How to save Movie Theatres

[valkyrie013]

Saw this
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/06/business/amc-movie-ticket-prices/index.html
About how AMC is going to go to a tiered pricing for there theatres and thought, This is utterly wrong, your not going to get buts into seats if you raise the price of the good seats, you just push the poorer people to the sides and front that nobody wants, which, for me, would get me NOT to go if my movie experience is crap.
I mean, if you have a family of 4, your already paying out the ass to go for 4 tickets and food.

Your also already getting a "FEE" from me to choose my tickets online, which is almost $2, which I HAVE to do, gone are the days where you go up to the ticket counter to buy one when you get there. ( You can, but good chance of being sold out)

They said the Tier price wont be for matinee, but that will go away in short order.

Everything is Nickel and dimeing you to death!!

So, how to save the theatre. In actuality, you lower the prices.
I used to go nearly every weekend, Sunday morning before Noon, ticket prices were $5-6. I also belong to the Stubs level, so I'd get $5 back every once in awhile.

It may not look to make sense, but if you make things cheaper, you get more buts into seats, and make more money because those who wouldn't have gone at $10+ would go at $6, and go more often, so you'd make your money back and then some.

Theatres also make most of there money off of concessions, so if you make a family go twice, you get more money because you buy snacks twice instead of once.

The big problem right now is, There's almost Nothing to go to the theatres to watch!

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Like a lot of classic era stores that couldn't (or refused to) adjust their business model to compete with online shopping, movie theaters seem to be utterly clueless as to what they need to do do save themselves.

I have no doubt the concession prices have gone up as much as the ticket prices, so a far too expensive thing for my tastes.

Last time I went to the theater? 2011, for the Three Musketeers. With movies generally coming out on DVD & blu-ray relatively quickly now, I can wait and buy the damn thing and watch it as many times as I want. But then, I am a crazed media collector.

The Regal Cinema closings cost my local area it's only IMAX theater, which is where I saw Star Trek 2009.

 

[Relayer1]

I used to go every month-ish but hated packed houses so went to the first show at 10am-ish to have it almost empty.

Since covid I got out of the habit. I still have no urge to spend any time amongst strangers and their viruses.

I purchased a bigger TV, Disney+, Amazon and Paramount Plus in the last year or two, and already had Netflix (not that I watch it). I certainly won't be going back to the cinema.

 

[fireproof78]

Personally, it's just a matter of content and time. My local theater does a good job of finding some streaming content to put out there too and their prices are OK. But, personally the time investment in going to the theater right now is just untenable. So, theaters being saved? Only if films come out that interest me and my family.

 

[Mojochi]

Frankly, the writing is probably already on the wall. Libraries have a better chance of surviving, because you might actually be able to convince intellectuals to give a crap about them. Other commercial brick & mortars dying out is probably more detrimental, when the alternative is a primarily delivery system.

Comparatively, all losing cinemas does is sacrifice a pretty wonderful part of our culture, & maybe exact some damage to the quality of artistry in our entertainment for a bit... And it's not as if they didn't have it coming IMHO.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I mean, never underestimate pure greed, but with the ever-rising cost of making movies, including the ridiculous salaries for "top" actors, the only way to get prices going down would be to find a way to stop spending so much $ to make the movies.

No doubt the unions would balk at such a concept, but they won't have much in the way of membership at this rate.

 

[Mojochi]

I mean, never underestimate pure greed, but with the ever-rising cost of making movies, including the ridiculous salaries for "top" actors, the only way to get prices going down would be to find a way to stop spending so much $ to make the movies.

No doubt the unions would balk at such a concept, but they won't have much in the way of membership at this rate.

I feel like after some adjustment the industry will manage just fine. It's not like we're consuming less content. In fact, the streaming platforms are overflowing with new stuff. It's just that most of it is utter dreck, which is how things will keep going I fear.

What we use to call the straight to video market is now sitting pretty right alongside both the television & major cinema studios. It'll all just be one streaming swamp of everything now, & the quality art might suffer for some time, but that never lasts, & the money douches follow them, if we make that worth their while

The biggest problem with this new paradigm, is most people will watch absolute trash on their TV, just to have something to watch, & that's where the focus has shifted for now. We've opened another level of lowest common denominator.

You had to make something special to get people to a venue to see it, & generate a clamor. Now, people will still flock to good streaming things, but the easy money is slowly taking over, & there's not much incentive to give us truly great art... yet, especially since we now gobble everything up in an instant. The majority of our entertainment will be quite disposable for the foreseeable future, until we make a deliberate shift again

It's a brave new world

 

[DarrenTR1970]

I used to be one that would go to the theater on opening weekend and see it in a packed house.

