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110 Comments
- MarkCiccone, on 10/12/2007, -3/+60If the movie theaters want more business, how about driving ticket prices to.. oh I dunno, 5 dollars? That sound reasonable? Because 10 dollars for a movie is ridiculous.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+45I'm a filmmaker. I can see theatres going away if they don't change. Here's a brief list of things that I would change if I owned a theater:
* Line the walls with cell phone-blocking paint
* Lower concession prices to something realistic
* Free daycare for parents while the movie is running
* SERVE BEER
* Replace hard folding chairs with soft recliners
* Offer a menu of food to purchase (not only candy and popcorn)
* Start showing independent films, not just the same old hollywood regurgitation
* Offer family-friendly days
* Show midnight showings of the films that should only be shown ad nauseum at this time
* Offer special showings (Silent films, Anime, classic Hollywood)
This is just a partial list. But I think you get the point. - Aidenag, on 10/12/2007, -6/+40I find this to be a great thing, that had to happen sooner or later. People only went to them in hordes in the past because there home tv's and sound systems were small and inferior.. I mean the entire theatre exp from day one has sucked.. 100% proccessed suger loaded foods, that cost 3-5x the MSRP. Smelly loud people, Lines, tall people blocking your view.. the list is endless..
On top of it all, the smart people now own entire home systems who skip theatres all together, and have somthing that does much much more, when you want, how you want :) - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+32That's a pretty crap business model if it is true!
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+27Maybe if Hollywood would start putting out worthwhile films more often they wouldn't be seeing this problem. Yeah more people are downloading movies because watching a crappy movie for free on your PC isn't that bad. Watching a crappy movie while surrounded by people on cell phones, people talking, waiting in lines and paying for over priced food and drink is a different story.
- FyreGoddess, on 10/12/2007, -3/+23I find it unlikely, at least to the extreme stated in the opening sentence.
Here's the problem: Hollywood has gotten incredibly lazy. We're (as moviegoers) subjected to the bottom of the barrel with remakes, sequels and movies that, frankly, have no heart.
I've stopped going to the mainstream theaters because, beyond the cost of the movie and the snacks, the enormous screen is not enough of a draw for me when it comes to crap movies. Instead, I go to the local art house theater which, in order to afford the indie films that are its staple, they're starting to show more mainstream movies. Every week I see more people heading out to the indie theaters to catch a better quality movie at a cheaper price. The snack bar offers baked goods as well as standard movie fare (popcorn and candy), the drink sizes are smaller than a bucket of popcorn and everything is cheaper than at the larger theaters.
My indie theater also (in a stroke of blinding brilliance) opened a cafe next door, so now I can take my snobby coffee with me to see a snobby indie flick.
I see better quality movies for a cheaper price than the majority of people complaining about the Hollywood crap that's been coming out. I also see movies I would never have otherwise heard of and movies in very limited release.
Maybe it is time for the multiplex to go away. Maybe people will stop paying $10 a head to see a movie that's not even going to be worth the price of the video rental, but there are enough people drawn to the smaller theaters and who attend midnight screenings of cult movies that I just don't believe that movie theaters as a whole are going to completely drop off the radar. - scoot87, on 10/12/2007, -4/+20@MArkciccone:
Isn't it true that movei theaters dont make profits off movie tickets but the money from tickets go to the studios. The only money those theaters make is through popcorn, candy, and soda sales - swanny89, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15Almost all the money from the ticket sales goes back to the studios. If you want to play the blame game, point it in that direction.
- Chompy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16Here's some ideas.
1. Tickets that cost less than $12.
2. Normally-priced concessions.
3. No ***** commercials. If it's not a trailer, I don't want to see it. Ever.
4. Ushers that actually kick people out for talking or turning on any sort of bright-ass glowing phone/PDA/toy that distracts everyone in the theater sitting behind them. It's illegal to jam cell phones in the US, but if ushers did their job it wouldn't be necessary. I mean I want a usher permanently stationed in every theater, watching for any crap like a hawk.
