2 posts tagged “economy”
Even the citizens of Namibia have dreaded this day, but it seems to finally be upon us: people are spending less on the price-gouged foodstuffs available at their local cineplex, no longer compelled by the excitement of a new Zack Efron vehicle to throw their diabetes-inspired caution to the wind and splurging on Goobers and cheese pretzels. Says THR:
Two operators of film theaters on Monday reported weaker U.S. revenue as dwindling concession spending added to smaller admissions figures in the third quarter despite record-breaking results from Warner Bros.' "The Dark Knight."
...However, the numbers announced by Carmike Cinemas after the market close paints a different picture. The company reported a $24,000 profit, down from the $2.1 million recorded in the year-ago period as revenue dropped 7.4% to $122.9 million. Admissions revenue fell 6.9% to $81.1 million, and concession revenue decreased 8.3% to $41.8 million, exacerbating the situation.
I've been crying all morning.
[thr]
Over at Peter Bart's Variety blog, home of the cognizent Variety-bot, word comes around about the 'recession' and the effect it's having on hollywood douchebags' abilities to take home huge paydays. Apparently, agents are having a hard time negotiating, worse than, like, ever or something.
Agents tell me they’ve never had a tougher time negotiating paydays for their top stars. Upfront salaries are shrinking along with percentage slices on the back end.
I probably could've said that myself without quoting the article, but quotes are entertaining and take up space. The article immediately becomes a Look-how-broke-you-are rundown of the Forbes list of the most powerful celebrities. Living the legal life never looked so foolish:
I knew 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson) had a good year at $150 million, but did Pharrell Williams really pull in $20 million? Miley Cyrus scored big this year ($25 million), but did Daniel Radcliffe also haul in $25 million for Pottering around and yanking off his shorts in Equus?
I thought actresses like Keira Knightley and Gwyneth Paltrow devoted too much time to art movies to become big-time earners, but Paltrow pulled in $25 million according to Forbes; Knightley, $32 million.In the actor category, Bruce Willis got his act together well enough to make $41 million this year, which still paled next to Will Smith’s $80 million. Even Howie Mandel dealt himself in for $14 million.
First of all, fabulous wordplay with the 'Bruce Willis' and the 'act together.' Secondly: Howie Mandel?! Jesus Christ. I mean, a lot of this work is soul-stealing (like Howie) so I guess he's earned it, and some of it probs rewarding (like whatever Keira Knightley was doing) so I'm happy for some of these guys, but, jeez. Whatever, I'm gonna go think about the Olympics and force myself not to break my no-drinking-on-work-nights rule.
Source Variety.
