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Darth Sin 4 years, 9 months ago.
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My home theater is a better deal for me. I came home from the library with an armload of free DVDs to watch, and I was reminded of a flurry of articles two – three days ago with titles like, “Movie Ticket Prices Are Too Damn High.”
(We fanatics never give up. This is a restart of the thread in Computers, Games and Technology that went into the bit bucket yesterday.)This is a nice summary article on the infamous recent survey of theater goers. It contains a link to the source data.
The Polls Are In: Movies Cost Too Much
https://www.nyfa.edu/film-school-blog/polls-movies-cost-much/Here is the list they obligingly made up for us:
1. Ticket prices are too high – 53%
2. Movies are not as interesting as they once were – 41%
3. Prefer movies “on my own schedule” – 30%
4. Prefer to spend money on other activities – 29%
5. Can see movies at home shortly after theatrical release – 24%
6. Prefer going out to dinner – 19%
7. Don’t have as much disposable income as a year ago – 18%
8. Decline in overall theater experience – 16%
9. Online content is equally entertaining – 13%
10. Too many people using phones and tablets in theaters – 10%
(11) There is one they left out. I do not like being herded, confined, and told what to do when all I want is to enjoy myself for a couple of hours.I agree with all the above. Here is why:
1) The high prices are sufficient unto themselves to keep me away, but there are exceptions. There are movies I really would like to see in the theater. The other list items work to keep me home.
2) Most movies are crap. I don’t want to see them in the first place, neither in the theater nor at home. For example, RedBox lists 200 movies available today. There are 3 I might actually want to see. Might.
3) My own schedule rules.
4) I have better things to do than blow big bucks on a thoroughly unpleasant theater experience. Walking the dog for example.
5) I am willing to wait half a year because I like seeing movies at home! I have a PAUSE button! I can control my environment: the sound levels, subtitles, snacks, air conditioning, cleanliness and sanitation, and so on.
6) I can go out to dinner and watch a DVD for about the same expense as going to the theater. I save money if I don’t buy theater junk food … probably do my health a favor too.
7) I do live what is called a minimalist lifestyle. I avoid frivolous spending. The money saved goes to big splurges on things I truly value.
8) Let’s recall the last time: sticky floors, trash on the floors, funny smells, loud noises leaking in from the movie next door, loud noises from the other people I’m trapped in here with, a half-hour of ads included in my ticket price. No PAUSE button!
9) Online content can be better or worse, but I get to pick and choose.
10) Don’t forget that broad who sprayed somebody with mace because he asked her to quit yakking on the phone < http://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/proper-punishment-texting-movie-death/ >.Full disclosure: Compared to most of my friends, I’m an avid movie buff. They say so, and I agree. Hollywood is missing out on a big slice of potential ticket buyers, here in what the black turtleneck crowd calls “flyover country.”
Society asks MGTOWs: Why are you not making more tax-slaves?
You nailed it. I don’t really care for movies unless they are comic book based. So I really only go to the movie theater to see comic book movies, but still it gets expensive and I can’t go to a movie and not get food lol. I really want to see Intersteller, but I don’t want to pay so I am going to wait which it fine. By renting it or buying it I love the feeling of being able to pause it and eat my own food. Even when I do go to the movies though a huge problem for me is I can’t stand watching a comic book movie with people who don’t read the comics. They are so annoying and I hate sitting in a room full of people who a year prior to the movie coming out probably would had said the the comic the movie is based on is stupid and they wouldn’t read it. I usually wait a few weeks to go see comic based movies so the theater has no one in it. When I saw Man of Steel and Amazing Spider-Man 2 there was less then 10 people in the whole theater, it was great. When I saw the Winter Solider it was packed and some idiot was shouting something towards the end. Then after the second post credits scene these people in front of me were talking about what Bucky could possibly do in future movies and I mentioned how in the comics he becomes Captain America’s side kick again and later after Steve died he became the new Captain America so the movies might go down that route. They pretty much just ignored me and walk away lol.
Comic book movies are among my favorites. It’s a sad comment on Hollywood when comic book movies sell more tickets than the action thrillers they think up on their own.
BTW, have you ever had the stuff they call “coffee” from a theater snack counter? My home theater is closed because I’m doing this, but the snack bar (always open for me) produced a whole pot of coffee made just the way I like it. As bonus, nobody has spit in it.
Society asks MGTOWs: Why are you not making more tax-slaves?
This is so true. I did receive 2 cinema tickets from my employer last month and I sold them :).
