Right Again,but i rarely go.After 7 years in the business I find myself watching the theatre operation and not the movie.I have to go when hardly anyone is in the theatre.
I think there will always be a need for theatres,of course you can stay home and watch a movie or just T.V.,but that is why its called going out.The prices may seem high and they are but that has always been said.When I worked for LOEWS in the seventies and tickets when fron $2.50 to $3.00 at night people bitched but they still came.They is still nothing like watching a movie in a theatre,people you say different must not ever go to the theatres,or do not know the difference.Just my thoughts.
Perhaps.
One thing one pattern that I have uncovered with the local cinema opertator is that they hold movies as long as two months. Now Wilcox is following after Village Entertainment and Regal with this business practice. Question is this unsavory? Well if u hold over over a movie longer than two months it blocks other films from coming here at all. Example Paranormal Activity didn’t open at the local cinema and on the Demand It site a lot of locals close to a hundred demanded that this movie open here. But it didn’t. Yet to hold over films longer than month is going to push the audience into other markets.
Movies are better enjoyed in a theatre. I see a movie in a theatre to determine if I would buy that title on DVD and Blu-ray. It doesn’t matter how big your home theatre system is, it doesn’t beat seeing a movie in a theatre.
I also might add, however, that I admittedly like the fact that movie theatres now have much more comfortable chairs, which comply with the contours of the back, and make for a more comfortable experience. The Coolidge and the Brattle, both of which underwent renovations fairly recently, now have such chairs in their theatres.
I second the opinions of the posters that believe that;
A) No matter what happens, there’ll always be people (myself included) who much prefer going to see movies in a real movie theatre, on the great big, wide screen, with the lights down low.
B) Much, if not most of what’s coming out nowadays in the way of movies totally stinks,
C) Many of the older classics ( up through the 1960’s and early to mid 1970’s) were better, although there were afew good ones in the 1980’s and beyond.
D) Admission prices to these multiplexes for the movie, as well as the concession prices are outrageous.
E) The behaviour of much of the audience (especially of many of today’s younger audiences) is rude, boorish, and in need of some discipline, such as threats of booting from the theatre, or actual booting from the theatre if they persist in their lousy behaviour (i. e. cellphone use and texting, talking during film, etc.)
F) There are ways to beat this situation. One doesn’t necessarily have to resign him/herself to watching movies at home on a DVD player on TV. Since there are still some great, independent theatres here in the United States that play a combo of classics, independent films, and other art
films, the best way to do it is to have a yearly membership to one or more of these theatres if a theatre in one’s area has such a program. Having an annual membership, even if it’s a very basic one, enables people to get into movies on a discount, which is often substantial, and, in theatres like that which show better quality movies, there’s often far less of a problem with audiences who use their cellphones, text, or talk, etc., during the movie.
G) I also second the opinion that movie theatre staff should crack down on such behaviour and warn and/or expel audience members who disturb others in the theatre with the above-mentioned behaviour. If audience members are going to act like children, they should be treated like children!!
Well, good films open and close immediately in NYC once that is in the ad. Avoid Magnolia Six Shooter Films like the plague. They kill them before they open.
We have played some art titles day and date with on demand that have very well. This July we played SUMMER HOURS and did very well with it. I use to be afraid to play with on demand but it does not hurt us.
I recently saw “THIS IS IT” and “PRECIOUS” with disrespectful boisterous audiences in Times Square. Both were weekday matinee performances and both were sold out.
This is the same old argument of “no one goes anymore because it is too crowded”.
Distributors have been stupidly undermining the theatre business for years without success. Nothing says “this movie sucks” as efficiently as the term “also available on VIDEO ON DEMAND”.
All of you are right. Also, young people don’t care, they will watch movies on there i phones. I have had a 45 year love afair with the motion picture. A few years ago I visited Paris, a city that also loves the cinema. The audience is far more respectful, as was england than the states. Ticket prices and other complaints of finance doesn’t bother me. I live in the Philadelphia area, there are a few cinemas that are a pleasure to visit called the Ritz. Since 1976, and two other complexes later, the best in product reasonable consession prices, snacks offered are imported chocolate and italian sodas. They were better when the late Ramon Possel ran them. But still the bench mark for me, feel free to visit when in Philly, stop by Sonny’s Steaks on Market St. after. Even the Ritz are not imune to creatins that sometime wander in there. Since I rarely see Hollywood product, when I do I can’t enjoy it. Last week I went to see 2012. Cell phones, lights from cell phones, people sneaking in from after seeing Twilight, talking, and the worst annoyance to me, people that drape their filthy feet on the chair in front of them. In New York in the Village, I like to go to the Film Forum, I can’t go Saturday afternoon or evening, because of the young hipster doofuses that show up and laugh at the classic films thinking they are camp. Weekdays are best times to go to a movie you really want to see. Try to support independant theaters as one would record and book stores.
