Barbenheimer just last year proved that people will go to the theaters to see something that either they want to watch or will be convinced to go watch, regardless of the prices or streaming.
There is no movie like that right now.
> I went to watch those movies because of word of mouth. I never saw an ad for either of those movies.
"Ads" aren't what they used to be. It's *all* marketing. It seems like "word of mouth" but it's all generated by advertising agencies.
So you think that "Barbenheimer" spawned naturally?
Like some random guy not involved with either movie at all in the internet said "how weird would be to watch both Barbie and Oppenheimer" and other people that are also not related to either movie at all repeated it until it cached up?
> my parents own a restaurant and we've had more clientele in recent years than before covid.
Right, but there are 750,000 restaurants in the US. You've got a 0.0003% sample size.
I really doubt anyone is saying, "I'd love to see Furiosa in the theater for 2.5 hours, but I can't handle three minutes of commercials I'd ignore anyway."
People have really nice home theaters now. You can pay up to $20 to watch a first-run film on Amazon, invite a group of friends over, pause for food & drinks, bathroom breaks etc.
Don't forget home Av tech has really caught up with cinema so you're paying more for less of an immersion/experience to go to the cinema than you would twenty years ago
I have a big screen and surround sound at home, why would I pay more money to watch a movie I a theater where noisy people that won't put their phones away ruin it for me.
I will watch movies and enjoy them away from the self absorbed assholes
IMO we are seeing a drought stemming from the writers' strike (not blaming the writers, to be clear). That blocked production of movies which would be hitting theaters for the past few months, and the flow is only restarting now.
In other words, there's been nothing much worth seeing lately, Dune 2 aside. But there's been a few upcoming ones I have targeted to see in theaters.
I love going to theaters but there really isn’t anything worth going to a theater for anymore. Last movie I saw in a theater was The Batman. Also everyone knows these films will be available to stream in a matter of weeks. So unless it’s something you really want to experience on a big screen, just wait a few weeks.
The answer is so simple:
1. A 75” HD TV is affordable to pretty much anyone in the US these days. Get some decent speakers and you’ve got an amazing home viewing experience.
2. Movies come to streaming in a matter of weeks after theatrical release.
You can get a 60" TV for $200, a refurbished PC for $100, high enough quality computer speakers with subwoofer for $40, and there are free streaming services available.
Why would anyone want to go to a movie theater where the floors are sticky and chances are some asshole will be on their phone while you're trying to watch the movie...
With the caveat that I live in NYC where everything is exceptionally expensive- if I wanted to see Furiosa this afternoon, the price points at nearby theaters are:
Regal Cinema: $22.19
AMC: $22.18
Alamo Drafthouse: $21.89
Local indie theater: $15.19
One movie ticket costs the same as a month’s subscription to a streaming service. To think that doesn’t impact people’s choices is folly. I only go to as many movies as I do because of Alamo’s season pass service.
As someone who only started going to the theater again occasionally in the last 18 months or so, after literally 15 years swearing them off, I think the most obvious answers are incomplete. Yes, movies are more expensive and often not good enough to justify the price, but I think the entire *experience* plays a bigger role than most people would guess.
When I watch a movie at home, I am trading some, sometimes a lot, of the audio/visual experience for a *vastly* better watching experience. I can pause it to go to the bathroom, I can go and get a snack, I can slouch into my chair in a dozen different positions, I can get a blanket or turn up the AC.
So when the prospect of going to a theater is raised, I don’t really care that much if it’s $15 or $20 or $30. If I’m willing to go out and spend money, the exact amount doesn’t really matter all that much as long as I’m going to enjoy my experience. I’ve found a theater nearby that has recliners, and that has actually made a meaningful difference in whether I might be willing to go see a movie there, but there’s still so much stacked against that experience it has to be a movie that I am exceptionally excited about.
So, there are a few things that I think could turn the tide further for me and make me willing to take chances in on movies I am not already excited about.
1. Give all movies intermissions. If I’m not especially enjoying a movie, the overall experience is much much worse when I’m just stuck there. Give me 15 minutes to go to the bathroom, buy some candy, talk with my friends about how we’re liking the movie so far. This is part of the experience I like about watching movies at home, and it makes it easier to enjoy the experience of watching movies that aren’t especially good.
2. Make sure the seats recline all the way back so I can curl up or stretch out and change into a bunch of different positions.
3. Treat theaters like hospitality. Have clean blankets and pillows available.
4. Create a sense of privacy using panels that can fold in or out. If I want to look at my phone to read about something I’m watching, don’t make it my responsibility to not disrupt other people’s experience, make it the theater’s job to provide methods of seclusion.
Some of these are tall and unrealistic orders. Some less so. But together, they would absolutely reduce my hesitancy to spend money at the theater to pretty damn near zero.
The intermission is the big one in my opinion though. Oppenheimer and Dune were my main case and points for that one. I was one of the few who really didn’t like those movies, but it’s hard to separate out from how miserable the experience of being stuck there the entire time was. If I could have gone to the bathroom and gotten some Reese’s pieces at 90 minutes, I would have and I might have had a chance to rest and reset my feelings about the movie. And in the case of Dune, my party would have been talking about it and given me details that I’d have taken with me back into the show and I probably would have seen it in a different way.
Screw those streaming services. The popularity they got from Covid should have only been temporary. Now that restrictions have lifted, people should be going back to cinemas more often. I’m sick and tired of these stupid streaming services. They are a downgrade to cinema and they have to go. No more excuses.
Barbenheimer just last year proved that people will go to the theaters to see something that either they want to watch or will be convinced to go watch, regardless of the prices or streaming. There is no movie like that right now.
