A big part of this is that we are conditioned to know we can stream something in a few weeks.
Back in the day you didn't have that. A major release wouldn't be on home video for months and even then you'd have to go to a video store to buy or rent it.
On top of that, back in the day at home was a 150 pound 27 inch tv that was tuned to whatever dad wants to watch.
Of all the things inflation has gone balls deep on, TVs seem to be the exception. They are huge and inexpensive compared to the past.
I absolutely love going to the theater. I’ll see pretty much any movie playing and enjoy my time. The thing is I don’t have to pay for a ticket and I just bring my own snacks and drinks.
If I had to put my finger on it I would say the high prices don’t give most people any value. Might as well wait and watch it at home seems to be the most popular opinion.
there simply has been a wide shift to staying at home people are more comfortable and content to not leave their houses for a lot of activities now a days. Restaurants > Ubereats, Grocery > Delivery/Meal Kits, Bars > GoPuff, Movies > Streaming. Everything now has an at home equivalent and consequently a lot of studies show that some people go days with not leaving their houses if they WFH. Contentment and ease just aren't being beat especially in a more price sensitive environment.
Since I had kids and since Covid also, I’m much more discerning. There was a time in my 20s that I saw literally every small, critically acclaimed indie film - and several of them I hated! My husband and I saw The Farewell in Seattle pre-Covid. We didn’t really like it and felt bad for wasting an evening and money on it. Now I’ll just wait for such films to come on streaming. Since December I’ve seen Migration and Wonka with my kids, and Dune 2 alone, which I loved. No other trips to the cinema. The only one I’m tempted to see this summer is Inside Out 2
Personally i just care very little about watching new releases asap. Most of the time a new video game or a movie that looks interesting comes out, i think - "Cool! Maybe i'll check it out in a couple of years...".
And there's not many interesting movies coming out anyway, at least not the ones i'd want to see in a theater. I mean, maybe some Godzilla vs King Kong would make a better impression on the big screen, but i have 0 interest in watching something like that in the first place.
Old guy, here.
When i was a kid, we would get dumped at the mall to hang out for the afternoon, this was common. Youd slip into a theater, cos it was something to do, cost next to nothing. We'd see literally anything, and have a good time with it, or a bad time with it, didnt matter. It wasnt an investment really, and was always fun to go to a theater.
A few days ago i took my brother to see furiosa. 2 tickets, 54$.
What the box office is competing with isnt other movies, or the audiences desires, its convenience and affordability.
popcorn at home is 1$, drinks at home are 1$, a couch at home is free, takes no investment.
If a film cost the same as \~6months of a streaming service, and popocorn costs 2000% what it does at home, and drinks cost 4000% of what it costs at home, the better question than 'why are box offices underperforming' would be 'how the fuck is anyone still going to the theater at all anymore'
There is a reason why 1$ theaters showing old movies will have fuller audiences then any new film that isnt 'the summer blockbuster to see'.
This is the right answer. I think it's a sign that conventional theaters cannot continue the way they are continuing. The experience that's offered is no longer worth the price they're charging.
I can't relate to most complaints people have but I'm not in the US, so I'm not sure if it's mainly an American phenomenon or what. Tickets here are not that expensive and people are mostly quiet.
I prefer the theater experience for virtually anything that has cinematography to speak of, doesn't have to be a grand big budget movie. Dune in theaters definitely left a stronger impression than watching it on DVD, though.
the baby crying somewhere in the darkness while watching a loud movie, someone breathing heavily, coughing while eating popcorn and someone a lot taller than you sitting front of you blocking half the screen is the Theater Experience for me and you don’t get that with streaming!
If you only go to big budget, escapist, commercial features, you condemn yourself to mediocrity greenlit by accountants. You didn’t go see Anatomy of A Fall, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Maestro, May/December, Foe, Saltburn, You Hurt My Feelings, Close… and I think those were all 2023, so many of them are in the second run theaters now, where tickets don’t cost so much and you rarely share the theater with children and hopheads.
Do you think you might be better satisfied by entertainment for grownups? Tell you what. Rent or stream Triangle of Sadness or Tampopo, two completely different and surprising comedies withOUT explosions or cartoon villains, ie, not made for horny teenagers. If you don’t like it, try the other. If neither, perhaps you’d better stick w superpeople and large forbidding gizmos. And don’t worry. Films well worth your time AND the big screen are piling up, waiting for you. Have fun!
