Travoltas Grease: Dont just watch when you can sing along

The goal is to create a true event, said president of Paramount Film Group Adam Goodman. How do you get groups of young people going to the movies and having a great time?

The key term is young. Older moviegoers may still prefer to sit in silence,but younger audiences the ones studios work hardest to motivate off the sofa are increasingly programmed to interact and multitask. Sitting quietly in a theatre starts to feel like a bore when you can watch the DVD at home while texting a friend,playing a video game and posting witty comments on Facebook.

Despite 3-D blockbusters like Avatar and Alice in Wonderland,moviegoing in North America is in trouble. For the summer period,which typically accounts for 40 per cent of annual box office receipts,attendance is down by about 3 per cent,to 309 million tickets,compared with a year earlier. Years of sharp ticket price increases have papered over the problem revenue for the summer is up about 4 per cent but movie studios and exhibitors are now starting to fear a consumer pushback.

Multiplex chains and film studios are trying to manufacture audience participation as a way of coaxing a certain crowd into theatres. Just bring your friends,they say,and buy a lot of candy. The strategy depends on creating an excitement that was once organic,and it could easily backfire,said Matt Britton,the managing partner of Mr Youth,a New York social marketing agency.

You dont want to force a cultural habit on people,especially young people who are very savvy about being manipulated by marketers, he said. But its definitely savvy to try and make the moviegoing experience less linear and more interactive.