Movie Industry Slump Continues

[bapenguin]

King Kong's dissapointing opening at the box office continues a year long slump (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051219/film_nm/leisure_boxoffice_dc) in the film industry. Hollywood executives have been racking their brains this year trying to determine if the popularity of DVDs, video games and the Web have combined with bad movies and complaints about a poor theater experience to send the industry into its slump.

The answer is not clear, and "Kong" was seen as a key test for box offices. The $200 million-plus movie is a major event of the holidays -- the second biggest movie-going season behind the summer -- and the film has been strongly reviewed.

Here's a tip: Lower the friggin ticket prices. Lower the cost of the movie to the theater chains and hopefully the theaters will pass the savings onto the consumer and lower concession prices. It is WAY to expensive to go to the movies on a regular basis. On top of all that, 90% of the movies released this year are remakes or sequels.

[Tharsis]

Given how fast movies are released to DVDs, and the fact that they are signficantly cheaper than taking the wife to a movie (+ a drink), why not just wait and buy it when it is released? Serenity is released today - what is that - 3 months?!

Kong looks pretty epic though...

[phantomhitman]

I am fine with the $5-10 ticket prices, but the $5-6 drinks, $4 candy, and $5-6 popcorn are a little rediculous. On top of that people act like dicks at the movies, and there is always the ass that either brings a baby in or a little kid that talks the entire time. With the price of plasma/lcd/big screen hdtvs coming down the theaters are going to get raped over the next 3-4 years.

[Ernst_Jager]

Local theaters in my area have $5.00 matinee shows, but you have to go before 5pm. So basically this eliminates anyone that works a 9-5 job unless you count weekends.

[Tia]

I thought Kong sucked. It was too long, and too not interesting. He tried way too hard and completely missed the mark. I could have easily cut 1 - 1.5 hours of the movie and be perfectly happy. So many unnecessary things. The movie was just boring. People compared it to Titanic, and I agree, but not in the blockbuster sense, but in, "oh my god, oh my god, please poke my eyes out".

Oh and a little advice to Mr. Jackson... if you make an ape look so real, do it all the way. The poor thing could never poop.

I really wanted to love the movie, I really did. But it just reeked.

[kokyunage]

I remember as a kid taking a saturday or sunday with a few buds and checking the show times for movies during the day. We would pay for one movie, and sneak into 2 more. We ended up staying there for a solid 7-8 hours but we saw every movie we wanted to and paid for a single ticket. But back then you could actually bring a backpack into the theater and use it to hide food.

[Tia]

OH yeah andI forgot to say. I don't know how it is in other cities, but around here (Philla metro) it is impossible to see a movie without people shouting, using cellphones and emoting loudly while watching. Another reason I hardly go to movies anymore. Am I the only sane person who knows that you are NOT suppose to talk in movies?

[boratika]

Here's a tip: Lower the friggin ticket prices. Lower the cost of the movie to the theater chains and hopefully the theaters will pass the savings onto the consumer and lower concession prices. It is WAY to expensive to go to the movies on a regular basis. On top of all that, 90% of the movies released this year are remakes or sequels.

I reckon if movies were $5 (aud) I'd go see one each week(or maybe fortnight), but at $14 I go a handful of times a year. I'd even buy a giant lift (postmix is realy an almost neglegible cost to them) and maybe some popcorn. I've only seen two movies at mainstream cinemas this year: Star Wars III and Serenity. I have seen more at the more independant cinemas though, thing like You and Me and Everybody Else and Howl's Moving Castle.

Mostly $14 is way too much.

Also ))<>((

[PacerDawn]

The Movie Theater industry is a very lucrative business. Some time ago my wife was talking to someone who owned a theater and they basically told her it is a license to print money.

Theaters gouge us with high prices because they can, not because they have to. Maybe more people are figuring this out?

[Abednigo]

It's been said, but I'll say it again. It's too expensive to go to the movies! Not only have ticket prices doubled since I was a kid ($4 matinees in the early/mid 80s to nearly $8 or $9 now...FOR A MATINEE!!). Not only that but $5 for a large soda, $4 for a bag of candy. Ludicrous. I only go to the movies for blockbusters. For the movie that you MUST see on the big screen. Narnia was one of those, and I will be seeing King Kong eventually too. But before Narnia it was Pride and Prejudice and Serenity. That's it. It takes a lot more to get people out to the movies these days.

[rjcc]

It's absolutely sick that if I decide just to go see a movie by myself one night, buy a pop and a popcorn I'm going to spend basically $20 for what, two hours of entertainment?

and they wonder why people don't go to the movies.

[Roc Ingersol]

There is no 'slump' worth mentioning.

Year to year comparisons are susceptible to statistical anomalies -- record-setting numbers skewed by things like LotR, HP and the Jesus Chainsaw Massacre. In 2003 and 2004 everyone was sweating the same shit. Guess what? 2001 and 2002 had absurd increases in revenue from anamolous blockbusters. Any long term projections shows things as being fine.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/?view2=ytdcompare&view=releasedate&p=.htm

[bean19]

I am fine with the $5-10 ticket prices, but the $5-6 drinks, $4 candy, and $5-6 popcorn are a little rediculous. On top of that people act like dicks at the movies, and there is always the ass that either brings a baby in or a little kid that talks the entire time. With the price of plasma/lcd/big screen hdtvs coming down the theaters are going to get raped over the next 3-4 years.

My thoughts exactly.

It really takes something special to get me to the theater anymore. The last 3 movies I saw in theaters were Serenity, Sin City, and Harry Potter. They very well might be the only movies I've gone to theaters to see this year.

