Michael Moore helped fund a movie festival recently, and had this to say about attendance:

"The continued decrease in attendance (for Hollywood films) is not because of piracy, videogames, or the Internet, it's because the movies aren't very good anymore," Moore says. The fest sellouts, he says, show an aud demand for better fare.

Well, yes and no. There have always been plenty of bad flicks. The difference is, 20 years ago, there were far fewer alternatives to a movie. The TV choices were more limited, as were the gaming choices. I recall going to plenty of movies that I would never bother with now, because I would rather watch a grade B movie in the comfort of my home, on my own big screen TV. I think the widening entertainment choices have made a difference - it's made it harder for a less than spectacular film to have a big success at the theater. Which doesn't mean that such releases can't be successful - I'll watch things at home that I would never pay up front for :)

Technorati Tags: entertainment