Hollywood turnover plummets in 2014. Panicstations

On Wall Street and in Hollywood, analysts and executives don’t believe the rest of 2014 can make up for the steep slide at the North American box office. Year to date, revenue is down 5.6 percent to $7.2 billion (from $7.6 billion in 2013), fueled by a dramatic 15 percent drop this summer and a Sept. 5 weekend that saw the lowest grosses since just after the 9/11 attacks.
“It was a disaster,” says analyst Doug Creutz of Cowen & Co. of the summer, noting that several tentpoles underperformed in the U.S., including Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Paramount’s Transformers: Age of Extinction. “There was plenty of stuff for people to go see that they normally want to see,” he adds. “Something is going on that isn’t good for studios and theater chains. U.S. consumer habits are changing.”

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