I'd like to spend money on concessions, but they don't really have any food I want to eat, and $5 for a fucking soda is ridiculous. I'd pay $3 and feel ripped off but just pay it, but $5 = a pretty good warm meal or two weeks of sustenance with oatmeal/Ramen/pancakes, etc.

King Kong doesn't interest me. . . but then I don't find dinosaurs or gigantic apes interesting. I'd still go to see it even though I'm not overawed by the subject matter because I like Peter Jackson's work and it is a big budget film, except that it is a remake of a GOOD movie. . . that I've already seen and thus know the ending to.

I don't really care too much for remakes of GOOD movies. Why spend the money?

Btw, I think that movies are still making the mad cash. . . they just make more of it in video stores than they do at theaters now.

[Suicidal ShiZuru]

I hate people so I hardly go to the movies. Ill just wait till its been out a while if I do go, last thing I saw was Serenity on the day of release though, it was worth it. As for food, I basically never buy anything at the theater, cut the prices in half and I probably still wouldnt. Popcorn doesnt make a movie any better...

[Kelegacy]

OH yeah andI forgot to say. I don't know how it is in other cities, but around here (Philla metro) it is impossible to see a movie without people shouting, using cellphones and emoting loudly while watching. Another reason I hardly go to movies anymore. Am I the only sane person who knows that you are NOT suppose to talk in movies?
Kong obviously makes people emote, but goddamn! I was next to some old dude who was singing the 1930's tunes that popped up in the movie, in front of some woman who was whimpering loudly during the gross bug and worm scene to the point where I wanted to decapitate her, some freaks a few rows back were shouting and hollering during the action scenes, people laughed at the NOT funny scenes, and I all around wanted to stand up and shout FIRE and watch the movie by myself.

I hate people, maybe that's why I hadn't been to the theater in two and a half years before Kong.

But I would definitely go more often, even without a date and by myself, if movies were cheaper. I can go without the food, it's all junk food anyway which I despise, but the ticket prices are a bit steep. Especially when you have a million fuckwads ruining the movie for you.

[Buddha Lotus]

Here is my whole problem with going to the theater..

1. They have become obsolete.. with cheap home theaters .. SS.. and DVD's .. fheaters seem like impersonal crap rooms

2. Other people.. people now-a-days are very entitled and rude. Everyone thinks they are the only one in the theater.. and fuck everyone else. Cell phones and chatters kill the moving going experience.. and parents LEAVE YOUR FUCKING BABIES AT HOME!!

3. Tickets for movie prices are now almost as much as a new release DVD. Why bother going to a theater when you can wait 5 maybe even 3 months and get the movie .. with extras... and sit at home in peace and quiet and watch it.

[Suicidal ShiZuru]

Plus half the time Ill just download a screener and be satisfied knowing I didnt waste my time and money.

[Buddha Lotus]

.. oh and here is how stongly I feel about this..

My last time in any theater was to see Star Wars Episode 1.. I havent been back since

[Beelzebud]

Remakes
Sequels
Sequels to Remakes
Remakes of sequels
Comic books
remakes of comic books movies
sequels to remakes of comic books


which is why i've been expanding my DVD collection.

[Conner Dain]

It's not the cost that keeps me out of most movies. It's the morons. Too many people don't seem to understand that the movie theater is not their living room. They are not free to talk\whatever during the movie. And when I politely tell them to be quiet, I'm the jerk.

[ZeroOmegaZX]

Besides the cost, the urine soaked seats (yeah you heard me) the broken sound, the crappy projector, people ruin it for me. Its sad that so many people HAVE to have a cell phone now that we can't go anywhere without having one rudely but in at every public event imaginable. When i graceully went to see serenity in theaters, some jackass brought his son, his 4 or 5 year odl son, to see Serenity. Now i don't know how many of you know of the movie, but talking about the reapers ripping off people's skin, and wearing it as they rape their bodies is a little too much for a little kid. ON TOP OF THAT the kid Danced in walkway and sang THE ENTIRE MOVIE THEN when the kid actually shut up for 5 minutes and sat down by himself in another seat, his father comes over to him and starts talkin gto him and the kid starts up again, THEN THE FATHER'S CELL GOES OFF for like 3 minutes because he can't find his phone..... What's really sad is that we talked to someone we knew on the way out and he says that the father brings his kid all the time to that theater. Each time i go to the movies i feel more ripped off because of stuff like this, and the fact that it feels like im emptying my wallet every time i bring my girlfriend with me, prices are rediculous. oh yeah.... i really dont need to say that movies have god awful blown for a long while now right?

[Paltry]

industry crash and rise of independent low budget films?

[Slack3r78]

Tia,

I have to agree with you on Kong. I really don't understand the glowing reviews outside of people still being enamored with Jackson over LOTR. It lacks any sense of pacing, and not only could have, but *should* have had at a minimum 45 minutes cut off of it. Jackson's Kong isn't epic - it's an excercise in a director completely lacking in editorial self-control.

[NeuroMan42]

How about the Industry stop making steaming piles of CRAP for films.

[Jetherik]

Babysitting - $10 an hour (3 kids) (3-4 hours - will go low end and say $30), Ticket Prices for two - $24, two drinks - $2 (our theater chain sells reusable cups - all drinks in the plastic cup are a buck), small popcorn - $4= $60 to go out just to a movie. If we throw in dinner it is probably $100 (considering dinner is cheaper then the movies now) to go out. We cannot afford that - so maybe we go see six movies a year, and only if the grandparents are watching the kids. Plus, having friends who work in the industry, most of the scripts are written by young twenty-somethings to bring in the teenage market. Explosion here, sex there, another explosion. It is all the same now. Especially with sequal after sequal, or remake after remake.

