Why theaters are in a slump...

[Wing Nut]

I went to the movies with the wife and twims the other night and it cost me $31.00 just to get in the door!  That's not counting the drinks and popcorn with the 300% markup, just the tickets!  Why on Earth should I pay almost $50.00 to go to see one freaking movie when I can wait and get it on DVD in a few months?  Plus I don't have to listen to some a$$hole talking two rows back, cellphones, or get stepped on by some guy going to the john.  

I have a decent TV, a nice stereo, and I can watch at home and still get the drama (or laughs) I could at the theater.  To heck with these guys, I'm buying DVD's from now on and staying home.  I love the experience of the big screen, but it's getting easier and easier to recreate that experience at home.  When I get my plasma TV I may never go again.

End of rant...  :)

Kevin

[Craig.]

couldn't agree more. And god help anyone talking on a cell phone near me during the movie. why waste all that money on a movie if your going to be talking on a phone for half of it.

[Ben_M_K]

Oh man I havn't been to the theaters for over a year. I agree. I like the $1 DVD rentals from Family Video.

EDIT: BTW, what movie did you go see?

[Wing Nut]

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  It's ok; but I prefer Gene Wilder...

[Hagar]

It's quite simple really. TV finally killed the cinema as they forecast it would 50 years ago. When I was young very few people had a TV set & most people went to the cinema regularly, sometimes more than once a week. Every town across the country had at least one cinema. My home town had two & it wasn't even officially a town. The last one closed down about 30 years ago & the nearest proper cinema is at Brighton, some 10 miles away.

The average cinema was a single building with a large auditorium, balcony (sometimes more than one) & a wide screen. Proper Cinemascope, not one of these awful multiplex things they have now, some with screens not much bigger than your TV set. The film was changed three times every week so there was usually something to interest most people. It was a proper programme of entertainment usually comprising the feature film plus a 'B movie' or travelogue & the newsreel with possibly a cartoon thrown in for good measure. No wonder the film industry was thriving. Some of the bigger cinemas were also used for shows & concerts.

Going to the cinema was something special then & the audiences behaved differently. They didn't act as they do at home in front of the TV set. That's the problem with the cinema in a nutshell. It's completely outdated. I'm surprised it's survived as long as it has.

[Wing Nut]

TV isn't killing the cinema.  Theaters have been around for a good long time with TV by it's side.  Greed and bad manners are killing the movies.  I love seeing a film on a 25 foot tall screen, but it is just too out of hand going to one.  The experience is simply not worth the money anymore.

[Hagar]

The audiences are too used to TV & no longer know how to behave in a theatre environment. Some behave like slobs just like they do at home with no respect for anyone. The respectable ones get fed up with this & stop going, like you. In fact, a complete change in social behaviour is the real cause of the problem.

[JBaymore]

I think the reason they charge $3.00 for a small soda (and the like) is to make up for the lack of ticket revenues as well as the VAST number of poeple who "smuggle" their own food and drink into the theater.

Did you know that the actual product cost of a typical large fountain drink soda ... including the cup , lid, and straw..... is about $0.07?  Typically served by a minimum wage, part time employee with no bennies.

Now that the kids are grown... my wife and I might go to the movies out about 4 times a year.  Maybe.  Always an afternoon show... it's cheaper here.

We typically only go out to movies that typically NEED the large screen to really "work" .... like "Star Wars" with all the special effects and grandiose settings.  

And this is not to mention that the movie industry seems to be making movies that we don;t want to see  ;D.


best,

.....................john

[Souichiro]

Illegal Downloading and stuff are killing Cinema's...Only a few years ago when A major Movie was in Cinema's , it would go to the rental place first after about 2 months or so and a few weeks after that you would be able to buy it. Nowadays one month to 6 weeks after it comes out you're able to buy it!! I'm amazed how fast these things go....

[jrpilot]

Also many people can go to a New York City and other cities to buy bootleg movies. I personally don't go to the movies since they are way to much money for me.

[Omag 2.0]

I've seen price rising 200% in our theatres in Belgium... Nowadays these are cramped with 12 - 15 year olds (sorry, no offence younger members) that like phones, behaving idiotic and throwing pop-corn around. Best thing to do is to go to the 14:00 h show if you want clean seats!

DVD is the thing for me too... It gets to rediculous! The only movies still woth going are the independent, less commercial films in smaller theatres. They still have quality, that doesn't attract lowlives that try to kill the experience for everybody.

[ATI_7500]

To heck with these guys, I'm buying DVD's from now on and staying home.

That's what makes seeing movies in theatres so expensive.
And if someone behind you gets on your nerves, you can just politely ask them to shut the f+ck up.
Plus, don't go to those ultra-modern theatres. They're way too expensive...

End of counter-rant.

[flyboy 28]

Plus, don't go to those ultra-modern theatres. They're way too expensive...

Those ultra-modern theaters are what's putting the smaller ones out of buisness, 'cause they can't compete. Up until a year ago, there was a theater that had movies for $4.00 a ticket. Sure, it only had five screens, but hey, that's not bad considering they'd play the same exact movie for $11.00 down the street. And yes, the snacks are absurd. The price for a medium popcorn (about 3/4 ft/.2 m tall) is $5.00. Five bucks! I could friggin' rent the movie for that!

The movies around here anyway are just a hangout for teens. Mainly because it's the only thing to do around here, other than tip cows. But I agree with Kevin. $50.00 for a family evening is ridiculous.

End of counter/counter-rant.

[Sock]

Mainly because it's the only thing to do around here, other than tip cows.

Or you could go in the woods and get plastered.  One of my personal favorates.  Oh, and then we you're plastered you can tip cows!!!!!  ;D  

I'm only a couple hundered miles north of you, and probably in an even more out of the way place...  I know how it feels.

A while back I took a couple friends to see a movie, for the three of us it cost just about 20 bucks.  And we didn't get any food...  Kind of a rip since I didn't enjoy myself, at least they did.  :P

[Paz]

 I hate going to the movies, I pay for all the movie channels on direct TV, so within a couple of months I get to see them anyways.