Money are not that always funny...

"These days, scores of films are finding there's no room at the multiplex. The reason: Hollywood is flush with roughly $13 billion to $18 billion in financing for movies that poured in over the past few years, according to bankers and producers, vastly expanding the number of pictures getting made. The flood of money is paying for films made by relative newcomers as well as veteran film investors and producers." ~ Lauren A.E. Schuker and Peter Sanders, Wall Street Journal

That dynamic has turned movie distribution into a free-for-all, with too many films vying for too few slots in theaters each weekend. Last year, more than 600 feature films - mostly independent movies not produced at a major studio - were released theatrically in the U.S., up from 466 in 2002, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. That's an average of 2.6 more movies every weekend that are battling for the public's attention.

More than 3,600 feature films were submitted for consideration at Sundance Film Festival this year, and although many of those were tiny digital flicks that have no chance of commercial release, the number is up from about 2,000 feature submissions just five years ago.

The frothy marketplace means more choices for movie fans and more headaches for a struggling industry. In 2007, domestic box-office revenue totaled $9.68 billion, up from $9.3 billion in 2006, according to box-office tracker Media by Numbers. Box-office revenue has grown since 2005 because of higher ticket prices, but attendance started dropping last year. This year, attendance is down 4.74 percent from the same time a year ago. Lower attendance should trim box-office revenues for 2008 to about $9.6 billion, Media by Numbers projects.

Today, the credit crunch is putting the brakes on outside film financing. But Hollywood executives fear the glut created by the recent spate of overproduction is going to be felt for at least a couple more years. Some people say the worst of the oversupply problem is still about a year away...

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