios are still getting what they always have, thanks to additional revenue streams such as pay TV, international TV and DVD.
[Image courtesy BoxOfficeMojo.com]
Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online 
FishbowlLA Twitter feed loading...