Now, some apologists might argue that 1, 2, and 3 are unreasonable these days.. well that's just too ***** bad. If your business model depends on that crap, it's time you went out of business. And hey look, that's what's happening now! Adapt or die, dinosaurs. - armbar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14That list covers every major complaint that I have about movie theaters, so if you ever do start up your own theater, make sure to let me know. I'll be there.
I especially like your idea of showing indie films--it gets really old waiting 2 months between moderately entertaining movies. It'd be cool to be able to go pretty much whenever you want and know that you'll have a good time. - WalterDirt, on 10/12/2007, -5/+17Seriously, what's so great about movie theatres? Usually filled with douchebags yelling and hooing not to mention that someone always spills some soda 5 rows above you and you walk out with sticky heels. Yea, sounds like a great time.
Granted I liked them when I was a kid, just getting out of the house, feeling up a chick deal-e-o. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+16Is it true that movie theatres can't cover the cost of the movies by selling tickets, so they have to overprice the food?
- returnofmalv, on 10/12/2007, -7/+15"If the movie theaters want more business, how about driving ticket prices to.. oh I dunno, 5 dollars? That sound reasonable? Because 10 dollars for a movie is ridiculous."
They will charge as much as people are willing to pay. Where else can you take your girlfriend, not have to talk to her at all, and get some action afterwards? Without movie theatres most men would be lost. - Nathanael, on 10/12/2007, -4/+12Despite prices and the tech community's notorious despisal of the studios and MPAA, I think there is something great about the theater experience. Not just the screen and sound, but the whole thing (minus the annoying, loud, school-age kids, of course). To lose that would make the experience empty indeed. No - I think the theater is going to be around for awhile. I download movies with the rest, but I also spend more than my share at the theater. It's not about the money - it's about the environment.
- Albaster, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9You forgot this point:
* Hire security guards to ground or kick out of the theater any misbehaving prick.
If there's something I can't really stand in a theater, is when a group of pre-teens (or adults) start yelling, talking loud-voice or playing it stupid. - aptiva, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9"$5 for a movie sounds waaay to low, I'd hit up the movies like every week if it was that cheap..lol"
....That's the point - Ruckgesicht, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8In their defense, the dinosaurs were against insurmountable odds with the falling ash and the dirty water and the insufferable heat and the movie theatres, and the like. Put things in perspective.
- cliffzdude, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9I find it funny that theaters whine about ticket sales when they charge $12 a ticket, $7 for a bucket of popcorn, (I know, overhead), $5 for a soda, and let people make a racket, answer cell phones and leave ***** lay on the floor between shows. All the while I can rent the DVD, or better yet wait for it to come to cable and watch it in High Definition on my 50" HiDef, with a surround system that sounds better than the vast majority of theaters.
My wife and friends used to see about a movie a week. That cost the wife and I about $40 a pop. That works out to about $2,000 a year. We haven't stepped foot into a theater but a couple of times since I got my home theater set up nicely. Popcorn costs about fifty cents. Soda? What soda, we have a couple of beers or a bit of wine
Ok, I have to pay to rent the DVDs. $208 a year... I'd have the same cable package regardless, so that's a wash... To be totally accurate I'll have to pay for a new bulb for the flattie once every two years or so, that runs about $200. Electricity? OK, there is a few bucks there.
All in all, over two years I've broke even. The rest is gravy. And I don't have to deal with theater dip ***** ruining the flick. Priceless. - Ruckgesicht, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9I am aware of no John Lennon song about movie theatres, sorry.
- xerus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Hm... paying 9.50 to be in a room with loud, obnoxious people, listening to various ring tones, and having my shoes stick to the floor... how could that be failing?
- swanny89, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7I work at a movie theater and can confirm what scoot87 said. We make next to nothing off ticket sales; it all goes back to our friends in hollywood. The food hs to be expensive just to pay for the establishment.
- Chompy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6"Theaters, I don't want to pay to sit and watch a screen no bigger than a decent HDTV"
I'd like to know where you're buying your HDTV. - omnithought, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5If they want to save movie theaters, do what they do in many places in Portland: serve beer and pizza.
The Brew & View is a gift from the gods!
