Anyone who is married, has kids and a full time job knows just how hard it is to find the time to go see a movie. Back "in the day" my best friend and I would go to the theaters at least twice a month! Now we are both married with jobs and all that crap...we are lucky to go see a movie at the theater THREE times a year!!!

So far this year I have seen Episode III. Batman Begins is starting to look iffy. Generally my best friend and I try to make the time to go see a new release during it's first two weeks. Beyond that our attitides are.."AHHHHH....We can wait till the dvd comes out"

Don't get me wrong...I love to see a good movie in the theater! I guess just chaulk it up the demands and pressures of our modern day lives!

Take care all!!

I can see many non-blockbuster type movies eventually getting a direct to DVD release, not that I'm in favor of it. They're making the choice too easy.....should I go out and watch "The Honeymooners" remake at the theater at a cost of $20 for myself and my son, or should I buy the Stripes Extended Cut DVD for $15 street price for us to watch over and over again for years to come?

As for keeping movies off of DVD for longer periods, they've dug themselves a hole. Let's say they start doing that, starting today. What would Christmas DVD sales look like for them with no RotS, Batman Begins, Mr and Mrs. Smith, War Of The Worlds on the racks? Where are their profits going to be for the next several months waiting for that 12 month window to start kicking into effect? It's all about the dollar, NOW. They aren't likely to give that dollar up now that they know they can get to it 4-6 months from theatrical date.

Since I was a kid I've always loved going to the movies, and I still do.....but it's not special as it was before. The screens are too small to allow for more viewing screens in the multiplexes, which takes alot away from the viewing experience. I think they should start ripping out a few of their many screens in every multiplex and erecting one IMAX screen for the blockbuster movies- that would be a huge step in the right direction. I'm not sure the new 3D presentation will drive people back to the theater lines....IMHO I don't think it will. There are so many things they COULD do but haven't done, and as a result we're hearing the industry cry about attendance loss for the whole year. Meanwhile for at least the last year I've been listening to cellphones ringing throughout movies plus babies screaming, crying and running amok because parents won't control their kids in the theater, young and old punks cussing and kicking seats and trying to get attention in general, paying more money to get in the door and more money for concession food. Their latest foray into corrupting the moviegoing experience is showing national commercails right along with the trailers- if a movie has a scheduled 7pm start time, I shouldn't be watching a coke commercial at 7:05.

They've been turning their heads thinking none of this matters. I've been staying at home watching more movies on my ever improving HT setup because that's the only form of protest I have that makes any difference.

I like previews..i enjoyed going to movies and getting there early just to see them.

I dread doing this anymore because now i have to sit throught a coke commercial, an army commercial, and a car commercial just to see my movie.

Commercials are for TV...and i don't even like seeing them on there. I have to agree with nightmaster when it comes to them....they suck.

Who thought it was a great idea to make people pay $6+ bucks to watch a friggin string of commercials?

Another example and reason why movies have since lost thier magic.

I typically find the time to take in one movie a week during the summer, and I work full time (though I am not married and have no kids). However, every time I go I wonder why I keep returning as the amount of commercials really gets annoying. If I wanted to see pretentious (sp?) Coca-Cola ads, I would have stayed home!

Now that I have a decent home theater set up I rarely go to the movies any more. I find the experience at home more satisfying than sitting through several comercials, having cellphones go off and listening to people talk. I really do hope they shorten the time between theatrical releases and DVD releases. I know direct to DVD has a bad stigma but once the quality of releases goes up the stigma will go away.

IMO, if I had a movie that I thought people were going to love, I would release a bare-bones DVD that would only be sold at the movie theater in the lobby. The idea is to sale the bare-bones DVD immediately to people who like the movie enough to own it and then come out with a SE later down the road that the hardcore fans will buy again. The DVD sales would only be available with a ticket stub to the movie, and would be sold for a reasonable price. Furthermore, the sales of the DVD would count toward the ticket grosses for the movie.
Only problem is the theater owners wouldn't get a cut, which I don't know if they would like. :D

My feelings exactly. I have far from a great HT setup...but it beats putting up with the cost of going to today's movies and putting up with the average movie goer who is totally oblivious to anyone else in the theater (cellphones, talking, fishing in a paper bag for 30 loud seconds to get a single gummy worm out).

Only films I see in theater's now are my absolute must sees..and in the past few years those have only included the LoTR series...Star Wars..and Matrix films. Other than those, I've just waited for the DVD.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ebert said last night on Leno that DVD accounts for 60% of the profit of the average movie.

If you sold it in their lobby, they'd probably want a cut one way or another.

Do theater owners get a cut of ticket sales? If so the same rule could apply to the DVD sales.