The double-edged sword of August wasn’t able to save The Dismal Summer of 2014. Despite over-performers like “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “Guardians of the Galaxy,” the box office bombs of “Expendables 3” and “Sin City 2” took a toll. Hollywood’s summer officially ends the day after Labor Day and when it all shakes out come Tuesday, this will be Hollywood’s worst summer in 8 years — down a full 15%.
The film industry’s last gasp is “The November Man,” a Pierce Brosnan thriller that looks a lot like a James Bond film. To take advantage of the long weekend, “November Man” opened Wednesday. It’s expected to do so gosh-darned well, “Guardians” will probably claim first place again after 5 weeks.
As of Monday, the year-to-date 2014 box office is lagging behind every year going back to ’09 — which is as far back as Box Office Mojo keeps track.
One more troubling fact for the film industry is that over the last 8 years the number of Imax and 3D films has increased. With an increase in this premium pricing and the average ticket price, that means a lot fewer tickets were sold.
A lot fewer people are going to the movies.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC
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