Have you checked out your theater by chance? I know our area is not crowded anywhere compared to most cities, but our movie theater seems to be less risky than my workplace. We have been a few times. We don’t eat anything but we never bought concessions pre pandemic either. Tickets are $5 now. You pick your seats at the counter and can see how many people are there. If you get inside and aren’t comfortable you can leave with a refund. The most I’ve been in there with are 4 - all of whom were in the back row. H and I always sit in the front section. H has gone by himself and was the only one there. Movies are only shown 3 days a week and not many per day (lots of time for air to recycle). I work in a much smaller room with up to 10 people unmasked all day every day. So 0-4 people masked far away for 2 hours doesn’t seem so bad. If you really miss it that much, you might want to see what it’s like.
I don’t think theaters are allowed open in my state currently. The last couple of years we have gone on Christmas . I know my elderly father and his friends like to go to matinees during the winter so he does miss it right now and hopes they will still be around in the future.
How much do your movie experiences cost? For us, it’s still the same or less than a dinner out, even after popcorn and a drink.
I am not a big movie-goer, but it’s something to do a few times a year. To me, movies are expensive. I remember in college going to a matinee for $3.50 just to sit somewhere with air conditioning lol.
Someone above mentioned captions - YES! I watch everything with captions because there is a lot of mumbling. I even bought a soundbar that enhanced dialogue.
I’ve always loved the movie popcorn though. Some theaters, to help stay afloat, are selling the popcorn alone. I haven’t checked that out yet locally.
I have enjoyed being able to get the movies streamed if I want. If you want to wait a few weeks, that $19.99 price tends to go down. Hey, I will have two in college next year, so I’m getting even cheaper than I already was.
We typically go to the dine-in theaters. A movie, meal, and drinks usually cost the same as going out for a reasonably priced dinner.
A $12 movie ticket is, IMO, an absolute bargain for a night out. I actually never buy anything at a regular movie theater chain such as AMC. At our local movie house, there’s a lovely bar and a small menu, where I will always have a glass of wine or a snack. It’s still far less expensive than a dinner out at a restaurant in my area.
Often cheaper than takeout, too.
@bearcatfan, YES— I bought the Polk Audio soundbar specifically because it has the center channel dedicate to dialog, with its own separate volume control. Crystal clear dialog to accompany the captions (I have no hearing in one ear).
Now that I think about it, we do have a sound bar and I set it on voice for H who is HOH and we do use CC on Netflix. I thought we used it for the British accent to understand , but we also use it for all shows.
I might of been there…lol… That’s the magic of movies. So immersed in a great script you become part of the movie.
Seems to me that those that loved going to movies will go back and those that didn’t won’t. I am on the love going to the movies team. And if you don’t buy overpriced snacks, the cost of two movie tickets is really not bad for a night out.
I felt that way when I saw 1917. Wow, I felt every part of that movie. Amazing film and amazing atmosphere.
The question is whether enough people like going to the movies that theaters will be able to continue to operate if streaming is happening simultaneously. My guess is No. If I’m right the only “ solution “ to keep theaters running is to force people to go if they want to see the movie as early as possible by keeping the movie off streaming options. What other business model is based on forcing people to do something they don’t want in order to sustain the business?
One of my first-year composition classes was a bunch of communications majors, and this was the topic of several of argument essays for several of them. It must have come up in their major classes.
I don’t go that often, but I do like the communal, sharing the moment atmosphere, like when a triumph happens and the whole theater cheers… I hope it will be possible to go back to that .
Or when the crowd breaks out in hysterical laughter. Just can’t get that in the home/small group setting.
Don’t discount the experience. Jurassic Park dinosaurs need a big screen. And sharing that experience with an audience brings it to a new level. You can’t get that at home.
I agree that there are things you can get in a theater that you can’t at home. But my question is would enough people go to a theater if all movies stream the same day as they appear in theaters? Do you think that is a sustainable model? Or do theaters have to be able to prevent simultaneous streaming to survive?
I used to be a huge movie goer but I cut back over the last 5 years or so because the quality of the films has been on the decline. I doubt I’d go back to the theaters once they open again. However, I’d love to go back to venues to see plays, musicals, concerts etc…
I don’t find an audience of strangers enhances my experience at all, honestly. I (used to ) prefer to empty theaters at unpopular times. Often the sound was loud enough to make me feel physically ill too. Take away the incentive to see something I really want to see 6-8 months early (and avoid spoilers) and I wouldn’t go anymore.
Edited to add: I absolutely will go back to Broadway, live dance, live concerts. Those I feel aren’t the same at home- though I did watch a livestream Nutcracker on Christmas Eve that was spectacular. Concerts may be the only thing I truly enjoy the communal experience.
I built a theater in my home with a projector + big screen, surround speakers built in to walls, etc. I haven’t been to a commercial movie theater in the many years since then and am not sure, if I ever will in the future.
If you look at inflation adjusted movie sales per year, there has been hardly any change for decades prior to COVID-19, and the number of commercial movie screens keeps increasing over time, with no ending in sight. I don’t think it’s a dying industry, like some might call cable TV vs streaming. It’s just not one I want participate in.
The biggest advantaged of a home theater over a commercial theater for me is convenience and personalization. This includes being able to watch exactly the movies or TV shows that I’d like see on my schedule… whether it be while relaxing after a work out or at 1AM, being able to pause when I’d like to break for whatever reason, being able to rewind/replay something interesting, no travel, no rules about what I can bring in or do in a theater (can talk, use phone, use laptop, …), can set volume at exactly the level I want and/or turn on CC, being able to suddenly switch the movie/TV show to something else if I don’t like the one that’s playing, etc.
The biggest downside is streaming quality. Some streaming services regularly have movies with 2.1 stereo audio (coding for only 2 stereo speakers + subwoofer). Hulu seems especially bad in this respect. It’s rare to get a streaming movie beyond 5.1 DD, such as a finding a movie with HD audio like DTS HD or Dolby HD. To get higher quality audio, I usually need to play a blu-ray… still much preferable to going to a theater, but a legitimate downside. Hopefully this will improve once faster home Internet becomes more common.
The audio upside is being able to customize the sound settings exactly how I want it, including things like amount of sub-woofer, making voices easier to hear via EQ, how much seats shake at corresponding events in film (great in action movies, not as great in other genres), etc.
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I have not seen Wonder Woman 1984 and generally do not see movies as soon as they come out. I’m in no rush. There are hundreds of great movies that I’d like to see, which are not new releases. I do not consider sometimes not being able to see movies as soon as they are released an important downside.