robin2099

I was listening to this weeks Movie Crypt with Adam and Joe podcast and Michael Biehn was on it. During the podcast he brought up a point and Joe agreed with him that movie theaters will probably be going away soon and he makes sure to take his son often as he can. Biehn also said he believed they'd go away because people are getting so used to watching movies on their phones. He compared it to fast food and how the convenience will just make it so people don't want to go out anymore.

I don't know if I agree with him entirely, but I do think that with video on demand, piracy and home theater set ups improving that a lot of theaters will start to close down and we might be in the midst of a Blockbuster type situation.

stvn1974

There is a former porn theater here that only shows artsty films now and occasionally the re-released classic like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or A Hard Days Night. So even they must make enough money to stay open. Theaters will never go away completely. They may be a niche market but I think the majority of people would rather first experience the latest Star Wars spectacle on a huge theater screen than at home even if they have a really nice set up.

Cardsfan111

I have a few theaters near me who have no matinee showings. Unless you count one at 4:30 p.m.

You might see more of that in the future. Otherwise, evenings and weekends still draw the crowds from what I can see.

fumanstan

Seems like this thread - http://forum.dvdtalk.com/movie-talk/...ter-again.html

I don't see them completely going away at all.

VHS?

I'll give it 20yrs max before they are gone.
With online streaming and TV technology, there really is no need when 55"/60" become the new 40" and people have 80" screens on their wall.
People will get used to the convenience and being in the safety and comfort of their own home.

taffer

That is making a big assumption that the majority of people will ever even have the room for a TV that big. TV sizes are going to hit a max size because they are limited by living room size.

Not everyone has a big house. In fact, house sizes seem to be getting smaller. I live in an apartment and an 80" TV would look ridiculous in my living room because it would take up the entire room.

davidh777

Not sure how the fast-food analogy works. Don't people still go out to eat at restaurants?

robin2099

He used it basically as an analogy that fast food isn't good food, but the reason why it's so popular is it's quick and convenient. You don't have to go to a restaurant and wait for a table. You don't have to wait for it to cook. You just drive up and get it more or less. And he said that sort of convenience of just staying at home and not having to drive there, and park, and pay $20 for snacks will turn people off.

Abob Teff

Bad analogy. The fast food analogy works if you are talking about the quality of films Hollywood is putting out. Actually, I guess it does work ... Hollywood puts out cheap, poor quality movies and I quit paying theater prices for them.

AaronHernandez

Horror movies are 10 times better at the theater in the black neighborhood then they are at home so I hope they never become extinct or niche.

Pizza

What the hell are we going to do on the weekends?

Mike86

I'm not sure I see them going away to be honest. There are a lot more options now days, but I think the movie going experience is still something that a lot of people enjoy. Its an event for a lot of people whether you go on the weekend with family or friends or with a date or just a reason to get out of the house for a couple of hours or whatever. There are a lot of films that are still more fun seeing with a crowd too and openings for big films are always a lot of fun. I do think that theaters probably will cut back on the amount of shows at certain times of the year, some of them already do this I believe, I know mine does and another poster mentioned this. I just don't really see them fully going away though.

Brack

Wasn't TV supposed to make theaters extinct? Home video? Video games? The Internet? I like my entertainment set up fine for a lot of stuff, but I don't have a private home theater (I don't ever intend to) that can ever compete with the theater experience. Certainly not IMAX/lieMAX. As long as ticket prices don't become as expensive as just buying a movie outright, I don't see theaters becoming extinct. Then again I don't know what night ticket prices are for movies. I'm cheap and try to go to before noon for the best discount. But even then the premium is worth the experience. Otherwise theaters would have been extinct a long time ago.

RocShemp

What are "thaters"?

Groucho

What are you high

OldBoy

i didn't create this one...

Eddie W

I think Taylor Swift believes they should be shaken off.

Why So Blu?

Taters, precious?

Cardsfan111

You need to groom someone to work alongside you. Perhaps robin2099 could be your protégé.

Count Dooku

Especially on the night of the annual Purge.

OldBoy

i will say he is feeling quite nostalgic tonight. wondering if something happened...

Mabuse

The first thing I did was make sure this wasn't another thread bump from 10 years ago.

Theaters aren't going away. The kinds of films they show will change dramatically, but they aren't going away.

In the future the only films shown in theaters will be massive spectacles more akin to amusement park rides than narrative storytelling.

Also in the future everyone will wear matching uni-sex jumpsuits and travel to the theater in an elaborate pneumatic tube system.

DJariya

Okay, that made me laugh.

And no, theaters aren't going away. Studios aren't going to produce $200-300M summer extravaganzas exclusively for streaming and on demand.

Abob Teff

When did the future skip flying cars?

Brack

The airline lobbyists have been holding back the technology for years.