EVER PAY TO GO TO THE THEATRE THEN REALIZE YOU PAID FOR CRAP AND WASTED YOUR MONEY? So is it worth it anymore to pay for movies? I mean video games now past movies as the top money market for entertainment so signnof the times or sign of the garbage hacks making crap?
shareI agree that movie ticket prices are way too expensive these days. Where I live, an IMAX ticket costs $30. Add to that $20 for popcorn and a drink, and you're looking at $50 to just see a movie alone. If I bring my girlfriend, that's another ticket for $30, so now it's a total of $80.
You should look into MoviePass. Pay $10 a month to be able to go to the theater as much as you want.
Movie Pass? What chain does that?
Imagine if it's you, your wife, and three or more kids! That's five tickets and popcorn plus drinks for everyone; might as well book a trip to Disney for the weekend!!!
I think the website is MoviePass.com. It works at all the popular chains (AMC, Regal, etc.).
shareHmmmmm. Sounds cool. I've never heard of MoviePass. Thirty dollars to get into even an IMAX movie?!? THAT is highway robbery, imho!
I wonder if I should start looking into that one. Thanks for the heads up.
The price is the same for good and bad movies. It's 'buyer beware' as for which movie you go to see. If you pick a bad one that isn't the theater's fault. I just wait a while until reviews are in, that helps to not waste money on the duds. Some people want to see it opening weekend but even then there are usually early screenings for critics. If a movie refuses to let critics see it in advance screenings, that's a red flag!
shareToo many movies these days are bad. It's like 90%. So odds are not in our favour...
shareYeah... made me thinking. Why is that so? I mean, I'm willing to pay more for a more tasty burger for example. Not all burgers are priced the same. Movies also come in varying levels of quality, why not different price points for different experience?
Video games are starting to do this. Some indie games ask for $20 while an AAA game from a famous developer goes for $60. Mobile games go for $1 a pop or even free-to-play.
If you're old enough to remember arcade games, the best and more popular games need more coins to play. The old and bad games at the corners ask for less coins.
Popcorn is pretty much on point.
It's not like the box offices would have any actual idea of a movie's quality up until its release date. Embargo reviews are even placed on certain films by studios so no one else would learn the status of a movie's quality for a week to few days ahead. Most of the time, embargoed reviews can be indicators for reviled films. So price tickets would be the same for every release movies regardless. Sometimes, however, many cinemas can revoke panned movies from box offices at their own will, though this practice could also apply to any movie that's underperforming the most at a moment. You could always either chose to rent bad movies, wait to appear on a streaming service later, or pirate them if you feel uncertain of its quality or reception.
They know and analyze everything before a release; they know what age, gender and race will see the movie and there's formulas of what to include in the movie and marketing budgets determines alot. It's this reason, how they are made now, that I always watch a pirated copy. I get to see if it's worth watching it, first, so I don't waste my money on garbage. There's so few good non formula teen or young stupid adult movies that I don't watch many movies anyway. I consider pirated copies a trailer with more footage. As for pirate cams, I see those crappy cams as a long preview. If it's garbage I saved myself the money and if it's a well done non formula movie I will treat myself to the big screen with friends. I will never be the sucker that paid money to see Gem and the Holograms!!! Although I didn't need a cam copy to know that was going to be a kill me or let me out movie!
shareWhen I had to turn to pirated copies at times, I reserved them for two things: to preview a potentially terrible movie that I'm teetering about (especially if were to go out to see one with a group) like you and to watch foreign movies that hardly ever going to come out in my area. At times I like to watch an interesting/good film from Europe, Asia, Africa, or Latin America that was never set to be release internationally in my area. Jem and the Holograms... I think I've caught that one on HBO last year. Never bother spending movie money on that one.
It's unfortunate how a lot of movies don't live up to too much expectations and originality these days. Some award contenders films, however, made by top directors or such still show some signs of originality and creativity in their efforts. Christopher Nolan films and anything made by A24 never misses a mark, for instance.
I think that the fact that concessions are so expensive is even more disgraceful! Especially because a lot of them taste totally artificial, like they're chock full of chemicals or something.
shareIt isn't even just the price of the tickets and the risk of paying so much to see a bad movie, although those are a big part of why I don't go to the theaters these days. The other biggie is the audiences in those theaters.... The constant talking, the cell phones. I like to be able to hear the movie!
I'd like to go see IT. I have read many good things about it. I'm still debating on whether I should go.
