I went and saw Batman twice on Friday. In retrospect, it's really suprising to me because the last few times I went to the movies I've had bad experiences with stupid audiences, so I go maybe 3-4 times a year. The first showing was on IMAX with my buddy (it was his birthday). I so enjoyed the film that I took my wife that night to a regular theater in the complex. It was a complete night and day difference.

IMAX
-Everyone was well behaved becuase they wanted to be there. Imax tickets are about $5 more expensive during matinee times and $2.50 more in the evenings.
-The print was absolutely spectacular
-The sound was completely immersive and perfectly set up

Contrast that to later in the evening on different screen
-Stupid parents and their kids coughing through the ENTIRE film. Did you not know that your kids were coughing before you came to the theater? If there were a convenience store within walking distance, I would have literally walked out of the theater, got them some cough drops, come back and give them to the parents
-The print was out of focus
-It was so damn loud! It was as if they knew they didn't have a good audio setup and thought that if they cranked it that everyone would be so deaf they wouldn't notice.

If the theater owners would put as much attention to making the experience better as it was in IMAX, then I frankly wouldn't mind paying a couple more bucks a ticket to keep the annoying people out.
As it is though, between inconsiderate moviegoers and shitty theater setups, it's no wonder that I'd rather sit at home and watch a movie on DVD on my 27" TV and whopping 2.0 Dolby ProLogic. Once we get our home theater together, there will be absolutely no reason to go to the theater because I know the owners won't do anything to improve the theater-going experience simply because they're making money doing it the way they are now and nobody else seems to care around where I live.

I am not a fan of their prices, but I can say they do realize what they are charging. What you don't seem to understand, however, is that the concession stand prices have absolutely nothing to do on what actors and actresses are getting paid (and if I was an actor who could pull in a 300 million dollar movie, damn straight I would want some good cut of that. They may be over paid, but WE PAY THEM when we pay the ticket prices!!!). The conession stand is where the theater makes their money to keep open. They get pennies off each movie ticket, and I stress PENNIES. The bulk of it goes right back to the studios.

Due to the fact that patience isn't one of my virtues, I still (albeit begrudgingly) go to the theater a couple times a month and I think that there are a number of different things, most of which have been discussed here, that take away from the current movie going experience and by extension, the box office reciepts. I don't really think that it's the quality of the films like some are suggesting. For instance Batman Begins did okay, but is easily the best Batman, maybe even the best super hero, film that I've ever seen. I would hope that strong word of mouth would produce higher sunday numbers. But it didn't. Yes, the infusion of Michael Bay type summer blockbusters is discomforting to some film buffs. But Summer blockbusters have always traded in brains for effects and such.

Someone earlier said it correctly when they said that bad behavior in theaters is a byproduct of the bad behavior prevelent in modern society. This rush, rush, rush, "me first", "my shit is more important" attitude has corrupted a great many of people from upscale businessmen and soccer moms all the way down to prepubescent brats.

One of my main beefs is the ever growing number of advertisements shown before or even between trailers. I know, I know...

Exhibitor Relations PR lackey: "You could just come a little later if you don't like the ads."
Me: "Fuck you, you snide little corporate stooge prick. The couple times I tried that they either miraculously decided to skip the ads and I missed the first five minutes of the film or the theater was full and I spent 10 minutes squinting in the dark trying to find two adjoining empty seats, that didn't exitst, by the way." If I really wanted to watch the latest Axe body spray commercial, I'd be sitting at home with the rest of the mouth breathers, eating cheetos and watching Total Request Live.

Yes, the increase in affordable home theaters has made the theater experience a little easier to replicate at home, but I long for those old days when going to the theater was a somewhat magical experience. Maybe I'm romaticising the old days, but for whatever reason, it's different now. Theater chains need to do something because stagnancy will only lead to less revenue which will only lead to even worse theatrical conditions. As far as the studios go, I don't feel a bit sorry for them because I'm sure that the revenue they make from the newfound DVD goldmine more than offsets the loss they are taking at the box office.

Ads is a whole other issue, and I agree with you on it. Network tv is paid for by the commercials, so it's a necessary evil, but if we're paying 5-12 bucks a ticket for a movie, having to watch forced ads adds insult to injury [I don't consider movie previews 'ads', I expect and enjoy seeing them.] Most of the movie ticket price goes to the film distributor/actors/etc; most of the concessions covers the operating costs and profit for the theater. Ads, which we have to watch, and which are surely not free, are icing on the cake for the theater owner.
http://www.captiveaudience.org/

It's bad audience behavior that drove me away.

It's poor projection quality (including bad audio) that keeps me away.

There's only one way I can guarantee the picture will be in focus and properly framed, the print will not be damaged, and the sound will be properly calibrated and sufficiently loud: watch the movie at home.

As a bonus, the audience is always civilized.

RichC

Well there WAS another way to guarantee that- go to a theater I worked at

I wonder how many former projectionists (I'm one too) are willing to gamble on today's ignorance of professional standards in most movie theaters? I'll bet most of us prefer our home theaters, despite video's inherent inferiority to film.

RichC