Ticket sales down 20%...Nothing worth seeing? (1 Viewer)

[Eric Peterson]

The reasons I avoid the theaters are many fold.

1. Commercials before the presentation - This aggravates me to no end. I paid to see a movie, not a Coke or Toyota ad.
2. Rude customers & complete lack of staff or security. The only thing worse than rude and annoying is rude and annoying when there's nothing you can do about it.
3. High Prices - Matinees are over $6 around here, and I'm one of those people that can't go to a movie without getting popcorn and a drink, so right there, I'm already at $15. I can buy the DVD and several bags of popcorn at home, and have a BEER!!
6. Quality of Theater & Presentation It's becoming a trend to walk into theaters that are sloppy (Especially the restrooms). The theaters are becoming smaller & smaller, the quality of the presentation is going down. I've had to complain to management twice in the past year at different theaters about this. During Bad Santa, the sound completely dropped out for more 3 minutes, and nobody offered us anything.
5. Lack of interesting films. I rarely go to the theater between March & October because it's just a bunch of mind-numbing action fare and silly comedies. Yes, there are many other interesting indie films, but those more than double my cost, by the time I drive downtown, park, etc.... I generally wait for those to hit DVD. I'm also much more interested in classic cinema, and find those films more engaging.
6. Schedule & Location - The Multiplex around me, rarely shows anything as small as a Coen Brothers movie, until at least a month after it debuts. This means that I have to drive at least 10-15 miles to see most films that interest me. I usually wait and try to find a movie that's playing on my way home from work, but that requires precise scheduling.

...and on and on!

 

[Mikel_Cooperman]

There was an article about this very subject in EW a few weeks ago. They mentioned high ticket prices, rude crowds, short DVD Windows, Big screen TV's and commercials before the movies that were keeping people out of the theatre.



I agree. I went to a matinee of House of Wax a few weeks ago and people were talking and letting there kids run around. These were people I didnt want to mess with so I didnt say anything. Where were the ushers or theatre employees? Nowhere to be found!!

I'll see a few of the Summer movies during the Summer because I love to see movies on the Big screen but I won't be going as much as I used to during the Summer months.

 

[Lew Crippen]

I continue to be amazed at the number of posters who run into rude theater patrons, as that was not at all my experience at the movies.

Perhaps I lived in an area where people are just more thoughtful and considerate of others than many posters.

I also observe that most of those who complain about rude patrons, also claim that they don't go to the movies very often. Perhaps they don't have a broad enough sample to form a valid opinion. For what it is worth, I watch a lot of moives at the theater. Not as many as Vickie M, but a lot nonetheless.

 

[Jon Mahoney]

Living in a city makes the movie going experience quite interesting. I've stopped going to movies such as Sin City, (Insert latest Stiller movie here), any type of action movie etc. because the crowds are absolutely horrible. The worst experience I had was a few years ago when Matrix Reloaded came out and there was nearly a fist fight in the theater. A woman was on the cell phone through the previews was told to get off etc. then it ended up with her yelling at people and throwing stuff @ other people telling her to shut up, this went on for the first 20 minutes of the movie before the movie "security" finally took her out. Then they let her back in in 5 minutes.

Price is a major factor though, if I want to go to the movies with the girlfriend, 2 tickets ($22.50) and a soda ($3.75 ish) and you're already up over $25. I can buy the DVD from Columbia house for $10.95 or $17 from Best Buy when it comes out in 2 months. Unless its an "event movie' then I've ended up just passing most of the time. That being said I'm going to Star Wars on Tuesday and hope to see Batman Begins when it comes out and the girlfriend wants to see Madagascar badly so those are the 3 I'll probably go see.

 

[EricSchulz]

I think this article sums it up nicely. I would LOVE for theaters to hire ushers that act like the ones that used to work years ago: they had flashlights to "beam in" on rude/loud people that were disturbing others and actually kept the crowds in line.

USA Today

 

[Brook K]

I gotta agree with Lew, I almost never encounter this sort of behavior. The occasional cell phone going off is about as bad as it gets.

However for multiplex movies I generally go to matinees, and never try to fight the big Friday/Saturday night crowds. For art house fare I usually go on Sunday nights and 20 people would be a big audience. The Landmark art house theater in my area has a good deal where you can buy 5 tickets in advance for $30 and use them for any show except Friday and Sat. nights (that's why I go on Sunday nights).

I hear you on prices and I'm sure this is a deterrent for many. I could have bought the DVD of Howl's Moving Castle for what it cost my family to go see it, but a. I didn't want to wait another 6 months and b. I still find that seeing a good movie on a big theater screen blows away my home set.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Same with me. I've been going to the movies pretty steadily since the early 1970s (less so in the past several years), and can't even recall a single rude incident, though I'm sure they must have happened. Just last night the wife and I were at the theatre for BATMAN BEGINS, and a horde of young kids (8 to 10) were taken into the theatre by an adult, and sat two rows behind us.

During the "commercials", these kids couldn't stop yaking. My wife and I looked at each other and prepared for the worst during our feature. I actually thought to myself, "uh-oh - at last, I'm going to have something to complain about on the forums!" - but during the actual movie, not a peep out of anyone.

 

[Pete-D]

Box office is more than fine.

If you take away PoTC, 2004 and 2005 are running pretty even, and 2004 was a banner year for the industry. How does 2005 compare to 2003?

I think Bewitched and Herbie: Full Loaded will be flops though, but hopefully Batman Begins will have a strong second frame.

Personally I think the movies coming out this summer are better than what was out last year. Gimme Revenge of the Sith, Batman Begins, and even Mr. & Mrs. Smith over Shrek 2, Van Helsing, and Troy.

Last year seemed to have more kid friendly pictures -- Spidey 2, Shrek 2, Harry Potter 3, Van Helsing, Garfield, etc. so I think that a lot of kids probably went to the movies a lot more last summer.

This summer has more stuff that'll probably make older teenagers and adults happy, darker/more action/spectacle oriented films.