[ZeroOmegaZX]

Tia,

I have to agree with you on Kong. I really don't understand the glowing reviews outside of people still being enamored with Jackson over LOTR. It lacks any sense of pacing, and not only could have, but *should* have had at a minimum 45 minutes cut off of it. Jackson's Kong isn't epic - it's an excercise in a director completely lacking in editorial self-control.

perfectly said. I have had my doubts on this film from day 1 with it being a remake and all, but when i learned it was 3 F'ing hours long i nearly crapped myself. What perplexes me is how a single remake, a REMAKE can get such rave reviews as its lke the first time it was done, granted im sure it LOOKS better, but just like in games, looks don't mean everythign, the story is still the same as the original. Big mokey found, slaps his chest, fights some dinosaurs, comes to NYC and dies. Its funny how teh Simpsons did this movie in about 7 minutes and it seems like its mroe entertaining than the 3 hour version.

[Reanimated]

To me, the theatre experience just isn't worth the price of admission anymore.

I usually end up with shitty sound, shitty quality picture (isn't it time to move to digital cinema projection?), and a pack of dipshits in the theatre.

[Citizen Philip]

Let's see..six kids can either spend their allowance on a movie and smuggle in their food and drinks -OR- they can go rent 2-3 games and 2-3 movies for the weekend for the same price.

I think the kids are voting with their dollars.

As far as adults: nothing personal, I just don't like any of you. I'd rather watch the movie at home on DvD with the extra scenes and pause/rewind. I can lounge on a reasonably clean couch and eat whatever I want.

Oh yeah, and most movies are boring formulaic crap. There is nothing wrong with formulaic movies, when they are done well.

[IagoTheHunted]

*sigh* it saddens me that nobody (I think) mentioned this yet but _I_ fucking hate movies now because if you show up early enough to get a decent seat you have to sit through 40 minutes of advertisements before the actual fucking movie begins. That's bullshit. the movie should be free at that point. I rarely drag myself to movies anymore purely for that reason.

[spacerat100]

main reasons I don't go see movies anymore:
1. jackasses in theater. Sorry but when I pay around $20 to take a date (assuming I get no food, if drink and popcorn add $15) I don't want to have to yell at anyone not to be a jackass. I do enough yelling at work I don't want to do it on my weekend.
2. movies lately suck (name a good orignal movie besides serenity)
3. advertisments before movies instead of previews. This isn't TV, when I pay around $10 for a evening ticket i don't expect to have to sit though comercials.
4. kids. I hate kids. Every movie I have seen in the last year or two has had screaming little kids in them. Theaters should have a "no children under 3 after 5pm" rule or somthing
5. Movies plots and characters lately are stupid. I can't hardly see a movie now without having the urge to gouge someones eyes out for being stupid. Maybe I've grown up or maybe they've dumbed down movies like they've been doing with games but when I see movies like Transporter 2 being totally unbelieveable I just want to turn it off and walk away. Then I remember I spent around $20 to get in and I just get pissed off. As long as the characters are unbelieveably stupid I'll just wait till it's out on video.

[EmoryM]

So basically theatres need to do four things:

1) Zero tolerance policy for noisemakers. Stick a theatre employee in each showing and have them kick out the idiots. Right away.

2) No children in showings past 6pm. When I was a kid I was getting sleepy at 6pm, not on my way to the mall to sit through 3 hours of King Kong. Christ.

3) Reduce snack prices. There is no reason Coca-Cola deserves a 400% markup just because it graced the hands of greasy movie employee #3.

4) Instead of posting the time when trailers start, post the time the movie starts. If people get there early and want to see trailers or advertisements, I don't care. Just tell me when the movie starts because that is what I'm paying to see.

I can't understand why they haven't implemented those four things. It would make going to the movies enjoyable instead of enraging.

[crashedout]

Just becase a remake of a movie that we have all seen does bad, does not mean there is a slump. The analysts said it was going to break records, but if they had actually asked the public most would say, King Kong...we know the plot, we know the end, so why should we pay to see it again? I bet it does very good on DVD.

Here is a simple one, stop writing stupid dialoge and action scenes and maybe people will come back.

[Tia]

Tia,

I have to agree with you on Kong. I really don't understand the glowing reviews outside of people still being enamored with Jackson over LOTR. It lacks any sense of pacing, and not only could have, but *should* have had at a minimum 45 minutes cut off of it. Jackson's Kong isn't epic - it's an excercise in a director completely lacking in editorial self-control.

Exactly. Actually the reviews are not glowing, if you really read them, they are all very avarage. Rotten Tomatoes have an odd way of grading. I like what one ciritic said "Kong's eye-popping array of cinematic tricks reflects the filmmaking philosophy of a director for whom anything worth doing is worth overdoing, then doing to death. " which is exactly what it is.

And what were the stupid slow motions abouts??? S.... K... U.... L.... L.... god that was silly.

Oh Kelegacy, you won't beleive the amount of emoting people supplied in King Kong in theater here, It was like a whole second sound track. But that was nothing compared to the guy that kept playing with his cellphone. Show how good the movie "really" was.

hehe.

[mulligan]

I wish i could create my own snob filled theater! ;)

1. Requires a membership (so for any violation to the theater's code of conduct will result in being thrown out, at the 3d violation, you'll be expelled forever, never to return)

2. Monthly based Fee (a flat fee that will allow you to see about 3 movies /p month, since most movies are crap anyway)

3. NO babies allowed (or have special rooms where they can see kid's films, supervised of course and included in the monthly price)

4. Certified THX digital sound and picture.

sighs.... who am i kidding?> i'd go broke in 4 months...

[Tia]

Can I join Mulligan?

I want to buy my own theater, and have anyone who speak during the movie taken out, stripped naked, and left in south philly.

