Vote in our poll for a chance to win a $250 Amazon or Best Buy gift card (1 Viewer)

[TonyD]

Up until this past December we went to the movies not more then 2-3 times a year.Just don't enjoy it as much and it costs too much.Since December I have been to the movies about 30 times but that's only because I started working at a theater.I left there in March but they still let me go in for free anytime I want to.That theater is an independent with only two locations.$9.50 until 5 pm.After 5 it's 11.50 plus $3 for 3D$10 for seniors, military.$17 for IMAX which is one of the best I've been to, if not a tad small with only 300 seats. Screen is one of the largest though.

 

[hotrodguy]

The only reason I go to the theater anymore is for fun or if the tickets are free. I really can't stand the poor picture and sound quality. Half the time, the logos at the beginning have more surround info than the movie itself and even the Arclight theaters have motion blur. The best theater I have been in ever is the Stephen J. Ross theater on the WB lot where I saw The Hobbit, the really was a good experience. I'm not trying to brag by any means but my home theater runs circles around every other commercial theater.

 

[riotengine]

I'm in.

 

[Bazzle]

Not easy for streaming In Oz but I have done it on local TV a few times.

Bazzle

 

[Jacqui G]

We hardly ever go to the movies now that we have Netflix. We love the variety, quality productions, no annoying audience interruptions (except for the snoring cat), you can pause the action for nature calls and snack runs, and even "walk out" of a movie you don't like! All this for $8.00 a month.

Why bother to venture out into -20 C weather, scrape snow off your windshield, park your butt on a freezing car seat, and risk your life on slippery roads just to sit in an overheated movie theatre, eat overpriced, soggy popcorn, all the while surrounded by whisperers and snack bag rustlers? Why not just stay at home, eat microwave popcorn, and watch "Sherlock" on Netflix?

The other reason we don't go to the movies these days is the lack of quality product. I walked out of "This is 40" after eight (8) minutes due to the constant profanity. I had foolishly thought that the director of "Freaks and Geeks" might have something good to offer!

 

[PaulDA]

I live 25 miles from a theater so there is a $20 bill just to get there and back,add tics,drinks,munchies and your up to $60 for a movie. I have put at least $15000 in to my HT so I pre-order blu-rays and watch at home so I can pause and take breaks and grab an adult beverage some thing you can not do at a commercial theater!

We have a cinema about 10 miles away that has a VIP section. In it, only adults 18 and older can enter (no, it's not that kind of cinema ), alcohol is among the beverage options (18 is the drinking age here) and even rather nice food, served at your seat (seats are equipped with a table for two, I believe--haven't tried the place yet and won't make it a habit, but will give it at least one go). With my HT, I don't have an incentive to frequent such a cinema regularly, but if I were an apartment dweller with no practical place for an HT (sensitive neighbours, small space, etc.), I could find myself a regular patron of such a cinema.

 

[hyghwayman]

I voted

Only time I go out to watch movies anymore is if the wife makes me. I much prefer watching everything at home in my nice comfy chair/couch, where I control the volume and can pause the movie if needed.

Streaming is something that I do daily and is well worth the $8 I spend each month.

 

[Joe Bernardi]

The first question offered confusing choices. Since I've gone to a movie theater only twice in twelve years, I selected "I never go to the movie theater.

However, since my collection of Blu-rays and DVDs encompasses movies from the 1930s to the 2010s, I could have also chosen "31%-60% of the movies I watch at home, I've seen in the movie theater"

 

[theonemacduff]

I worked two nights a week as a projectionist when I was an undergraduate, and had jobs selling tickets and ushering all through grad school, as well as being a reviewer for some of the local suburban rags, so my movie jones was on a fairly high level; but that was the 80s. Then I got a real job, and slowed down a bit, going to the theatre only twice a week, with one of those being a double bill at a rep theatre. But that was the 90s. The rep theatre finally closed several years ago; they had made poor programming choices and lost their base audience (the neighbourhood) in vain pursuit of a different audience (students from the local university).

So I don't go much any more. Saw The Hobbit and Lincoln over Christmas, but that was because my wife's work handed out a couple of free tickets. I don't particularly like the multiplex experience, but it's about 100% of what's on offer in my immediate area, so it isn't that having a home theatre system discourages me from going, it's more like, it's not what I'd call a real movie-going experience. It's like being at home except the projection is sometimes worse, and the floors are sticky.

The other thing I was wondering, reflecting on my own experience, is whether there might be, on HTF perhaps, an age and gender bias built in, that is, are most of the respondents male, and over 40 (heck, over 50)? I suspect this is the case, but wonder if direct questions might add the process of data capture. After all, for surveys the rule is: go for as much data as possible, because you probably won't get a second chance to capture.

 

[Michael Elliott]

The age thing is something important. I think with everything (concerts, movies, other forms of entertainment) that people quit doing as much as they get older. I brought this up at another forum when it came to the hatred for streaming and the demand for physical media. Even there people didn't go to the movies as much and the majority of them were between 45-60.