My reasoning:
– no pause/rewind buttons
– people are annoying with their flashing smartphones, loud eating popcorn, kids sleeping and snoring, …
– commercials take a lot of time before movie starts and I don’t know how long they will take so it is hard to be “on time”, commercials can take 20-50 minutes from my experience, waste of my time
– watching 2h movie will take me around 3-3.5 hours including travelling to cinema
The only movie I will go to cinema will be Star Wars VII movie because I was always SW fan.
The last time I went to a movie was when Jurassic Park played in a local second-run house during the December holidays of 1993. Big mistake. The teenyboppers in the audience ruined for me, especially the girls screaming at very nearly anything even remotely scary.
That ruined the movie for me and I didn’t see it again for another decade. I watched it at home on TV one night and I didn’t find it too bad. After watching it again a few years later on AMC, I went and bought the boxed DVD set.
<cite>@roydal said:</cite>
Comic book movies are among my favorites. It’s a sad comment on Hollywood when comic book movies sell more tickets than the action thrillers they think up on their own.BTW, have you ever had the stuff they call “coffee” from a theater snack counter? My home theater is closed because I’m doing this, but the snack bar (always open for me) produced a whole pot of coffee made just the way I like it. As bonus, nobody has spit in it.
I think that is because comic book movies are based on material decades old and a lot of the time ingrained in our culture. The writers have decades of story to draw on and they can take popular story arcs that sold well in comics and translate into an adaptation or take ideas from said story. I don’t drink plain coffee, but in my theater I can make stuff like chicken nuggets and pasta and eat that while watching a movie lol.
Home theater is the way to go. If I smoked or drank, the management would cater to my whim and have a full stock in the snack bar.
I think that is because comic book movies are based on material decades old and a lot of the time ingrained in our culture.
You are right, and that’s no excuse for Hollywood. Hollywood does have a long list of successes to learn from, but learn they don’t. Also, good stories go all the way back to ancient Sumer, and they are still in print. The crappy ones are long forgotten. They probably outnumber the good ones, perhaps by the same ratio that movies do.
Of course, I am cherry-picking my data. We only remember the good stuff. If it were possible to make a hit move every time, someone would be doing it. James Cameron, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg seem to have the knack.
Society asks MGTOWs: Why are you not making more tax-slaves?
Anonymous5I hate people who complain about being forced to buy movie theater food. Do what I do, Eat/drink before the movie or sneak in food/drinks. You are only there for a couple hours. I do this all the time. I have never had this problem in Canada. I walk in with tons of food/drinks all the time and no one cares.
Movie tickets cost $8.50 where I live. They cost $4.25 on cheap night. It is not expensive to see movies. as for the other complaints, yeah…fair enough. I can understand those ones.
mrpops: I have never had this problem in Canada. I walk in with tons of food/drinks all the time and no one cares.
Good – that’s the way it should be! But in the U.S. it all depends – AMC Theaters specifically prohibits you from doing that (of course you can sneak s~~~ in but just not as much). This guy Cohen makes a lot of sense …
“It was one of the first questions I revisited and I amended my views,” says Cohen, who now does a show on National Public Radio called “Person, Place or Thing.” “You can’t subvert the primary action of a business, like bring booze to a bar or a doughnut to a bakery. But when you buy a movie ticket, all you’ve agreed to do is to watch a movie. You haven’t agreed to buy their food and you shouldn’t be subjected to popcorn-sniffing dogs or the cola detectives.”
I had a long reply to this original topic that was lost in the crash here last week but it would take too much time to recreate it so I’ll just post this. Count me in as far as agreeing with almost all of the bullet points, but would like to add that rude people of all ages, coughing, sneezing, dirty floors and missing plot details on p~~~ breaks bug me too. With my high-def wide screen 65″ plasma + surround sound home theater setup and Netflix DVD rentals + instant streaming + the PAUSE button why the f~~~ would I bother with movies in theaters any longer??? There is literally no movie made now that I ‘have’ to see when it comes out – I really want to see “American Sniper” but hey, it’ll come around before I know it – that’s one of the things when you’re older (I’m 58), you realize with experience that you’ll like it as much later as you will now, and it’s a lot cheaper!
<cite>@roydal said:</cite>
Home theater is the way to go. If I smoked or drank, the management would cater to my whim and have a full stock in the snack bar.You are right, and that’s no excuse for Hollywood. Hollywood does have a long list of successes to learn from, but learn they don’t. Also, good stories go all the way back to ancient Sumer, and they are still in print. The crappy ones are long forgotten. They probably outnumber the good ones, perhaps by the same ratio that movies do.