Alamo is the only theater chain doing it right, $20 monthly movie pass and shows tons of classic movies, so they aren’t so reliant on whatever crap studios are putting out.
We are fortunate to have a local non-profit theater that shows a good mix of films. I enjoy seeing the small movies just as much as the blockbusters on the big screen. A great face expression is as meaningful as an explosion when seeing big IMHO. Also fun when the theater occasionally gets movies on 35mm. Can’t see actual film at home so easily.
Also: so many of the ails that face our society are due to increasing alienation from each other. Getting strangers together to watch art has some real pros even if there are occasional cons (babies, people talking). Honestly this doesn’t happen a lot anymore with the small audiences at movies.
I use an Imax theatre to see movies of large scale in the score or high visual expectations.
For instance we saw Dune part 2 and the Mario movie in theatres because the initial viewing experience is important to have be high quality
I wait until it is something special and I never go until it has been out a few weeks. There are some arthouse theaters near me which I will go to. But, as someone who used to go to the movies regularly, I've dialed way back. I've got a big screen at home and can watch what I like without crying babies, talking teenagers and folks of all ages on their phones.
This is a fair assessment given that movies have been stuck in an extremely mediocre rut for quite some time; however, a theatrical experience, usually by default, can heighten an otherwise bland movie, which means streaming it at home as an alternative will only further drive home how much the movie(s) suck.
Ah yes all movies have been mediocre for quite some time. Nope, nothing half decent in the last decade.
If you haven’t seen a good movie in theatres in a while you’re picking the wrong movies.
Your point that the cinema can heighten middling movies doesn’t change your initial assertion that “movies have been stuck in an extremely mediocre rut for quite some time” which is in each and every metric bullshit.
There are always good movies and bad movies. If you’re struggling to find good ones you’re not looking.
It ain’t bullshit. You’re literally seeing an era play out in real time of recycled and repackaged art at a record level, made by less skilled artists, controlled by a highly cynical, shareholder-driven, oligarchical system. Yes, there are always good movies to find even the most dour of times, but pretending the state of things is as it’s always been or, god help me, thriving, makes me think you’ve got brain worms. Or just a real shit taste in movies.
To be fair, I don’t think there’s anywhere that’s more rewarding from a reward to cost ratio than sitting in a quiet ACed home on comfortable furniture.
You have to pay your rent and AC bills. Idk why people act like staying home is free. Pretty easy to not spend money on more than a ticket at a theater. Nobody’s forcing you to buy candy and shit
You have to pay your rent and AC bills regardless of if you travel or not. Staying home is free-r than anything else you do. If you travel unless you walk you're paying for gas/transportation and there are way fewer free places to hang out than before.
Most movie theaters make their money through concessions inflated pricing. A theater isn't just going to keep its lights on with just ticket sales otherwise ticket sales would probably go up to like $30-40+ per ticket to offset lost concession revenue which would accelerate the rate at which people stay home.
I still go to the theater. In fact, I’m going this weekend. I’m going two more times later this month. They’re all either limited releases (“Wildcat” directed by Ethan Hawke) or limited rereleases (Field of Dreams, South Park).
Here’s a rule: if the movie is good, you are allowed to see it.
A lot of 'event' movies are either part of a franchise or trying to start a franchise. As a result, movies aren't satisfying because they don't end...they just lead you to the next instalment. I feel cheated and manipulated. The last satisfying event movie I saw was Godzilla Minus One.
The 'star' system is dead. While we used to drop everything to see Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts or George Clooney, the next generation have been underwhelming. Ryan Gosling, Ryan Reynolds, Chris Hemsworth and Emily Blunt are not filling the void. Emma Stone and Margot Robbie are excellent drawcards but we can't rely on them to fill every movie.
Patron behaviour is disgusting. The last time I went, a couple brought a full Chinese takeaway in and the stink was unbearable. Ushers need to return to get people to stop checking their phones, chatting and being dicks.
We walked out of an IMAX theater because the sound was painfully loud and distorted. The speakers sounded like they were blown out. We talked to the employees who told us that they had no control over the volume on IMAX. Likely the last time we’ll go to one.
