Movie theaters? DOOMED?

[Robert Maxwell]

I don't know where the hell you people live, but the last time I had a bad theater experience it was at the Dollar Cinema in Muncie, Indiana. Going to a nice theater there, I had no problems at all. Clean, well-kept, quiet, no cell phones or crying babies or heckling.

Movie theaters in New Jersey are pretty damn nice, too. The multiplex in Chelsea (Manhattan) is super fucking nice, too. Really, I don't know where all these horrible theaters are. Maybe you guys live in shitty towns that have only one theater, and the owner doesn't give a fuck about it. I don't think it's representative.

Basically, it's the urban-area multiplexes that rake in the big bucks, and from what I've seen they're kept very nice and don't have the problems that most of you are complaining about.

Theaters aren't going anywhere unless projectors, sound systems, and the like come way down in price. Reproducing that experience at home just isn't cheap, and I suspect it would probably cost more than you'd ever actually spend going to the theater in your lifetime.

The only thing hurting theaters right now is new releases hitting BitTorrent. Here's a clue: if the movie sucks ass, word will get out and the box office will suffer. The days of dumping a movie into the multiplex and hoping for the best are done. Now, you really can "try before you buy." I have no doubt that sort of downloading is cutting into sales, but it's not because people want something for nothing, it's because they don't want to pay for garbage.

 

[Vanyel]

I wouldn't pay even $50. Way too much for a movie that'll eventually become a regular DVD release, Special Edition, or Directors Cut for about half that price. The way things are now, the movie makers get the best of both worlds, high ticket prices and DVD sales. I think direct release of a big budget movie will cut their earnings.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Yeah, I gotta say, anyone seriously considering charging $200 to see a new release is on crack. All that ensures is that people with good home theater systems will download the movie illegally and watch it that way.

If they really want to try something different, release the DVD either the same day as the theater debut, or within a week or two. Then people can go straight from the movie to the DVD or, if they don't think it's worth going to the theater, they can buy/rent it. I have my doubts that it would really impact theater attendance at all, but it might produce more sales up front.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

Movie theaters serve an important social function. They are good first date places. They give a way for established couples to go some place simple, but have the experience of getting out. They provide an atmosphere you can't get at home. It is like going to a concert. You know the music quality won't be as good as your CD at home, but you are going for the event. Sometimes my girlfriend and I like to stay in and watch a movie, sometimes we like to go on a date and see one in the theaters. People will always choose both.

I think society could weather the loss. And I think first dates would be bettered by shifting away from sitting in the dark, not talking, and paying attention to something other than the person you're on a date with

If that happened the amount of second dates in the world would plummet dramatically.