“The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA), together with the Motion Picture Association (MPA), serves as the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries in the United States and around the world. MPAA's members are the six major U.S. motion picture studios: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal City Studios LLC; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. They are a proud champion of intellectual property rights, free and fair trade, innovative consumer choices, freedom of expression and the enduring power of movies to enrich and enhance people's lives.”
By setting the industry expectation, the MPAA is able to provide accurate market trends for films and their accompanying audiences. According to the MPAA, overall box office dollars for US and International markets have shown 25% growth over the last 4 years. Fifteen percent of that is from the United States and Canada alone. Last year, all films released outside the U.S. and Canada increased by 13%. Unfortunately, there was no additional revenue growth at the box office from 2009-2010 in the U.S. and Canada. This is not uncommon as there was also no revenue growth from 2006-2007. I think this speaks a lot about the current economic state of our country. History tells us that entertainment in the form of film has been one the forms of entertainment that thrived even during the Depression, but that does not necessarily mean that there is revenue growth.
3D films received a very large boost in growth of 2221% over the past five years, with 91% growth from 2009-2010 alone. Last year did see a dip in attendance, though I would imagine with the several 3D films and sequels due out this year, we may see the average attendance increase. Many films released in 3D were animated films, directed towards younger audience, which explains why 2-17 year olds make up the peak audience of 3D films. This also relates to the increase in parents worrying about the affects of 3D television and films on children’s sight.
Moviegoers are expected to attend an average of 6 films per year. In 2010, that equated to 1.3 billion tickets sold. Females dominate the young adult demographic of moviegoers ages 18-24, as well as senior viewers aged 50 or older. Males dominate the midrange from 25-49 years old. I would like to think this could be a result of women dating older men, contributing to the shift in female and male viewers from ages 18-39. Overall, it seems that women attended more films from 2009-2010. Looking at the top 25 films released last year, they seemed less pointed towards the male adult demographic. With the several action and superhero movies due out this year, I would expect this might actually switch for 2011.
In comparison to sports events and theme parks, cinemas remained on top for attendance. Even though ticket prices increased by an average of 39 cents, it still remains the most affordable means of family entertainment. In the past 4 years, there has been a decrease in attendance by about 5%, which I strongly believe is due to digital distribution. Some distributors offer films on premium cable channels that same day they are released in theaters. Moviegoers can also wait until the film is available On Demand, on Netflix or some other streaming device to play instantly at their leisure.
The data that the MPAA provides helps these major studios analyze their current, future and even past production successes to determine necessary adjustments to be more profitable at the box office. The partnership that the MPAA has developed with the 6 major studios will help shape the future of how films reach their intended audience. The MPAA also provides up to date government filings available online. One of their recent articles includes details about what they are trying to do to decrease online theft on websites. I would expect that the MPAA would help develop better digital watermarking to prevent illegal use of films, protecting the intellectual property rights of those who own them.
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