In regular theaters, people talking and using their phones during the movies has put a damper on them.
So we pick and choose movies that seem like they should have a big screen experience but watch way more at home than we did prior to the pandemic.
I used to be a big movie theatre guy, I'd probably go 20 times a year. The last 10 years I'm down to maybe 1 or 2 times a year. My kid, he goes maybe a couple more times than I do but nowhere near the amount I went when I was his age.
The pricing has a lot to do with it for me, it's just not worth it the value isn't there. The last few times I've been the theatres in my areas are also so run down it's kind of a shitty experience. My last movie experience, all automated kiosks were down, artificial butter machines all broken, they have fill your own soda/pop machines 3 outta 5 machines broken, seats broken and ripped the general condition of the theatre is just so run down and it's clear they don't want to put any money into maintenance. Call it a chicken and the egg problem but I'm not paying premium for that garbage experience.
I don't really mind. I usually try to get to discounted screenings and also get a few free tickets from my health insurance so I end up going once a week.
Even if the movie is not great, the experience of the cinema itself is. Just a couple of hours of calm and quiet, just me and the movie.
Also there are some movies (Poor Things, Dune and Furiosa are the most recent that come to mind but I understand why you might not have loved the later one) that are definitely worth to watch in cinemas, there is no way a home set up will do those justice.
If you cannot afford (time or money) to go to the cinema often I get being salty about a movie that is not great but otherwise, just enjoy the ride. Not every movie has to be a 10/10 and most of them will always look better in cinemas.
All the theaters need to do is make prices $5 per ticket again so people will take a chance on a movie. Theaters would be packed and theaters would make bank on snacks.
OK. I’m the opposite - so many things I’ve seen streaming I think ‘I wish I could’ve experienced this in a theatre.’
A big part of this is that we are conditioned to know we can stream something in a few weeks. Back in the day you didn't have that. A major release wouldn't be on home video for months and even then you'd have to go to a video store to buy or rent it.
On top of that, back in the day at home was a 150 pound 27 inch tv that was tuned to whatever dad wants to watch. Of all the things inflation has gone balls deep on, TVs seem to be the exception. They are huge and inexpensive compared to the past.
I absolutely love going to the theater. I’ll see pretty much any movie playing and enjoy my time. The thing is I don’t have to pay for a ticket and I just bring my own snacks and drinks. If I had to put my finger on it I would say the high prices don’t give most people any value. Might as well wait and watch it at home seems to be the most popular opinion.
there simply has been a wide shift to staying at home people are more comfortable and content to not leave their houses for a lot of activities now a days. Restaurants > Ubereats, Grocery > Delivery/Meal Kits, Bars > GoPuff, Movies > Streaming. Everything now has an at home equivalent and consequently a lot of studies show that some people go days with not leaving their houses if they WFH. Contentment and ease just aren't being beat especially in a more price sensitive environment.
Since I had kids and since Covid also, I’m much more discerning. There was a time in my 20s that I saw literally every small, critically acclaimed indie film - and several of them I hated! My husband and I saw The Farewell in Seattle pre-Covid. We didn’t really like it and felt bad for wasting an evening and money on it. Now I’ll just wait for such films to come on streaming. Since December I’ve seen Migration and Wonka with my kids, and Dune 2 alone, which I loved. No other trips to the cinema. The only one I’m tempted to see this summer is Inside Out 2
Personally i just care very little about watching new releases asap. Most of the time a new video game or a movie that looks interesting comes out, i think - "Cool! Maybe i'll check it out in a couple of years...". And there's not many interesting movies coming out anyway, at least not the ones i'd want to see in a theater. I mean, maybe some Godzilla vs King Kong would make a better impression on the big screen, but i have 0 interest in watching something like that in the first place.
Old guy, here. When i was a kid, we would get dumped at the mall to hang out for the afternoon, this was common. Youd slip into a theater, cos it was something to do, cost next to nothing. We'd see literally anything, and have a good time with it, or a bad time with it, didnt matter. It wasnt an investment really, and was always fun to go to a theater. A few days ago i took my brother to see furiosa. 2 tickets, 54$. What the box office is competing with isnt other movies, or the audiences desires, its convenience and affordability. popcorn at home is 1$, drinks at home are 1$, a couch at home is free, takes no investment. If a film cost the same as \~6months of a streaming service, and popocorn costs 2000% what it does at home, and drinks cost 4000% of what it costs at home, the better question than 'why are box offices underperforming' would be 'how the fuck is anyone still going to the theater at all anymore' There is a reason why 1$ theaters showing old movies will have fuller audiences then any new film that isnt 'the summer blockbuster to see'.
