Practice Question: Multiplexes

What factors led to the decline of town or city centres cinemas in the late 1970s and early 1980s?

Certain factors such as production, distribution and exhibition in the film industry have influenced the decline in town or city centre cinemas which have been influenced by different changes within society which led to an increase in multiplexes on the outskirts of city areas as well as the atmosphere in cinemas becoming more of a social experience rather than going to actually enjoy a film which led to the rise of multiplexes being placed in shopping centres. In terms of technology since visual effects from companies like Industrial, Light and Magic (ILM) were becoming more popular it led to people desiring a spectacle in which they could only get that experience from a multiplex and not in town or city centre cinemas'. Economically, merchandise and marketing made films in a multiplex more profitable since multiplexes were placed in shopping centres which influenced the decreasing popularity of town or city cinemas. In response to these factors blockbusters were being made to fill multiplexes to have more control over films being made and multiplexes were being created to house blockbusters because the film industry realised that this would make a profit because all audiences wanted were style over substance films.

As town or city centre cinema declined in came the rise of the blockbuster and multiplexes. In terms of production, companies were beginning to play more with special effects to create a spectacle and in return, these new effects created hype around films like Jaws turning it in to an event movie, creating the idea of going to a multiplex to be a social experience. An example of directors using new visual effects in their films to create a spectacle is when George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created ILM which was involved in the creation of Star Wars and also influenced the creation of ET in years to follow. As a result of this it has later influenced other film companies to conform to similar production techniques as they new they would get large audiences from films with spectacle over substance. Only multiplexes could house blockbusters because in terms of technology multiplex cinemas had wider screens, as well as better sound and video qualities which town or city centres did not have which led to a decrease in popularity for these 'flea pit' cinema's because they were using older screen technology and could not offer the same viewing experience that multiplexes could.

As the UK were just coming out of a recession most families were still quite tight with money and could not go out to enjoy films in the cinema which meant there was a loss of business for town or city centre cinema's because they could rent a film and get the same experience that they would in a town or city centre cinema. Also piracy was also a huge issue, an example of this is ET, ET was the most pirated film in 1982. Piracy meant that American Hollywood Studios (AHS) were getting less revenue from the blockbusters and they therefore needed something brand new to give audiences or find another way to make their money back. They did this through merchandising. Blockbusters began to only be played in multiplexes and turned blockbusters in to event movies. This led to marketing a film selling merchandise and advertisement to increase revenue and attraction to the film before it is even released. An example of a film which followed this formula of marketing is the Star Wars franchise and the film was only given to Multiplexes as they created a bigger experience than town or city centre cinema with better seating and better sound quality. This hurt town and city centre cinema's as all the films that were making huge amounts of money were only being played in multiplexes which caused town and city centre cinemas to decline.Technological advancements like VHS and VCR meant that people did not need to leave home to watch films, because of this it became fashionable to watch films in your own home. This created an alternative to going to the cinema that was not available before. It would not be before the rise of the multiplex that people started going to see films again. Small town and city centre cinemas lacked the social event status that VHS and VCR provided. However, something to note is that  because of the recession most homes would not have a VHS or VCR because they would not be able to afford one which suggests that this technological advancement may not be the sole factor in the decline of town or city centre cinemas. A contrasting point however is that for the homes that did have a VHS or VCR it would be cheaper to rent a film, than to go out and watch a film in a 'flea pit cinema'.

During the late 70s and early 80s teenagers quickly became the cinemas main audience, they became this because they were economically dependent on their parents, were granted a disposable income and were able to go out socially whilst their parents worked for them. They were attracted to multiplexes which were placed in shopping centers which were where teenagers would interact socially before multiplexes were placed their anyway. This in a sense devalued cinema because it turned it in to a 'shopping experience'. Blockbusters also in return became formulaic to fit what teenagers liked. An example of this is Jaws, Jaws was a violent film which attracted teenagers and it was also based in the summer time in a beach setting which is relatable to things that teenagers like to do socially. Jaws was also released during the Summer time during a time where teenagers would go to the beach as well. This led to the decline in town or city centers because teenage audiences had a big influence on the film industry and multiplexes attracted them more than town or city centers because multiplexes gave them more choice and gave them a new experience in where they interact socially and town or city centers did not deliver the same experience so teenagers did not go there to see their films.

In conclusion there seems to have been a substantial decline in town or city centre cinema in the late 1970's and early 80's which seems to have a correlation with the rise of the blockbuster and the rise of the multiplex. There also seems to be a correlation between the rise of home video and a decline in cinema attendance in town or city centre cinema. These have been influenced by social, economic and technological factors which offered new experiences for cinema audiences and you could only achieve the best experience apparently in multiplexes which pretty much put town or city centers out of business because blockbusters were only being played in multiplexes who were placed in the UK by AHS and multiplexes eventually became an experience for cinema goers, rather than actually going for the film itself, essentially devaluing films and blockbusters began to be created to be place in multiplexes and multiplexes created to house blockbusters.