It is my wish to see movie theaters thrive and go on forever, however they are up against HUGE competition from the home entertainment industry, and the film industry itself is in the process of making things even harder for them. The theater industry is not taking steps to make their theaters friendly to the average consumer. Gouging prices, badly staffed and operated megaplexes, not policing them for an enjoyable experience by all, and running advertisements ad nauseum on the screen, something that really made them above the television industry, makes for a place that the average citizen is beginning to loathe. I put 100% of the blame on the big chains. They are the ruination of the industry.
I hope for less screens but better quality screens in the future.
In other words give me a time machine! lol.
Lenses are far better today but much of this is offset by short steep downward angle throws. We may have better film stocks but they high speed print them to death! Long throws with carbon arc worked wonders with those old lenses plus prints were made with more care as we had less of them.
Right on JSA. And when I finally get to travel to Los Angeles, I look forward to visiting the Cinerama Dome. I’ve heard nothing but great things.
As a theater chain owner-to be, I will be fully committed to bringing showmanship back to the movies. I understand that ads bring income to the theaters, but I think the most important auditoriums should be true showplaces, and that’s what I aim to do. Of course, limit ads along the way.
The answer is NO. 50 years from now, people will still go to the show.
The situation is dire in many multiplexes. The presentation, the ads, the patrons, and on and on. Yes, it’s ugly. I know the trouble spots, and avoid them accordingly. When it comes to movies, there’s nothing like going out on the town with friends and family, and experience the big screen. Watching “Up” in the Ziegfeld or “Dark Knight” at the Cinerama Dome is a whole lot more fun than sitting in front of the HD tube.
I have heard this argument for 50 years, Tv will kill the movies, beta ,Vhs , laser disc will kill the movies,dvd will kill the movies , giant tv screens will kill the movies ,home video, home audio ,direct tv, dvr ….blah blah blah… Nothing will kill the movie biz……. Sorry 50 years of the same bs and it never changes!
People like to go out, and there will be a few centrally located big city theatres to accomodate them, but with today’s home entertainment systems surpassing picture and sound qulaity of the theatre, the exorbitant cost of tickets and concessions, and the low quality clientele that are not policed enough making the movie going experience less than pleasant, and the film companies considering day and date runs with home video, the neighborhood cinema will become as extict as the drive ins that once thrived in small towns and big cities.
LIM, I suppose moviegoing today is a lot like WHITE CASTLE hamburgers – most people complain that it’s a horrible experience, and yet the establishment manages to stay in business.
I miss the days before I got married when I used to cheat the movie multiplex business by devoting an entire Saturday or Sunday and seeing three or four movies for the price of one at any given multiplex establishment. Security of any kind was such a joke!
Then why is attendance continually going up.. not cash…….Even with all the computers ,giant tv screens and todays tech no decrease in attendance.. Most people love going to the movies on this site as i read them all the time. Those who live in the past well live in the past!
No disrespect, longislandmovies, but you seem to stand virtually alone in your satisfaction with the movies and movie theaters are today. So many, many, many pissed off and disatisfied moviegoers can’t be wrong!
Today you pay a lot to get in to a person whose tattoos are bigger works of art than the theatre’s decor. You pay an arm and a leg from concessions from someone that looks like they could NEVER get a food handler’s certification, walk into a shoebox sized auditorium, and there are commercials for anything and everything blaring out at you. When the show hits the screen, it may or may not be in focus or frame, because the projectors start themselves. If it is out of focus or frame, trying to find someone to tell in a 16 or 24 plex is time consuming, and usually futile. The people in the auditorium are often obnoxious, talk and text on the cell phone, and because the modern auditoriums are so small, they ALWAYS seem to be too near. Today’s movies are ALWAYS too loud, and special effects have supplanted good writing and acting to make a movie stand out. If the movie is a stinker, you leave feeling cheated. Teenagers like this scenario. Adults do not.
I miss the theatre business as it was VERY much, but the way it is now, I wouldn’t go back for any reason
I loved the old “suburban” theatres built in the 40s and 50s the best. You would purchase a ticket from a pleasant looking cashier, walk in the door, and have your tickets torn by a clean cut uniformed doorman. If you wanted a snack, there was a well stocked, clean refreshment stand, with smiling attendants, and affordable prices. When you walked into the auditorium, there was usually an usher with a flashlight that would offer to find you a seat. If the lights were up, you saw an ornate auditorium, and a curtained screen. There would usually be soft music from behind the curtain. so you could converse easily before the show. At showtime the lights would dim down, the film company logo would hit the curtain, and it would open. The show would run, and it was usually an enjoyable experience. If it wasn’t that great a show, one didn’t feel cheated, because a big outlay of money wasn’t forked over for mediocrity.