Then, when Covid-19 hit and shut everything down, that's when I kinda sorta realized that going to the movies was becoming more of an inconvenience than an actual experience.

The time it takes to get to the theater, find parking, get checked in, get snacks/drinks, find a seat; you're already into it an hour to ninety minutes, depending upon which theater I'm going to, then another twenty or so minutes of ads and trailers before the movie starts. Practically half the day is gone by the time all is said and done.

With streaming and the library, I can watch on my own schedule. I really can't see anything to lure me back.

 

[shapeshifter]

It seems someone is misinformed about the AMC chain price tiers.

I heard a version of this news on the radio which claimed the Premium siteline fee won't be raised, it will remain what it currently is but the Mid and Low preference sightline tier prices will be lowered. But yeah, that sounds unlikely. We'll see which is correct...

The good news, if true, Matinee show times are not affected, only showings after 4 pm will see the changes.

For anyone that wishes they could see more movies at the theater, your local Regal may offer unlimited movies a month for the price of 1 of 2. See 3 and it's paid for itself for the month.

I only ever go to the blockbuster attractions and prefer the Regal IMAX experience for those. Matinees work very well financially for me so I won't be worrying much about this change unless the Regal closes.

I'll wait for streaming on all else and if that isn't enough then I am sorry.

I have no doubt the concession prices have gone up as much as the ticket prices, so a far too expensive thing for my tastes.

Last I went, a smaller than it used to be "large" popcorn with refill was $15. About the same as the ticket.

The Regal Cinema closings cost my local area it's only IMAX theater, which is where I saw Star Trek 2009.

Bummer.

AMC IMAX here is just a converted auditorium, but I could adapt if necessary. I still want to see big screen movies.

 

[Owain Taggart]

The trick is to go to a Tuesday Matinee, which is what I've liked doing lately. Or to pick off-peak times. Also, I've mostly weaned myself off concession items including popcorn so that I only have to pay the price of the ticket.

 

[Avro Arrow]

I think I've mentioned elsewhere around the board that, because of my issues with crowds, I have never been a big movie theatre-goer. I think the last time I was in a theatre was to see Beyond in 2016... and before that I believe it was for Into Darkness in 2013. So I was basically going only for Star Trek, and then whatever movies I thought were "big" enough that I should see them on the big screen (for example, I saw Avatar in the theatre in 2010).

But I think COVID basically brought even those infrequent outings to an end. I can't really envision a scenario now where I will feel comfortable enough to sit indoors with a bunch of strangers for a couple hours. Not even for Star Trek anymore, sorry.

That being said, I do like movies. So I don't really want theatres to fail, because IIRC, COVID also showed us that studios can't make enough on streaming-only movies to continue to produce the product that they have been. I believe I remember reading that they relied on the box office takes for those big blockbuster movies to finance their operations, and streaming just didn't provide that kind of revenue. So I do hope others continue to enjoy the theatre experience, even if I'm not partaking. And I'm not entirely sure whether tiered pricing will help or not. Will people be turned off enough by the very idea, or will they welcome the opportunity to pay a bit more for the best seats? If I remember correctly, when the theatres around here first introduced "luxury" seating at a higher price point, it was very successful, so maybe the same thing will happen here?

It seems someone is misinformed about the AMC chain price tiers.

I heard a version of this news on the radio which claimed the Premium siteline fee won't be raised, it will remain what it currently is but the Mid and Low preference sightline tier prices will be lowered. But yeah, that sounds unlikely. We'll see which is correct...

From AMC's own press release, the standard tier will be the "traditional cost of a ticket", whereas the value tier will be lower, and the preferred tier will be higher.

 

[Jedi Marso]

Two things have been keeping me out of theaters the past few years, when I used to go ALL THE TIME. Covid isn't even on the scope; I never was and am not afraid of it, and so far no strain has given me much worse than a head cold.

1. Nothing worth watching. Hollywood is putting out a lot of unwatchable crap, most of which isn't suited for a big screen experience anyway. Two out of the three times I went to a movie theater in 2022 was to see Top Gun.

2. More than anything else, rude people and their smartphones. It is literally impossible to sit in even a mostly empty theater these days without some fucking jerkoff (most often, more than one) fielding calls, texting, scrolling through social media, or otherwise casting bright light and noise into what traditionally has been a dark, quiet environment. The principle of it drives me more crazy than the actual distraction of it, so I've mostly resorted to staying home and watching stuff on my own big TV. At least then the only asshole I have to tolerate is myself.

