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Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

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View Poll Results: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?
Yes
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Maybe
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Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

Old 10-04-19, 08:56 PM
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Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

I mean, the more price of tix and refreshments and coordinating scheds, it is sometimes a hassle. I don’t think I would miss the experience entirely. I mean you never know, but home convenience has been a godsend. I still get emotions. Teary eyed, laugh, enjoy, riveted to movies seen at home so I think I would be ok with no more theaters at all...

Last edited by OldBoy; 10-05-19 at 08:27 AM.
Old 10-04-19, 09:00 PM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

With a couple small kids at home I don’t get to the theater nearly as much as I used to but I would definitely miss them if they were gone. As nice as my home theater is, there’s still nothing quite like seeing a great movie in the theater.

I’ve had so many positive movie going experiences in my life, I’d feel sad if I knew I could never see another movie in the theater.
Old 10-04-19, 09:02 PM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

Nope. I don't go to movies, concerts or sporting events anymore because people are assholes.
Old 10-04-19, 09:45 PM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

I would I go at least twice a month if not more. I love the entire theater experience including overpriced concessions. Being able to enjoy a movie with strangers I never have to actually socialize with is a bonus.
Old 10-04-19, 10:41 PM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

I go once or twice a week. Unless you're rich enough to build a media room big enough to hold 100 people, you can't recreate the ambience of a theater.

So, of course I'd miss it.
Old 10-04-19, 10:51 PM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

I go 5 to 7 times per month, so yeah I would miss it. No matter how great you think your internet and home theater is, it can never replicate the quality of IMAX or Dolby Digital Image. And I think it’s fun watching a blockbuster with a bunch of people and experiencing the excitement and emotions.
Old 10-05-19, 12:41 AM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

Won't miss it at all.

I'm already done with theatres. Last movie I saw in a theatre was 2 years ago, and as I mentioned in other threads - I had to sit through roughly 35 commercials before the movie started. There were already so many negatives to the movie theatre experience, and the commercials was the last straw for me.

The movie viewing experience in my own home is better than any theatre.
Old 10-05-19, 12:59 AM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

I miss the theatres already, it's such a different experience than it was just twenty years ago. During my golden age of theatre going, every small town and city I lived in had four, sometimes six different theatres. Some of them were still independently run. Each one had its own feeling and atmosphere. They seemed like churches. You could feel the history all of all the people who went there and shared the experience of seeing Return of the Jedi or Pulp Fiction, or in the case of the real old ones Psycho or Spartacus.

Now days, where I live there is just one huge multiplex, so every movie is at the same place, the same sterile environment. There's no character, nothing special. Walking in there feels like you're walking into a Shoppers Drug Mart, or a chain grocery store. There's no character, no ambience. There is no marquee, no posters hanging outside.

Oh well, things change. I'm just happy I got to experience as much of the good times as I got to, and will continue going to the theatre as often as I can. I still love it.
Old 10-05-19, 02:10 AM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

The prices and the people ruined movies for me long ago. Last movie I saw in the theaters was Jurassic Park in 3D and I only went to that because I love that movie. I hate the whole theater experience and I just don't see the need for them at all anymore. I watch everything I can on disc. And I stream what I can't on disc so I wouldn't miss theaters at all.
Old 10-05-19, 03:30 AM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

I'm already sweating over the possibility that I may not get to see The Irishman in a theater. Or conversely how far I will have to drive to see it. I'm dreading the day theaters go by the wayside. Nothing can replicate seeing a great horror movie or comedy in a big dark sold out theater with 200 other people. I would 100% miss theaters if they went extinct.
Old 10-05-19, 04:17 AM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

I personally wouldn't miss it as i have a decent Home theatre, but it's not perfect. I have a 4K projector which costs a bit under 9 grand, but it didn't cost 90 grand. I have a 7.2.4 setup, but it's not a 20.4.12 setup

Not many people have what i would call an acceptable home theatre for reviewing a movie (not that i am a movie reviewer), meaning we are going to get a lot of movie opinions from people watching on a 65 inch tv with the stock speakers. Doesn't really give a lot of movies a fair shot
Old 10-05-19, 04:33 AM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

I enjoy the theater experience, but wouldn’t bat an eye if they all disappeared today. Plenty of other ways to entertain myself, and the film experience is almost as good at home overall imho.
Old 10-05-19, 05:19 AM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

I love going to the theater. I'm not exactly even sure why that is. It's not wholly for the social aspect because I often go by myself at odd times of the day. The quality definitely has a lot to do with it. I definitely like seeing the big summer blockbusters with my wife as it's really the only way I can get her to pay attention to the movie without having a phone in her hand or being dead asleep on the couch. Also though seeing Endgame on opening night with a a couple hundred excited fanboys was electrifying. Especially at key moments of the movie. It felt like an event. But I also like watching it even if I'm the only one in the theater. I know I'm in the minority but there is still something special about it. In fact I think especially since I have kids I would miss it. I think the key thing for me now at this stage of life is that it is (ideally) completely distraction free. I don't have to worry about it being too loud and constantly adjusting the volume or having to worry about the kids getting up. I like to be totally engrossed in the movie and it's just a lot easier to do that at the theater. I tend to remember and enjoy the movie just a little bit more if I see it in the theater too.
Old 10-05-19, 05:19 AM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

As someone who used to love going to the movies, like someone has already said, people and prices have ruined it for me. I go to maybe one movie a year now. People talking and texting on their phones along with their constant chatter drive me insane. And I won't even start on concession prices. I could go to a nice steakhouse and have a very good dinner for what I would pay for the combos they are hawking at theaters now.