This is the right answer. I think it's a sign that conventional theaters cannot continue the way they are continuing. The experience that's offered is no longer worth the price they're charging.
I can't relate to most complaints people have but I'm not in the US, so I'm not sure if it's mainly an American phenomenon or what. Tickets here are not that expensive and people are mostly quiet. I prefer the theater experience for virtually anything that has cinematography to speak of, doesn't have to be a grand big budget movie. Dune in theaters definitely left a stronger impression than watching it on DVD, though.
I feel like a lot of people that post on reddit go to janky ass theaters. I almost never have a problem in theaters with the rest of the audience
the baby crying somewhere in the darkness while watching a loud movie, someone breathing heavily, coughing while eating popcorn and someone a lot taller than you sitting front of you blocking half the screen is the Theater Experience for me and you don’t get that with streaming!
If you only go to big budget, escapist, commercial features, you condemn yourself to mediocrity greenlit by accountants. You didn’t go see Anatomy of A Fall, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Maestro, May/December, Foe, Saltburn, You Hurt My Feelings, Close… and I think those were all 2023, so many of them are in the second run theaters now, where tickets don’t cost so much and you rarely share the theater with children and hopheads. Do you think you might be better satisfied by entertainment for grownups? Tell you what. Rent or stream Triangle of Sadness or Tampopo, two completely different and surprising comedies withOUT explosions or cartoon villains, ie, not made for horny teenagers. If you don’t like it, try the other. If neither, perhaps you’d better stick w superpeople and large forbidding gizmos. And don’t worry. Films well worth your time AND the big screen are piling up, waiting for you. Have fun!
I still haven't bought a TV to my house because I just love so much going to the teather...
Alamo is the only theater chain doing it right, $20 monthly movie pass and shows tons of classic movies, so they aren’t so reliant on whatever crap studios are putting out.
We are fortunate to have a local non-profit theater that shows a good mix of films. I enjoy seeing the small movies just as much as the blockbusters on the big screen. A great face expression is as meaningful as an explosion when seeing big IMHO. Also fun when the theater occasionally gets movies on 35mm. Can’t see actual film at home so easily. Also: so many of the ails that face our society are due to increasing alienation from each other. Getting strangers together to watch art has some real pros even if there are occasional cons (babies, people talking). Honestly this doesn’t happen a lot anymore with the small audiences at movies.
I think the more we talk about theaters, the more they’ll continue to be theaters
I use an Imax theatre to see movies of large scale in the score or high visual expectations. For instance we saw Dune part 2 and the Mario movie in theatres because the initial viewing experience is important to have be high quality
I wait until it is something special and I never go until it has been out a few weeks. There are some arthouse theaters near me which I will go to. But, as someone who used to go to the movies regularly, I've dialed way back. I've got a big screen at home and can watch what I like without crying babies, talking teenagers and folks of all ages on their phones.
It’s people. They are inconsiderate.
Expensive. Lots of bad movies. Most you don’t have to wait long to be available on streaming services.
This is a fair assessment given that movies have been stuck in an extremely mediocre rut for quite some time; however, a theatrical experience, usually by default, can heighten an otherwise bland movie, which means streaming it at home as an alternative will only further drive home how much the movie(s) suck.
Ah yes all movies have been mediocre for quite some time. Nope, nothing half decent in the last decade. If you haven’t seen a good movie in theatres in a while you’re picking the wrong movies.
Reading comprehension. Try it.
Your point that the cinema can heighten middling movies doesn’t change your initial assertion that “movies have been stuck in an extremely mediocre rut for quite some time” which is in each and every metric bullshit. There are always good movies and bad movies. If you’re struggling to find good ones you’re not looking.
