It isn’t just middle America that’s been affected by the severe economic crisis. Even one of the nation’s most successful ventures, the cinema, is feeling the budget crunch. Some of Hollywood’s biggest names are suffering, as more movie patrons find they can no longer afford box office prices.

Sony Pictures is laying off their employees, eliminating around 6% of their current workers. According to a memo given to employees of the company, “the decision to take this step was difficult. But it’s being done in the context of a strategy designed to help us safeguard our competitiveness and chart our own course through these troubled waters.”

Miramax is also struggling in the dangerous economic climate, and sources suggest that the company could be closing its doors for ever in 2011. Six movie projects are still in production, but upon their completion Disney could opt to sell the label.