Paul Dergarabedian Year Quotations

We're going to need some huge performances by these movies, or this will be the third down year in a row. One or two movies is not enough; moviegoers need to be excited about going back to the theaters.

Last year was a tough year anyway, and this puts a fine point on it.

I think it has more to do with product than any other factor because, look, last summer huge summer, ... There were DVDs. The ticket prices were high. The concession prices were high. But people were lining up for those movies more than they are this year because of the movies more than anything.

Who would have thought in a year we're having this down box office that we'd have the second-biggest Thanksgiving ever?

This was the worst weekend of the year at the box office and the slowest start to summer we've seen in years.

To have such a strong Thanksgiving and the second-best ever business in what has overall been a down year is pretty impressive. Thank goodness for Harry Potter . It has reinvigorated a lot of people to go to the movies.

Every summer has its own unique pathology, trajectory, and this is not a summer we want to repeat. Next summer looks really good, it looks like a pretty darn good summer, ... If next year we're down, it will be 'Houston, we have a problem.'

November and December are pound-for-pound just as important as the summer, ... You see about 20 percent of the gross for the year in about seven or eight weeks. And this year looks to me to be a strong finish to a year that has really had its ups and downs.

This is the first year under $9 billion since 2001 and the biggest gross percentage drop since 1985.

You don't want a repeat of what happened last year. It's still early in the year to call it, but every weekend it's down is chipping away at the advantage we had early on this year.

It's a moral and psychological victory for Hollywood. It won't pull us completely out of the slump, but we'll end the year on a very positive note.

In all fairness, this was more of a typical late-October weekend, as opposed to a year ago, when 'The Grudge' surprised everyone and made this weekend look pale by comparison.

Horror is one of those genres that have a seemingly inexhaustible supply of audience. And this year there has been a preponderance of ones that have done well.

You've got to look at 'Harry Potter' as being the savior of the box office right now. Who would have thought in a year we're having this down box office that we'd have the second-biggest Thanksgiving ever?