Entertainment

Less people are going to the movies these days. Ticket sales are down on average, despite recent films raking in all-time record high sales. Despite the Avengers taking over as the top grossing movie of all time in 2019, less people are going to the movies today. The entertainment value isn’t what it once was. Is Netflix to blame?

Steven Spielberg, perhaps the most famous name in the biz, recently blamed them. Netflix, in his mind, didn’t just destroy the rental industry. Blockbuster went out of business around the same time Netflix was expanding in popularity. But, is Spielberg right? Is Netflix pulling people out of the movie theater? The answer isn’t certain. While Netflix does create its own content, maybe they aren’t the ones really keeping movie-goers away.

Edward Norton has a different idea. As his newest movie “Motherless Brooklyn” is about to be released, he answered this very question. In his mind, it’s the movie theaters themselves that aren’t doing a good job. In fact, he even wants movie fans to call out their local theater if they aren’t providing a top-notch movie experience.

 “It’s the theater chains that are destroying the theatrical experience. Period, full stop. No one else,” said Norton. “A lot of filmmakers and cinematographers that I know that have really started to look into this say that more than 60 percent of American theaters are running their projector at almost half the luminosity that they’re required by contract to run it at,” Norton said. “They are delivering crappy sound and a dim picture, and no one is calling them on it.”

Movies in Today’s Netflix World

The costs of going to a movie these days are astronomical. Most families can easily drop $50-$100, depending on what they decide to eat and drink, for a single outing. But the quality they deliver is doing downhill. If people aren’t getting what they pay for, why bother? Of course, they would rather stay at home, save a few bucks, and turn on Netflix.

 “If [movie theaters] were delivering what they’re supposed to be delivering, people would be going, ‘Wow, this is amazing, I do not get this at home’…Well, I want people to literally walk into their theater and find the manager and say, ‘If this looks dark, you’re giving me my money back. Because I’m paying — and at the ArcLight, I’m paying premium — for a premium experience,’” said Norton

“If I disagreed with anybody, with great respect, it was [Steven] Spielberg,” Norton said. “Netflix invested more in ‘Roma’ theatrically than any boutique label at any studio would have by a factor of five. They put a Spanish-language black-and-white film all over the world in theaters. Hundreds of theaters, not just a few; as many as Sony Pictures Classics would have done. They put more money behind it, in a theatrical context, than anybody would have. You can’t tell me there’s a whole lot of people making black-and-white Spanish-language films and putting that investment behind them.”

Norton added, “There’s a lot going on because of Netflix, and what it was the vanguard of, that represents an unprecedented period of ripe opportunity for many more types of stories and voices to be heard, and told, and celebrated. It’s incredible, what’s going on.”

Movies often full of violence rarely get the same treatment that “Joke” has been getting lately. There were even reports that people felt so uncomfortable that they left early. It’s probably the result of the mass-shooting culture we currently live in. It was a previous depiction of the iconic Joker character, played by Health Ledger, that inspired the Aurora theater shootings. Can you blame anyone for thinking the same might happen here?

The violence in the film is seen as controversial and many people straight up warned others not to see it. Despite those warnings, “Joker” broke box-office records during its opening weekend. This movie was more of an origins-type set in a different world. Played by Joaquin Phoenix, known for his unsettling roles anyway, “Joker” appears to have set the bar high. It made $93.5 million in the U.S. alone. Worldwide it has grossed $234 million.

This is the highest grossing film in the history of October releases. It beat out last year’s “Venom,” released by Sony. Fans have been waiting a long time to see this particular rendition. Fans have loved the iconic character for a long time, even before Jack Nicholson donned the makeup. Still, the Health Ledger version is extra special.

Not only was it a one-of-a-kind performance, his death after filming made it more important for fans. Jared Leto was the next Joker in a very forgettable “Suicide Squad” film that gave us very little of the character we hoped it would. When Warner Bros. and DC announced this film would be made, it excited the fan base. The problem was the crazy violence in the film that has put many on edge.

“Joker” Warnings Reached the Federal Level

How bad is the violence in the movie? It depends on who you ask. Certainly, there have been very violent films that never had federal government agencies warn about its content. Yes, that happened with “Joker.” Both the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI put out a warning to law enforcement before the opening on Thursday.

They didn’t warn local officials indiscriminately, though. There were a number of threats that were found outline, many even saying they will shoot up theater if the movie releases. Warner Bros. put out a statement as a result of the threat and warning by law enforcement:

“Warner Bros. believes that one of the functions of storytelling is to provoke difficult conversations around complex issues,” a statement from the studio said last month. “It is not the intention of the film, the filmmakers or the studio to hold this character up as a hero.” Still, as is our way, the warning only drove up the intensity of fans eager to see the film, even to the point of breaking a record.

“I think the controversy helped it this weekend,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “It became a cultural phenomenon. All the talk around the film made it a must-see event.”

Long before there was digital music, iPods, and iTunes, the Sony Walkman was the coolest gadget on the planet if you wanted to bring your music with you. It was a handheld device that allowed you to take your cassette tapes and later CDs with you wherever you went. Now, Sony is looking to release a brand-new 40^th anniversary edition of the classic with a new, modern interface.

Sony announced in Berlin during their annual technology conference that they want to put into the market two new digital music devices. The first is called the NW-A100TPS and the second, a much less expensive model, is called the NW-A105. They are both designed after the original Walkman and will cost around $489 U.S.