[Steve_Erhardt]

Only the movie industry could get upset about making a mere 50 million in 5 days... :rolleyes:

I wish they'd get their collective heads out of their collective asses and stop expecting that every movie make back DOUBLE what it cost in the first three fucking days of release... Jesus fucking Christ.

[sflufan]

2. movies lately suck (name a good orignal movie besides serenity)

The Constant Gardener
Lord of War
Jarhead
Syriana
Munich
Paradise Now

...to name a few

[Librum]

Reminds me of why I enjoy seeing movies at the new theaters in the suburbs and not in the downtown dives. I rarely have many of these problems, though they do crop up on occassion.

Regarding Kong, I enjoyed it, but that's because I went to see the special effects, and that's about all the movie was, so that did it for me.

[mulligan]

Can I join Mulligan?

I want to buy my own theater, and have anyone who speak during the movie taken out, stripped naked, and left in south philly.


Amen to that!

[ruprect]

Its sad to say but only certain action "event" movies could get me into the theaters now, and then only if the theater has a great sound system and woofers under the seats. Harry Potter, a new Indiana Jones (if it ever comes out), Serenity (saw it 4 times, wish I could see it again in the theater).

Any thing else I'd rather watch at home on my modest home theater system with friends. Most of my friends are the same way. . . we just wait.

[Kagger]

I've seen Star Wars on opening day all 3 times, and I expect there to be chearing. I'm actually disappointed if there isn't any (on opening day). Harry Potter...no one cheered...which just showed that Star Wars fans are better (:P).

I may whisper, and I mean whisper to my friend next to me one of my ever so witty comments, but I never converse.

I barley see movies at the theatre. My family will go once or twice a year, and my friends don't really invite me much (there are like 4 splinter groups in the group...and who knows where I fall in). When I do, it's about 14 dollars for me. I can't drive to humble yet, too far.

However, every Saturday night we rent a movie. We have a 55 inch widescreen tv, no surround sound yet, but we all just sit back and enjoy it. We pause like 5 times durnig the movie for breaks, but thats the way we do it. That gets the job done. And I can invite friends over to my house and rent a movie (or use one I own), and we have a great time.

[jacktion]

I hope some movie industry execs read this because I am sure they are sitting at home scratching their heads wondering "why aren't I richer?"

1. Unceasingly annoying ads before the movie starts. I don't come to the theatre to watch tv commercials.

2. Horrible picture quality. The bulbs in most theatres are too dim and make everything hard to see. My analog tv looks better.

3. People are very rude and loud. In the old days the ushers were men with flashlights who would enforce the rules and throw out troublemakers. These days they are 14 year old kids who get paid so little that they don't give a f&$k. If they did try to throw someone out they would just get sued.

4. Mainstream movies at big cinemaplexes are crappy. I want to see unusual, great, films. These just don't get played at any theatre I know of.

5. Prices are ridiculously high. I saw some people refer to 5 dollar ticket prices? Where the hell do you live? Iran? Every ticket I see is 10 or higher. Plus a soda is 5 bucks, a box of candy is 5 bucks. A little plastic tray of nachos is like 7 bucks. It should not cost almost 50 bucks to go see an hour and a half movie. We are getting raped.

[danhoo]

Adding in my theater horror stories...

I went to see Aliens vs Predator (because I'm a sucker), and a quarter of the way through some guy in my row starts making a lot of noise un-wrapping sandwiches or something. I think he brought an entire picnic. He was making enough noise that someone started yelling at him (which didn't help). Then, maybe half way through the film, I hear a baby crying. Who the heck brings a baby to AvP? Finally, near the end, the sound cut out, and no one offered us any sort of apology afterwards.

I'm done with theaters for a while.

[fahrvergnugen]

I'm fortunate in that I live near a theater that's owned & operated by people who care. Troublemakers are thrown out. Ticket prices are still under $10. It's an old building, so it's got a Wurlitzer, and they play it in the main auditorium every Friday and Saturday night before the show. No advertising before the movie, either.

If I'm in the mood, there's also a second-run theater nearby that has a liquor license. I can get pizza & beer, and the first 5 rows there are sofas. Tickets are $5, and while they do have ads before the show, they're for local businesses. I don't have some insulting jerk multi-millionaire telling me that I'm ruining his life by downloading films.

[The Letter 3]

The only thing that makes seeing a movie reasonable is the 2nd run two dollar theatre in my town. We have plenty of 1st run theatres (five, I think, with at least six screens each), but why pay $7 (which is cheap, I know) when I can pay $2 for the same movie. The picture quality sucks in the first place so I'm not missing anything there.

I've actually had two different movie reels mess up when I was watching them in the 1st run theatres. No annoucement. No apology. No clue that anyone cares.

[Tia]

Adding in my theater horror stories...

I went to see Aliens vs Predator

could have stopped here. :-P

I went to see Harry Potter (3) on opening night. Behind me sat a blind guy. His friend was dubbing the entire movie for him. Now I realize that blind people have every right to watch the movie. But... I refuse to give them extra "consideration" on the account of my viewing pleasure.

If you know you need to make noise, at least, the minimum you can do, is not go on opening night. Go later, not on opening night, when you can sit farther from people and not make ruin the movie for others. Or just watch the movie without the extra dubbing.

Before you get pissed at, imagine if it would have happened to you. The entire movie get extra dubbing of what is going on behind your ear.

[ÜberJumper]

Man, you guys have shitty theatres by the sounds of it.

Our Famous Player complexes (http://www.famousplayers.com/default.asp) in the area are awesome! For parents that can't get out to movies, they've got a famous babies (http://www.famousplayers.com/theatres/famousbabies.asp) event every week at the local complex.

The seats are wide, comfortable, with lots of leg room. Because they're high backed, you don't get much sound from behind you.

The projection and sound equipment is at best a couple of years old.