Of course, I am cherry-picking my data. We only remember the good stuff. If it were possible to make a hit move every time, someone would be doing it. James Cameron, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg seem to have the knack.
You’re right, there are many original movies that have great stories. Star Wars, Inception, Taken, Dawn of the Dead, Cloverfield, and Ghostbusters come to mind.
<cite>@mrpops238 said:</cite>
I hate people who complain about being forced to buy movie theater food. Do what I do, Eat/drink before the movie or sneak in food/drinks. You are only there for a couple hours. I do this all the time. I have never had this problem in Canada. I walk in with tons of food/drinks all the time and no one cares.I don’t like eating before a movie because during the movie I am going to be hungry lol. At home I eat while watching a movie so naturally I will want to eat while watching at a theater. One of my female friends sometimes sneaks candy in her purse so I just have to buy a soda which isn’t so bad lol.
I-max.
That is all I really have to post as to why theaters are still valid but I will go into further detail because I like you guys 😛
When it some to your regular non 3-D or non action movies there is no reason to see them in theaters as it adds nothing you could not recreate in your average home theater. But I am sorry some experiences can not be recreated in the average home and this comes from those movies who need to be viewed on a huge ass screen that takes up your whole field of vision with a surround sound system that threatens to make you deaf.
Also 3-D, when the movie is filmed in proper 3-D and planned from the beginning to be in 3-D and not done in post conversion which always looks like s~~~. The film that is most amazing to watch on the big screen with the best use of 3-D with an amazing cinematic flair has got to be How to Train Your Dragon 2, the flying sections of that film were incredible and any who did not watch it in I-Max with the 3-D did not get the full experience IMHO.
I think that the while regular cinema for the most part is dead I would not say no to proper I-Max and 3-D, that is where the real theater experience is at and unless you have a huge chunk of change lying around to build an equivalent set up you cannot reproduce it in your average home theater system.
Plus there are some special movies that are fun to watch with a tight nit group of like minded individuals. I.E. The Rocky Horror Picture Show. One of the best movies to watch and have a great time dressing up as your favorite character and signing along with and just being all around weird.
Also a personal favorite of mine is geeking out with certain movies. One thing I enjoy doing is waiting for a movie to be in its final week in theaters and going to the latest showing that they offer, usually midnight is best.Why? Because anyone who is there is a fan if the film and it is not their first viewing so you can emote as mouch as you want and you will not bother anyone. The last film I did this with was Pacific Rim and I ended up having a fun conversation with some of the other guys there, there was a total of 5 of use there and we had a great time just nerding it up by bashing, praising, complaining, loving the movie all in one sitting.
While I did set up a great home theater in my house I know there are somethings you can not recreate in the home setting and the things I listed are some, for me at least.
Good article on the declining movie industry – I posted the link in another topic mistakenly …
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2015/02/14/box-office-blues/?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000058
GoneGalt:
This is nothing new. Hollywood was in a similar situation about 60 years ago because of television. People tended to stay home for their entertainment, and this cut into revenues.
What studios did was to make movies that offered what viewers couldn’t get on TV. For example, many were in wide-screen format (e. g., Cinemascope), made possible by using special lenses. Films that had spectacle and adventure were being produced, such as those featuring knights and castles. Many that one could consider epics were also made, such as Giant (which I’m watching on TCM as I’m writing this) and Around The World In 80 Days. Movies in 3-D were popular for a while, but their market was limited, partly because of the requirement that they be seen with special glasses. Of course, colour was extensively used as TV was in black and white.
Many of those movies made money. On the whole, though, it’s simply a problem of how to fill seats in theatres.
Good point, QWV – I was one of those little rugrats in the station wagon going to the outdoor widescreens with our own homemade popcorn in grocery store paper sacks, sleeping on the way home. The difference between those early days of TV and now is that even the IMAX, 3D and digital innovations don’t have the same effect as what you mentioned in the past because our in-home technology is so much better than then. IMHO my 65″ HD plasma TV with a Blu-Ray player and sound system is a more than acceptable substitute for the theater, so the bigness of the theater’s movie screen doesn’t compel me any longer to go, nor does the visual and audio quality. Yet. But they are definitely trying – a theater in my area has a screen 75 feet wide and 4 stories tall and the definition of the digital picture is up to 4K depending on the movie, which is 4 times more resolution than Blu-Ray. A restaurant and wine bar is part of the theater too. They also have a ‘living room theater’ with recliners and a movie ‘parlor’ – check out the video below – you can also order alcohol and food, which they will deliver to you at your seat up until the previews end:
I just don’t think it will be enough to turn things around. The theaters are in an arms race to outstrip the technological advances available in the average home setting but the cost and inconvenience are outweighing what they’re offering to large numbers of people. People still go on dates but the ‘let’s go to the movies’ family night is being priced out of existence – check out these statistics:
http://visualeconomics.creditloan.com/average-american-spends-on-entertainment/
The decline of out-of-home entertainment expenditures from 2000 to 2008, adjusted for inflation, changed by -37 percent for the lowest 20 percent of income. The change was -29 percent for the second 20 percent of income, -10 percent for the third 20 percent of income, -5 percent for the fourth 20 percent of income and there was no change in spending for those with the highest 20 percent of income.
