As Digital Piracy Increases, Box Office Hits 19-Year Low

I love going to see movies while they’re playing in the theater. There’s just something a whole lot more exciting about seeing a movie I’m excited about on the big screen vs. watching the same thing on my TV screen at home. And while I love going to the movies, I don’t go an awful lot because of the price of the ticket, the price of the food and drinks, etc. (Yes, I know I don’t have to get popcorn and things, but sometimes it’s too hard to resist the temptation of it all). It seems a lot of people are skipping the theater these days – and it’s not all because of the high prices – it’s because of the ever-increasing problem of digital piracy. In fact, things are so bad that box office numbers are at the lowest point they’ve been since 1995. And even though the box office has sold an estimated 1.26 billion tickets this year, that number is still five percent lower than the 2013 box office statistics. You know that’s bad news when the past few years have seen some of the biggest and most successful movies ever.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like the piracy problem is going to vanish any time soon, so it looks like the box office will have more bad news before they get some good news. One wonders if something will eventually end up happening to ticket prices to help offset the problem.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below!

[Image via Frugal-Cafe]

SOURCE: The Verge