The personal touch: David Alfaro, an usher at Hollywood's ArcLight Cinema, greets the audience.
		By Bob Riha, Jr., USA TODAY

Though going out to the movies remains a popular pastime, a persistent slump at the box office this year reflects the growing number of fans who'd rather catch up on their movies at home rather than join the masses at the multiplex.

With expensive blockbuster after blockbuster quickly fading at the box office, year-over-year ticket sales have fallen 17 straight weekends, the industry's longest losing streak since 1985. Early ticket sales this summer — traditionally the biggest season — have slumped about 8% from 2004, according to tracker Nielsen EDI.

Plenty of reasons are cited. Mediocre films. High ticket prices at multiplexes that are too noisy and charge too much for snacks. Movies coming to DVD within four months, an attempt by studios to offset losses from video piracy. Surging sales of theater-quality home entertainment systems. Computer games. The Internet. Bottom line: 48% of adults say they are going to movies less often than they did in 2000, according to a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll of 1,006 adults.

Tuesday's merger announcement of AMC Entertainment and Loews Cineplex — two of the USA's biggest theater operators — underscores the industry's attempt to bolster profits in an era of sagging attendance and competition from other entertainment sources. On Wednesday, shares of Movie Gallery, the nation's second-largest video rental chain, slumped 15% after the chain said the recent string of "unimpressive" films would hurt future sales.

Whether Hollywood's current losing streak is the tipping point for a permanent drop-off in theatergoing is unclear. Some industry observers aren't yet ready to write off theaters.

"It's a legitimate question, but it's much too early for gloom and doom," says Peter Bart, editor of the entertainment industry trade magazine Variety. "There are apocalyptic conclusions that are premature."

Dick Westerling, marketing chief of the Regal Entertainment Group theater chain, says the industry's woes are temporary.

"Products and attendance can vary significantly in any short time period," he says. "We do not anticipate any long-term shift in moviegoing frequency."

Some say more comfortable theaters and quality films are key to getting people back into theaters.

"It's more fun to watch a funny movie in a crowded, uproariously laughing audience than it is watching it at home yourself, and given the right physical experience, people will leave their homes and enjoy (movies) in theaters," says Art Levitt, CEO of online ticket retailer Fandango.com.

But with critically acclaimed summer releases such as Cinderella Man and Kingdom of Heaven failing to draw interest, others wonder if the experience of going to the theater — especially with DVDs arriving within months of theatrical release — has lost its appeal.

Films are also losing audiences faster than ever before. Nielsen EDI says that the typical second-week box office drop-off — an indicator if movies have good word-of-mouth after opening weekend — is 46% so far this year, vs. 39% in 2000. Mr. & Mrs. Smith, for instance, opened to a strong $50.3 million in tickets sold, falling to $26 million its second week out.

"Films (as entertainment) have lost their uniqueness," says Peter Guber, CEO of Mandalay Pictures and Bart's co-host on cable network AMC's industry gabfest Sunday Morning Shootout.

Moreover, the 12- to 25-year-olds who account for most ticket sales appear to be losing interest in first-run theatrical releases, he says. "Hollywood has been catering to that market because it's the sweet spot. But kids are multi-tasking today," Guber says.

Attracting theatergoers

More mature moviegoers may be altering their viewing habits, too. Joyce Davis typifies many. Almost every weekend since 1981, Davis and her husband spent Friday nights at the multiplex. "I love going to the movies," says Davis, 53, an administrative assistant from Vancouver, Wash. "Even a crummy movie."

Davis was used to enduring familiar rituals: waiting in ticket lines, at the concession stand and through countless commercials and movie trailers before the main attraction. And trying to ignore annoying cell phones, pagers and personal digital assistants.

But it was a man who refused to stop talking that ended the Davises' quarter-century tradition. "They have road rage. Now we have theater rage," she says. "We said, 'Could you please not talk during the movie?' He was really hostile. He said something about going out in the parking lot."

Movie maladies Two separate polls found moviegoers dissatisfied with the experience at movie theaters, for a variety of reasons. A USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll of 1,006 adults May 20-22 found: 33% of adults say the main reason they don’t go to theaters more often is because they prefer to watch films at home. 24% say it costs too much to go to the movies. 19% say the movies are low-quality. And what would bring them back to theaters? Cheaper tickets and concessions, 71% say. Better movies, 70% say. Better controls on audience behavior, 48% say. Separately, an Associated Press/America Online News poll of 1,000 adults June 13-15 found similar results. Among the findings: 73% prefer seeing movies in their homes. 47% say movie quality is declining. 25% had not been to a theater in the past 12 months.

