# Are Movie Theaters Dying Out ?



## protectionist (Feb 22, 2015)

Yes, I would say movie theaters ARE dying out, if they haven't done so already. Simple fact is practically no one is going to movie theaters any more. I just saw the stunning results of a poll on CBS News which said a whopping 84% of Americans now watch more movies at home, as opposed to only 4% who see more of them in movie theaters.

The reasons for this are numerous. Besides the remote chance that you might get shot by a terrorist nutjob, or just an angry moviegoer, ticket prices are quite high nowadays. Another example of businesses not watching their price curves carefully enough. Movie watchers can order unlimited movies and TV shows on Netflix for less than $10/month. With today's technology, we can watch these in HD, with surround sound, and on very large screens.

We can also buy DVDs of movies and TV shows. I just saw the entire 8 seasons of the GREAT TV show _24, _all on a DVD set, bought in a pawn shop at a very low price.

Then there's the convenience factor. Who really wants to stand on a line to get into a movie theater ? Certainly not people in northern states in the winter, or folks in Florida in the summer. And once inside, you know the drill. Sticky floors, where people spilled sugary sodas. Noisy people, sometimes even a crying baby. Kids kicking the back of your seat. Refreshments that are too expensive, and they do all they can to keep you from bringing your own.

And how about the sound ? I'll never forget when I saw Superman II (a great movie by the way), but the sound was deafening. I actually went to the projection room to ask the manager to lower the sound. The projectionist had it on the wrong setting. At home, you're in control of the sound, refreshments, and I don't have to tell you how much better your bathroom is than theirs.

 CBS News poll Americans and the movies - CBS News


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## Roadrunner (Feb 22, 2015)

protectionist said:


> Yes, I would say movie theaters ARE dying out, if they haven't done so already. Simple fact is practically no one is going to movie theaters any more. I just saw the stunning results of a poll on CBS News which said a whopping 84% of Americans now watch movies at home, as opposed to only 4% who see them in movie theaters.
> 
> The reasons for this are numerous. Besides the remote chance that you might get shot by a terrorist nutjob, or just an angry moviegoer, ticket prices are quite high nowadays. Another example of businesses not watching their price curves carefully enough. Movie watchers can order unlimited movies and TV shows on Netflix for less than $10/month. With today's technology, we can watch these in HD, with surround sound, and on very large screens.
> 
> ...


Germs keep me home watching on TV.

I do not need to share germs with the masses.

I was the last living man to see Forrest Chump though.


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## Delta4Embassy (Feb 22, 2015)

protectionist said:


> Yes, I would say movie theaters ARE dying out, if they haven't done so already. Simple fact is practically no one is going to movie theaters any more. I just saw the stunning results of a poll on CBS News which said a whopping 84% of Americans now watch more movies at home, as opposed to only 4% who see more of them in movie theaters.
> 
> The reasons for this are numerous. Besides the remote chance that you might get shot by a terrorist nutjob, or just an angry moviegoer, ticket prices are quite high nowadays. Another example of businesses not watching their price curves carefully enough. Movie watchers can order unlimited movies and TV shows on Netflix for less than $10/month. With today's technology, we can watch these in HD, with surround sound, and on very large screens.
> 
> ...



Movie theatres have only endured this long due to the very biggest screens imaginable. If home theatres had screens as big as theatre ones we wouldn't be talking about it.


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## Moonglow (Feb 22, 2015)

Look at the cost of popcorn and soda...........Outrageous.....


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## protectionist (Feb 22, 2015)

Delta4Embassy said:


> protectionist said:
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> 
> > Yes, I would say movie theaters ARE dying out, if they haven't done so already. Simple fact is practically no one is going to movie theaters any more. I just saw the stunning results of a poll on CBS News which said a whopping 84% of Americans now watch more movies at home, as opposed to only 4% who see more of them in movie theaters.
> ...


Score one for the movie theaters on that.  Otherwise, they don't have much of anything, over the home experience, nowadays.


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## protectionist (Feb 22, 2015)

Moonglow said:


> Look at the cost of popcorn and soda...........Outrageous.....


Hard to smuggle them in, here in Florida, where we don't wear big jackets very often.


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## Moonglow (Feb 22, 2015)

Delta4Embassy said:


> protectionist said:
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> 
> > Yes, I would say movie theaters ARE dying out, if they haven't done so already. Simple fact is practically no one is going to movie theaters any more. I just saw the stunning results of a poll on CBS News which said a whopping 84% of Americans now watch more movies at home, as opposed to only 4% who see more of them in movie theaters.
> ...


