In general, I really like this idea of releasing movies on streaming services over movie theatres. I have never been a fan of the multiplexes and have always chosen to see movies in smaller theatres whenever possible. Some of my worst memories have been crowded multiplexes and my best experiences have been in places that have had one to three screens. My favorites were old renovated stage theatres because they had the best acoustics. I would honestly enjoy paying 30 bucks to see movie in my home over going to a theatre with all its hassle. 30 bucks with in house snacks and a pause button for bathroom breaks is so much more appealing than a crowded screening room with sticky floors. And really if you are watching with even one other person it is a better deal.
Might as well just open the theater at that point.. As someone who does go to a lot of movies by myself and doesn’t hate the cinema experience as many state I miss the $5 early matinees. $30 is rough given my circumstances Though I haven’t even found the $5.99 to $20 movies on offer compelling enough to bite yet.
Clearly this is Disney testing the waters. They want to see if enough people will go for it, not just now but post pandemic too. The price point is obviously with family/group viewings in mind, so the question as always is whether or not the demand is high enough for the market to support it. The only thing working in Disney's favour here is that they are Disney and family friendly movies are their stock in trade. You'd never be able to sell a horror movie, rom-com or the like at that price. My suspicion is that they might get a small handful of releases out like this at most before the market dries up. Most families just won't be able to afford it even on a semi-regular basis, and singles and/or childless couples with that much disposable income probably have better things to be spending it on right now.
I think releasing the movies on streaming is a good idea, but $30 is ridiculous if you are watching alone. That's even more expensive than if you keep it permanently on a blu ray. If you have a family watching, it's fine, but if you're watching alone, it's about triple what they should be charging. Also, you're not getting the theater experience. I doubt I would even pay $30 for Endgame. I wonder if say, a $10 price point would more than triple the people who buy it. It might. $30 is a turn off.
It's also probably worth pointing out that 100% of that 300% inflated fee is going straight to Disney. No distribution costs, no box office sharing with exhibitors, negligible marketing costs, and any new customers have to pay a subscription fee for the privilege on top of that. Make no mistake, it's a greed motivated fleecing. They could charge a fraction of that and still make a worthwhile profit.
I 'Could" go see a movie for $6, (before noon, on a sunday) and now that the theatre was updated, in a nice comfortable recliner. So I won't pay more than that for a movie. Even if I had a family of 4 it would be $24. If they just added it to Disney Ploof, then I'd pay the $10 ( or whatever it costs)
Like what has been said, they probably think the majority of people that would go to the movies to see this would be parents and at least one of their children, if not more and even their kid's friends. So the $30 really does make sense, that they're not really considering the lone adult in the equation (right or wrong) since they can't even track that anyways. "If watching alone, please select $10. Please be honest." isn't an option, so they're going for the bigger number and seeing how that goes.
There’s a time - hell, there are many times - to righteously rail against the corporate oligarchy. Complaining that you’ll have to wait a few months for the remake of a cartoon to stream for no added charge on regular Disney+ isn’t one of them.
If successful, I could see Disney spinning off a movie rental service, but $30 does seem fairly steep. Ironically, does anyone see how this could encourage large groups to view together, compromising social distancing efforts? At that price, anyone who pays for it will want to invite, as that's just human nature. And at this cost, one would definitely want to be viewing it on a good setup. No way am I paying to view it on my shitty TV on a default setup.
Was I complaining? I wasn't particularly interested in the movie before all of this kerfuffle started and I'm not particularly interested now. But you just keep whacking away at the strawman argument! Anyway one's interest in this or that particular movie isn't the point. The point is that this can and will have far reaching implications for movies in general and perhaps even other forms of media. I won't be surprised if once the pandemic is over, some of these movie that got dumped onto premium streaming get special limited releases in cinemas so people will eventually get to see them on the big screen. Who knows how that'll pan out though.
And the lead actress supports the HK police who beat and shoot protestors. Definite no watch from me. Considering that there were calls to boycott this movie already this seems like a smart move by disney. Test the waters, avoid any controversy. I just hope to hell that Black Widow isn't released this way.
I hope it is, just maybe not so expensive. Not a fan of wuxia movies I take it? My problem isn't with the extra charge, it's with the amount of that charge. The only person I usually go to the movies with is my mom, and we always go during the matinees, so we spend about $20ish for both of us. Even the other new movies released on the other services were only charging $20 for a rental. To charge $10 more than that, on top of a monthly or annual fee is fucking ridiculous.
Yeah, I'm not going to apologize for interpreting "greed motivated fleecing" as "complaining." You use charged language, people are going to reasonably infer emotion. So, again: don't pay it. Wait 3-4 months. You'll be fine. It's just a movie.
Oh yeah, I definitely wouldn't be surprised about that. In a way, it'd be kind of like them reaching into their vault for limited showings like they've always done.
Can it be watched more than once in the space of 24 hours? I guess the cost of going to the cinema and the higher priced snacks might offset the costs? But at the sacrifice of a large screen and surround sound. Even releasing it this way they are already losing money.
It tells you a lot about Disney's power that there's barely been a peep from the cinema owners about this news, while they were up in arms over a minor release like 'Trolls World Tour'.
Well, I have a neighbor with a projector and a side panel. I think we can make it work. The pluses of living in rural areas. This.