Hokeyboy

^ I know, and honestly I think it's a great model for other theaters. I maybe go to the movies maybe 6x a year now (as opposed to probably two dozen or so before) because I have a problem with inconsiderate douchetard audiences. Paying more for an enjoyable, relaxing experience is well worth it.

RocShemp

All movie theatres should be exactly what you just described.

JimRochester

I would gladly pay more knowing it was going to be an enjoyable experience or if they just took people's phones at the door and smashed the shit out of them with a hammer, that would work too.

Ash Ketchum

Does everyone sit through the entire end credits and then applaud?

clckworang

I used to go more, but I've gotten older, lazier as the movies have gotten more expensive. I think I would probably venture out more if there were a better selection, but it's basically just the one Cinemark 16 along with the discount theater.

I live right near the border, and I've heard there are some really nice, lush movie theaters right across the border that are dirt cheap in U.S. dollars. But of course, there's all the violence going on there right now. Certainly not worth the risk for a comfortable movie-going experience.

But I think the most recent thing that will likely impact going to the movies even more would be buying a projector and building an outdoor theater. Being able to throw the Frisbee for the dog, talk, smoke, drink, pause the movie or do whatever else I need to do while looking up at a 8' x 12' screen? I can't ask for much more than that.

mndtrp

The only theater I regularly try to go to is the one that does a live MST3K-type showing. They have a couple of guys from some comedy club ripping the movie, giveaways, trivia, cheaply priced beer and good food. Good times, and it's meant to be a bit rowdy.

PenguinJoe

i would totally go to this. I went to mst 3k live once and it ruled.

DJariya

I go to the theatre around 4-5 times a month. I never go to an evening show...pretty much matinees all the time at $8-10 a visit. I do purchase the special Regal Cinema passes from Auto Club at 8 bucks a pop sometimes to save on my visits. Plus there are 2 theatres within 3 miles from my house. So no, I don't find it too expensive and no I don't find it a hassle.

Cronenbergfan71

It's been a lot of years since I've been to the theater and I can't say that I've missed it at all. The closest one to me is about a forty-five minute drive one way and only shows the most mainstream of movies. I might go every once in a while when they show something I'm actually interested in but I prefer watching things in the privacy of my own home. I have a good home theater system and like being able to watch things according to my own schedule. If I want to watch a blockbuster I'm more than willing to wait for the BD.

The other thing is smaller, foreign or older films. In order to see anything along those lines I would need to travel about three hours round trip and that's just not worth it to me. Maybe if I lived in an area with a choice of theaters nearby I might go to the occasional matinee but in general I like watching things at home. I'm fortunate in that I don't have any close neighbors and can watch or listen to whatever I want whenever I want.

dugan

You know what I don't like about movie theatres these days?

THOSE FUCKING COPY PROTECTION DOT PATTERNS.

They completely ruin the movie.

JimRochester

Little blurb in this mornings paper about movie attendance being down. In addition to the above mentioned hassles, there's no denying the people out of work, or the people working for far less than what they were making. When I was unemployed I had trouble with the $15 month for BB online let alone $30 to see one movie

Alan Smithee

Yeah, that was one more thing that turned me off from going to movies. They don't have those on digital presentations, but most of those that I've seen have the 'screen-door' effect. I don't know if all DLP systems work that way, but if they do then I'll probably just forget about going to theaters at all. I really don't miss the changeover cues at the end of each reel though- those really took me out of the movie since it was a reminder of how long the movie had been running, plus less than 1% of existing theaters still run film on the old-style 2-projector system so those cues are useless for anyone else anyways!

Shannon Nutt

I fall in the group where it's not about the money - it's about the environment. I would gladly pay more for a theater with no teenagers on their cell phone, crying babies, or other rude distractions. What's worse, it's getting like this at musicals/live theater that I attend. I fear we have raised a whole generation of ignorant people...it's not just the kids anymore, it's many of the adults as well.

Sondheim

I enjoy watching blockbusters - especially comedies and action films - with a large audience. Unlike most people here, the flashing cell phone thing doesn't bother me all that much - and I somehow tend to avoid the talkative audiences.

