Is The Movie-Going Experience Running Out Of Steam?

Movie attendance in the US has dropped in the past two years from a high of 1.63 billion in 2002 to 1.53 billion in 2004. Before 2003, attendance regularly increased each year. The numbers give some theater owners pause. In the ’50s and ’60s, everybody went to the movies. “We need to do more to develop the habitual moviegoer. Once movies can be delivered directly into the home, she adds, all the cheap popcorn and clean floors in the world won’t matter. How long is it before they just won’t need us at all?”