There are static advertisements and movie trivia playing on the screen ahead of the movie. Advertisements after the movie starts to roll are limited to two or three minutes, plus trailers (my wife and I *love* going to see the trailers ahead of the movie).

Movie food is, of course, expensive. Apparently the movie theatre chains get a *tiny* cut of the box office reciepts, and depend on concessions to stay alive. To make up for it, they do have a lot of variety available, from Pizza Hut, to New York Fries, to Starbucks, to Taco Bell, to Burger King.

I've got a decent TV at home, so I too like to watch a good movie at home, but some movies just have to be seen on the big screen IMO.

[Roc Ingersol]

Sorry guys: When you own a home theatre system and have to include babysitting in your entertainment budget, you're not the core audience anymore.

The business side doesn't care about us old fogeys and our preferences.
They want the idiot kids.

[mulligan]

Now I realize that blind people have every right to watch the movie...


err.. what? :)

[Karmakin]

Man, you guys have shitty theatres by the sounds of it.

Our Famous Player complexes (http://www.famousplayers.com/default.asp) in the area are awesome! For parents that can't get out to movies, they've got a famous babies (http://www.famousplayers.com/theatres/famousbabies.asp) event every week at the local complex.

The seats are wide, comfortable, with lots of leg room. Because they're high backed, you don't get much sound from behind you.

The projection and sound equipment is at best a couple of years old.

There are static advertisements and movie trivia playing on the screen ahead of the movie. Advertisements after the movie starts to roll are limited to two or three minutes, plus trailers (my wife and I *love* going to see the trailers ahead of the movie).

Movie food is, of course, expensive. Apparently the movie theatre chains get a *tiny* cut of the box office reciepts, and depend on concessions to stay alive. To make up for it, they do have a lot of variety available, from Pizza Hut, to New York Fries, to Starbucks, to Taco Bell, to Burger King.

I've got a decent TV at home, so I too like to watch a good movie at home, but some movies just have to be seen on the big screen IMO.

Agreed with all this. Here's the thing. Movie-watching in Canada is a whole lot different than stateside. I go to about 6 movies a year, and what UberJumper says is about right (although I go to the EmpireTheatres chain).

When I was in Virginia and California, I had all of the bad experiences that people talk about. But in Canada, I have heard exactly one cell-phone ring in all the movies I've gone to. (Actually it was this Saturday watching Kong...which I really enjoyed personally. The CGI dinos sucked, but I expect that). There's the occasional inappropiate laugh, but it's not too bad.

Food is expensive, but there's a reason for it. I don't eat popcorn at the theatres anyway. Dinner and a movie for me and my wife comes to about 25 bucks. Not too bad at all.

[phantomhitman]

i almost forgot those lame ass fucking ads.....those can be soaked in gasoline and thrown int he fires of modor.......

[ÜberJumper]

I do have to say though, that I know of a handful of people who want to see King Kong but won't because they don't want to sit in a theatre for 3+ hours.

[CapnAJ]

DVD sales seem to be quite strong in contrast.

I much prefer the comfort of my living room to the cramped confines of a cinema anyday!

[OUX]

Sorry people I am one of those who laugh at the "wrong" time, but to be fair Hollywood tries to pull a lot of crap that is "scary", or "dramatic" and it is just so ridiculous it's funny. Ex. Red Dragon when he glues the guy to the wheel chair and sets him on fire then rolls him down a hill into a minivan? Fuckin comedic gold.

[drakkarim]

personally i'm a very considerate movie goer, when i go with my wife we always sit at the top, in a corner, and try to keep the moaning down to a minimum....

on a real note, we rarely go to the theater as well, for most of the exact same reasons as mentioned above. mostly crappy shows, crappy prices, and idiot kids all over the place that can't keep their shitty traps shut.

here's my breakdown from all the movies that come out:
1% - I will pay to see
0.5% - I will rent (but never after seeing it in a theater)
0.003% - I will buy (but only after seeing it in a theater, and not renting)
3% - of the rest I will download and burn.
95.497% - of the rest is the equivalent of a fucking tv commercial and gets treated as such.

[ZeroOmegaZX]

personally i'm a very considerate movie goer, when i go with my wife we always sit at the top, in a corner, and try to keep the moaning down to a minimum....

on a real note, we rarely go to the theater as well, for most of the exact same reasons as mentioned above. mostly crappy shows, crappy prices, and idiot kids all over the place that can't keep their shitty traps shut.

here's my breakdown from all the movies that come out:
1% - I will pay to see
0.5% - I will rent (but never after seeing it in a theater)
0.003% - I will buy (but only after seeing it in a theater, and not renting)
3% - of the rest I will download and burn.
95.497% - of the rest is the equivalent of a fucking tv commercial and gets treated as such.

*standing ovation*

[motor]

The Constant Gardener
Lord of War
Jarhead
Syriana
Munich
Paradise Now

...to name a few

Syriana is awesome. First movie I've seen in many years where I was nervous I'd miss something important to the plot if I went to the bathroom.

As for the noise in the theaters, maybe it's a Seattle thing (and the fact that my wife and I go to movies after dinner), but the 9 or 10 oclock show is usually pretty good: no kids and it's always pretty quiet. Now it might be different if I still went to movies like "The Dukes of Hazard", but aren't you just asking for it then :)

[baz]

I pay £10.99 a month and get unlimited movies, so I see a fair few. My main problem is the 30 minutes worth of adds they start you off with, that shit is ridiculous. If its a popular movie and you turn up 30 minutes late you are relegated to a shitty seat, so you have a choice of being brainwashed for 30 minutes, or potentially getting shafted seatwise.

But I still love the movies, people where I am seem pretty quiet, I just buy my food/drink in the supermarket next door so thats no issue. I see maybe 4-6 movies a month.