 

[Amaris]

I'd go more often if tickets were cheaper, well, more if concessions were cheaper, and if there were better movies coming out. I have to be honest, I'm Marvel'ed and Pixar'ed and Disney'ed to death. These are fine sources of entertainment, don't get me wrong, but so much of it is a sequel to something else, especially Marvel films, which I no longer know what is what and who is alive, and what is happening and, quite frankly, no longer care to know.

I also don't go to movies because COVID is still here, it's still killing, and so that will keep me away, too.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Pre-COVID I'd catch the big releases at the Regal Cinema in Lexington with the IMAX and RPX screens. The tickets are so expensive you don't get stuck with crying babies or dumb dumbs on their phones talking super loud. Plus, the seats recline

I'd never watch a movie around here because most of the theaters are filthy , the screens are dim, the sound is turned down too low.

 

[Tosk]

Two decades ago I was seeing 40+ movies a year in the cinema. Now, I'm unlikely to go more than twice. And even then, begrudgingly. The prices didn't ruin it for me, the slow but steady degradation of cinema etiquette did. I can't tell you the last time I didn't have a screening at least partially ruined by some spanner who wants to have a conversation with their idiot friends right in the middle of a movie.

 

[Mojochi]

I think the thing that really seems like a loss for our culture, with the decline of theaters, is the shared thrills of the cinema experience. Nothing burns itself into memory engrams quite like being in a mass group of people sharing in the same thrill. It's why the live theater is centuries old, why concerts are fondly remembered, why circuses became a thing, & why cinema was such a success, for a century.

TBH, I've seen movies in cinemas, that are mostly just mediocre artistically, and were somehow elevated by the shared experience. Die Hard for example. I still have memories of seeing it in its theater run, where the final swell of music, that zooms in on Al Powell holding the gun that took down the villain, caused a raucous uproar in the house. It's a silly middling movie, & yet that's how people responded to it.

That will be sorely missed as a communal experience. Society needs things like that, frankly. It's what reminds us of our commonality with the whole. You can't get that same thing in your house, no matter how much they improve it

 

[plynch]

People always spoil it. I think Cats was my last movie, which was really fun. I wish they’d make it a holiday tradition and reissue it in cinemas. But generally, I don’t like movies and being around ppl. I like old movies with my sweetie in the living room. Gene Kelley and Leslie Caron are on tap for Friday.

 

[Tosk]

I don't dig the communal experience, personally. (Not for movies, and not for peeing. )
I prefer to be swept away by the film, not distracted by the reactions of others. I'm a curmudgeon.

 

[STEPhon IT]

Saw this
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/06/business/amc-movie-ticket-prices/index.html
About how AMC is going to go to a tiered pricing for there theatres and thought, This is utterly wrong, your not going to get buts into seats if you raise the price of the good seats, you just push the poorer people to the sides and front that nobody wants, which, for me, would get me NOT to go if my movie experience is crap.
I mean, if you have a family of 4, your already paying out the ass to go for 4 tickets and food.

Your also already getting a "FEE" from me to choose my tickets online, which is almost $2, which I HAVE to do, gone are the days where you go up to the ticket counter to buy one when you get there. ( You can, but good chance of being sold out)

They said the Tier price wont be for matinee, but that will go away in short order.

Everything is Nickel and dimeing you to death!!

So, how to save the theatre. In actuality, you lower the prices.
I used to go nearly every weekend, Sunday morning before Noon, ticket prices were $5-6. I also belong to the Stubs level, so I'd get $5 back every once in awhile.

It may not look to make sense, but if you make things cheaper, you get more buts into seats, and make more money because those who wouldn't have gone at $10+ would go at $6, and go more often, so you'd make your money back and then some.

Theatres also make most of there money off of concessions, so if you make a family go twice, you get more money because you buy snacks twice instead of once.

The big problem right now is, There's almost Nothing to go to the theatres to watch!

Inflation is tough on everyone, including movie Theatres; maybe a point system might work to get movie goers to come but I doubt it. Should a blockbuster movie cost more than an indie or mainstream movie?

 

[Mojochi]

I don't dig the communal experience, personally. (Not for movies, and not for peeing. )
I prefer to be swept away by the film, not distracted by the reactions of others. I'm a curmudgeon.

The thing is, there's different types of movies, some designed for polar opposite purposes. There are some movies I think are masterpieces, which I'd never want to see in a theater, as it's a very personal experience, & then there's some that don't even work on me unless I saw it in a theater, with a group