Cinema's are dead

[schwarzkopf]

Tbh i don't really know if cinemas are a thing now I haven't seen quality movies even marvel makes bad movies man

Don't confuse a narrow range of movies being dead with the cinemas as a place to watch movies being dead.

[McNeil]

The closures during the Covid pandemic has damaged them significally but I don't think they are dead yet. Its still doing alright where I live but it got very expensive, and that while the movie experience in my own place has only gotten better. I only go to the cinema for some huge blockbuster movie that I'm interested in where the experience is very much worth it.

[Dellis0991]

You can always take them off after they dim the lights.

I bet someone told Paul Reubens the same thing and that didn't turn out well.

[Daedius]

I think the biggest issue is Tickets cost $15-20 each and then Popcorn and drinks for 4 cost easily $80.00 so to go to a movie theatre it costs us like $200.00 so yeah the whole $20.00 rental at home sounds way better to me in most cases.

€5 for tickets in town near me, and there's literally a discount store across from the place to sneak in snacks and drinks.

[XDurionX]

Imagine thinking Marvel movies are peak cinema.

[Ivanstone]

I think the biggest issue is Tickets cost $15-20 each and then Popcorn and drinks for 4 cost easily $80.00 so to go to a movie theatre it costs us like $200.00 so yeah the whole $20.00 rental at home sounds way better to me in most cases.

Local theatre is $13 CAD. Has great sound, screen and nice reclining seats. Concessions? Why would you bother? You can’t sit through two hours without stuffing your face?

[loras]

Tbh i don't really know if cinemas are a thing now I haven't seen quality movies even marvel makes bad movies man

I sometimes visit, but i always smuggle in my own snacks and drinks.
But honestly i mostly pirate first nowadays to see if it's worth a damn.

Last one i saw and really enjoyed was Dune i think, but the rest was various shades of crap.

- - - Updated - - -

Local theatre is $13 CAD. Has great sound, screen and nice reclining seats. Concessions? Why would you bother? You can’t sit through two hours without stuffing your face?

How do you know he doesn't have all that at home?
You're like "All <that> for just $13!" while the real question is "What does that $13 improve on?".
I mean i lay upside down on a couch eating pizza if i wat h from home.
If i'm paying anything and taking the effort to come there i am expecting something worthwhile, and if that cannot be supplied then why would i (or any other) bother to pay for just more bother?

[Nerph-]

€5 for tickets in town near me, and there's literally a discount store across from the place to sneak in snacks and drinks.

/jealous

Tickets for the cinema closest to me (25 mins away by car) are minimum €16 per person. It really puts me off going because that (together with the price of snacks and drinks) makes it very expensive for 2-3 hours of entertainment.

I've not been to the cinema since 2019 because of that. Covid obviously didn't help either.

[Alcsaar]

I think the biggest issue is Tickets cost $15-20 each and then Popcorn and drinks for 4 cost easily $80.00 so to go to a movie theatre it costs us like $200.00 so yeah the whole $20.00 rental at home sounds way better to me in most cases.

Bro if you're spending $200 to take 4 people to the movies, find a different theatre. There is no way that is accurate.

Yes their concessions are expensive, but say a ticket is $17.50 average. Usually tickets for children are cheaper, but lets just say they aren't for some reason: That's $70. You can easily lower this by getting some kind of membership.

Concessions are like $5 for a drink and then you can easily share 1-2 bags of popcorn which can't be more than $15

Seems to me like you guys are probably just gluttonous, there is no reason to order a bag of popcorn for everyone - but even if you did it might be like $35

So you're looking at less than $150 and thats buying way too much shit

Movies are definitely way too pricey but I've never spent even close to $100 at one. Usually my tab on my own is less than $30.

[Polybius]

Imagine thinking Marvel movies are peak cinema.

I give them kudos for taking risks that other studios are too chicken to take. Crossovers and blockbusters were on a decline in quality in the 00s. It had an oversaturation of bad titles that resembles Netflix's catalogue, but at least they aged well unlike our recent decade. Marvel has a good egg every now and then, but you can tell recent ones have dumbed down and crammed too much like it's the 00s all over again.

[Ivanstone]

How do you know he doesn't have all that at home?
You're like "All <that> for just $13!" while the real question is "What does that $13 improve on?".
I mean i lay upside down on a couch eating pizza if i wat h from home.
If i'm paying anything and taking the effort to come there i am expecting something worthwhile, and if that cannot be supplied then why would i (or any other) bother to pay for just more bother?

