Audiences Shrivel After Blockbuster Premieres

“Films’ Big Openings Fade Fast, but Studios Cash In” (Aug. 12), on how this summer’s movies drop off sharply at the box office, hit a nerve with me--an inveterate moviegoer. I know that long gone are the days when a film could open at 50 or 100 screens and then build word of mouth before opening more widely. Still, our disposable society seems to have reached a point where this week’s hit film is next week’s video rental.

Recently, a friend and I set out to pick a film to see. I suggested a film that had been out for a month or so. My friend exclaimed, “You wait too long to go see movies.” She didn’t say this because she had seen it already (she hadn’t), but because it would somehow be passe to go see a film that “old.” “Old?” I shot back. “Is the movie going to change or become stale?” That’s the moviegoing culture we have now. Movies as fresh fruit or vegetables. After a week or so, audiences seem to think they wilt and go bad.

Joe Stemme

Culver City