Again, though, you have to find a better reason than TikTok and friends to explain a slump that seems to have started at the same time as the pandemic.

Were there choices made during the pandemic that are hurting them in other ways? Almost certainly. But I'm not seeing how that is true for the claimed competition being what is hurting them, as these things existed pre pandemic, but only started really factoring in after it?

That is why I said "ish." It certainly sounds plausible. I'm not clear the evidence is showing it, though.

Population wide taste change can take years.

I am just looking around at the differences in how I the people I know spend their time.

I have 8 to 13 year old nieces and nephews that have zero interest in watching movies or tv shows when they come over. You would literally be punishing them by taking their YouTube or video games or TikTok away and forcing them to watch a 100min movie with you.

I also have kids in that range. And by and large, I agree that they would be distraught to not have Netflix/YouTube/etc. However, I also know that blockbuster movies are still raking in the money, as I have family insisting on seeing Barbie this week. Super excited about it. Kids also wanted to see the Mario movie.

And if you have kids in that range, I am willing to bet that you are also in the demographic of people that generally have a natural slowdown in going to movies and things. Turns out, having kids in this age range is a full time job.

None of which is to say you are wrong. I'm just not sold on the evidence, yet. Turns out, there is still plenty of big budget entertainment out there.

The kids are just as tired as many of the adults of watching super hero x version y movies with a smattering of Tom Cruise action version z. I am hopeful that Oppenheimer will be interesting …

The feigned move toward AI generated content would likely make things worse, providing bizarre fake Tom Cruise scripts generated from old real Tom Cruise scripts.

The numbers aren't really supporting this claim, though? They continue to pull in record crowds. The past few years were hit hard, but we have a solid reason for that. Most everything else will be secondary. Not non-existent, but not the primary driver.

Even the concern over AI generated content seems odd to me. Video games have shown that complete photo realism is not needed to attract ever growing numbers of consumers. Such that I can absolutely see AI and procedurally generated content being used in clever ways by creators.

That is, I largely think it will be a new market that exists along side existing ones. But it is definitely coming.

I just watched the latest Mission Impossible and it’s quite possible that an AI would do a better job than what I witnessed. Movies like that are ripe for AI and will probably still make money, but I am saddened by AI likely increasing the trend of similar unoriginal content.

Resignation that my taste for original content is not shared by the average movie consumer is humbling.