All due to piracy? If you look at the 10 top grossing films of 2012, we have: 3 comic book movies (The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Amazing Spiderman) where the characters have already had several movies, 3 movies that are either the 3rd or 4th in an original series (Madagascar, Ice Age, and MiB), and 4 based on books (Twilight, Skyfall, The Hobbit, and Hunger Games). Maybe people are tired of rehashes of the same IP over and over again, especially when they spread one story over several movies, just to get more money out of you? (I'm looking at you, The Hobbit)
Not necessarily. Only if you assume the people that go to movies are a good representation of people in general, which I doubt is true. Considering how important the teenage demographic is (why fewer movies are release with an R rating nowadays, with some movies getting re-edited to go from an R to PG-13 rating), I'd bet teenagers are over-represented from a few years ago. And you'd have to assume any time someone goes to the theaters they pick the best movie for their tastes, not just the "safe bet" on a sequel or the one they've seen the most advertising for.
Top 10 grossing was probably a bad pick, but I don't know a better way to measure the general output of movie studios without considering every movie released, even those shown in like 2 theaters worldwide.
* I'd bet teenagers are over-represented from a few years ago.*
Teenagers are a smaller portion of the moviegoing market than they were 10 years ago. Smartphones, videogames, and various other distractions have cut down on their numbers. [See Variety, L.A. Times, and any other entertainment-focused news source.]
And you'd have to assume any time someone goes to the theaters they pick the best movie for their tastes, not just the "safe bet" on a sequel or the one they've seen the most advertising for.
That has always been true of movies. But as it turns out, many people's tastes align with IP they are already familiar with: they know the characters, the plots, etc., and so it is easier for them to judge whether the movie in question will satisfy their interests.
