Not every person sees all their films in the local multiplex. Perhaps he sees favorites more than once, or has access to an art house theater. Or (even better) has access to a theater that shows older films.

All this tells me is that you've got a real shitty theater.

It's kind of sad that so many people hate the theater here. I guess it's a limitation of options. Depending on the time and film, I can usually have a very good experience at a local Regal Cinema. Anytime there's been a technical flaw, I've always gotten my money back. The last time there was a truly disruptive audience member, I think was for Dark Water, which gives you an idea of how long ago that was.

I wonder if people answering "home" would answer the same way if they had a Ritz or a BAM or a Film Forum nearby.

And I wonder how many answering "theater" have a kick-ass home theater setup.

Invite me to your home IMAX.

Settle down.

Take a look at the major releases of the last five years. Now look at how many of them are issued as "Director's Cut"s or "Extended Cut"s or "Unrated Edition"s when released on home video. Most movies make more money on home video than they do during their box office run. The home video market is the primary market. Theatrical runs are becoming nothing more than beta tests and teasers.

Also, you have a lot to learn about the movie biz. Movie PRODUCERS often force the director to cut the film down to a suitable running time in order to get more viewings per day. VERY VERY FEW directors have final cut approval on their films.

Invite me to the theater when you don't have to juggle several variables in order to hope that you get a decent experience.

Still, I disagree. So you telling me that "The Dark Knight" and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" are going to make another billion when there released on DVD and Blu Ray? That's interesting. A movies success has always been measured by how well they do at the box office. There are some exeptions but not many. So, James Cameron would prefer you to see "Avatar" in 2D on a small screen at your house as opposed to a big screen in 3D? Lets face it, Christopher Nolan wouldn't have used IMAX cameras if he was thinking about the Blu Ray release before the cinema release, and James Cameron wouldn't have filmed "Avatar" in 3D if he was thinking about the Blu Ray release either. MOST directors worry about the theatrical release, and then they move onto the Blu Ray/DVD. No experience at your home theater can defeat a good theater. Unless you have a 8 story screen and IMAX projector and sound system that your not telling us about.

I'm surprised anyone is arguing that home theater always beats movie theater. I certainly agree, unless you're Daddy Warbucks, home theater wil always be less than a good home theater experience. But there's so many factors going into a "good" theater experience that are potentially out of someone's control that the convenience, cost (once you get past the initial outlay) and accessibility of home theater has a big advantage.

I have never had a bad experience at a theater (excepting seeing crappy movies), but I've had plenty of suboptimal ones.

Not sure if this was mentioned, but my home DVDs also usually have captions or subtitles which sometimes make it easier to follow some dialog.

You have got to be joking.

For many of us, the pitfalls of going to a theater and having to deal with all the hassles negate any benefits that theater may have to offer.

Superior sound, picture, screen-size, IMAX, etc... can only get you so far when you factor in everything involved. A home theater system or just a plain old TV may not be the best but it does offer something that a theater could never give you... A controlled environment.

Apparently you only go the theater for summer blockbusters. I'll agree...if that's all you're interested in, the theater experience is probably better than home.

Then again, the IMAX portions of TDK look fantastic on my screen...and fill my field of vision as much as sitting in the middle to back rows of the theater.

No, I'm not, they do. Says right there on the case. Some have captions *and* subtitles. Best of both worlds, there.

Seriously--I'm not "hearing impaired" but sometimes I miss things. Not enough to want to take an Assisted Listening device when someone who really needs it could use it, but enough that sometimes I do miss dialog. Especially if the sound isn't mixed right in the theater.

So: The perfect movie theater beats home theater. No contest. But the 'average' home theater experience, all things considered, beats the 'average' movie theater experience in my opinion. And with a home theater experience, once you make the investment, having that experience more often is very simple and convenient.

Well put.

Exactly why I go to the theater two or three nights a year, yet spend countless nights in my own.

This. A great theater can quickly be ruined by annoying people. I dont' have the problem at home. Plus at home, I get the best seat so it looks and sounds great.

If i want to hang out with loud teenagers, i will go to the theater. If i want to enjoy the movie, i stay home.

Meh, most of the time. I do go to some other movies at the theater, but not a lot. I've seen 14 movies at the theater this year and most are blockbusters. But honestly, you can't compare a 1080p projector with a, what 120 inch screen?, to 70mm film projected on to a 8 stories high screen. You just can't. You can't even compare Blu Ray to 35mm film and DLP. Theres just no contest.

Exactly.

It looks like the homebodies are winning by a significant margin. I 'm surprised because I honestly thought it would be the other way around. Interesting.

I expected the result. There are a lot of "annoying people at the theater" threads.

I'm not. This site is called "DVDtalk", and DVD was the best way to watch a movie at home when this site was created. The sites not called "Cinematalk", and if it was I bet most people on the site would prefer the theater.

The biggest knock between theatre vs home for me is price. The price for two tickets easily costs more than the Bluray when you shop around. I will see 1-3 movies a year in the theatre.

I personally don't really like Imax. I enjoy going to Cinemark instead as the screen isn't too big, or I can sit back further, for my preference of viewing.

With few exceptions, I'll take my home theater over going out. It doesn't take much money these days to put together a quality system.

I swear if I see one more 35mm film at Landmark E Street that doesn't fuck up at some point during the film - the framing went crazy during this afternoon's screening of 'Tokyo Sonata' - I had to get up and complain since it didn't seem to bother anyone else - this is where faults like these don't occur with DLP (although there is the occasional bug in digital too - but less so).

Keep in mind that with the exception of some titles that are released directly to DVD (or Blu-ray), most movies are shown in the theaters first which is why I thought the poll would have been reversed, despite preferring to watch movies at home myself.

As others have pointed out, comedies are the one genre that I think gains a lot from the movie going experience (so long as you don't have truly obnoxious people around you). I also go to matinees largely for price and audience reasons if I want to see something in theaters and not wait for DVD; the exception being comedies and true blockbuster movies (which I will go to during primetime).

I do generally prefer home theater and usually can wait as the release time between theater and DVD is now relatively short. When you factor in convenience, comfort, the ability to eat and drink whatever you want, and the controlled environment to name just a few things - I'm not surprised at all by the poll results.

8 stories high? Basically a screen taller than most mid sized-office buildings? Not too many theaters with that size of a screen around me. So I guess you're (not your) right - some folks can't compare it.