Hannah Montana marks state of decline

This past weekend, the top of the box office didn’t go to monster movie “Cloverfield,” surprise underdog Oscar nominee “Juno” or even last week’s top movie, the Carmen Electra-starring spoof “Meet the Spartans.”

No, that distinction went to the same girl who seems to be around every corner these days, whether it be on radio, on TV or in print magazines.

And no, it’s not our dear fallen pop princess Britney Spears. I’m talking about her recent replacement as one of the biggest female pop acts in the world, Miley Ray Cyrus, aka Hannah Montana.

Maybe you’ve seen her widely successful show on the Disney Channel or heard her catchy new single “See You Again” on 102.7 FM. But this weekend, Montana managed to blow the roof off another aspect of the entertainment industry with the No. 1 movie in America. “Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert” brought in $29 million, even though it was showing in fewer than 1,000 theaters, breaking records and forcing studio executives to extend the film’s stay in theaters past its originally scheduled one-week run.

In a world where even the most intensely marketed studio blockbusters can barely garner enough sales and general attention to last over a month in theaters ““ box office giant “Cloverfield” fell 67 percent in its second week in release ““ extending a film’s theater engagement is unheard of.

But what does this say about the film industry when a nonfictional concert movie can beat out niche Oscar nominees and generic goofball comedies alike? These “alternative” multiplex limited offerings, such as concert films live from the road and operas live from the playhouse, among others, have been on the rise in recent years.

Considering it now costs $8 or $9 for a matinee and usually above $10 for an evening flick, are these overpriced movie theaters really that desperate for new and fresh options for revenue?

I always get a good laugh when I get to a theater early enough to see those advertisements for movie theater conference calls or theater rentals for your next important meeting, but it’s also a little depressing.

Is this what the glamorous, full-service movie palaces of the early 20th century have come to? A new option for bubbling tweens and sophisticated forty-somethings who can’t bear to shell out the cash for the live, in-person version of a pop concert or opera performance, respectively?

As I first learned in my sociology of mass communication class last quarter, movies theaters play an important role in the impact a film can have.

The dark, quiet and secluded environment of movie theaters isolates us from our friends, our cell phone and our stressful lives in general, to encourage us to be “taken over” by films and to let our imaginations, rather than our realistic perspectives, take hold.

Such an environment was not created to enjoy two hours of overly choreographed dance sequences, body doubles and blond-highlighted wigs, or to stress over the latest coast-to-coast corporate conference call.

When the planned TV series-based Hannah Montana movie hits theaters next year and probably breaks more box office records, I’ll keep my opinions to myself. But for now, I think it’s safe to say Miley and I aren’t singing the same tune on this one ““ I don’t care how catchy it is.

If you think it’s weird that the actor who plays Hannah Montana’s brother is actually 30 years old, e-mail Stanhope at kstanhope@media.ucla.edu.

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