I have a lot more problems at my local arthouse theater. It's a fairly old theater, and about a quarter of the time they have projection or sound issues, with the picture out of focus or not centered properly. The few workers they have tend to be incredibly unhelpful - one time I went out to tell them that the film clearly wasn't aligned properly (you could see boom mikes and other filming equipment in every other scene, and there was clearly a lot of information missing from the bottom of the frame), they said they would fix it, so I returned to the theater and waited for something to happen but absolutely nothing changed. I went home and wrote a nasty letter to their management, got some free tickets out of it, but didn't go to that theater again for about six months after that.

Furthermore, contrary to most people's experience, I find the audiences at the arthouse considerably more annoying than the ones at the multiplex - and it's usually older people, rather than the college students, that get on my nerves. In the past year I've had five or six experiences there where an old couple (or, in some cases, a group of elderly women) come and sit directly behind me, and decide to narrate and commentate throughout the entire film. They'll "whisper" lines they missed to each other, and then, without even trying to whisper, they'll start making comments about the film. This happened most recently with "Another Year" - with the two elderly women ending up making clearly audible comments about how boring the film was and how they couldn't believe it was nominated for "Best Screenplay" and how the characters were so stupid and things of that sort - and it completely ruined my enjoyment of the experience (I watched it later, at home, and quite liked it.) And since they're older folks in almost all cases, I don't feel right turning around and yelling at them, or, perhaps, punching them. Besides the fact that I tend to be rather afraid of confrontation, and prefer sitting and brooding silently instead of calling people out on their rudeness.

Anyway - I don't have a great home theater set up (42" 1080P screen with decent speakers), but it's good enough for most of my film watching (I plan to upgrade it when I move to a bigger place.) Between my own collection, my local library (with an incredible selection of foreign and classic DVDs and VHS), Redbox, Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Blockbuster, I'm content to stay at home most of the time.

Giles

I've never seen the screen door effect on DLP - I'm more than sure that's been fixed and resolved.

I find cigarette burn reel changes on some 35mm prints to be downright distracting and ugly - festival 35mm prints and 70mm prints have small white rings which are far less obnoxious.

personally I'd pay an extra buck for a theater to feature cel phone jammer technology - disabling phoning and texting completely - I don't care if "our rights" have to be compromised - if you can't be at a theater without use of a phone for two hours then you shouldn't be there in the first place.

JimRochester

praise Jesus! +1

There was a day before cell phones when important people went to the movies anyway.

riley_dude

I think in general, that is why most people have stopped going to the movies.
When you have to remind someone sitting next to you to stop having a conversation by texting, something is really wrong. It's not an occasional thing either. Same with screaming kids.

The Bus

I see it often enough. Doesn't bother me much.

I think the cinema I usually go to in Hong Kong (Broadway Palace IFC, owned by AMC) has that technology. In all their theaters, cell phones stop working as soon as you are inside the screening room.

Every movie theater I have been to in Hong Kong and mainland China has had reserved seating. It's a pain in the ass when you decided to see something at the last minute. Due to the urban theaters and strange layouts (one theater has its rooms split between floors 6, 8, and 10 of a mall), it has taken some time to figure out which screening room at which theater has the ideal seating position. But it is terribly nice to be be able to show up to the movie 2 minutes before it starts and sit where you want to.


I can't imagine that you would find loud teenagers at Living Room Theaters, so unless I'm wrong, I don't see what keeps you away from indie fare in theaters. The absolute worst scenario I can imagine would be an old couple where one person has to explain to the other what's being said, but you live in Florida and that has to be par for the course.

<hr>

For me, I usually try to go during shitshow hours if it's a big, dumb action movie, or a horror or comedy film I don't care too much about. At that point, audience participation (or, to put it correctly, involvement) is part of the experience.

tommyp007

Too much hassle and too expensive. We have a 3 year old, so by the time we get a babysitter, drive to one of the local (sub-par) theaters, pay $50 for tix and concessions....etc, we usually end up wishing we'd just stayed home. We LOVE movies, and have invested close to $7000 in our HT system, and so all the benefits of watching at home (our food, booze, comfy sofa) easily outweigh the trip out.