It ain’t bullshit. You’re literally seeing an era play out in real time of recycled and repackaged art at a record level, made by less skilled artists, controlled by a highly cynical, shareholder-driven, oligarchical system. Yes, there are always good movies to find even the most dour of times, but pretending the state of things is as it’s always been or, god help me, thriving, makes me think you’ve got brain worms. Or just a real shit taste in movies.
[удалено]
To be fair, I don’t think there’s anywhere that’s more rewarding from a reward to cost ratio than sitting in a quiet ACed home on comfortable furniture.
You have to pay your rent and AC bills. Idk why people act like staying home is free. Pretty easy to not spend money on more than a ticket at a theater. Nobody’s forcing you to buy candy and shit
The difference is, you have to pay rent and AC bills anyway. Its not a cost attached to watching a movie.
You have to pay your rent and AC bills regardless of if you travel or not. Staying home is free-r than anything else you do. If you travel unless you walk you're paying for gas/transportation and there are way fewer free places to hang out than before. Most movie theaters make their money through concessions inflated pricing. A theater isn't just going to keep its lights on with just ticket sales otherwise ticket sales would probably go up to like $30-40+ per ticket to offset lost concession revenue which would accelerate the rate at which people stay home.
I still go to the theater. In fact, I’m going this weekend. I’m going two more times later this month. They’re all either limited releases (“Wildcat” directed by Ethan Hawke) or limited rereleases (Field of Dreams, South Park). Here’s a rule: if the movie is good, you are allowed to see it.
A lot of 'event' movies are either part of a franchise or trying to start a franchise. As a result, movies aren't satisfying because they don't end...they just lead you to the next instalment. I feel cheated and manipulated. The last satisfying event movie I saw was Godzilla Minus One. The 'star' system is dead. While we used to drop everything to see Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts or George Clooney, the next generation have been underwhelming. Ryan Gosling, Ryan Reynolds, Chris Hemsworth and Emily Blunt are not filling the void. Emma Stone and Margot Robbie are excellent drawcards but we can't rely on them to fill every movie. Patron behaviour is disgusting. The last time I went, a couple brought a full Chinese takeaway in and the stink was unbearable. Ushers need to return to get people to stop checking their phones, chatting and being dicks.
We walked out of an IMAX theater because the sound was painfully loud and distorted. The speakers sounded like they were blown out. We talked to the employees who told us that they had no control over the volume on IMAX. Likely the last time we’ll go to one. In regular theaters, people talking and using their phones during the movies has put a damper on them. So we pick and choose movies that seem like they should have a big screen experience but watch way more at home than we did prior to the pandemic.
I used to be a big movie theatre guy, I'd probably go 20 times a year. The last 10 years I'm down to maybe 1 or 2 times a year. My kid, he goes maybe a couple more times than I do but nowhere near the amount I went when I was his age. The pricing has a lot to do with it for me, it's just not worth it the value isn't there. The last few times I've been the theatres in my areas are also so run down it's kind of a shitty experience. My last movie experience, all automated kiosks were down, artificial butter machines all broken, they have fill your own soda/pop machines 3 outta 5 machines broken, seats broken and ripped the general condition of the theatre is just so run down and it's clear they don't want to put any money into maintenance. Call it a chicken and the egg problem but I'm not paying premium for that garbage experience.
I don't really mind. I usually try to get to discounted screenings and also get a few free tickets from my health insurance so I end up going once a week. Even if the movie is not great, the experience of the cinema itself is. Just a couple of hours of calm and quiet, just me and the movie. Also there are some movies (Poor Things, Dune and Furiosa are the most recent that come to mind but I understand why you might not have loved the later one) that are definitely worth to watch in cinemas, there is no way a home set up will do those justice. If you cannot afford (time or money) to go to the cinema often I get being salty about a movie that is not great but otherwise, just enjoy the ride. Not every movie has to be a 10/10 and most of them will always look better in cinemas.
Going to a movie is an event. Sitting in front of my own TV is just a daily occurrence. That being said, I'd go more often if the cost was lower.
Redletter Media did a recent hour long video on this, I recommend watching that since it’s a pretty comprehensive exploration IMO
All the theaters need to do is make prices $5 per ticket again so people will take a chance on a movie. Theaters would be packed and theaters would make bank on snacks.
Since COVID theatrical releases have been largely quite poor. Really hasn’t been a great period for movies.