by John Nolte, Breitbart:
Compared to this same date in 2020 (the last pre-pandemic January and February), the 2024 box office is down nearly 50 percent.
“Through the first three days of Presidents Day weekend, films that have been released widely in theaters have grossed $764.1 million, down 15% from the same period last year,” reports the Wall Street Journal.
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That $764.1 million is just a tad “over half the $1.3 billion generated by movie theaters in the U.S. and Canada in the opening weeks of 2020, just before the pandemic froze Hollywood.”
Here lies the most important part of the story…
The lackluster start comes despite audiences having more theater options than they have had in years. This year through Feb. 18, there have been 11 wide-release movies, or those showing in at least 2,000 locations nationwide. There were nine wide-release titles through the same time frame last year.
The eunuchs in the leftist entertainment media will blame this slowdown on the pandemic (still!), a lack of product caused by the strikes, or the fact this is a slow time of year — a dumping ground for movies no one has much faith in.
But as you can see, that’s all BS. The past year saw more wide releases than the year prior, and the box office comparisons are of the same “dumping ground” timeframe for 2023 and 2020.
So, whatever could the problem be?
Here’s an “expert” explanation (that hides the bottom-line truth): One media analyst told the Wall Street Journal that theaters in 2024 “don’t have a holiday blockbuster carrying over from last Christmas to drive traffic, according to Paul Dergarabedian[.]”
Okay, but that’s only a symptom
Why focus on the symptom?
The “problem” is not the lack of a blockbuster carrying over from 2023. The “problem” can only be discovered by asking an honest question: Why is there no holdover blockbuster from 2023 like 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water or 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, or 2020’s Bad Boys for Life?
Could it be that no BIG movies were released over the 2023 Christmas season?
Nope. That’s not it.
In fact, a handful of what should’ve been BIG movies were released during 2023’s holidays… Wonka, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Migration, Wish, The Color Purple, Napoleon, and Ferrari. So, 2023 closed with plenty of product that was expected to carry over in 2024.
