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Box office attendance is on the rise, MPAA CEO Dan Glickman said during the ShoWest conference in Las Vegas this week. Though attendance for 2008 as a whole was down "a bit," the fourth quarter of the year surged more than seven percent, while the first 10 weeks of 2009 are up by almost eight percent. Glickman attributed the sudden growth to tough economic times and a timeless entertainment medium. "Folks are flocking to the simplicity and escape of the theater," he said. In terms of dollars, the US box office was up just under two percent in 2008, though the numbers jumped internationally by seven percent to $28 billion. The MPAA noted in its accompanying report, however, that the average movie ticket price jumped in 2008 less than those for other events (concerts, sports, etc.). Admission rose to $7.18 per ticket in 2008, up four percent from 2007, while tickets for football and hockey games rose by six and eight percent, respectively. Despite these positive numbers, the MPAA is aware that it can't rest on its laurels. "No question we’re in a ‘glass half full’ situation today. But as thrilling as the story is right now at the box office, we have a sober epic underway in home video," said Glickman. "Outside the movies, it’s making sure we can offer consumers the authentic, genuine article—when, where and how they want to it [sic]—at the cinema, in their homes, waiting in line, wherever they like, and hopefully all of the above." It's nice to hear the MPAA saying it wants to make sure customers can view content how and wherever they want, but one couldn't guess that by the industry's actions. Over the last year, the MPAA has tried to block DVRs from recording some movies, pushed for Internet filtering on college campuses, launched a lawsuit against RealNetworks for its encryption-preserving DVD ripping software, and has petitioned to block analog outputs on TVs and cable boxes when delivering early-release movies to TV sets. That doesn't sound like letting consumers watch movies "when, where, and how they want" to us. In the meantime, P2P use has soared, showing that users are more than willing to go the illegal route if they feel inconvenienced enough by legitimate—but extremely limiting—options. While DRM is essentially dead for (nonsubscription) music, it's still going strong in the world of video and shows no signs of letting up anytime soon. As long as that trend continues, users will continue to flock to illegal options in order to get their movies with the same level of flexibility as music.