Now, if we had either a kick-ass theater like Hokeyboy described, or a good theater that showed smaller budget/older films we might make the effort more often. But here in East TN, it's just poor quality first run theaters with poor picture and lousy sound.

terrycloth

i hardly use to go to theaters up untill this year. a have a local theater about 5 mins from me that offers a movie club and free 3d to the movies m-fri before 5. so 7$ for a movie with free popcorn and drink and every 5th one is free i dont mind it as during this time its usually older people.

theres also a place by my job thats a discount 5$ tickets and dont care if you bring in drinks or food. i always heard bad things about it on how dirty it is, but finally decided to check it out and is actually a really nice lil place. not the greatest of set ups so i keep the big releases at the other theater, but to kill time between shifts or catch a movie i missed opening week it works well.

i prolly seen more movies this year then last 10

Matthew Chmiel

Yes! Fuck yes! If you don't think going to the movies is a hassle, I'll personally punch you in the face. Like really; I'll get on an airplane, find where you live, and punch you in the face.

It's sad to think that we should be in an era where the movie going experience is in its prime. We now have pristine 4K digital projection in a lot of theaters across the country. Flawless digital 3D experiences. Magnificent 7.1 surround sound. Stadium seating that is actually comfortable. Food options up the wazoo. Yet theater chains manage to fuck it all up due to their motivation for greed. Theater attendance is at its lowest since 1997? No shit, Sherlock! Nobody has the money to go to the movies anymore. Especially when you can replicate the experience at home thanks to technology like HDTV and Blu-ray! Why would you want to leave the comfort of your own house when you can sit back, relax, wine and dine? I adore going to the movies, but it's becoming a serious pain in the ass due to expenses and incompetent assholes.

Touching on the greed aspect first, it's interesting as Brenden Theaters, an independent chain located in portions of Arizona, California and Nevada just announced yesterday they're eliminating all 3D surcharges this weekend indefinitely. The cost of going to the movies is outrageous now. Matinees showings in Las Vegas start at eight dollars and a night time show can cost as much as fourteen dollars for a single ticket. Add in 3D or IMAX surcharges and you're close to twenty dollars a ticket. I could buy a week's worth of prepackaged meals for lunch at Fresh and Easy or Trader Joe's for that amount. However, here's something that does work financially and I don't see why Regal does't implement it more...

Regal Value Days

At selected Regal locations, all screenings on Tuesday are five six dollars (EDIT: I had to revise that after wiring the post. Greedy assholes at Regal just jumped the price.) For those that (unfortunately) don't participate in that deal, all matinee screenings before noon are five dollars. The theaters that participate on the Tuesday deal are fuckshows each and every Tuesday. While the matinee showings don't have that much of a crowd, once people get out of school and work; it's the equivalent of an extremely busy Friday night. All of the ticket booths and concession stand registers are being manned by employees, multiple employees cleaning auditoriums to get the next showtime underway, multiple employees ripping tickets. It's crazy to see how many people will come see a movie, regardless of what movie it is, when they can pay five dollars to see it. That's when a movie experience is worth it! When the theater is wall-to-wall pandemonium! And you know what the best part about it is? Most of the audiences are well behaved! They're there because they want to see a movie! What a crazy concept?

[Okay, it might help that there's relatively no cell phone reception in the theater I usually attend Value Days at since the theater is actually located underground.]

However, at the same time, I've paid fifteen dollars to see a movie at night... and the audiences are worthless pieces of shit. Talking loudly with one another, looking at their cell phones for a majority of the running time, children running amok by their parents who don't do anything. I have no problems walking out to management and getting people kicked out. If you can't keep your concentration focused on one thing for two hours, you probably should not go to the movies. Even better, you should probably kill yourself because I don't know how you would maintain a job with that level of focus and dedication.

