Summer Movie Attendance: Lowest Since 1997

This summer saw the release of some beloved films, but that wasn’t enough to keep theaters packed. Even as studios and theater owners saw record revenues (thanks to an average ticket price of $7.88), attendance fell to its lowest level since 1997, Bloomberg reports. The number of tickets sold this summer is expected hit 552 million, a drop of 2.6% from 2009. Meanwhile, summer revenue will rise to $4.35 billion, an increase of 2.4%.

“The movies just didn’t excite people the way they needed to,” says the president of Hollywood.com Box-Office. “When you raise prices and perceive that quality goes down, you have a major problem.” Click here to hear from one person who says 2010 is the worst year yet for movies.
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