For want of a hero, 2012 box office revenue was lost
September 6th, 2012 | Filed under: Art Theory, Film and Video, Notes | Add a Comment »I recently heard it argued that movie attendance is down not only because of the economy, but because of the absence of admirable heroes in film. Then I saw Screen Rant’s story about how ticket sales are the lowest they’ve been since tracking started in 1993.
The only saving graces for the box office, Screen Rant reports, were Hunger Games, The Avengers, and The Dark Knight Rises. All movies with admirable (if flawed) heroes taking a stand for people they cared about.
Anecdotally, I have wanted to take my rockstar of a wife out to the movies on a couple of occasions, only to be disappointed by reviewing what’s out and discovering that there’s no homerun fare available … only a litany of mindlessness, vulgarity, horror, and innocuous…ness. (Innocuousity?)
What do you think … does the “no heroes” argument carry water, or is declining theater attendance unrelated to this particular social trend?