What is really on the screen anymore that is worth dragging your ass out of the house, into the multiplex, and dropping too much of your hard-earned money??? Sequels, threequels, remakes and computer-digital destruction of our planet???
I’d rather stay home and watch a Bogart or Cagney classic on DVD, and if it means the demise of the movie theater, then so be it!
Well, I would say that if all the movies being released were good, I don’t think people would be complaining about ticket prices. (Concession prices is another issue, and I don’t like the trend of turning movie theaters into cafeterias – people have pointed out that drinks weren’t even allowed in some theaters until the 1970s.)
My wife and I enjoyed going to the movies every weekend, sometimes seeing two pictures on a visit, and in our top year we saw about 65 films, although we averaged about 40-50 a year. Total cost with $5 and $6 matinees: about $600 a year. We thought it was a bargain.
But about five years ago, we found we were enjoying the movies less and less, and were coming out of the theater sometimes bored and usually unimpressed. We realized we were only going because it was a habit, and cut back to movies that have gotten stellar reviews. We’ve seen 3 films this year, and other than Avatar, there’s nothing we’re looking forward to this holiday season.
It’s also helped that we bought a 46" LCD flatscreen last year. Much better than trying to watch movies on a 20" TV, and this has helped us get through movie theater withdrawal.
Movie theaters won’t go away, and teenagers will always want some place to go on dates. But movies have gotten more and more mediocre,
and the studios are making pictures mostly for kids, teens, and young adults. At the same time, the indie market has dried up, so there’s fewer adultish films to see.
As these trends continue, you can expect to see the theater business continue to evolve as it will have to compete with DVDs and On Demand movies perhaps being released simultaneously with theater release dates. The theaters will have to provide a different experience, which is why they’re pushing 3D, at-seat dining, upgraded sound, and so forth.
I think this will make things tougher for your typical “boring” old-style theater.
Right Again,but i rarely go.After 7 years in the business I find myself watching the theatre operation and not the movie.I have to go when hardly anyone is in the theatre.
I think there will always be a need for theatres,of course you can stay home and watch a movie or just T.V.,but that is why its called going out.The prices may seem high and they are but that has always been said.When I worked for LOEWS in the seventies and tickets when fron $2.50 to $3.00 at night people bitched but they still came.They is still nothing like watching a movie in a theatre,people you say different must not ever go to the theatres,or do not know the difference.Just my thoughts.
Perhaps.
One thing one pattern that I have uncovered with the local cinema opertator is that they hold movies as long as two months. Now Wilcox is following after Village Entertainment and Regal with this business practice. Question is this unsavory? Well if u hold over over a movie longer than two months it blocks other films from coming here at all. Example Paranormal Activity didn’t open at the local cinema and on the Demand It site a lot of locals close to a hundred demanded that this movie open here. But it didn’t. Yet to hold over films longer than month is going to push the audience into other markets.
Movies are better enjoyed in a theatre. I see a movie in a theatre to determine if I would buy that title on DVD and Blu-ray. It doesn’t matter how big your home theatre system is, it doesn’t beat seeing a movie in a theatre.
I also might add, however, that I admittedly like the fact that movie theatres now have much more comfortable chairs, which comply with the contours of the back, and make for a more comfortable experience. The Coolidge and the Brattle, both of which underwent renovations fairly recently, now have such chairs in their theatres.
I second the opinions of the posters that believe that;
A) No matter what happens, there’ll always be people (myself included) who much prefer going to see movies in a real movie theatre, on the great big, wide screen, with the lights down low.
B) Much, if not most of what’s coming out nowadays in the way of movies totally stinks,
C) Many of the older classics ( up through the 1960’s and early to mid 1970’s) were better, although there were afew good ones in the 1980’s and beyond.
D) Admission prices to these multiplexes for the movie, as well as the concession prices are outrageous.
E) The behaviour of much of the audience (especially of many of today’s younger audiences) is rude, boorish, and in need of some discipline, such as threats of booting from the theatre, or actual booting from the theatre if they persist in their lousy behaviour (i. e. cellphone use and texting, talking during film, etc.)
