Who goes to the movies - money or people?

Whenever a new movie comes out the big center of attention is its grosses during opening weekend. But when you think about it the amount of money that a picture brings in is not a very exact measure of how well it did with audiences. The amount of money a movie makes in one part of the country vs another is not going to let you know how it really did if admission prices are not the same. The variances of admission prices are still greater once a movie plays in foreign markets. Lately one other factor has come into play. Theatrical releases are often now released in both 2-D and 3-D versions with a premium charged for the 3-D. A studio limiting a release to 3-D can distort the numbers and make a picture look like it is doing better than it is. If two pictures would bring in identical numbers of filmgoers, the one in 3-D would appear to be more popular.

The solution to this would be to ditch grosses as a measure of popularity and instead report ticket sales to the general public. The added premium for 3-D would not distort the results and the awareness of actual bodies in theatre seats would be more meaningful to the general public than abstract dollar figures. So what if some audience members would up the numbers by seeing a film several times. If a film is that good it should be rewarded by the numbers. After all it is people who go to see movies, not wallets.