Hollywood movie ticket sales around the world dropped by 7.9 percent last year to 23 billion dollars, with the US box office accounting for nearly 40 percent of the haul, a study showed. Movie ticket receipts in North America dipped by six percent in 2005 to nine billion dollars, according to a study by the ratings statistics firm Nielsen Entertainment/NRG that comes as movie-goers increasingly stay out of cinemas.
The study, released by the powerful lobby group of the major Hollywood studios, the Motion Picture Association+of+America" class="lingo" key="9c7f5dc95">Motion Picture Association of America, however gave the industry some reason for hope amid sliding ticket receipts, the MPAA maintained.
Most movie-goers were satisfied with their recent experiences at the movies and felt the movies were a "good investment of their time and money," the Nielsen study reported.
"Despite increasing competition for consumers' time and entertainment dollars, theater-going remains a satisfying constant in people's lives," said MPAA chief executive Dan Glickman.
"That said, we can't bury our heads in the sand. We have to do more to attract customers and keep regulars coming back. It is no secret that our industry faces new challenges but with every challenge, there is an exciting opportunity," Glickman added.
The MPAA noted that eight movies had raked in more than 200 million dollars at the box office last year, compared with just five in 2004.
The total number of films released in the United States increased by 5.6 percent from 2004, while new releases by the major motion picture studios grossed an average of 37 million dollars in 2005, an increase of seven percent over the past five years," the industry group said.
Most movie-goers in 2005 went out to catch family films, with movies rated PG-13, meaning that children under 13 must be accompanied by an adult, accounting for 85 percent of the most watched films in 2005.
The MPAA also reported that the average production cost of a movie in 2005 remained below 100 million dollars and dipped slightly to 96.2 million dollars.
Marketing costs however rose by 5.2 percent, while production costs went down four percent from 2004.
The big studios that make up the MPAA spent more on network television and Internet advertising and less on newspapers and local television, the group said.
"Technology has not only changed the way people are able to view movies, it has changed the way our industry produces and advertises movies," said Glickman.
"We are exploring new ways to reach more people using innovative methods of communication and distribution. This data reflects those changes and also demonstrates the strength of the movie industry." MPAA members include the top Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Universal Studios Inc, Walt Disney Co. and 20th Century Fox.