Rude audiences are exactly why I gave up going to movies about 30 years ago. I said I was done with spending my hard-earned money only to listen to inconsiderate people talking all through the movie. I can only imagine how bad it is with cell phones in the mix.
Somewhat surprising to me, I actually stuck to my guns. The last movie I saw at a theater was E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The arrival of reasonably affordable VCRs and video rentals meant I no longer had to rely on theaters for new entertainment. I don't care if I don't see new movies right away. I'm perfectly content to see them weeks or months later. With that said, I have no idea what the current price of a movie ticket is these days, but I'm sure, like so many things nowadays, it's too much.
Oh my! ET? And I thought it had been a long time since I went! The last movie I saw in a theater was The Sixth Sense.
I really have no idea of what it costs to see a movie these days either....
Like you, I prefer to wait and watch it at home. I have a nice large tv, a sound bar, and best of all, I don't have to put up with people. Extra bonus? I can pause for bathroom and kitchen breaks so I don't miss a thing.
Ah yes, the bonus of pausing when you want to! 😁 I think the other reason why it was easy to skip the theater was because Hollywood started turning out a lot of junk, and also a lot of movies I just didn't care to see. Too much V&V - violence and vulgarity - I don't find them entertaining at all.
On a side note, I finally figured out what I don't like about the flat panel TVs of today - aside from the fact that the sound is crappy (yes, I need to get a sound bar), but when they're turned off, the screen is black and in most living/family rooms that I've seen, it's jarring - it's a nice room except for the fact that there's a big black splotch sitting there. Old TV screens were a sort of gray-green that blended into the room a little better. I know I'm strange, but I don't want my living room looking like a theater, either. However, after that complaint, I must say the picture quality is SO much better today.
Does anyone out there remember when you had to tune the TV by fiddling with the rabbit ears? And sometimes you had to play with the vertical or horizontal hold? Wow, time flies - I can't remember the last time I did that.
I do know what you mean about that big black rectangle in the room when the TV is turned off. I sort of miss the days when we had console TVs. The cabinets were actually nice pieces of furniture.
Of course, now that we can actually enjoy watching our choice of movies at home, I guess it's a trade off.
Yes! i do remember tuning the TV and the rabbit ears. If they didn't work, you brought out the tin foil and wrapped those "ears"...... for all the good it did!
Same here. Consoles blended into the room much better.
shareThe consoles were so nice. The last one we had was in the 80's.
I'm not entirely sold on the idea that someone suggested here..... putting a sort of curtain over it?
Perhaps building a nice cabinet that surrounds the TV with shelves would be a nice idea.
They used to have those exact cabinets/shelving units with a cavity for a TV, but that was back in the cathode ray tube days when TVs had a more "square" shape and the cabinet doors were the same proportions as most cupboard doors or a regular cabinet.
Depending on the TV size, most widescreens would need a huge cabinet unit if you wanted doors to close over them.
The curtain thing wasn't actually a curtain. She had a large piece of dark blue fabric that was smoothly draped over the screen and tucked around it. It actually didn't look as terrible as it sounds. Her TV was in one of those shelving units but had no doors. All you saw at the front was just the smooth fabric in the TV cavity.
Still not as good as cabinet doors to close over the screen, I agree. But it wasn't as bad as it sounds.
It would probably be expensive, but a person could have something custom built.
I am lucky enough to have a husband who is a great carpenter.
I've never really been one who cared about hiding my TV, really. I've seen people have all kinds of cabinets, closed or open units, doors over the TV or no doors.
I don't really mind the big black screen; I've never really thought about how it looks in the room when it's turned off. I'm more concerned with the room in general. To me, if the room is nicely arranged and styled just generally, a TV doesn't really detract from it as long as it's tidy, ie, hiding the cables, etc instead of having them snaking about in view.
I don't really have too much of a problem with it either, however, I do like the credenza the tv sits on and the shelves that surround the sides and top of the TV. I don't cover the screen, but the surrounding cabinet does take the focus off the big black rectangle.
shareI once knew someone who kept her TV draped with a piece of fabric, like curtain material or something. And that was even before black flatscreen! She didn't like to see the TV, even the old grey-green CRTs, sitting there staring out, so she covered it up when not watching it.
You could get a piece of fabric and seam up the corners so that it fits over the flatscreen and covers it when not in use.
I've been thinking more along the lines of a piece of furniture with doors so you can hide the TV when you're not watching.
shareYep, there used to be cabinets like that for the old cathode ray tube TVs. They looked like armoire cabinets when closed.