F) There are ways to beat this situation. One doesn’t necessarily have to resign him/herself to watching movies at home on a DVD player on TV. Since there are still some great, independent theatres here in the United States that play a combo of classics, independent films, and other art
films, the best way to do it is to have a yearly membership to one or more of these theatres if a theatre in one’s area has such a program. Having an annual membership, even if it’s a very basic one, enables people to get into movies on a discount, which is often substantial, and, in theatres like that which show better quality movies, there’s often far less of a problem with audiences who use their cellphones, text, or talk, etc., during the movie.
G) I also second the opinion that movie theatre staff should crack down on such behaviour and warn and/or expel audience members who disturb others in the theatre with the above-mentioned behaviour. If audience members are going to act like children, they should be treated like children!!
Well, good films open and close immediately in NYC once that is in the ad. Avoid Magnolia Six Shooter Films like the plague. They kill them before they open.
We have played some art titles day and date with on demand that have very well. This July we played SUMMER HOURS and did very well with it. I use to be afraid to play with on demand but it does not hurt us.
I recently saw “THIS IS IT” and “PRECIOUS” with disrespectful boisterous audiences in Times Square. Both were weekday matinee performances and both were sold out.
This is the same old argument of “no one goes anymore because it is too crowded”.
Distributors have been stupidly undermining the theatre business for years without success. Nothing says “this movie sucks” as efficiently as the term “also available on VIDEO ON DEMAND”.
All of you are right. Also, young people don’t care, they will watch movies on there i phones. I have had a 45 year love afair with the motion picture. A few years ago I visited Paris, a city that also loves the cinema. The audience is far more respectful, as was england than the states. Ticket prices and other complaints of finance doesn’t bother me. I live in the Philadelphia area, there are a few cinemas that are a pleasure to visit called the Ritz. Since 1976, and two other complexes later, the best in product reasonable consession prices, snacks offered are imported chocolate and italian sodas. They were better when the late Ramon Possel ran them. But still the bench mark for me, feel free to visit when in Philly, stop by Sonny’s Steaks on Market St. after. Even the Ritz are not imune to creatins that sometime wander in there. Since I rarely see Hollywood product, when I do I can’t enjoy it. Last week I went to see 2012. Cell phones, lights from cell phones, people sneaking in from after seeing Twilight, talking, and the worst annoyance to me, people that drape their filthy feet on the chair in front of them. In New York in the Village, I like to go to the Film Forum, I can’t go Saturday afternoon or evening, because of the young hipster doofuses that show up and laugh at the classic films thinking they are camp. Weekdays are best times to go to a movie you really want to see. Try to support independant theaters as one would record and book stores.
It is my wish to see movie theaters thrive and go on forever, however they are up against HUGE competition from the home entertainment industry, and the film industry itself is in the process of making things even harder for them. The theater industry is not taking steps to make their theaters friendly to the average consumer. Gouging prices, badly staffed and operated megaplexes, not policing them for an enjoyable experience by all, and running advertisements ad nauseum on the screen, something that really made them above the television industry, makes for a place that the average citizen is beginning to loathe. I put 100% of the blame on the big chains. They are the ruination of the industry.
I hope for less screens but better quality screens in the future.
In other words give me a time machine! lol.
Lenses are far better today but much of this is offset by short steep downward angle throws. We may have better film stocks but they high speed print them to death! Long throws with carbon arc worked wonders with those old lenses plus prints were made with more care as we had less of them.
We do not run ads in our theaters.
Right on JSA. And when I finally get to travel to Los Angeles, I look forward to visiting the Cinerama Dome. I’ve heard nothing but great things.
As a theater chain owner-to be, I will be fully committed to bringing showmanship back to the movies. I understand that ads bring income to the theaters, but I think the most important auditoriums should be true showplaces, and that’s what I aim to do. Of course, limit ads along the way.
The answer is NO. 50 years from now, people will still go to the show.
The situation is dire in many multiplexes. The presentation, the ads, the patrons, and on and on. Yes, it’s ugly. I know the trouble spots, and avoid them accordingly. When it comes to movies, there’s nothing like going out on the town with friends and family, and experience the big screen. Watching “Up” in the Ziegfeld or “Dark Knight” at the Cinerama Dome is a whole lot more fun than sitting in front of the HD tube.
JSA
I have heard this argument for 50 years, Tv will kill the movies, beta ,Vhs , laser disc will kill the movies,dvd will kill the movies , giant tv screens will kill the movies ,home video, home audio ,direct tv, dvr ….blah blah blah… Nothing will kill the movie biz……. Sorry 50 years of the same bs and it never changes!