I had a large on years ago.....now with digitization you can get big screen projections yet again at home....


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## Moonglow (Feb 22, 2015)

protectionist said:


> Moonglow said:
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> > Look at the cost of popcorn and soda...........Outrageous.....
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When we went to the drive in we would take a large paper sack full of buttered popcorn and the glass bottle liters....


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## Delta4Embassy (Feb 22, 2015)

protectionist said:


> Delta4Embassy said:
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And their popcorn is better.  Nothing better than genuine, movie-theatre artificial buttered-flavored grease.


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## Tom Sweetnam (Feb 22, 2015)

I haven't been to a movie theatre in years, and here in Colorado I think people who do deserve combat pay. I have a 55" Samsung LCD that's just beautiful, and Pioneer components driving a pair of Klipsch studio monitor speakers all fed by Dish. Who the hell needs movie theaters anymore?


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## protectionist (Feb 22, 2015)

Tom Sweetnam said:


> I haven't been to a movie theatre in years, and here in Colorado I think people who do deserve combat pay. I have a 55" Samsung LCD that's just beautiful, and Pioneer components driving a pair of Klipsch studio monitor speakers all fed by Dish. Who the hell needs movie theaters anymore?


*BINGO!!!*


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## Roadrunner (Feb 22, 2015)

Moonglow said:


> protectionist said:
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We took opium we used to get from Vietnamese pilots in training who brought it in with their helmets.

We'd go to the drive in and watch those vampire movies, stoned shitless and laughing our asses off.

Those were the days.


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## protectionist (Feb 22, 2015)

Roadrunner said:


> Moonglow said:
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The disappearance of drive-ins was the worst thing that happened to moviegoing. We loved our neighborhood drive-in. You could adjust your own sound level. No loudmouth jerks interfering with the movies. We used to bring a whole cooler full of beer, soda, chicken, chips, etc. And the seats in my '76 Chevy Caprice Classic were a lot roomier and more comfortable than any walk-in movie theater I ever went to.

And no, we don't need that germ-sharing thing either.  Thanks, Roadrunner.


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## Moonglow (Feb 22, 2015)

protectionist said:


> Roadrunner said:
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And less stickier. I always enjoyed taking the truck and lawn chairs to sit in the back of the truck...


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## JOSweetHeart (Feb 22, 2015)

Moonglow said:


> Look at the cost of popcorn and soda...........Outrageous.....


Amen and then there is the cost to actually see the film. I haven't been to see a film in over two years now. To me, its better to wait until you can rent what you want to see because then you won't waste as much money if the film ends up being something that you have no desire to see again.

God bless you always!!!   

Holly


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## rcfieldz (Feb 22, 2015)

As a kid I remember being at the Los Angeles Cinerama and wondering what made the floor at my feet sticky(I think someone came by to do a quick mop) and going to the Grauman's Chinese Theatre where they always had the coolist program booklet like a slick magazine of the movie, wish I still had mine from the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Bang or It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World.


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## Vigilante (Feb 22, 2015)

The last 4 movie I saw were played to packed houses, and with the Imitation Game, people that got there 5 minutes before the movie started, were turned away. I believe that good movies, have a strong theater following, at least where I am.


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## DGS49 (Feb 24, 2015)

Like every other business, the movie theater business has had to adapt in order to be successful.  The ones that have adapted are doing fine, thank you very much.  New theaters are being built all over the country right now by investors who are not stupid.

And I disagree with much of what is written above about the experience.  You CANNOT duplicate the sound and picture quality of a movie theater in your home.  Not possible.  Ground-shaking explosions, symphony-like sound, colors that jump off the screen.  You are kidding yourself if you think your wide, flatscreen is just as good.  It is good, but not as good.

You can only see a new movie in a theater.  Once it comes out on Netflix or whatever, it's old.  There is something to be said for seeing a movie when it first comes out.

Most new theaters have gone a long way to make the experience more enjoyable and more fulfilling.  Seats are more comfortable, food is better, and in some theaters it can be delivered to your seat during the show.

Expensive...compared to what?  People pay $100 bux to watch overpaid mutants play with their balls!  Gimme a break.

There will always be a place in our culture for movie theaters.  If you choose not to go there, you are missing out.


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