The End Of Cinema.

[Strider64]

My very first job was working at a Movie Theater as a Doorman. The manager was an old-timer and she insisted that we be called doorman instead of ushers. It was a fun job and easy to do as the basic job responsibility that I had was taking tickets and making sure the lobby was clean up during the movie. Met many good friends working there and I'm still good friends to a lot of them to this day. The movie theater was a two screen movie theater with huge screens (I can't remember the size of the screen) and the projectionist was a union job (which was kind of downer). I remember watching the ending of "Purple Rain", "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "Romancing the Stone" that to this day I can practically say the lines by almost perfectly or know the order of the songs sung in "Purple Rain" at the end.

The funniest part of the job was changing the movie titles on the marquee. It was an old fashion marquee that high enough where I had to get the ladder out to climb on a small boardwalk that was in front of the marquee sign. I loved when it snow a lot as the snowplow would pile up the snow under the marquee and when I was done with putting up the new movies I would jump off the marquee. Though I had to make sure the manager wasn't working that night (which she normally didn't do).

I haven't been to movie theater in about 2 years as I do most of my movie watching on TV, plus I really haven't liked the movies that have been made lately that make me say to myself "I'm going to the movie theatre to watch it". I do like the watching a theatrical movie better at the theater than at home as the overall experience is much better in my opinion.

 

[MisterSavage]

I do think the volume of cinema goers will continue to drop. If you notice, films released in the cinema, are available for purchase after about 3 months. Before it would be almost 6-8 months before one could purchase films...

So true. It used to seem SO long before a flick would come out on home video. Now it's "oh that's out already?"

The biggest reason why I limit my visits to movie theaters to once or twice a year is... the other patrons. The complete lack of respect for others impedes my ability to enjoy the film.

It astounds me how rude some people can be.

 

[shinji]

We still go, but I agree it's overpriced. It was ~$40 for tickets, popcorn, and bottled water when we saw Rocketman a couple weeks ago.

If you look at how much demand MoviePass had and how successful Stubs A-List currently is, it shows people are still interested in going to the movies, even though streaming is widely available as an alternative. The issue is the price of tickets and how it doesn't feel like a great value. Theaters have to either renovate and offer things like IMAX to make it seem like more of a premium experience, or they have to offer programs like A-List and hope to make up extra money in concessions.

I don't think we're seeing the end of cinema, just like we didn't see it when VHS tapes, DVDs, Blu-Ray, etc. rolled around. It's just changing.

 

[Solomani]

Short answer: Nachos

Twelve years ago, I was in a bad marriage, and then going through a divorce. Prior to having the marital problems I was having, i would typically go to the theater about once a month, but during the rough times, I would go a few times a week.

My wife would act nuts, so I would leave and go see a movie, and it didn't matter what it was.

I went to a close-by Regal Theater, and I was a member of their Crown Card program, racking up the points.

Even more then watching the movie, I enjoyed the peaceful time eating Regal's nachos with salsa and cheese. I would get it with a large cherry cola, and I felt at peace for the next two hours.

Well, I divorced my wife, and I was dating again, taking many of my dates to the movies, still enjoying my nachos.

I started dating a long time friend, who would end up being my wife, and a short time after we got together, Regal changed their nachos.

They got rid of the salsa, and changed the chips to ones that came in a little bag.

I swear, the new chips tasted JUST like cardboard. I was pissed about it, and complained.

Then I stopped going.

I didn't go for a few years at all, until the Warcraft movie came out, and they changed the chips again. Still no salsa, and the chips are still in a bag, but at least they do not taste like cardboard.

YOU NEED TO RETURN TO THE MOVIES, SEÑOR! THE NACHO HAS SPOKEN.

 

[hawkeye_a]

Old movies I have seen at home, which I would pay to watch in the cinema today:
-Terminator 2
-Star Wars IV, V VI
-Jaws
-Indiana Jones I, II, III
-Conan the Barbarian(1982)

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Three reasons:
1) $$$. $10 for a ticket, $5 for a hot dog, $3 Coke, $5 Popcorn.
2) Long ass pre-movie trailers. My $3 Coke has gone flat before the movie starts.
3) I've got a sweet HT system at home (120" projection, 7.1 Surround, reclining love seat, mood lighting...)

Agreed.

Short answer: Nachos

Twelve years ago, I was in a bad marriage, and then going through a divorce. Prior to having the marital problems I was having, i would typically go to the theater about once a month, but during the rough times, I would go a few times a week.

