I updated the thread to point out that this is for the US only as we don't have data for other countries. In Australia, the average number of times people go to the movies per year has dropped by 13% in the past 10 years and 36% in the past 20 years.

Yet another causality of the internet. It's such a hideous goddess bitch.

Ticket prices are higher, attendance is lower.

True. Another reason might be in the idea that people will just think to "redbox" or "netflix" a movie when it becomes available for such services. 

Well I'm pretty sure that the one of the few foreign markets that is growing and growing by a lot is China since its about to overtake the US as the number one market.

it's not just movies,.. people hate leaving their homes for anything these days. probably because everytime i leave the house someone tries to gun me down.

Not even the almighty SWTFA could stop this?

Part of the problem - for it is multifaceted - is many movies - most movies - aren't produced with the big screen in mind but the small screen. Quality isn't as high as it could be and of course all shots are made so no meaningful detail is lost in the small screen transition. And of course CGI abuse which holds up a lot better on a TV than a screen the size of a house. Contrast this with Nolan films for example that use IMAX film when possible, prefer practical effects, and use shots tailored to massive screens. Watching a Nolan film - Interstellar being a notable example of this - on a TV doesn't remotely compare to the experience in a cinema. However, some decrease was inevitable. Movies come out in stores much faster and in far better quality than they did in decades past. At least some of the incentive to go to the theater was bound to be lost. However, it should plateau. Another major problem is all these absolutely awful filler movies are devaluing the experience. Also, during dry spells they really should put the big, spectacular, best selling films back into the Imax. Don't waste theater space on garbage like Pixel.

To answer your question, I'd go with the Martian.

hmmm the martian was a good movie. but im not sure if its considered an action block buster.