[PantherModern]

I guess I'm in the minority here, but I go to the theater all the time. My wife and I usually enjoy it immensely, and it is one of the things we love to do together. I live in a small city (around 40,000 people), and we have two theaters. Both offer student discounts (glad I hung on to that ID!), and we often see a movie at any time of the day for 12.00 for the both of us ($10 for a matinee) at the nice theater in town, and 10.00 at the crappier, older one. We usually see a movie every weekend, and we often get concessions too. One of the theaters offers a "movie mug" or something where you spend like 5 bucks to buy it, and then refills are 2.00 for 40 oz. I also joined their MVP club, and so every time I buy tickets or spend money on concessions I get all sorts of free stuff. To date I have gotten 4 free movie tickets and way cheap popcorn and whatnot. The crappy theater is cheaper to get in, and their concessions are more expensive, so if we go there we usually just skip the soda and stuff. But, the junk theater always gets the cool movies, like The Constant Gardener, Goodnight and Good Luck, and Serenity.

Yeah, we probably spend about $60 a month going to the movies, but we don't have kids and we have a great deal of disposable income, so why not? We go at odd times to avoid crowds (I saw Kong at 6:00 on a thursday and there were maybe 20 people in attendance), and since she is a teacher and I am a web designer that can come and go from my work as I please, we often hit up early afternoon matinees for the cheapness and to avoid the after work folks.

Yeah, I have had some annoying theater experiences. Return of the King was pretty bad. I had this guy behind me that kept leaning over to his girlfriend/wife/life partner and saying "Look at they giant hairy feet! *chortle* Look at they giant hairy feet!" Obviously refrencing the old adage about foot size and the size of one's "special member". His girlfriend and other friends kept laughing, so he did it like 35 times throughout the movie. But hey, that is why I rarely go on busy opening nights anymore. I either hit the early matinee on opening day, or I wait until Sunday afternoon. But overall, I love the movies. Hopefully something will change and people will be able to start enjoying them again.

[Tia]

err.. what? :)

ooopsy, didn't even think about it. :p

[Pluvious]

/rant on

Freakin KIDS!.. WTF are you people bringing babies and little kids into a PG-13 or R movie??.. Don't you know you are DAMAGING YOUR CHILDS HEARING PERMATENTLY?! I think it's so sad 'parents' don't know better and bring babies into LOUD THX THEATRES.

ADS!? I have to pay for ADS!! Fook YOU! 20mins of ads and then the 6 previews start? BS.

/rant

and they wonder why sales is down.. sigh.

[DropD98]

For me, there are rarely any movies they come out with that I ever care to see at the theaters as it's usually the same thing over and over, just in a different wrapper. Alot of the movies just aren't that interesting, or it's a remake/reimagining of some previous movie. And movie versions of old tv shows, thank you but no. Sometimes I think they are just running out of original ideas. If I ever do see a movie, it's usually something at one of the smaller, specialty theaters like the Angelika or Alamo Drafthouse(Beer and movies!) that show smaller films that won't make the bigger theaters like Shaun of the Dead, Oldboy, etc or documentaries like Murderball.

I guess I am just sick of the same tired movies that come out year after year. Plus, I think that too many movies come out every year, and they come out way too fast. The only time I really go see movies anymore is if it's something I am interested in that I feel I have to see on the big screen. Otherwise, I just wait til the thing comes out on DVD and either rent it, or buy it if it was something that I was into. I guess there just isn't anything that really makes me NEED to go to the theater.

EDIT: One more thing, why are they bitching anyway! Most times they make a killing on the dvd releases. Take Kevin Smith for example. He states he doesn't mind if his movie doesn't kill at the theaters, as most times, he can make his budget back and alot more on the dvd sales. Not a direct quote, but I am paraphrasing on something I remember him mentioning on his websites messageboard....

[Knite]

I really really do like the movie theatre experience, generally. But I don't go to movies as often anymore either. Why?

I pay 8 bucks for a ticket, another 4 for a soda, and 2 for some candy, to sit in seats that aren't made for 6'4" people with bad knees, hoping that after waiting through 15-20 minutes of commercials, (I'm not going to include previews, I kinda like seeing those. Fun to comment on and stuff...), to finally get to the movie and hoping, PRAYING the sound is loud enough, the picture is actually in focus, that the movie doesn't suck (like many lately do, although I liked Narnia) and that I don't have to deal with screaming babies in a rated R movie.

For a similar price, I can sit at home, on my couch, in front of a 51" TV, with a Sony Surround reciever with Infinity Speakers that can piss off my neighbors while watching a DVD, and a beer in each hand.

That being said.... Seeing the third Matrix movie at a midnight showing was just fun. I LOVE when the crowd gets into a movie... The best movie experience I had though was going to a "Midnight Movies" showing of "The Wrath of Khan" like 8 years ago. The crowd cheered and booed, and when the sound skipped near the end of the movie, the whole theatre stood up and said the damn line in it's place!!!! THAT was AWESOME! =)

[Roc Ingersol]

That being said.... Seeing the third Matrix movie at a midnight showing was just fun. I LOVE when the crowd gets into a movie...
Yeah, it's like live action MST3k at that point.

[dr_wily]

the reason snacks are so spendy is because thats how the theatres make money.. they only make a fraction off the cost of the ticket, as the movie studios keep on jacking up the cut they need. notice the per screen avg? Places like www.boxofficeguru.com say often that although it broke records, not nearly as many people saw it etc..

