I guess we have entered the dead zone for movies right now...

[Incarnadine]

I just got an email from Cineplex Odeon advertising that from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4 every show every day will have Discount Tuesday prices (for the theater I usually frequent that means $6.75 instead of $12.99)

 

Really, it's pretty dead out there right now. Anything half decent has been out for weeks or months and the new stuff is lackluster to say the least.

 

This might entice me to see Mad Max, Jurassic World or Inside out again (seen them all multiple times already, but not for over a month).

[AniNate]

There is a Sundance hit in wide release now (Diary of a Teenage Girl) but I wasn't completely in love with it

[Webslinger]

It's par for the course for late August/early September. With very few exceptions, it has always been a dumping ground.

[filmlover]

It's par for the course for late August/early September. With very few exceptions, it has always been a dumping ground.

This, really. Everyone is always distracted by school/work/catching their last breath of summer during this time. With the exceptions of Bring It On (which adjusts to over $100M with inflation) and Inglourious Basterds, this time of year is where movies that are too expensive to go DTV/OD but the studio doesn't have much confidence in go to die very quick and quiet deaths.

[Water Bottle]

Man, if there was only some way you could use that money you are saving going to the movies and use it to support some kind of box office community....

[MovieGuyKyle17]

Hollywood Dead Zones:

Last 2 weeks of August to first 2 weeks of September.

Entire month of January and Super Bowl weekend.

[cookie]

Entire month of January and Super Bowl weekend.

 

Wait, what? I can see January being the next April in the coming years (home to several decent-sized films and one or two big tentpoles).

Edited August 30, 2015 by C00k13

[MovieGuyKyle17]

Wait, what? I can see January being the next April in the coming years (home to several decent-sized films and one or two big tentpoles).

 January is slowly turning around but lets be honest January is usually the worst month for movies. 

[Rorschach]

Pretty much. School starting up, Football, lack of interest, not that many need-to-see movies out right now (SOC and MI5 possibly being the exceptions) are big factors into this.

[RichWS]

It's puzzling to me that year after year people marvel that this time of year is a slow time for films. It's like this EVERY SINGLE YEAR.

[TServo2049]

50 First Dead Zones.

[Incarnadine]

It's puzzling to me that year after year people marvel that this time of year is a slow time for films. It's like this EVERY SINGLE YEAR.

I'm not surprised, I know this time of year is pretty dead, but this year seems even worse than usual.

Cineplex offering discounted tickets for this week kind of confirms that for me since they have never offered anything like this before.

[RichWS]

I'm not surprised, I know this time of year is pretty dead, but this year seems even worse than usual.

Cineplex offering discounted tickets for this week kind of confirms that for me since they have never offered anything like this before.

 

It's this bad every year.

[filmlover]

January has actually become less and less of a dead zone ever since Cloverfield posted a strong opening in 2008 followed by the boon in 2009. Late August/early September, though? Always been a dumping ground, always will be. If a movie is slated to open during that time of year, you know the chances are high that the studio has no real hope for it.

[MovieGuyKyle17]

The majority of January movies are terrible. The only reason January is interesting is because of Oscar holdovers.

[WrathOfHan]

Every theater in my area has basically stopped showtimes after 7:30 Sunday-Thursday.

[DAJK]

Every theater in my area has basically stopped showtimes after 7:30 Sunday-Thursday.

What some theatres are trying out around me (but not mine specifically) is instead of 7:00 and 9:45 shows they're switching it to 5:00 and 8:00 mon-thurs (excluding tuesday). If that does well in some locations, they're going to expand it to out theatre in January. 

[filmlover]

The majority of January movies are terrible. The only reason January is interesting is because of Oscar holdovers.

Maybe, but as we saw in 2009, when you release films that look appealing during a typically dead period, the people will turn out in massive numbers. Late August/early September is the only time of year that is still considered a dumping ground at this point.

[SchumacherFTW]

What some theatres are trying out around me (but not mine specifically) is instead of 7:00 and 9:45 shows they're switching it to 5:00 and 8:00 mon-thurs (excluding tuesday). If that does well in some locations, they're going to expand it to out theatre in January.

That's pretty much the way that British cinemas work all year round. Somehow that led to the evening show off Straight Outta Compton at my local starting at 9pm, I didn't get out until 10 to midnight! Edited August 31, 2015 by Schumacher FTW

[Water Bottle]

Maybe, but as we saw in 2009, when you release films that look appealing during a typically dead period, the people will turn out in massive numbers. Late August/early September is the only time of year that is still considered a dumping ground at this point.

 

 

It probably won't change. Like it or not, studios do need a dumping ground for movies that didn't work out.