My wife would act nuts, so I would leave and go see a movie, and it didn't matter what it was.

I went to a close-by Regal Theater, and I was a member of their Crown Card program, racking up the points.

Even more then watching the movie, I enjoyed the peaceful time eating Regal's nachos with salsa and cheese. I would get it with a large cherry cola, and I felt at peace for the next two hours.

Well, I divorced my wife, and I was dating again, taking many of my dates to the movies, still enjoying my nachos.

I started dating a long time friend, who would end up being my wife, and a short time after we got together, Regal changed their nachos.

They got rid of the salsa, and changed the chips to ones that came in a little bag.

I swear, the new chips tasted JUST like cardboard. I was pissed about it, and complained.

Then I stopped going.

I didn't go for a few years at all, until the Warcraft movie came out, and they changed the chips again. Still no salsa, and the chips are still in a bag, but at least they do not taste like cardboard.

Great post.

I hear you on the nachos.

I still go to the cinema but rarely these days as it costs nearly £40 to take myself, wife and two children. If the kids want sweets I don’t get much change out of 50 quid. I can’t justify it when I can download the film off the internet. If we had the prices of say 15 years ago I’d still go weekly. It’s being reported often that cinemas are struggling and it’s not hard to see why.

Excellent post and well said.

Unlike many here, from a physical perspective, I never really loved going to the movies; I am short, and female, and wear glasses, and used to hate large well built males sitting in front of me (this has happened even in otherwise empty cinemas - of course, I moved seats); so, there was always the stress of wondering whether I would have to move seats, would some large late arrival of an idiot decide that sitting right in front of me just as the movie started was his (or her - big hair also irked me) ideal. Angle of descent rarely compensated for my lack of inches.

To deal with this, I tended to chose front row balcony seats (if they existed) or sit close to the front row, which never appealed to anyone accompanying me. But I wanted to see a movie, not big, blocky heads and shoulders, in front of me.

In recent decades, I have noticed this method acting "mumbled speech" (very prevalent among male actors in the US), instead of the excellent diction and voice projection that one enjoyed with earlier movies.

In other words, both seeing what was on the screen and (sometimes0 even hearing clearly what those on screen say, have both presented problems to me; candidly, the experience is not all that much fun if you are constantly shifting in your seat to avoid the massive shoulders of the idiot squashed into the seat in front of you, and peering over them as he moves his blocky head in order to see the screen, and trying to work out what these inarticulate mumblers are mumbling on screen.

Those are personal gripes.

However, I share the concerns of others (quoted above); namely, high prices, and too many silly Hollywood repeats and repetitive blockbusters (and no, we don't need nineteen Star Wars movies, or endless sequels and prequels) instead of making movies that tell intelligent original stories, with good well scripted good characters (especially female) and a real story to tell.

And yes, costs matter - movies are no longer a 'cup of coffee' style of entertainment, which you could easily take the kids to, they are now an expensive outing, as several posters have already remarked.

And that is an problem, for, while everyone recalls sitting in a cinema - possibly brooding or sulking - by themselves as a teenager some dismal and wet afternoon, by and large, going to the movies is a social thing; you want to go with someone - friends, family - and make it an enjoyable outing, and costs are ensuring that this is becoming an increasingly out of reach luxury, rather than a weekly treat.

 

[decafjava]

I'm just astounded everyone seems to think buying snacks and drinks is somehow obligatory? Yes I know popcorn is part of the experience. Still I have taken care not to order any drinks when I go to see long films as the LOTR trilogy or recently Avengers: Endgame.

 

[cube]

I'm just astounded everyone seems to think buying snacks and drinks is somehow obligatory? Yes I know popcorn is part of the experience. Still I have taken care not to order any drinks when I go to see long films as the LOTR trilogy or recently Avengers: Endgame.

Don't stop the film to sell them unless that's how the film was designed (eg: Ben-Hur original 1959 cut).

 

[Apple fanboy]

Three reasons:
1) $$$. $10 for a ticket, $5 for a hot dog, $3 Coke, $5 Popcorn.
2) Long ass pre-movie trailers. My $3 Coke has gone flat before the movie starts.
3) I've got a sweet HT system at home (120" projection, 7.1 Surround, reclining love seat, mood lighting...)

The food and drink is optional!

 

[trillionaire]

I like your list here is more..

10. Can not fast forward the boring parts of the movie. I am very impatient if the movie is boring. I feel like i am wasting valuable time. At least with Netflix you can skip the parts you don't like.