Me, I use my entertainment book, bring my own snack (oh noes!), and dont drink since my body is trained to pee about a gallon when i only sniff someones water while a movie is running.. my system is pure evil and baffling. :)

[KarmaGhost]

The last time I went to the movies was to see the latest Harry Potter flick over Thanksgiving Weekend. We sat in a smaller theater, for some reason, and there was a decent amount of people there for a Thanksgiving afternoon. About 20 minutes in (which means the commercials and trailers were still running) I heard what I thought was snoring to my left. I ignored it at first until it continued and started to get louder.

"Could it be?" I thought to myself, "Could someone have really fallen asleep already? Am I going to have to bust out the gummy wurm shurokens?" So I looked across the isle and saw a fairly heavy-set, middle-aged man with a big tub of popcorn. It took me a minute to process, but he wasn't asleep. His eyes were wide open and he was snacking on his popped-corns quite happily. The noise continued and I realized that this man was

a.) too fat
b.) had a deviated septum
c.) had the first case of "awake apnea" I had ever witnessed

This continued through the entire movie.

My point? People can be annoying even when they're not trying to and without being inconsiderate (although I guess he could have been considerate enough to not be fat, get his septum fixed, not show up at all, etc.) and this is one of the many reasons why people have stopped going to the theater. People hate people.

[BabyJesus]

There is a theater here in Baltimore that does not allow kids in at all.. The Senator, it is usually a big premier site for Baltimore. Nice seats, big theater, no kids. Sadly its a bit of a drive from where I live so I don't get there much.

They should make people hand over thier cell phones when going into movies though, too bad its really not feasable to do. ANd all theaters should have a general rule, no kids after 7pm, unless its a G rated flick.

[Mirabelle]

No one here has mentioned how loud theaters have become. I feel like they are trying to ruin people's hearing. Almost every movie I have gone to in the past two years i have to ask them to turn the volume down. Sound needs to be louder when the theaters are full, yes, but you can't leave the volume at the same level when 20 people are there.

It's like "Harrison Bergeron". If some people are too deaf to hear the movie, they will make the rest of us deaf, too.

[F9Phoenix]

it's about 10.50 here in NYC. I usually don't go to the movies because of the other people. I don't mind paying for the ticket or popcorn, but the amount of rude people is what keeps me away.

[A Lusty Alien]

We have a theater here in Anchorage that I love to watch movies in. (Only problem is, so does everybody else in town so showings tend to be crowded.) They show 2nd run movies (last week they just screened Serenity) and all ticket prices (adult and children) are $3.

Every other row of seats have been removed and replaced with long tables, so there is plenty of leg room to stretch out. They have the regular movie fare food, but they also serve pizza, wraps, fajitas, nachos (the kind piled high with steak and or chicken), and servers bring your food out to your table.

Down on the main level in the back of the theater, they serve beer (pitchers too), wine and hard cider. Because alcohol is served, unaccompanied minors must sit upstairs in the balcony. (Where there is no alcohol.) The food is reasonably priced, but where you paid 12 dollars for popcorn and a soda, I ate a Spicy Thai Chicken Wrap and had a couple of beers.

But the best part is everybody has impeccable movie manners. No cell phones ringing, nobody talking above a whisper.

[Mav]

The closest local theater to me closed within the last six months. Reason? Extremely low business. We're talking big time movies at the normal peak show times for other theaters, barely selling tickets here. The fact that it's like $8.00 a ticket after 7pm, another $5 for a popcorn, another $4 for the soda, then maybe if you want some candy another $3 for one "small" box of whatever and you're looking at roughly $20-25 per person. For that much, I could go get a nice steak dinner at a nice high class restarurant then come home and get the movie off bittorrent (in debateable quality).

Now, if I do want to spend the money on a theater movie, I gotta drive across town, to the nearest theater. Fuck that. What movies have come out this year that warranted the actual price? Serenity, maybe Harry Potter 4. Kong, I'll wait till I get around to reading reviews but based on trailers and previews I just can't see Jack Black in a Kong movie and take it seriously...

Yea you can do the whole matinee showing, but then you have to go early, on a weekday. Some of us that work M-F can't do this. And I certainly am not wasting vacation time to get a day off work, to see a 2 hour movie. Weekend prices are just as high as the weeknight prices so that does me no good.

And, again, even if prices were low, who the fuck wants to sit in a theater with cell phones going off, baby's crying, little kids laughing at inappropriate times, punk teenagers thinking they are big shit trying to show off infront of their friends and all that crap. If anything the industry should pay us for sitting through all that. I swear if one more fucking couple brings their 3 month old to see some movie and never shuts the kid up I'm gonna pull some home remedy sterilzation kits out and hand them out freely. This shit is just obscene at times. And of course Ushers, do nothing to stop them. AND you can't go "tell" an Usher cause then you look like the dick that had to tattle tell on a group of grown adults (whom themselves are behaving inapprorpiately themselves but beside the current point).

People wonder why broadband and bittorrent are growing, shit like this.

Yea I'm sure the Kong cam rip will be the shittiest quality but at least theres noone to distract me from it and I don't need to sign over my fucking SOUL as payment for viewing it and a few snacks during it.

[Kelegacy]

Sorry people I am one of those who laugh at the "wrong" time, but to be fair Hollywood tries to pull a lot of crap that is "scary", or "dramatic" and it is just so ridiculous it's funny. Ex. Red Dragon when he glues the guy to the wheel chair and sets him on fire then rolls him down a hill into a minivan? Fuckin comedic gold.
Actually, that happened in the book too. The scene had to be in the film because it was so grotesque in the novel.

That's another thing...if a movie based on a book I really enjoy is released, I usually wont see it. Way to fucking ruin something sacred to me. And thankfully I never saw Battlefield Earth.

Heck, I fell asleep during The Return of the King. Tolkien was longwinded when I read him in high school, but to fall asleep during a film? Not Jackson's fault entirely, but dry is dry anyway you slice it. I'm one of the few people who didn't like the LOTR trilogy too much, mostly because I despise Elijah Wood and swear he ruined the movie for me.

