--- description: Why didn't anyone go to the movies last year? title: 'Mockingjay,' 'Guardians of the Galaxy': Moviegoing Hits 20-Year Low image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4dcfa1ec335771da/6986875b3bc999768b1a2925/df-63337_r.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Moviegoing Hit a 20-Year Low in 2014  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Jan 2, 2015 10:07 PM CUT  Andrew Garfield stars as Spider-Man in Columbia Pictures' "The Amazing Spider-Man" Andrew Garfield stars as Spider-Man in Columbia Pictures' "The Amazing Spider-Man"Niko Tavernise — Columbia Pictures  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Jan 2, 2015 10:07 PM CUT Blame Netflix and a crop of uninspiring blockbusters: Movie theaters had their lowest turnout in two decades last year. Moviegoers purchased just 1.26 billion movie tickets in 2014, the lowest number since 1.21 billion in 1995, according to early estimates. Attendance dropped 6% from 2013\. Overall revenue is projected to finish at $10.36 billion, down 5% year-over-year, the sharpest decline in the industry in nine years, _The Hollywood Reporter_ [reports](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-2014-moviegoing-hits-760766 "undefined"). The most likely culprit for the slumping numbers are blockbuster sequels that underperformed compared to previous installments. _The Amazing Spider-Man 2_, _Transformers: Age of Extinction_ and even _The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1_ all failed to meet their predecessors’ box office numbers, perhaps finally proving to studios that big franchises are not a sure bet. The surprising success of non-sequels like _Guardians of the Galaxy_ (the top grossing movie of the year), _The LEGO Movie_ and _Maleficent_ suggest that audiences suffered from franchise fatigue last year. Streaming services are also cannibalizing movie ticket sales especially in the coveted young adult demographic. Americans aged 12 to 24 saw 15% fewer films in the first three quarters of 2014, according to Nielsen. “The theater industry is really losing out to online platforms like Netflix and Hulu,” Darryl Ulama, author of the 2014 IBIS World report on movie theaters, told TIME. In 2013, the average ticket price for a movie was $8.13\. That’s the first time ticket prices have been higher than a $7.99 monthly Netflix subscription. “Consumers are saying, ‘Oh, well I can pay $7.99 for a subscription on Netflix and that’s less than one night at the movies.'” But experts predict the industry will bounce back in 2015\. Though sequels proved unimpressive this year, highly-anticipated installments in the _Avengers_, _Star Wars_ and _James Bond_ franchises should perform better than 2014’s summer tentpoles. And after decades of catering big budget films primarily to young me, studios are also finally investing money in movies that will appeal to women as well. Industry executives are hoping larger-budget pictures like _50 Shades of Grey_, _Pitch Perfect 2_ and _Paper Towns_ will draw female moviegoers the way _Maleficent_ and _The Fault in Our Stars_ [did last year](http://time.com/2811177/maleficent-female-summer-blockbusters/ "undefined"). **MORE:** [How Hollywood Can Get More Women to See Movies](http://time.com/2811177/maleficent-female-summer-blockbusters/ "undefined") \[[_THR_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-2014-moviegoing-hits-760766 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3652040/movies-theaters-netflix-blockbusters/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3652040/movies-theaters-netflix-blockbusters/"},"headline":"Moviegoing Hit a 20-Year Low in 2014","datePublished":"2015-01-02T22:07:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:14:07.435Z","description":"Why didn't anyone go to the movies last year?","url":"https://time.com/3652040/movies-theaters-netflix-blockbusters/","keywords":["movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4dcfa1ec335771da/6986875b3bc999768b1a2925/df-63337_r.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4dcfa1ec335771da/6986875b3bc999768b1a2925/df-63337_r.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Andrew Garfield;Paul Giamatti","caption":"Andrew Garfield;Paul Giamatti","creditText":"Niko Tavernise — Columbia Pictures","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3652040/movies-theaters-netflix-blockbusters/","name":"Moviegoing Hit a 20-Year Low in 2014"}}]}] ```