Sadly, I wouldn't miss them, but I do remember how special it used to be to see a film for the first time at a movie theater.
Old 10-05-19, 05:35 AM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

I'd rather see certain movies on the big screen, e.g. Tarantino movies, and I'd miss that experience if I couldn't watch them that way. But I generally don't like the theater experience much these days, thanks to reserved seating (which I hate); the ugliness of most theaters now; having to take elevators or escalators to any theater in a multiplex; annoying patrons and their cellphones; the distance of the bathroom from the theater, forcing me to miss a whole scene if I have to pee during a long movie; the sparsity of movie theaters in NYC these days and the longer travel times it takes to get to them; and the general mediocrity of films these days. I used to go to revival theaters a lot, but since I have so many older and foreign films on disc now (in the thousands), and hundreds more available on streaming or On Demand, I can get that experience at home more often than not. And it's been a long time since I went to see an old film at a theater and found the experience satisfying. (I'm thinking King Hu's DRAGON INN about three years ago at Lincoln Center was the last time.)

When I was younger, there were movie theaters everywhere and lots of revival programs, so I could see something like a dozen films a week on the big screen, all while attending college full-time and working part-time. And I could see all types of movies, old and new, all manner of genres, arthouse to exploitation, and films from dozens of other countries. Of course, I had more energy to do so back then and no commitments to prevent me from going to these movies.
Old 10-05-19, 07:54 AM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

I would miss the theater for sure. Hope it never happens. One thing I would not miss is people plowing through their noisy BAG of popcorn crunching on it like madmen.
Old 10-05-19, 09:51 AM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

Sure, I could survive without theaters. Yet I would miss the experience. And maybe that's not so much being in the theater, but rather seeing a film I have been anxious to see.
Old 10-05-19, 10:24 AM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

I'd eventually get used to it - paying 6 bucks or whatever to rent a new streaming movie, or even 20 to buy it, is pretty on level financially with going to the theater. And home theater spaces are pretty nice now.
I actually watch more movies in the theater than at home, and I have a decent system. I just don't find myself committing 2 hours to watch a movie at home (but then I find myself watching 2 episodes of a streaming show, and yes, it's annoying.)
But there's still something to be said for losing yourself in a huge screen in a dark theater, and playing off the crowd's gasps and laughs (as long as they're appropriate)
That said, I do enjoy "going to the movies". I still find enjoy the experience. And munching on a big bucket of popcorn - when movie popcorn is good, it's very good.
I have had relatively few encounters with obnoxious theater goers, so that's nice.
Admittedly my barrier to entry with a movie theater is lower than it could be, because of Moviepass then AMC AList.
I actually like reserved seating because I can change plans ahead of time if the seats don't work out, and don't have to race to get there half hour before to get a "good seat". I didn't like the online reservation fees.
Old 10-05-19, 12:14 PM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

If AMC A-List didn't exist, I wouldn't go to the theatres nearly as much as I do now. It's saved me so much money and allowed me to see so much more than I have probably in the last 10 years. As I said, I average around 5-7 movies per month. At about $13 per ticket, that's almost $100 worth of tickets that I'm spending only $23/month on. So I'm coming out way ahead on it.

But, I know some of you simply don't have that kind of time. So it's not for everyone.
Old 10-05-19, 12:31 PM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

Not at all. I think the last movie I saw in theaters was Inside Out and I don't plan on ever going to a movie theater again. I'm far more content watching movies on my tv.
Old 10-05-19, 12:37 PM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

I enjoy the experience of going out to the theater. It’s something to do and a bit of an event in my week. The town I live in doesn’t have a whole lot of options for entertainment otherwise. Plus watching certain movies at home isn’t the same experience. Mainly horror and comedy films.
Old 10-05-19, 12:45 PM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

The movies that go straight to video or streaming don't make any money. Most of them are small Indie movies with budgets under $10M. All of Bruce Willis' recent Lionsgate action movies are money losers since they all go straight to video.

How do you expect a movie with a $150 to 200M budget to make any money straight to video or streaming? A big Hollywood movie has to make at least 3 times it's budget to be profitable. They would have to charge $12 to 15 or more to download/stream it first run. And I recall years ago there was some talk to have 1st run movies available at the same time it's in theatres, but they would charge like $50 to watch it. The studios rejected it.

The box office is still very important for A-list Hollywood movies to get made (especially 1st weekend) otherwise they simply couldn't do it.
Old 10-05-19, 07:16 PM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

I’d pay $30+ to see a new movie at home opening weekend. That’s at least what it costs me to see in the theater - the only reason I like going to the theater is seeing new movies.
Old 10-05-19, 07:36 PM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

Day and Date releases, that's a whole another discussion

Personally for a first run blockbuster, 50 bucks a viewing is fair, you can pause but can't rewind and have 48 hours to watch

Most would get a few friends together to contribute to the 50 bucks like a PPV
Old 10-05-19, 09:57 PM
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Re: Would you miss theaters if everything became streaming?

Well, I broke my foot pretty badly today, so I have to settle for my 65in QLED and home surround for the next couple of months. I'll live...

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