I managed a large movie theatre in the late 80's, into the early 90's. One of my favorite jobs, and yet it was one of my least paying. I learned a lot while working there, and try to pass on some of that information to others, so that they see the pattern.
Tonight I went to see a movie called "Children of Men." The movie is about a world in which woman can no longer have children, and the youngest person in the world is only 18. The world is in chaos, and very dark. I love apoplectic movies, but knew something in the back of my mind, that draws from my movie theatre days.
Movies are released based on their quality, budget and what is considered the best time of the year for them to make the most money. You can basically set a clock, to the below movie release schedule.
January - March : This is when the studios release crap that has set on the shelf for along time, or was previewed by audiences to less then favorable reviews. You will know the signs of crap, as it will be previewed on television with well known movie stars mentioned, who only have small roles. It will also be hard to understand what the movie is about, and all advertisements will cease after the release. Studios know that most people are not in a movie mood this time of year, so why release high budget movies.
April - This is a kick off time of mid-level quality movies. Ones that studios have hopes for, mainly they hope it will warm up an excitement of the next month. So they will release a couple good ones that are stacked with high budget trailers for movies coming out in May-July.
May-July - High budget, high quality movies. This is when people want to go to the movies and the theatres expect huge crowds. Although some of the movies might be less the perfect, they are normally very entertaining and will have big stars in them.
August - September - Dumping ground of movies that could not be placed in theatres during May-July, and yet need to be released before the year ends. Normally you get one good surprise hit in the bunch, but most are ones with little to no quality and that is why no one wanted to make room for them in the high volume months.
October - Junk, things you wondered why the studio even made. This is when lame horror movies come out, with low budgets and no story. Also, when things come out that have to be so cut apart in previews that all the good scenes are in the thirty second advertisement you saw on television.
November - Mid December - Family high budget movies, with stories and actors you like and special affects are done well, and expensive.
Mid=December to the end of the year - Oscar release movies, art type movies with low popularity but high chance of Oscar buzz.
Why am I listing all these? Well, because I am kicking myself in the butt for ignoring these schedules. As the movie "Children of man" sucked! Don't waste your money and I should have known better. This always happens, has happened and will happen again. It is just that time of year. Movie Spoiler warning; The movie is about a man trying to save a woman who is pregnant in this terrible future. It is dark, hard to follow and makes little to no sense. Julian Moore, is shown as being a major part in the trailer, dies with only a small amount of on screen time. Michael Cane, dies too, but at least he was on a few more minutes. Expect to see rave reviews with the reviewers name being so small, you would need a magnifying glass to see who it is. A tell tell sign, it sucks! Oh, and it has a great ending. Your sitting there wondering what is next, and it is at a high point and suddenly the screen goes black and the words "Children of Men" comes across and credits role. People in the theatre were all, WHAT?
Save your money, wait for April.