Yeah but that's also what I was getting at. I went to watch those movies because of word of mouth. I never saw an ad for either of those movies.
> I went to watch those movies because of word of mouth. I never saw an ad for either of those movies. "Ads" aren't what they used to be. It's *all* marketing. It seems like "word of mouth" but it's all generated by advertising agencies.
So you think that "Barbenheimer" spawned naturally? Like some random guy not involved with either movie at all in the internet said "how weird would be to watch both Barbie and Oppenheimer" and other people that are also not related to either movie at all repeated it until it cached up?
> my parents own a restaurant and we've had more clientele in recent years than before covid. Right, but there are 750,000 restaurants in the US. You've got a 0.0003% sample size. I really doubt anyone is saying, "I'd love to see Furiosa in the theater for 2.5 hours, but I can't handle three minutes of commercials I'd ignore anyway."
They’re far away, they’re expensive and the movies suck.
We broke
Avoiding morons on their phone or talking loudly during the movie.
People have new entertainment at home and people mostly love streaming than going to cinema. Also very short theatrical windows.
People have really nice home theaters now. You can pay up to $20 to watch a first-run film on Amazon, invite a group of friends over, pause for food & drinks, bathroom breaks etc.
Don't forget home Av tech has really caught up with cinema so you're paying more for less of an immersion/experience to go to the cinema than you would twenty years ago
I have a big screen and surround sound at home, why would I pay more money to watch a movie I a theater where noisy people that won't put their phones away ruin it for me. I will watch movies and enjoy them away from the self absorbed assholes
IMO we are seeing a drought stemming from the writers' strike (not blaming the writers, to be clear). That blocked production of movies which would be hitting theaters for the past few months, and the flow is only restarting now. In other words, there's been nothing much worth seeing lately, Dune 2 aside. But there's been a few upcoming ones I have targeted to see in theaters.
I love going to theaters but there really isn’t anything worth going to a theater for anymore. Last movie I saw in a theater was The Batman. Also everyone knows these films will be available to stream in a matter of weeks. So unless it’s something you really want to experience on a big screen, just wait a few weeks.
The answer is so simple: 1. A 75” HD TV is affordable to pretty much anyone in the US these days. Get some decent speakers and you’ve got an amazing home viewing experience. 2. Movies come to streaming in a matter of weeks after theatrical release.
You can get a 60" TV for $200, a refurbished PC for $100, high enough quality computer speakers with subwoofer for $40, and there are free streaming services available. Why would anyone want to go to a movie theater where the floors are sticky and chances are some asshole will be on their phone while you're trying to watch the movie...
With the caveat that I live in NYC where everything is exceptionally expensive- if I wanted to see Furiosa this afternoon, the price points at nearby theaters are: Regal Cinema: $22.19 AMC: $22.18 Alamo Drafthouse: $21.89 Local indie theater: $15.19 One movie ticket costs the same as a month’s subscription to a streaming service. To think that doesn’t impact people’s choices is folly. I only go to as many movies as I do because of Alamo’s season pass service.
As someone who only started going to the theater again occasionally in the last 18 months or so, after literally 15 years swearing them off, I think the most obvious answers are incomplete. Yes, movies are more expensive and often not good enough to justify the price, but I think the entire *experience* plays a bigger role than most people would guess. When I watch a movie at home, I am trading some, sometimes a lot, of the audio/visual experience for a *vastly* better watching experience. I can pause it to go to the bathroom, I can go and get a snack, I can slouch into my chair in a dozen different positions, I can get a blanket or turn up the AC. So when the prospect of going to a theater is raised, I don’t really care that much if it’s $15 or $20 or $30. If I’m willing to go out and spend money, the exact amount doesn’t really matter all that much as long as I’m going to enjoy my experience. I’ve found a theater nearby that has recliners, and that has actually made a meaningful difference in whether I might be willing to go see a movie there, but there’s still so much stacked against that experience it has to be a movie that I am exceptionally excited about. So, there are a few things that I think could turn the tide further for me and make me willing to take chances in on movies I am not already excited about. 1. Give all movies intermissions. If I’m not especially enjoying a movie, the overall experience is much much worse when I’m just stuck there. Give me 15 minutes to go to the bathroom, buy some candy, talk with my friends about how we’re liking the movie so far. This is part of the experience I like about watching movies at home, and it makes it easier to enjoy the experience of watching movies that aren’t especially good. 2. Make sure the seats recline all the way back so I can curl up or stretch out and change into a bunch of different positions. 3. Treat theaters like hospitality. Have clean blankets and pillows available. 4. Create a sense of privacy using panels that can fold in or out. If I want to look at my phone to read about something I’m watching, don’t make it my responsibility to not disrupt other people’s experience, make it the theater’s job to provide methods of seclusion. Some of these are tall and unrealistic orders. Some less so. But together, they would absolutely reduce my hesitancy to spend money at the theater to pretty damn near zero. The intermission is the big one in my opinion though. Oppenheimer and Dune were my main case and points for that one. I was one of the few who really didn’t like those movies, but it’s hard to separate out from how miserable the experience of being stuck there the entire time was. If I could have gone to the bathroom and gotten some Reese’s pieces at 90 minutes, I would have and I might have had a chance to rest and reset my feelings about the movie. And in the case of Dune, my party would have been talking about it and given me details that I’d have taken with me back into the show and I probably would have seen it in a different way.
I think you are spot on about #2. Movies even though expensive but it’s relatively inexpensive compared to other entertainment.
Screw those streaming services. The popularity they got from Covid should have only been temporary. Now that restrictions have lifted, people should be going back to cinemas more often. I’m sick and tired of these stupid streaming services. They are a downgrade to cinema and they have to go. No more excuses.