...and they don't suffer from lack of customers! - maverick808, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6One thing I hate is watching commercials before the movie. I've already paid a substantial amount of cash to get in so why do I need to sit through commercials? Why can't they show a cartoon or a newsreel. Hell, even more trailers would be better than commercials.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5What they need to do is bring back the drive-in theatre. Those were always the best to go to.
- Miyazaki, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Alamo Drafthouse has all but two of those.
The cell phone blocking paint and the soft recliners...although one location does have couches. Oh, and it's not really a day care, but before a certain on Tuesdays, thats a kid day. - m00nstone, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Thankfully the movie theatre will never die. Just like:
TV never killed radio
The Internet isn't killing the newspaper
All forms of music distribution cannot kill the live band experience
People will always enjoy the movie theatre experience. It's a shared, public experience. You "go out", sit down in a large dark room with a bunch of strangers, and the light splashes onto the screen.
Theatres will survive through ever-changing margins of popularity. History tells us so. - TimDigg, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6$5 for a movie sounds waaay to low, I'd hit up the movies like every week if it was that cheap..lol
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7Serve beer? I'm kinda thinking that would negate the cell-phone blocking paint a little bit.
- uptown, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5...but where will the loud annoying people take their phone calls from, and show up late to?
- dgendreau, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3*deep announcers voice*
IN A WORLD... - StarManta, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4They want more money, plain and simple.
Whether they need the extra money or not is beside the point - they see a way to get more, and take advantage of it. - Ghoulardi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+31) There is no home theater sound system that duplicates the experience of a good movie theater. Nor will there ever be.
Unless your home theater takes up twice the space of the typical American home, you're not going to have enough space to fit a theatrical audience into your own home. And the screen size that you'll enjoy at home is dwarfed by the size and clarity of a true theatrical image. Sorry, home theaters are nice, but they aren't even close to a substitute.
2) There's no substitute for the communal experience of seeing a movie in a packed house with a respectful audience. Of course, with ***** movies, there's no substitute for a packed house full of disrespectful people. But, most of the time, it pays to keep your mouth shut.
3) Theaters don't make money off of a film unless they have it for 6 weeks or more. The ticket prices are driven by the money that exhibitors have to pay distributors. If Brad Pitt didn't need another private jet, or the president of Fox didn't need another mansion, things might be cheaper. Don't blame the theaters.
4) There are theaters that do remove people for talking/using cell phones/bringing screaming children. Go to those. Chances are, they'll be cleaner, too, since they kick out the people who dump popcorn on the floor.
5) Not all theaters show commercials. Some theaters will actually publish showtimes that include the time that the actual feature begins, as well (though I like to see some trailers before my movies). Once again, vote with your hard-earned dollars.
Home theaters, especially computers, will NEVER replace the theatrical experience. Imagine how hollow the experience of seeing Star Wars for the first time on a tiny home theater screen...it just doesn't work. Sorry, but theaters are here to stay. - Witherbucket, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4A world without movie theatres is quite the extreme view. When the internet first started making the scene, people proclaimed far and wide that sites like Amazon.com would be the end of physical stores as they'd be driven out of business due to the power of the internet. Instead, it's been a supportive tool to just about every physical store around. While outside influences like downloading and DVDs might reduce theatre attendance, the movie theatre will never completely die out. Movie theatres will simply adapt like everything else.
- Jowitz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4There are some really great theaters if you know where to look in your area. Here in Denver, there are plenty of theaters that show either indie films with specials, classic films, and even just-out-of theater films for $1.00 matinee, $1.50 otherwise, and just $0.50 on Tuesdays.
But also, sometimes a high ticket price is worth it for Imax movies and the like. - gregcotten, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Once I own a movie theatre size screen, good surround speakers, 4K digital projector, 35mm film projector, popcorn maker and soda machine - I might consider opting out of using movie theatres.
- etruscan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Movie theatres won't go away... and if they do - they won't just disappear. They'll downsize, remove screens, build fewer of them, etc. Chris Gore makes a good point, but it would never have come to this if studios would just try and make decent films instead of hoping that 1 in 10 makes a profit.
