“Especially the younger people (who) are used to, 'I can plug in my video game and play it now,' 'I can download music and hear it now,' 'I can take my iPod with me and listen to it wherever and whenever I want.' Going to the movies requires that you're on a time frame and in a location that's dictated by someone else.”
“If it has a relatively low budget, it's a smart move. If it's something that costs a lot of money, you're really taking a risk. A movie like 'Crash' brought in a younger audience as well. That may be a new type of crossover movie to look at.”
“It gave people a way to discover these movies rather than the traditional marketing that is thrown their way. Hey, whatever gets 'em in the theater, I'm sure the studio doesn't mind.”
“Trying to take lessons from this summer is going to be like trying to capture lightning in a bottle, ... because it's all changing all the time. By next summer, who knows where audience habits and tastes will be?”
“What didn't go wrong? That's the question. This was a summer that really could be characterized as under a cloud from the beginning. Usually, the first weekend in May, you have a big film that kind of kicks off the summer. It didn't happen that way this time, and that was sort of an indicator of things to come.”
“Anything that goes out of control with the marketing machine of a movie can cause a problem. The way audiences often get wind of it is when there's a trailer or posters in theaters, and suddenly the movies are gone.”
“The bigger the star, the higher profile anything associated with that movie becomes. Because they have major actors in them, any movement or delay becomes exaggerated. It brings attention to any potential or perceived problems the movie may have.”
“It's somewhat ironic in the final weekend of one of the worst summers ever that we have a strong showing. Hopefully, this sets a positive tone heading into the fall and holiday season.”