People like to go out, and there will be a few centrally located big city theatres to accomodate them, but with today’s home entertainment systems surpassing picture and sound qulaity of the theatre, the exorbitant cost of tickets and concessions, and the low quality clientele that are not policed enough making the movie going experience less than pleasant, and the film companies considering day and date runs with home video, the neighborhood cinema will become as extict as the drive ins that once thrived in small towns and big cities.
LIM, I suppose moviegoing today is a lot like WHITE CASTLE hamburgers – most people complain that it’s a horrible experience, and yet the establishment manages to stay in business.
Go figure.
I miss the days before I got married when I used to cheat the movie multiplex business by devoting an entire Saturday or Sunday and seeing three or four movies for the price of one at any given multiplex establishment. Security of any kind was such a joke!
Then why is attendance continually going up.. not cash…….Even with all the computers ,giant tv screens and todays tech no decrease in attendance.. Most people love going to the movies on this site as i read them all the time. Those who live in the past well live in the past!
No disrespect, longislandmovies, but you seem to stand virtually alone in your satisfaction with the movies and movie theaters are today. So many, many, many pissed off and disatisfied moviegoers can’t be wrong!
Today you pay a lot to get in to a person whose tattoos are bigger works of art than the theatre’s decor. You pay an arm and a leg from concessions from someone that looks like they could NEVER get a food handler’s certification, walk into a shoebox sized auditorium, and there are commercials for anything and everything blaring out at you. When the show hits the screen, it may or may not be in focus or frame, because the projectors start themselves. If it is out of focus or frame, trying to find someone to tell in a 16 or 24 plex is time consuming, and usually futile. The people in the auditorium are often obnoxious, talk and text on the cell phone, and because the modern auditoriums are so small, they ALWAYS seem to be too near. Today’s movies are ALWAYS too loud, and special effects have supplanted good writing and acting to make a movie stand out. If the movie is a stinker, you leave feeling cheated. Teenagers like this scenario. Adults do not.
I miss the theatre business as it was VERY much, but the way it is now, I wouldn’t go back for any reason
I loved the old “suburban” theatres built in the 40s and 50s the best. You would purchase a ticket from a pleasant looking cashier, walk in the door, and have your tickets torn by a clean cut uniformed doorman. If you wanted a snack, there was a well stocked, clean refreshment stand, with smiling attendants, and affordable prices. When you walked into the auditorium, there was usually an usher with a flashlight that would offer to find you a seat. If the lights were up, you saw an ornate auditorium, and a curtained screen. There would usually be soft music from behind the curtain. so you could converse easily before the show. At showtime the lights would dim down, the film company logo would hit the curtain, and it would open. The show would run, and it was usually an enjoyable experience. If it wasn’t that great a show, one didn’t feel cheated, because a big outlay of money wasn’t forked over for mediocrity.
What is really on the screen anymore that is worth dragging your ass out of the house, into the multiplex, and dropping too much of your hard-earned money??? Sequels, threequels, remakes and computer-digital destruction of our planet???
I’d rather stay home and watch a Bogart or Cagney classic on DVD, and if it means the demise of the movie theater, then so be it!
Well, I would say that if all the movies being released were good, I don’t think people would be complaining about ticket prices. (Concession prices is another issue, and I don’t like the trend of turning movie theaters into cafeterias – people have pointed out that drinks weren’t even allowed in some theaters until the 1970s.)
My wife and I enjoyed going to the movies every weekend, sometimes seeing two pictures on a visit, and in our top year we saw about 65 films, although we averaged about 40-50 a year. Total cost with $5 and $6 matinees: about $600 a year. We thought it was a bargain.
But about five years ago, we found we were enjoying the movies less and less, and were coming out of the theater sometimes bored and usually unimpressed. We realized we were only going because it was a habit, and cut back to movies that have gotten stellar reviews. We’ve seen 3 films this year, and other than Avatar, there’s nothing we’re looking forward to this holiday season.
It’s also helped that we bought a 46" LCD flatscreen last year. Much better than trying to watch movies on a 20" TV, and this has helped us get through movie theater withdrawal.
Movie theaters won’t go away, and teenagers will always want some place to go on dates. But movies have gotten more and more mediocre,
and the studios are making pictures mostly for kids, teens, and young adults. At the same time, the indie market has dried up, so there’s fewer adultish films to see.
As these trends continue, you can expect to see the theater business continue to evolve as it will have to compete with DVDs and On Demand movies perhaps being released simultaneously with theater release dates. The theaters will have to provide a different experience, which is why they’re pushing 3D, at-seat dining, upgraded sound, and so forth.
I think this will make things tougher for your typical “boring” old-style theater.