- chuckmagnum, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3people pay more money a month for cable, and it has even more commercials.
- xzourska, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I rather pay for a movie then go to the movie theater since I can enjoy it anytime with a bunch of friends and it will be much cheaper overall and I dont have to worry about start time, commercials, the stupid talking idiots that asks questions since they missed the first 5 minutes of the movie. $25/5 people and it is much cheaper then the theater and legal.
- christoscamaro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I don't think that movie theatres will totally vanish. I do think however, that they will become more and more of a niche market as time goes on.
If DVDs were sold the same day a new movie was released in theaters, I personally think that DVD sales would go way, WAY up. - MrBabyMan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Easy.
A world without movie theatres + 100-inch diagonal DLP projector = my living room.
Give me a reason to deal with the hassle of the modern cinema. - Aanidaani, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6Exactly. Movie theatres are a ripoff. Why should I pay outrageous amounts for theatres that still show poor quality images and blast audio so loud it deafens you? Moreover, why should I pay $10 for it? Movie theatres will have to adapt or they'll crumble.
- MalaysianMafia, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Maybe if Hollywood started releasing movies that aren't TERRIBLE, then the god damned box office receipts will go up...
For gods sake, don't complain about declining ticket sales when Hollywood just released the biggest weekend seller movie EVER (pirates)... its obviously not the consumer who is at fault here, its Hollywood itself. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Well, I thought it was coming tomorrow; so I guess it's not coming sooner than I thought.
- nbriscoe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I worked for a movie theater chain when I was younger. One of the things they inform you of early on especially when you hit management is that the majority of box office income goes to the movie companies. The amount made in concessions is what pays the bills, employees, and makes the profit ("Would you like to make that a large popcorn, it's a better value") They really pushed to up-sell at concessions. This explains the outrageous prices. That was one of many poor business practices. I remember in a meeting once, they asked us what their competition was. I told them home theater. They said it wasn't because people would always love to go out. While that may be half true.... I think they were sadly mistaken. I for one would rather be home where I can be as quiet, loud, and comfortable as I want, and eat what I want all for a reasonable price.
- jpbleuu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2i would go see more movies in the theater if i knew that i could go there and be able to enjoy the movie without having to listen to a bunch of effing kids talking, and cell phones ringing.
I've seen maybe 3 movies in the theaters within the past 3 years, and 2 of those times i have had to yell at some douche bag pre teen to shut up. on one occasion i actually had some little girl come from someplace in the back of the theater, sit in the seat next to me turn around and start talking to the girls behind her. i looked at her and told her to shut her hole. she looked at me like she was shocked i would say something and then proceeded to talk to said girls again. this time i again asked her to stop talking but this time i was louder and used some very harsh words. she got up and left. that was a poor movie experience as there was kids talking all over the place, i went out and asked to speak to a manager and demanded he have everyone talking removed from the theater. he wouldn't do it so i demanded that i get 20 something bucks back which i did along with free passes that i tore up and tossed on the floor. i haven't been back to that theater.
so to me that is the number one problem with movie theaters. is the little douche bags that go and spend daddy's money just so they can sit and chat with their damn friends. - TheIronBadger, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Don't forget the advertising. I don't know about the film reel ads, they might be direct to the movie company, but they run ads before the reel comes on too.
- jmg703, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2HDTV can't match the color depth of a film projector... not that the average movie goer cares. I still feel that there is something to be saved from the multiplex experience... like movie trailers, and the emotional response from the audience.
- azzageddi, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Movie tickets cost 1800 yen where I live--about 15 dollars. I go see a movie about 2 or 3 times a year, only the "big screen" movies, with lots of F/X. Anything else, I rent it on DVD for 100-200 yen. When I lived in the US only 10 years ago, I would go see matinee movies twice a week on days when I had a long lunch hour--$3.50! It was hell recovering from the withdrawal symptoms.
- mistshadow2k4, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3"3. No ***** commercials. If it's not a trailer, I don't want to see it. Ever."
Exactly. I absolutely refuse to pay to see commercials! Especially not at exorbitant movie theater prices. -
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