So they did — not for a confrontation, but to get their car and leave. "Now we just buy a DVD," she says.

Lots of others are, too. Consumers spent $15.5 billion buying DVDs last year, up 33% from 2003, says the Digital Entertainment Group. And movies arrive on DVD about 135 days after their theatrical release, a week faster than they did in 2004, in part so studios can offset potential losses from film piracy.

But some theaters and studios are attempting to get Davis and other movie lovers back into the theater. The lures include providing high-tech eye candy through 3-D, digital projection and IMAX versions of movies, and making going out to the movies a more pleasurable experience.

In the 1950s, when TV caused movie ticket sales to plummet, studios introduced gimmicks like 3-D glasses and super-wide screen films, such as Ben-Hur, to coax people back for a visual experience they couldn't get at home.

And 3-D is back today. Robert Rodriguez, who helmed The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirlin 3-D, says Dimension Films chief Bob Weinstein asked him to do a kids' movie that used the same iconic blue-and-red-tinted glasses as his 2003 hit Spy-Kids 3-D: Game Over, which grossed $111 million. But even 3-D wasn't enough to lure crowds to Sharkboy; it has taken in just $24 million in two weeks.

Digital projection is another attempt to create excitement about the movies. Titanic director James Cameron and Star Wars creator George Lucas have championed more state-of-the-art 3-D technology that uses polarized clear lenses to filter the image into eye-popping, crisp visuals.

Still, digital projection isn't likely to be available nationwide for years. Only about 100 of the almost 37,000 U.S. screens have digital projectors, and a changeover is a costly evolution.

Showing films on IMAX screens is another way studios are trying to get people into theaters. Last Christmas, Warner Bros.' holiday tale The Polar Express made $45 million on just 83 of IMAX's eight-story screens, nearly 25% of its $163 million domestic take.

There are about 250 IMAX screens in the USA. About 50 more are planned in the coming year.

Unlike most home theaters, "It costs a million-and-a-half dollars to put in an IMAX," says Richard Gelfond, co-CEO of IMAX Corp. "Unless your social circle includes Bill Gates, IMAX gives people a compelling reason to leave the home."

Eliminating the negative

Making the movies look better is one thing. Making moviegoing more pleasant is trickier.

Stadium seating, which improves views, is just now becoming standard. Other theaters are opting for screenings that serve alcohol to patrons 21 and older.

But when it comes to the unruly behavior Davis experienced, what can be done?

The answer may be found at theaters like the 15-screen ArcLight, a Pacific Theatre multiplex on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. It offers assigned seating, no in-theater advertising, and a live announcer who introduces films and warns patrons to turn off cell phones.

There's a price for civilized cinema: Tickets for weekday shows cost $11 ($14 for Friday and Saturday shows) vs. an average U.S. ticket price of $6.21, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners. But patrons seem willing to pay the price, says Pacific Theaters CEO Chris Foreman.

Foreman also credits ArcLight's no-ad policy with nicer audience behavior. "In other theaters, ads are shown with the lights up, (people) talk during the ads." At the ArcLight, when the movie starts, he says, people just stop talking.

Other cinemas are also going the luxury route. John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners, says patrons will have to get accustomed to paying for such services. For instance, Muvico Theaters in Florida, Maryland and Tennessee feature restaurants, babysitting services and balcony love seats. Tickets for "premiere" service are $18, but include popcorn, valet parking and reserved seating. Dropping a kid off in the babysitting playroom for three hours: $8.

Babysitting is swell, but "everything is predicated on a product people want to see," Fandango's Levitt says. "The question is: Are they going to go out to watch it?"

Documentary filmmaker Penelope Spheeris agrees. "At the end of the day, its about the quality of the pictures," says Spheeris, who directed 1992 box-office smash Wayne's World but soon soured on mainstream industry films. "Special effects have taken a front seat to story substance. Audiences kept asking for vapid crap, and studios kept making it. But audiences are losing interest."

Guber says people haven't stopped watching movies, they're just not always doing it in theaters. "More audiences are watching more movies than ever before. It's just not one market anymore. It's many markets."

Contributing: Mike Snider