Also this:
http://blog.peachtreefinancial.com/personal-finances/night-at-the-movies-cost/
Let’s take a family of four who only goes to the movie theater once a month and buys standard seating, purchases four separate drinks, and shares two popcorns. The average cost that that family might be spending annually in just movie theater expenses is approximately $720—or $60 per outing. Add in transportation costs, some extra snack bar purchases, upgraded seating, and more frequent outings and that number can easily double or triple.
————————————-
I honestly don’t know what they can offer to bring me back except by reducing the cost of the whole experience and changing the nature of how the ticket money is divided by the theater offering the movie and the distributor, as well as changing how you price a movie. For example, if you’re showing “Avatar”, charge a premium but for low-draw movies cut the price in half or more. I’ve been in theaters mid-way through a decent movie’s run and there were only 10 people in the theater – you are losing money out your ass doing that. But for me, the utter convenience and ‘anytime’ availability of instant streaming from multiple sources (I watch a lot of MGTOW videos on the YouTube app on the big screen) trumps whatever they’re offering now.
I’m genuinely curious as to what others can think of that would bring them back. What tech advancement might do it, if any, or is the cost factor going to doom the industry in the end?
Here’s an interesting article – Steven Spielberg and George Lucas predicted back in 2013 that the industry is going to ‘implode’ …
http://www.businessinsider.com/spielberg-movie-industry-will-implode-2013-6
Hmm, that would in part explain why Lucas bailed out of all of his Star Wars merchandise empire altogether selling it to Disney… … interesting.
Again because of this very move I (despite having been an avid Star Wars fan up until now…) probably will give it second thoughts about having to watch the new up and coming episode, since I got the funny feeling, that it might just not turn out to be as good as it expectantly should be…
I'd rather die a natual death with a clear MGTOW conscience somewhere off the grid than one within "modern" civilisation with a big stress mark on my forehead and a couple of dozen tubes plugged into my body. Back to the plantation..? Me..? Hey, literally: I won't ever fucking kid myself...YZERLMNTSIC
GoneGalt:
I remember hearing about much that you’ve described on PBS’s Newshour a few weeks ago.
Hollywood threw in the towel on movie theatres years ago when it adopted its current method of distributing films. In the old days, movies had limited releases. They’d first be shown in the prime markets, usually selected cinemas in larger cities, and were shown for a fixed length of time. Often, though, those movies would be held over if the box office draws were good. (For example, I remember seeing when Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid was held over in one Canadian city for at least 9 months.)
Once the first runs were considered over, those same movies might go to second-run houses, often catering to the budget ticket crowds or returning clientele. After those prime markets were exhausted, the prints were sent to smaller cities and, eventually, rural or remote towns. In the place where I grew up, it wasn’t unusual to see a movie in town a year or so after it first appeared in the big city.
Nowadays, it’s saturation release, where every cinema that’s booked a copy gets it. Once the easy money’s been made, those copies are withdrawn, possibly moving to second-run houses, and then that’s it. After that, the home viewer marketing starts, which is when the DVD/Blu-Ray versions hit the stores.
I used to be involved with that for a while during high school and, later, during my freshman year when I belonged to cinema clubs at the respective institutions. We’d rent feature-length movies and show them to students. I got some insight as to how the film distribution business worked in those days. As well, I got to look at some of the distributor catalogs, and–oh, my!–there’s been a lot of rubbish produced, and I don’t mean porn, either. Some of the titles I came across I eventually saw as late-night movies on the local TV station. Their obscurity and low reputation were justly deserved.
Last theater trip was when I went to see the Desolation of Smaug. After watching that complete piece of s~~~ I have tapped out where movie theaters are concerned. 99% of movies suck b~~~~ anyway. I’ll stick with early 2000’s and back. Hollywood and the TV industry are out of ideas, f~~~ them and their greed.
