MOVIES - Nov. 16, 1987

The movie business may be enjoying its biggest box-office year in history in the United States, but film attendance has hit rock bottom in Argentina, where movie theaters are turning to soft-core porn and offering cut-rate tickets to shake customers loose from their homes--and VCRs. “I haven’t been to see a movie in months,” said grocery store clerk Soledad Suarez. “My husband and I have a 3-year-old girl, so it’s just not something we can afford right now. So we watch television or go to a friend’s house to see a video.” According to the National Institute of Cinematography, 99,000 people saw films last week across Argentina, compared with a weekly average of 170,000 a year ago. Overall attendance is at its lowest level since 1981.