The bad news about this release is there are no current plans to release the new Sony Walkman in the U.S. Perhaps Europe is going to be their testing ground first. Apple recently announced plans to ditch iTunes and create a newer, updated version for their music, so maybe Sony felt it was time to jump into the market and compete.

“You can enjoy the best of both worlds with the heritage design of Walkman whilst having cutting edge technology at your fingertips,” Sony said in a press release. “You can also enjoy a cassette tape user interface that takes inspiration from classic Walkman models.”

Specs of the New Walkman

The new Walkman devices are set to run on Android systems and will have 26 hours of battery life, so you can literally listen all day without charge your device. They will also have 16GB of total storage (which can be upgraded) and a touchscreen panel. The more expensive model will have the Sony 40^th Anniversary logo and come in packaging that is very near what the original Walkman came in.

You can also get your new Walkman in a variety of colors, like orange, red, blue, green, and black. It will even allow you to both download new music and stream your favorite music from Pandora, Spotify, and other online digital music channels. This decision also comes as older companies are looking to release updated versions of their classic items.

For example, Nokia recently revealed they plan on bringing back their famous flip phone, but it will be updated to fit today’s consumer base. Companies have been experimenting on how to create smart phones that fold in your pocket and are less of a burden to hold onto.

YouTube, the world’s most popular video sharing site, also owned by Google, was just slapped with a $170 million fine. Allegations were made against the company that they were breaking the law by taking personal information from kids who use the site and using it to target them with specific ads. This is against the law, which prompted the Federal Trade Commission to look into it.

Rather than fight it, YouTube just agreed to the $170 million as a settlement. The law states that no entity can collect data on children younger than 13, which is probably why Facebook and other sites don’t allow users younger than that age to use their sites. The original law was written in 1998, but was updated in 2013 so that “cookies” and other data-collecting techniques couldn’t be employed online to track children.

According to the accusation, YouTube has been tracking the channels of children users without asking for consent from parents. They then used that data to target the kids with millions of dollars’ worth of ads, essentially breaking the law. When asked to comment about the allegations, Google decide not to and instead just settled the case.

YouTube’s Terms of Service

Unlike Facebook and other social media, YouTube allows children to create their own personal channels. They’ve already taken steps to help protect children by disabling comments and made other moves to help prevent adults from finding the channels. While they took those actions to protect children, they still allowed them to be targeted by the likes of Hasbro and Mattel to pump ads towards those channels.

YouTube even used their popularity with children to entice Mattel to spend millions in advertising on their site. They told the toy company that “YouTube is today’s leader in reaching children age 6-11 against top TV channels.” This is very true. Many children’s pages have millions of subscribers and views. Most of their channels involve unboxing toys and discussing their features, something Mattel would love to be involved in.

“YouTube touted its popularity with children to prospective corporate clients,” FTC Chairman Joe Simons said in a statement. “Yet when it came to complying with (federal law banning collecting data on children), the company refused to acknowledge that portions of its platform were clearly directed to kids.”

“Google and YouTube knowingly and illegally monitored, tracked, and served targeted ads to young children just to keep advertising dollars rolling in,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Move over “Titanic” and “Avatar”, there’s a new king to crown. This past weekend, the long-anticipated Avengers: Endgame was released. It was expected to do well, but it did far better than anyone anticipated. It will go into the record books as the highest grossing opening weekend on record.

In fact, Avengers: Endgame broke multiple records. The second record was being the first movie to ever break the $1 billion mark for a debut. That’s an incredible amount of money! It nearly doubled Avengers: Infinity War opening weekend of $640 million. So, after rolling out internationally, Endgame only took 5 days to reach $1 billion.

Domestically, Avengers: Endgame broke records as well. It made well over $350 million over the weekend. That blows away every other domestic records, including Infinity War. Yet, it was China who pushed Endgame into domination by grossing over $330 million. This was the largest global record since “The Fate of the Furious.”

“We’re watching a monumental moment in the history of cinema unfold — one that the entire world is experiencing together,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com.

Robbins added that the film is the “pay off Disney and Marvel have been promising” over its last decade of blockbuster films.

Marvel Studios and It’s Avengers: Endgame Success

Still, over the past decade, Marvel Studios has made over $20 billion. With Avengers: Endgame raking in a billion over the weekend, that number is sure to go up. Marvel has built its own empire over 22 films. Therefore, as we come to an end to Phase 4 of their movie cycle, we now wonder what’s in store for Marvel.

“Though ‘Endgame’ is far from an end for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, these first 22 films constitute a sprawling achievement, and this weekend’s monumental success is a testament to the world they’ve envisioned,” Alan Horn, Walt Disney Studios’ chairman, said in a statement.

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Paul Dergarabedian, senior analyst at Comscore (SCOR), said that “Avengers: Endgame” signals a “momentous end of an era” but now opens the door for “a new and exciting chapter for the future of the Marvel brand. This will extend to the small screen as well with Disney + on the horizon,” Dergarabedian said. “We will likely see a lot of synergy between the big and small screen.”

Marvel and Disney aren’t expected to roll out plans for the next phase until this summer. They’re waiting for the release of the latest Spiderman man. Still, what a run Marvel has had, leaving DC in its wake and desperate to catch up. Sadly, it doesn’t look like it will.