It’s too bad Netflix is s~~~ as well when it comes to streaming videos. The entertainment industry is practically begging people to pirate all their products.
The Children of Doom... Doom's Children. They told my lord the way to the Mountain of Power. They told him to throw down his sword and return to the Earth... Ha! Time enough for the Earth in the grave.Going to the cinema was one of the greatest thrills during my youth. I used to marvel how the projectionists would keep the curtain partially open during the cartoons and previews … and then open it wider as the feature began. One of the theaters near my home was decorated like an old castle on the interior. It was actually scary. I loved it. Stairways up the inside walls to turrets and dark doorways leading to who knows where near the ceiling.
The smell of popcorn as one entered the building, the red velvet ropes guiding the patrons; and, oh yes … the air conditioning. Not all buildings were air conditioned where I grew up; so coming out of the theater after two hours viewing a movie into the hot humid summer air was like hitting a brick wall. Actually good memories. I even liked the little things in the theatre like the big posters next to the smaller lobby card 8×10 photos. Loved that the entrance had colored neon lights beneath clear glass bricks in the wall and the clear light bulbs on the marquee … I lived for all these things as a child.
Oh, the projection booth. One of my most memorable Christmas presents as a child was a tiny 8mm home movie projector, camera and cartoon films. I made a little theatre in my basement and charged my friends five cents to watch. I actually had customers. All I wanted to do as a child was to become a movie theatre projectionist. I dreamed of threading the big reels into the sprockets and having flawless projector switches during the movie. When the movie was playing and the little circular cues flashed in the corner of the screen; I always took my eyes off the movie and looked up at the projection booth windows watching the light switch from one machine to another. The projectionist at the Big Rivoli Theatre was my hero. I actually met some of those guys in later years as Ham Radio operators and they talked of those old days and hazards as movie theatre projectionists.
A cult film called “The Blob” had the red slime pouring out of the projection room windows during the previews … always scary as a child. Today, I adore that movie. Get the Criterion edition.
These days I don’t go to the movies anymore. I have a media room with about 2000 titles in my collection. It’s something that has just evolved over the span of many years collecting a few discs here and there. To this day one of my favorite TV series is Bush Tucker Man. (PAL region 4 release). There were three DVD sets that I know of that were produced. I don’t know if this is still on cable? Used to be on Discovery; I believe.
Just today, the phone company trenched and installed new fiber optic cable to my house … long overdue. They will be offering all the video and bundling package deals and it would be great for movies; but I won’t bite. Instead, I’ll keep an internet hookup but really don’t want pay TV. I have my collections. Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of unique things on TV (enjoy racing and some sporting events) but I’d rather spend my limited entertainment budget on some new blu-rays. If I ever need TV in the future, I can always design a little hidden antenna system in the attic and get quite a few over air HD channels and not pay anything except for set-up.
One of the biggest reasons I quit going to the movies is the advent of “shaky camera” use. I personally call it “queasy cam.” I don’t have a single movie or concert in my collection that uses the queasy or shaky method. Can’t stand it and won’t watch movies or television shows that use (in my own terms) the quick edit, shaky cam, or any other fast zoom production technique that gives the feeling of vertigo. I know they’re trying to give it a mod look or a touch of what they consider realism but it’s just poor technique. We all know they have zoom lenses … they don’t need to use them during the shot.
The volume of movies at the theatre is also a reason I watch at home. The settings are way too loud for my tastes and I usually leave the building uncomfortable from sitting through a movie where I strain to hear the spoken word, while at the same time the overall volume of special effects is way too high.
The last reason for avoiding the cinema … spending some years in microbiology. I’ll admit that I have become somewhat of a germophobe and just don’t see theaters as clean enough. Not neurotic, but for Heaven’s sake, I use three or four alcohol wipes on my grocery cart handle. Sitting in a contaminated space such as a theatre that has previously been filled with kids for two hours during cold and flu season just isn’t possible anymore. It’s just a personal thing that I deal with and it ruins the experience.
Thank goodness for home theatre technology.
Simply put? Other people. The last 3-4 films I went to, there were dumb asses talking the whole time. I’m not exactly sure why people go to the theaters if they planned on talking the whole time, but it really ruins the experience for me. Like Bard said, I like comic book movies and I tend to go see them, but at this point, I’m not in a rush to see most films. Cheaper to just wait at this point and then I can see it in a room where no one else is talking and I can actually form an opinion.
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