Re: DVD Talk thread- IN 3D!!!
 

I'll pay to see Casablanca in 3D, if that means that I can get Billy Madison in 3D.

Re: DVD Talk thread- IN 3D!!!
 

Just to confirm, 2D was not an option, correct? Because here in Phoenix, most-every theater gives you the choice. And that's how I like it. Not sure how it works up there.

Re: DVD Talk thread- IN 3D!!!
 

C'mon. There's got to be a better example than Saw 7. Is Saw 7 really going to be "ruined" by anything else, other than being Saw 7? :p

Re: DVD Talk thread- IN 3D!!!
 

2D was available, but the two people I was with (wife & friend) chose 3D over 2D. It didn't help that the 2D showing was over an hour later.

But, just to be clear, I'm more or less okay with theatres charging a bit extra for 3D (since I won't be attending a 3D showing any time soon). What bothers me is that, at least where I'm at, theatres seem to be raising the prices of 2D films again. It couldn't have been more than a year ago when a regular ticket was $10.95. If this has anything to do with the battle between theatres and studios over who is supposed to cover the cost of 3D installations, it seems to me that regular prices are going up in order to compensate for that. As a consumer, it feels like the 2D viewers are indirectly paying for the 3D showings.

Forget Casablanca. How about A Trip to the Moon? :)

Re: DVD Talk thread- IN 3D!!!
 

I got an e-mail from starwars.com last week with this in it:
The thing is, once all theaters have gone digital and are 3D ready, you know that ticket prices won't go down. The customers should be seeing lowered ticket prices for lower production costs, but that will never happen. What a joke.

Re: DVD Talk thread- IN 3D!!!
 

Perhaps the savvier theater operators have jacked the prices in anticipation of those savings, thinking that by the time they're taking full advantage of digital delivery, their patrons will have simply accepted those higher prices. Nah, they wouldn't do a thing like that...

Now, if we're to believe those who insist that the free market will create the best price for consumers, then we should expect some theaters to try to under-price their competitors, relying on the digital delivery savings to offset the shift in their revenue:operating cost ratio. Or something. I still think they'll pocket the savings and continue to charge more. We'll see.

It's not some sort of conspiracy. Running movie theaters can be a tough business. For every blockbuster that people line up for — or see multiple times — there must be several flops that can't even fill the seats on opening weekend. It costs money to show a movie to a nearly empty theater.

Movie theaters aren't necessarily competing with each other, rather, they compete with other forms of entertainment, such as TV, home theater, live theater, books, sports, even video games (for those of the video game generation). If the customers decide the prices are higher than they are willing to pay and they stay away, revenues will drop. Theater owners walk a fine line with ticket prices, especially since they make the majority of their revenue from concession sales (much of the ticket sales goes to studios).

For now, the novelty of 3D plus an actual blockbuster in Avatar is allowing theaters to raise prices a bit to help cover the cost of the new equipment. But if the novelty wears off, as I think it will, or if this year's movies aren't popular, the theater companies could end up hurting: all that money for equipment and no butts in the seats.

We can decide for ourselves whether or not a particular movie is worth the ticket price. If we don't like it, we can stay home and wait for the BD or do without. No one owes us a cheap ticket to a movie theater.

Many people here at DVD Talk have stated that they rarely, if ever, venture into movie theaters (for reasons like crying babies and other distractions more than ticket prices, from what I've seen). Some of them have made exceptions for a 3D movie like Avatar. But that may not continue. We shall see.

Re: DVD Talk thread- IN 3D!!!
 

Certainly, and I appreciate the need to put asses in seats. Perhaps I made the situation seem more devious than I intended. If I might take another stab at it, I would say that at least some theater owners and operators are counting on the eventual savings from digital delivery, with the notion in mind of sustaining current ticket prices--perhaps even raising them--with an eye toward the lower overhead in tandem with high ticket prices to keep them in the black.

Very true. That said, I think it's worth keeping in mind that theaters need asses in seats, and one way of encouraging that is lower ticket prices. As you said, they are competing with other forms of entertainment. It's true that movie ticket prices are more competitive than most alternatives, but I'd be willing to bet that $10-15 a ticket is discouraging many from seeing those venerated 3D releases...especially considering that the majority of those films are targeted at family audiences.

Re: DVD Talk thread- IN 3D!!!
 

In Vegas, I honestly believe the option is more due to the fact that a lot of the theaters don't want to pay the money to convert the screens to digital.

One of the reasons why a specific theater in Vegas only has one digital projector, Dolby Digital Cinema, is due to costs. It was cheaper (up front) to install the projector, pay for the specific glasses (which are reused after each screening) and pay Dolby for licensing fees rather than going the Real-D route in which one has to pay for the projector, a new screen, and then the licensing fees.

If you've ever compared the two; Dolby Digital 3D is a sack of shit.

There are only two theaters in Vegas that are all digital and are capable of 3D in every screen. Ironically, there used to be four. These other two used to be ran by Regal. However, these two specific theaters' locations were both in Butt Fucking Egypt compared to the general public and nobody really went there. Instead, Regal gutted most of the silver lining screens and DLP projectors in both theaters and sent the screens/projectors to other Regal theaters within the region. Out of the original 27 screens of both theaters, only 9 made it to other Vegas theaters. The rest went outside the state.

What I'm more curious about is when Technicolor 35mm 3D solution starts making it way to theaters across the country.

http://www.technicolor.com/GLOBALENG...ages/home.aspx

Theaters still have to pay for the silver lined screen; but all they will need is an additional lens rather than an entirely new projector.

Fair enough.Yes. I'd think twice if I had to pay that to see a movie. I'm glad $6 to $7 is the going rate out here in the sticks. I paid $6.50 to see Avatar in 3D, although it was a 110 mile (round trip) drive, versus the usual 70 miles to the nearest theaters, so there is a cost to that also.

Re: DVD Talk thread- IN 3D!!!
 

Yes yes, I know most people grew tired of Saw years ago, but myself and many others still love the series. So to me, it's a concern.