[Spigot]

OH yeah andI forgot to say. I don't know how it is in other cities, but around here (Philla metro) it is impossible to see a movie without people shouting, using cellphones and emoting loudly while watching. Another reason I hardly go to movies anymore. Am I the only sane person who knows that you are NOT suppose to talk in movies?

I agree, although thankfully the theatres I go to are quite well behaved. I'd go more often if a) there were more movies worth seeing in a theatre (by which I mean the Serenity's, Star Wars' and King Kongs'... ie. big loud noisy movies with crazy special effects) and b) they brought back matinees.

I don't know about other places but in the 905/519 region around Toronto it's nigh impossible to find a matinee on a weekday. I'd love to go see a movie but getting out at night is somewhat difficult for me what with work and all. If I could go catch an afternoon show it would work out much better.

Bah.

That said, I still love seeing movies in theatre. I just don't find it very convenient to go.

[mightbe]

Maybe LESS gay cowboy movies would increase ticket sales.

Last thing I want to pay to see is two cowhands riding bearback.

I can get that for free on the internet.

[The Iron Weasel]

Heck, I fell asleep during The Return of the King. Tolkien was longwinded when I read him in high school, but to fall asleep during a film? Not Jackson's fault entirely, but dry is dry anyway you slice it. I'm one of the few people who didn't like the LOTR trilogy too much, mostly because I despise Elijah Wood and swear he ruined the movie for me.

I fell asleep the second time through Two Towers....a magazine happened to be near my face...and I crap all over my face...that was an embarassing walk out of the theater.

[mightbe]

I fell asleep the second time through Two Towers....a magazine happened to be near my face...and I crap all over my face...that was an embarassing walk out of the theater.

Any time you crap on your face, it's quite embarassing.

[pdeupree]

The top two reasons I have only seen 2 movies in the theatre in the past year (3 if you count seeing Serenity twice) is A) running commercials before the movie previews, and B) crappy quality in the theatre. Regarding A, it wouldn't even be as big a problem if the commercials were original, but they play the same crappy commercials you see on TV and I'm paying extra to see a movie, not commercials. Regarding B, when I saw Star Wars there was a dead pixel on the screen (minor, I know, but it just bugged me), and when I saw Serenity the 2nd time, the sound flaked out part way through and the theater couldn't get their act together to fix it.

That being said, I think that movies like the Harry Potters, the Lord of the Rings, Spiderman, and even the not so great movies that do well like Fantastic Four and take your pick of dumb comedy shows that the concept of seeing a film in the theatre, and even bad movies doing well are not dead. I think Kong is a bit of an anomoly. If Jackson had picked a different subject matter, I think he would have a real blockbuster on his hands. However, he chose to remake a movie that has already been done 3 times prior to this. Add into that the fact that the trailers make me think of a combination of previous King Kongs, and Jurassic Park, and I'm just not that interested. Further add into this the insane marketing blitz they have done, and I'm pretty Kong'd out by now.

Prior to launch, the Spiderman films, and the Harry Potter films have had a fairly low key marketing campaign and they only seem to really kick it up when the film is really ready to launch. I don't see a ton of Burger King commercials with Potter waving his wand and making a Potter Burger appear. The excessive cross marketing is, for me at least, a big problem with many films.

Ultimately, who knows. It's likely I'll be waiting for King Kong on DVD. If I didn't see the last 3 Harry Potter films in the theatre, then I can't imagine seeing King Kong there either. Of course, if Jackson runs true to form, the "directors edition" of the movie won't be out for some time.

[Sazime]

This got huge, but I don't know if it's been said. Copies of the movies are ridiculously expensive. Because producers NEVER want to lose money, so the make theaters absorb the cost. Why are indy theaters dieing again? Oh, wait....

[Achilles]

I agree with you bap. After getting a bag of popcorn you just paid more for your movie than if you had bought it on DVD. I’ve resolved myself to boycotting the absurd concessions that they have at theaters. I hope other people do as well till they lose so much money they lower them to something that isn’t the cost of a dinner at a real restaurant. If I’m going to be spending $12 on food I damn well better not be getting only popcorn and a soda.

This may be the fault of the movie execs charging too much for the movies, but don't they realize that more people would buy concessions if they didn't cost so much? It used to be that everyone bought them on the way into a picture, it was part of the experience. Now, not hardly.

I think the movies might have something to do with it. When your big budget films for the year include The Cave and Stealth, you’ve got a problem. But War of the Worlds and a new Potter movie did come out this year so it’s not all bad.

[jwbxx]

I dont know maybe because most of the movies released this year sucked. Maybe that's why there is a slump. And the fact people can get a dvd copy of the movie even when it is still in theatres.

[Spigot]

I think that this little rap (http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=IggTu7kV7No) is on topic, given the complaints about concession prices.

I, too, will never buy popcorn or pop or candy at a theatre. If I can't fit it in my pocket, I just go hungry.

[phantomhitman]

I think that this little rap (http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=IggTu7kV7No) is on topic, given the complaints about concession prices.



holy crapola, that was great. If they could change 5-10 words they would make a platinum selling rap record.

[Him_Again]

It's been about 3 years now since I've stopped going to movies in the theatre on a regular basis. Theater prices are absolutely ludicris and movies come out on DVD very quickly. I can wait in most cases for the DVD. As it is now, I see about 2-3 movies a year in the theater. Until prices drop, It will continue to be that amount or lower. Theres way to much money being spent on huge fancy theatres with 20 screens. If it means I'd pay $0.01 less on a ticket if there was no giant replica UFO and King Kong suspended from the ceiling in the lobby, I'd be all for it.