Most people don’t have a multiple square meter screens at home. I got a pretty good chair and head set. The chair doesn’t have a proper foot rest and the head set is still a head set.

Maybe your local theatre sucks. Mine doesn’t.

[Lochton]

Tbh i don't really know if cinemas are a thing now I haven't seen quality movies even marvel makes bad movies man

The cinemas are running fine many places, and there are a lot of good movies, they are just pricy.

[JDL49]

Keep in mind that if too many theaters go bust the system goes bust no matter how well the better ones are doing.

The problems as I see it are that;

1) the audiences for non blockbusters are coming back much more slowly. There will be exceptions of course but as a whole they are lagging and lagging badly. Now these flicks don't sell as many tickets as the Spidermans et al but the business model as it currently exists depends on them, at least in part. If they knew these flicks weren't going to bring in audiences when they were starting up there be far fewer screens in the first place and some cinemas would never have been built,

Fewer showings decreases foot traffic to the malls many of these things are attached to and guess what, that is figured in to their rents. Take that away and rents go up.

2) The revenue system that exists now is screwy. On big revenue pics the studios hog the revenues, partly due to the fact that 3-4 flops of say John Carter porportions will wreck a studio because of the costs involved so the risks are scary and deals stink. Also note that lately the blockbusters are getting more screens in the first 2-3 weeks than before. The revenue sharing in week 4 of a big hit is much better than in week 2. But if you are adding extra screens and times your week 4 revenue and thereafter is, for most hits, going to be noticeably less.
(Maverick type runs are f'ing rare, theaters made more on that than three Thor 3's which did half the B.O. of TG2 )

[Dejiko]

I`m surprised cinemas are still a thing.

Maybe it`s just my bad experiences talking but i really don`t see the point of it.
The volume is way too loud most of the time, and people talk over the movie playing.
You can`t put the movie on pause if you have to go do something all of a sudden.

It`s not really much of a social experience either.

[eschatological]

I`m surprised cinemas are still a thing.

Maybe it`s just my bad experiences talking but i really don`t see the point of it.
The volume is way too loud most of the time, and people talk over the movie playing.
You can`t put the movie on pause if you have to go do something all of a sudden.

It`s not really much of a social experience either.

I saw The Dark Knight in cinemas. For certain movies, especially the kind of movies with Christopher Nolan's acoustics, cinema is truly a different experience. It was stunning.

[Shadowferal]

The moment they install snack and candy detectors is when cinema dies and deservedly so.

[pfbe]

I've seen both sides of this.

The closest theatre is dying. During COVID they had to close for a while, then when they were allowed to reopen they had to do so with reduced capacity, only half the rooms were even working. Now they are down to two functioning rooms, the projectors on the other rooms are busted and needing repairs that never get done, last time I went there the lights were on during the whole movie, they have like 3 sessions per day per room (15, 18, 21), no soft drinks, I think they make more money selling take-home popcorn than selling anything movie-related (tickets, popcorn to eat there, etc.). It's a literal death spiral.

Then there's the second closest theatre which is thriving more and more every time I go there. Certain movies have "packed" rooms for two weeks straight, and I think every session has at least like 10 people in the room (which is good, all things considered). They sell a metric ton of food and drinks, they run 5 or 6 sessions per room per day.

My take from seeing this is that the movie theatre business remains completely viable, but whatever cashflow issues theatres were living with before COVID became fatal with the shutdowns.

[anon5123]

"I don't like it so it'd dead"

the WoW General forums are that way --->

[Fencers]

In the US, movie theater going is mostly concentrated in only a few major cities and markets

Almost all of the media you consume that is produced in the US is primarily created to appeal to those specific markets and leading demographics.

People outside those markets and demos don't represent a significant enough value to bother creating media for.

[loras]

Most people don’t have a multiple square meter screens at home. I got a pretty good chair and head set. The chair doesn’t have a proper foot rest and the head set is still a head set.

Maybe your local theatre sucks. Mine doesn’t.

My theater is fine, as is my home.
Doesn't change the nature of the question though.
In a world where you can spend money, even if it were to be infinite, why would you dedicate the time just to spend it at a cinema that may or may not even be better than the home experience?
"What does that $13 improve on?" really is the correct way of looking at it.

It's a bit like those who try to make fun of others for being "poor" when others do not spend as much on a phone, yet when you show up with, say, genuinely valuable golden accessories they start sqeaking.