The factors that led to the decline of town and city centre cinemas in the late 1970's and early 1980's can be linked to 3 significant contexts. Socially, films turned into blockbusters which made them a social event for people to go to, making multiplexes situated in shopping centres superior to town and city centre cinemas. Economically, merchandise and marketing made films in a multiplex more commercially viable because they are located in shopping centres which directly affected the popularity of town or city cinemas and in terms of technological advancements, movie goers preferred spectacle over substance which means audiences went to cinemas with the best projectors and sound systems. These 3 factors affected the production, distribution and exhibition of films which led to the decline of town and city centre cinemas.
The production of films affected town and city centre cinemas. The creation of blockbusters like Jaws turned films and cinema outings into a social event. These blockbusters created the stereotype, style over substance, which is a over-reliance on special effects rather than a plot or character development. Examples of films like this are Star Wars and E.T. These blockbusters attracted audiences who wanted to see the special effects under the best new technology available, which was in multiplexes located in big shopping centres. Town and city cinemas did not have the same appeal for blockbuster audiences. The film industry created a formula for blockbusters, in which the more money you put into your film and the special effects in the film, it is guaranteed to be profitable at the box office. The Hollywood film industry which created these film wanted the best possible viewing technology in their multiplexes to display their special effects. Town and city centres didn't have this cinematic experience and suffered financially because of it due to a lack of interest and cinema attendance. The emphasis on special effects and viewing experience was made even more significant due to technological advancements within homes, like VCR and VHS and the ability to pirate films, like E.T. Cinemas needed the viewing experience that you couldn't get at home in order for people to come and watch their films. Turning these films into a social event was how they did this.
The distribution of films affected town and city centre cinemas. Cinema attendance around the late 1970's was poor, people were not watching films at the cinema but instead watching films at home. The film industry decided to promote their films by selling merchandise of the blockbuster film and marketing the film using posters, and television adverts. By selling merchandise, they encouraged people to watch films in multiplexes built in shopping centres, where merchandise can be bought easily. This helped reinforce the blockbuster as a event film. This affected town and city centre cinemas because they could not provide easy access for people to buy merchandise than what the multiplexes in the shopping centres provided. Meanwhile, in the 1970's and 80's, Britain was facing a recession, people did not have money and this was to do with the poor economy and the three day week. People were only working three days a week which affected all parts of British life. Going to the cinema was pointless for people who had no money who instead stayed at home and watched films on the television, which made the cinema attendance decrease. Another economic issue with the films is that because of the three day week, not enough energy was being produced to keep up with Britain consumption demands which meant small town cinemas could not show as many films as they could before. This created a decline for them financially. Technological advancements like VHS and VCR meant that people didn't need to leave home to watch films, and it became a social event and the fashion to watch films in your own home. This created an alternative to going to the cinema that people didn't have 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.
The exhibition of films affected town and city centre cinemas. Cinema attendance rose after the release of the special effects heavy, blockbuster, Star Wars. Star wars followed the blockbuster formula and released lots of merchandise, marketed itself heavily and created lots of hype and attention over the film. This hype and attention attracted teenage audiences, who regardless of the economic situation, bought into the franchise and its merchandise. The audience that saw Star Wars consisted mainly of children and teenagers, who were entertained by the special effects in the film. The small city and town cinemas were ignored by the Star Wars demographic who opted for multiplexes in order to have a day out and a social event. Star Wars was a financial success, due to the amount of money invested into by the children and teenagers who bought into the merchandise and the franchise. The Hollywood film industry decided to create more multiplexes in England to exploit the demographic and make more money from blockbusters. Eventually more and more multiplexes were being created which resulted in less and less popularity for the town and city centres. Technological advances also caused the small cinemas to decline. The special effects in Star Wars and the films after it caused large audiences to come and watch the films. Multiplexes could accommodate the large amount of film-goers whilst small town and city centre cinemas could not, putting them at a disadvantage. Also, the cinematic experience itself was richer in the Multiplexes, with better projection and sound system, putting the small town and city centre cinemas at a even greater disadvantage.
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