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Is the Movie Theater a Dying Entertainment?

NWRatCon

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This Was the Worst Thanksgiving Weekend in Box-Office History. (IndieWire)​

 
It'll come back, though it might not ever quite reach its pre-pandemic height without some changes made to the format. There is still something magical about seeing a well-made film projected onto a ridiculously huge screen with chest-shaking audio. On the other hand, last time we went, I nearly got into a fight with this dickhead who kept on talking loudly, and threw popcorn at my wife when she asked him to be quiet.

So some people are going to need to learn some manners again...
 
ashurbanipal said:
On the other hand, last time we went, I nearly got into a fight with this dickhead who kept on talking loudly, and threw popcorn at my wife when she asked him to be quiet.

So some people are going to need to learn some manners again...
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This is 2022.

They will never learn.

Heck! In some theaters, the hoodlums have guns.

Loud talking and putting their feet on the seat in front of them are considered their right.

Hear tell, there are a few theaters left that cater to ladies and gentlemen.

But not many!
 
With so much entertainment available to stream, who really wants to watch anything at the theater? Most movies make it to streaming in very little time. Sure, it's not the same environment, but the refreshments are much cheaper and the pause button allows for bathroom breaks.
 
I spent some time digging into numbers. The nature of success in theaters has changed significantly. Both studios and the theaters themselves are more reliant on BBBBs (Big Budget Block Busters) to break even and make a profit.

The broader entertainment fare is dropping off (not dying, but receding), and it is getting harder and harder to "put butts in seats" because of competition from streaming. This trend existed prior to the pandemic, but was greatly exacerbated by it.

I'm like so many others and still love "going to the movies", but the process is getting rarer and, frankly, more complicated. Advanced sales, pre-purchase snacks, reserved seating - all make it less fun and spontaneous. I like walking up to the box office, seeing what's playing, buying my ticket, getting popcorn and soda, then finding a seat in the darkened theater.

Not all that long ago, that was a weekly adventure/date with my wife or family. I'm trying to remember how long it has been now.
 
We used to go to the movies almost every week, but have only been once since January of 2020.
We have a dinner theater, near us that has decent food, and it is a good atmosphere, but home is nice for viewing also.
 
They're also two movies with a very woke vibe. Perhaps folks would prefer more entertainment in their entertainment and less political messaging.
 
There just haven't been any movies made lately that have been worth seeing on a big screen.
It's just a bunch of CGI crap with inane storylines.

I've got zero interest in the Marvel Comic Universe, Fast and Furious, or the Avatar sequels.

The last movie I've seen on the big screen was the 50th Anniversary re-release of Lawrence of Arabia. Great story; amazing cinematography. Zero CGI. There ain't nothing like the real thing.
But that was 10 years ago. In the last decade there hasn't been one movie where I've said to myself, "I've got to see that on the big screen."
 
I think it's a dying enterprise.
The competention to big budget movies, and the accessibility of streaming, have shifted the landscape.
 
It is too expensive to go unless it is a movie that requires the movie theater experience.

The Rom Com can be done at home, only the action movie would be best at a theater
 
There are select movies I have made an effort to see. Dune, for example, is entirely worth seeing in theaters.

I don't think it is just streaming though. I think the other half is that building a great home theater has been getting much cheaper. The price of very large TVs has dropped drastically and internet has become cheap and fast enough to stream 1080p video as well.
 
I really like going to the movies, but with the expense and the hassle now, it just really isn’t worth it.
 
The only movie we saw in the theater since 2020 was Downton Abbey, we enjoyed it.
 
IMO, I think movie theaters will become a smaller industry, but they’ll survive. Seeing a film “on the big screen” and in a full theater is still a different experience than you can get at home. They’ll just have to do other things to make it an even better experience. This may not be new in other parts of the country, but it’s new here; down the road from me is a cinema that serves food an alcohol, and you can take it to your seat.
 
NWRatCon said:

This Was the Worst Thanksgiving Weekend in Box-Office History. (IndieWire)​

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Can't pause, can't multitask properly, can't talk, gotta wear clothes, sticky floors, surrounded by strangers, don't care about loudness or screen size, I got better snacks at home.

Adapt or die, though not any time soon. They still sell buggy whips today too, they just aren't a booming industry any more.

I figure they'll be at the level of drive-in theaters today within a couple generations.
 
Maverick was one I specifically went to see on the big screen.
 
ashurbanipal said:
It'll come back, though it might not ever quite reach its pre-pandemic height without some changes made to the format.
Click to expand...

You mean the way Vaudeville came back? Silent films came back? Black and white came back? Packing 3,000 seat movies houses came back?

The sooner theater owners close down the better off they will be.
 
NatMorton said:
Seeing a film “on the big screen” and in a full theater is still a different experience than you can get at home.
Click to expand...

I have a better experience at home. The sound quality is much better at home. Of course audio is my hobby.
 
NWRatCon said:

This Was the Worst Thanksgiving Weekend in Box-Office History. (IndieWire)​

Click to expand...


Based on trends I think the day of the Movie House is over. Maybe IMAX will remain.

Covid changed the rules. The theatre was dying anyway. With the quality sound and image I can get for cheap in my living room exceeds by leagues the quality of the big screen.

I don't think people want to be packed into shoulder-to-shoulder situations anymore.

I have no statistics but I bet there is a corresponding uptick in illegal downloads.














We are slowly withdrawing into small units.
 
It’s been a long time since we have gone to the movies. Texting and talking on phones is way too prevalent and it’s like getting a dinner order wrong, in that it skews the entire experience.
 
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