All of these have contributed to my not going to the movies as much as I used to. That said, if there's a good action-packed movie coming out that I really want to see, I'm going to see it at the cinema. You're not going to get the same experience watching it at home that you would on the big screen.

 

[ruka.snow]

If movies where released at the same time on a streaming service or disk I would without a doubt choose the comfort of my own home than the 'experience'. In saying that, I did go for the 40th anniversary of Alien, it was the best film I have ever seen in a cinema.

 

[Apple fanboy]

If new releases came out to stream at the same time, I’d never go to the cinema again.

As it is I go maybe once a year. The last time was SW episode 8.

 

[Huntn]

Are theaters in trouble? It’s likely. We infrequently go to theater any more. My wife wants to take the grand kids to see Toy Story 4 and I’m debating on seeing it now vs streaming later. It seems I don’t mind waiting and seeing some reviews. The last movie I saw at the theater was Alita Battle Angel in Feb and I enjoyed it, but it was not a home run.

Three reasons:
1) $$$. $10 for a ticket, $5 for a hot dog, $3 Coke, $5 Popcorn.
2) Long ass pre-movie trailers. My $3 Coke has gone flat before the movie starts.
3) I've got a sweet HT system at home (120" projection, 7.1 Surround, reclining love seat, mood lighting...)

Agreed expense is high , especially for a family. But I’ll disagree as far I enjoy a sampling of trailers, while acknowledging that all trailers can be watched online.

I’ll also observe that my meager 65” 4k TV serves me amply well, yet I still want to see the highly desirable movies at the theater, because I don’t want to wait 3-8 months. But here is the thing for risk vs reward, there are just not that many films anymore that I desire to see in the theater and they can be streamed later at a fraction of the price.

 

[zed's dead redemption]

Yes cinema is on the decline. It’s way too expensive for what you can get at home these days. Whenever I have been to the cinema I always feel ripped off by the prices they charge for food/drinks. So we already pay over a tenner (each) to watch the film, then we have to pay extortionate prices for food/drinks (unless we smuggle in our own), then we also have to watch advertisements (trailers) before the film start too.

If you need a pee you either have to hold it in or miss a few minutes of the film.

So much more convenient to watch in the comfort of your home these days

 

[MisterSavage]

If new releases came out to stream at the same time, I’d never go to the cinema again.

As it is I go maybe once a year. The last time was SW episode 8.

Same here. The one thing for me that really sucks about waiting for home release is trying to dodge spoilers.

 

[Huntn]

Yes cinema is on the decline. It’s way too expensive for what you can get at home these days. Whenever I have been to the cinema I always feel ripped off by the prices they charge for food/drinks. So we already pay over a tenner (each) to watch the film, then we have to pay extortionate prices for food/drinks (unless we smuggle in our own), then we also have to watch advertisements (trailers) before the film start too.

If you need a pee you either have to hold it in or miss a few minutes of the film.

So much more convenient to watch in the comfort of your home these days

I resonate with the pee comment. If not sufficiently dehydrated, I usually wait for what seems like a lull and then make a mad dash.
[doublepost=1561037741][/doublepost]

Same here. The one thing for me that really sucks about waiting for home release is trying to dodge spoilers.

I’m usually ok with trailers, except some of them go way overboard and tell you too much of the story in advance. They want you to see it too badly, they can actually ruin it in some circumstances, however, I rarely go to the theater blind, ie not having watched some trailers or read about movie in advance.

 

[eyoungren]

I'm wondering what theaters people go to.

We are infrequent theater goers, but for us, the idea is the experience. I have at least three films on my list for this year: Toy Story 4, Frozen 2 and Star Wars. Two more coming up, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure sequel and Top Gun 2.

As big as your guys' home theaters are and as badass as your sound system, I guarantee you that unless you're rolling in money you do not have a screen as big as the one at the theater in your living room. I guarantee you that you do not have a multi-million dollar sound system.

And back to where it is you go - Sure over the years, there's been a few bad people. But our experience has 99% of the time been a positive one. It's an experience. We plan for it, we go and get the popcorn and the drinks and we show up early to get a good spot.

I've never had issues with people. Everyone there wants to see the movie. And we're going to multi-screen Harkins and AMC theaters (most of the time Harkins). They are clean, up-to-date and at the times we choose to go, not crowded.

We just saw Tolkien about a month ago. We got to recline in a fairly empty theater with other Tolkien fans. It was fun.

I like sitting on my couch and watching stuff, but no one can tell me that the best home theater system is going to compare to seeing a good movie in the theater.

