The X-Men Origins movie destroyed the box office making $87 million this past weekend. I feel like this has a lot to say about how people feel about the movies experience. Despite the fact that this got leaked and plenty of people saw the movie prior to release, and the fact that it’s received terrible reviews, people will still dish out the money to see it. We’re in an economy crisis and many are still willing to drive to the movie theaters and spend $15 per ticket to see something they can get for free. I personally would rather go see 17 Again or Hannah Montana The Movie but if those were sold out, as they should be, I suppose I would go check out X-Men Origins on the big screen.

It goes to show that there’s something to be said about the experience of going to the movies, even when the movie to be seen gets terrible reviews and could be seen for free, it’s the experience people pay for. Watching live music is an unique experience, which is why people will pay upwards of $150 for a ticket. Same with going to the movies. However, listening to music or just watching a movie on a TV is something we get for free all the time, which is why many are very hesitant to pay money to do either.

No one wants to pay anything for a song that they just heard 5 times within the last hour on the radio for free. The record industry and movie industry need to realize the game is changing, and in order to keep up they are going to have to change their ways of doing things. It’s a sad fact but any movie out on DVD I can get for free in 5 minutes. Despite this, I wouldn’t ever pay $10 for the actual DVD, even if I couldn’t get it for free. I don’t feel I get enough for that $10.

Instead of fighting against the people who do get it for free, why not offer more to the package to give the customer a different experience than they are generally used to. Give more than just the movie and some extra bonus clips that no one even cares to see. When I see a DVD with an alternate ending I don’t look at this as added value, I look at it as the ending that wasn’t good enough for theaters, so why would I want to see it.

Nine Inch Nails has experimented with a similar idea where they gave more content for those who paid more, and the results were quite positive. It’s sad that more people in the industries haven’t adapted a similar model. Maybe the results of X-Men Origins will show them that they need to stop wasting their time fighting piracy and put more time into making me want to spend my money on something with real value.

Wow, this is some awesome viral marketing.  A video response to the “Jizz In My Pants” song by The Lonely Island called “Puke In My Mouth.”  This is advertising a fake engagement ring that ladies can wear in order to keep creepers away.  This is going after an incredibly small market so making a video like this is almost necessary to make some noise and get the word out about a product. I think traditional advertising is worthless when there is such a small market for your product. I guarantee this video will have over one million views by the end of May.  These people probably got a better response than paying for ad space somewhere, and it cost them nothing. Well done.