Again, to make matters worse, I've also paid when there's been nothing but issues with the presentation and nobody wants to own up to it. Misframed presentations, projectors out of whack, lenses not on correctly, dead speakers around the auditorium that are still turned on, etc. Yet every employee just stands there with their mouth open when you tell them the issue. I'm sorry, but I shouldn't know why there's issues and you don't. That's not my job. My job is to keep you employed by patronizing this establishment. Your job is to make me happy so I don't get you fired when I go up the chain of command through complaining. The thing is, I shouldn't have to complain! I should be able to sit down, relax, and see a proper presentation. All the glitches and bugs should be fixed ahead of time. I spend money to see a movie, not be a nagging bitch.

A theatrical experience like Hokeyboy described? I would be in love with and always go out of my way to attend that theater. I'd kill for an Alamo Drafthouse or equivalent in my city. However, it's just not meant to be. However, there are sometimes where a theater experience is worth it. For example, the other night my wife and I saw a 4K presentation of Attack the Block and we were the only two in the theater. Everything was flawless. I'm okay with paying money if that's the experience I'm getting.

Ash Ketchum

Matthew's post compelled me to ask what the theater owners' trade organization, NATO (National Association of Theater Owners), thinks about all this and what stances they've taken. I used to have access to all the trade publications but those days are gone so I went on their website and found a page devoted to "Exhibition Issues." Here's the link:
http://www.natoonline.org/exhibitionissues.htm

There are three headings on that page that address some of the issues we've all raised in this thread:
Improving the Cinema Experience
Patron Behavior
Ticket Prices

The only one that seems to adequately address the problem is "Patron Behavior" but adequate only in that it recognizes the seriousness of the problem although the solutions outlined may not, in fact, be "adequate" at all.

As for Ticket Prices, I get the sense that NATO would balk at following Regal's lead, as Matthew described in his post, or endorsing or promoting that practice. They continue with the old line about how movie theater prices are cheaper than sporting events, concerts, live theater, etc. and is SUCH a bargain compared to everything else.

I'd be curious what others here think of NATO's stance on these issues, especially those of you who work or have worked in theaters.

Thanks.

Mr. Cinema

My last theatrical experience was at a digital screening of Captain America at a Regal location. Top notch presentation. And well worth the $7.75 matinee price. I went on a slow Sunday afternoon with a good, quiet crowd.

One thing did piss me off a few weeks back. I can't remember what movie I was seeing, but it was at another Regal theater. I was dying to get a $5 soda, so I waited in line. Got to the front and was getting ready to order, and the robot behind the counter ignored me, and then helped the lady behind me refill her humongous tub of popcorn. So I was naturally like WTF? I asked him why I wasn't helped since I was, ya know, NEXT. The robot responded with something like their policy is to do refills first. That can't be right?

The Bus

I won't buy concession items if I have to wait for more than two minutes. Considering the theater makes a gigantic margin on these items and is paying the teens serving them minimum wage, I can never understand when there are huge lines because only one or two cashiers are open.

From the NATO site: "To ensure the best possible experience for certain movies, some theaters block
admissions for unescorted teenagers and children after a certain hour or prohibit small
children from attending late-night shows."

The now-defunct Ritz chain in Philadelphia and NJ had this policy. No one under 16 without an adult escort, and no one under 6 (I think) after 9pm, or at all.

They're out of business now, of course.

They also had Wednesday "rattle" matinees that encouraged mothers and caretakers to bring in babies and young children. I think the movies were close captioned.

Alan Smithee

The theater I worked at in the 90s had bargain night on Tuesdays- all shows were $3.50, with the exceptions of Paramount and Warner Bros movies because they were greedy. Eventually they were able to discount their movies after they had been playing for a few weeks, but by the time I left they were having to charge full price of almost every movie on Tuesdays for their first two weeks. They usually got a great turnout; the theater was staffed at weekend staff levels and most movies sold out or came close.

Most theater prices nowadays are just too high, especially considering with digital projection which runs by itself they have one less person to pay (and the studios save thousands of dollars by not having to make and ship film prints), more theaters run ads which they're paid to show, and screens at many new theaters are too small to justify the price on top of that. I don't understand why people go ahead and pay inflated prices and THEN don't even pay attention to the damn movie and/or ruin it for the people who do want to see it.