PS. When we want to see a movie, but don't have a lot of money - there's the dollar theater. Still a good experience (1980s style theater) and the movie is inexpensive.

 

[JBGoode]

Don't stop the film to sell them unless that's how the film was designed (eg: Ben-Hur original 1959 cut).

Where do they stop the film to sell snacks? I live in the US and I've never seen a movie that's been stopped at any time except in the case of technical difficulties or for Titanic which had an intermission. Is that a thing somewhere?

 

[cube]

Where do they stop the film to sell snacks? I live in the US and I've never seen a movie that's been stopped at any time except in the case of technical difficulties or for Titanic which had an intermission. Is that a thing somewhere?

I don't know in the US, but it does happen.

As well as having films which are not shown in the original language.

 

[OLDCODGER]

My cinema experience is somewhat different to most on this board.
Up to 1965, going to the "pictures" was a whole night out - around four hours of main feature, B movies (often better than the main), fifteen minutes of cartoons, and a Health and Beauty segment (nudes on beaches, mainly).

The best (snogging) seats cost four shillings, So it was possible to have a night out with a lady for ten bob.

Then, in 1966 (I think), they took out the cartoons and nudes (boo!), went from B movies to D type shorts, and introduced adverts - while cutting the session from four hours to around two and a half. Then kicked one in the nether regions by increasing the ticket price from four shillings to six shillings and sixpence overnight!

Haven't been since. FTA or forget it - it's only a movie!

 

[Huntn]

The food and drink is optional!

Yes, food, especially the drinks, not only raises the already high price, but complicates the movie viewing process.
[doublepost=1561040977][/doublepost]

My cinema experience is somewhat different to most on this board.
Up to 1965, going to the "pictures" was a whole night out - around four hours of main feature, B movies (often better than the main), fifteen minutes of cartoons, and a Health and Beauty segment (nudes on beaches, mainly).

The best (snogging) seats cost four shillings, So it was possible to have a night out with a lady for ten bob.

Then, in 1966 (I think), they took out the cartoons and nudes (boo!), went from B movies to D type shorts, and introduced adverts - while cutting the session from four hours to around two and a half. Then kicked one in the nether regions by increasing the ticket price from four shillings to six shillings and sixpence overnight!

Haven't been since. FTA or forget it - it's only a movie!

Although I have heard of them, not familiar with how expensive (without a conversion formula) shillings and bobs were for that time frame. As a 10 year old in 1963 (US), I want to say that weekend matinees were as low as $.35 (35 cents).

 

[OLDCODGER]

Yes, food, especially the drinks, not only raises the already high price, but complicates the movie viewing process.
[doublepost=1561040977][/doublepost]
Although I have heard of them, not familiar with how expensive (without a conversion formula) shillings and bobs were for that time frame. As a 10 year old in 1963, I want to say that weekend matinees were as low as $.35 (35 cents).

At the time, four shillings was roughly equal to fifty cents. A "bob" was slang for a shilling.

 

[Healer Flame]

All of these have contributed to my not going to the movies as much as I used to. That said, if there's a good action-packed movie coming out that I really want to see, I'm going to see it at the cinema. You're not going to get the same experience watching it at home that you would on the big screen.

I find the speakers way too noisy at the movies but yeah the experience is different. Really enjoyed Jurassic park when it first released.

Now days if you got 4 speakers with 200 watt(RMS) or more and amplifiers with good subwoofers you can have as much fun with superior sound.

 

[StarShot]

If you stopped or slowed going to the movies what was your reason?

Except for the Xmas season, the movie releases are mostly crap. Marvel, Crap; Teen, Crap; Comedy, Crap. The one good thing about the state of movies in theaters, lots of open seats for the few good ones.

I'm in my first year of AMC A-list and I'm dropping it at the end of the year.

 

[JagdTiger]

After slow and painful death of Blockbuster video stores i think Cinema theaters are heading on the same direction due to recent digital and technological revolution, home entertainment hub and current lifestyle. What do you think?

The last movie i watched at the movies was for Michael Douglass many many years ago and that was it , i don't know i am feeling the attraction and excitement is just not there anymore.

If you stopped or slowed going to the movies what was your reason?

Home theater will take its place if that happens, I thought before many years ago because everything can done at someones place that can be (almost) done at the cinema.

I worked as a projectionist and the theater always made money from the concession stand and now it’s more expensive with sticky seats, loud noise etc.

There may be personal theaters with two chairs (for a date) or a few cinemas throughout the nation including some drive-ins.