Reading some of these posts makes me rather happy because I had no idea that Louisville/Cincinnati were the movie capitals of the world. I mean seriously, I've never encountered the problems that people are reporting here and I went to a movie Monday thru Friday of this week! The theaters around here do a pretty good keeping things clean. The picture/sound are always top-notch and as I've said, issues with people are pretty low. I had one issue this week and it just happened to be a movie where it was me and one other person. The crowded movies I watched this week were flawless in regards to people talking, texting or anything like that.

 

[SWFF]

I'm 44, I loathe streaming, and as I get older the attraction to go see a movie in a theater wanes increasingly. For one thing ever since 3D came along, the 2D movies I see in theaters look like shit. The dark areas are fine, but in the light and day time scenes there's always this subtle "flickering." The DVD's and blue versions of the movies always look better than their theater counterparts.

I make exception for certain movies, though. Only movie I intend to see in an actual theater this summer is PACIFIC RIM, and next year it will be GODZILLA. I, Shawn William Francis, have spoken. Talk amongst yourselves. Thank you. Stepping down now . . .

 

[FreyTheater]

I'm 44, I loathe streaming, and as I get older the attraction to go see a movie in a theater wanes increasingly. For one thing ever since 3D came along, the 2D movies I see in theaters look like shit. The dark areas are fine, but in the light and day time scenes there's always this subtle "flickering." The DVD's and blue versions of the movies always look better than their theater counterparts.

I'm 52, and I loathe cable/satellite TV. I completely cut the cord on broadcast TV a year ago, meaning I refuse to even have an antenna for OTA reception. Can't stand the commercials, channel watermarks, mid-show pop-up advertising, and tickertape borders on the screen - and the garbage they call "reality TV", which is futher from any reality than even WWE wrestling! I found myself usually ending up watching cartoons on Nick or CTN because they were one of the few things that I could find interesting on TV anymore, lol. The few good TV series that I would actually want to watch I have no problem with waiting a year for them to come out on Blu-ray.

I also get no newspaper delivery at all; I listen to AM talk radio for my news and weather and other info, and even have a tabletop internet radio so I can listen to the broadcasts from stations across the country with crystal clear quality - it's a plus being able to get different points of view from different areas of the country...

All my serious movie and TV series watching is done in my theater using physical media. I did pick up Netflix streaming for my two girls - they begged me for it shortly after I dropped the satellite service, so they could watch some of their favorite TV series. I was never a fan of streaming, but it has gotten a lot better in quality, so now I don't mind watching TV shows or the occasional movie I would probably never purchase on disc. I am still very adamant being a pro-physical-media fan, and never want to see streaming take over the market and kill physical discs, but streaming does have a place in our household. I even got to liking some of the more mature Japanese Anime series that Netflix offers on rotation, so I can still get my cartoon fix, lol!

I will only go to the theaters about 2-3 times a year, mainly as a treat just to see IMAX or IMAX 3D blockbuster movies - we have a new IMAX 3D theater just 5 miles from my home, so it is very convenient, but very expensive! My theater does come close to the IMAX 3D experience, relatively speaking, though - by sitting 8 feet from a 120" screen, with 6,000 watts of amplifier power, and beautiful 3D projection - so I don't need to go to the real IMAX theater very often. See it in FREYMAX 3D!

 

[JosephJohnson]

Not a big fan of streaming, but I do plan on trying out Netflix soon because I've had it with cable. It's true I don't go to the theatre as much as I did in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I still go out if there's something I want to see, or something unusual happens along. A screening of Sorcerer on 35mm with William Friedkin. Heaven's Gate restored at the Siskel Film Center in 2005 etc. If there's a big new spectacle-type release, I try to catch it at a Marcus Theatre in Elgin. They have a huge, 3-story ultrascreen theatre. Sure, they've gone digital, but they did keep a 35mm projector for the ultrascreen in case. The biggest change of all in my filmgoing habits is when I choose to go. When I was a teen, I'd have to see the latest release as soon as possible. I'd have to see it opening weekend if not opening night. Nowadays, with the online ticketing and all, I choose to go on a weeknight like a Tuesday or a Thursday for a movie that's just about to be kicked off the screens. Simply put: no crowds or waiting in line. Thursday night at the Ultrascreen or Tuesday night at the dollar second-run theatre on a movie about to hit video usually means very little chance of crowds. Usually I'm the only person there, it's like having a private screening. Twenty years ago, I couldn't wait to see Alien 3. These days I don't go see something unless I feel it might be my last chance to see it in a theater.

 

[John Hermes]

I've been to the movies once in about the past three years. I like older films and have a nice projector setup with a big screen, so going to the movies these days is not the thrill is once was.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Thanks to everyone for participating! Our winners (drawn at random) are: Mikeyhitchfan and Jason Merrick!