An interesting article last week from Daily Variety's outspoken, Editor-in-Chief, Peter Bart reflecting that the box office malaise is not as bad as the naysayers predicted. Bart's editorial points out that the 2006 box office tallies are a slight improvement from last year. He suggests that considering the absence of "franchise" films, the increases can be traced to surprise hits like "Little Miss Sunshine".
This news is certainly a little encouraging for movie studios who I am sure still pray daily for good movie attendance to help boost their ancillary market, particularly the sale of DVD.
The new era of digital entertainment has put a strain on the business models of traditional media suppliers but the figures for 2006 suggest that the "seismic shift" hasn't happened yet, and probably won't be happening for a few more years.
It is really easy to get caught up in the rhetoric about the threat to the viability of network television coming from the Niklas Zennstom's (Venice Project) of the world. The hyperbole from News Corp. entertainment leader Peter Chernin who talks about mobile entertainment eclipsing television and the internet as a media platform is fairly quixotic.
Let's all take a deep breath and remember that for now: Only a small minority of people use their cell phones for entertainment, ITunes counts TV downloads as a fraction of its revenue, and The Venice Project is in Beta. Oh, and YouTube hasn't really monetized yet. Certainly rapid change is evident and user behavior is changing. Traditional media wants in too and, to some extent, the future of digital downloads of movies and television shows depends on their compliance and participation.
I for one am excited about the opportunities that exist for some kid in North Dakota or Iowa to get 3 million eyeballs for his online video diary and then get invited by Coke to create content for the holidays. I am thinking of ways to get into that game too.
For now, video for all its accolades, whether it is on the internet or on a phone, can't hold a candle to "Little Miss Sunshine" at an AMC 14.
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