My friend's cloth hid the TV too, though. Her TV was in one of those shelving units that had a big space for the TV, but no doors, just open shelves. She had the cloth over the screen and the rest of the TV was in the unit.
But an armoire with closing doors looks better. Trouble is, those were a good fit for the more square TVs of the past; these days our widescreens would need a ridiculous width of doors to close over them.
There is something else about the cell phones that I don't understand. Why would anyone want to be texting and talking on their phones when watching a movie? It is especially ridiculous when you think about the price of that ticket you bought. If I was going to dish out all of that money to see a movie, you had better believe I would want to give it my undivided attention!
shareI think it's an addiction. I cannot believe how many people - young and old - are walking around with a phone in their hands. It seems they can't go anywhere without it. And then there are those who have that Bluetooth thing stuck in their ear - I still do a double-take because I think they're talking to themselves. I feel sorry for them because they are missing so much in life by being so distracted by their devices.
shareYou're right Glenn. I go out for walks on such nice days. all I see is people on their phones. They no longer look at where they are going, much less enjoy their surroundings. why should it be any different when you're out to enjoy a movie?
shareThey're not missing anything, they're probably catching up with a friend or discussing work, and anyway sometimes a distraction can be good.
shareI assume you're talking about people "out in the world" rather than those sitting in a movie theater.
shareI'm not so sure they're even catching up with a friend or discussing work -- I gather that most people addicted to their phones are actually obsessively checking out social media in general, like surfing the web pointlessly, except they're doing it instead of enjoying the actual environment or interacting with the people actually around them.
I think it's a really bad thing that nobody lives in the moment now, because of smartphones.
Not even just "phones" -- not even literally calling or texting. But being on the internet fussing with social media just for the heck of it. They ARE missing their immediate world and what may happen around them in-person.
That's a good question, MissMargoChanning! More movie theatres should follow the example that Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has--a Zero Tolerance policy regarding cell-phone use and texting during the movie. It's what's known as a "three strikes and you're out" policy. If a cell-phone user has to be told more than twice, management turns them out, with no refund of their money, or anything.
When I went to see a movie at the Coolidge Corner Theatre afew days ago, I had to matter-of-factly speak to a young guy who was texting during the film. Even though he was a couple of rows in front of me, the small, bright light of his cell phone was very distracting. He obliged, and turned off his cellphone, and I thanked him.
If only all people could be so obliging.....
shareI think that probably depends on the location of the movie theatre, as well as the kind of movie(s) that play there.
In the movie theatres that show better-quality films, the texting and talking on cell-phones is less of a problem. I have found that usually, speaking politely and matter-of-factly about it to the offending person(s) produces good result.
Not in East London, it doesn't! You're likely to get anything from a dirty look plus total indifference to your plea, to a punch in the face.
That Alamo Drafthouse incident where they threw a girl out for texting -- that actually IS a place that shows "better quality films." It's basically an arthouse though they do show some other things, like having a children's Tuesday or something.
It's known to be a good place to see a film, with respectful audiences. They have a strict phone policy but would normally hardly ever need to enforce it, aside from the one famous time (they posted her protesting complaint on social media).
That's what I understand about Alamo Drafthouse, Prelude. I wish they'd open a cinema here in the Boston area. I read that post about the woman who got kicked out. She was too persistent in using her cellphone, even when she'd been told more than once not to use her cellphone in the movie theatre, chichis why she got kicked out. No sympathy for her, at all, from me.
Ya. Kids today are the rudest ever. The no discipline generation really screwed up the population. You know the public has gone down hill when the trash on Jerry Springer is the gold standard now of good behaviour!
shareLOL! Springer and Steve Wilkos!
shareThat's true enough, GameofSlaves. It's sickening.
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Caught? Is your cable company owned by the new nazi party?
shareViewing a movie at home that's currently in theaters -- I could definitely get onboard with that!!
I think that's a great idea. There could still be a "ticket price" -- we're not talking pirating -- but the price could be MUCH less because you're streaming to your home and there are no theater running costs being applied because you're not using their theater.
It could be a win-win situation for the movie companies too, because they need that actual theater release dollar and audience numbers, but those of us waiting for the DVD are delaying that revenue. I just really want to see a movie in my own home.
Everybody wins if they release a pay-per-view home-streaming at the same time as movie theater release.
Why haven't they done this?
The price of movie tickets is just too high, period. Even daytime showings, if I can even find one in my area.
Especially now that the audiences are so rude and disruptive and inconsiderate.
Sadly I just don't even go anymore. I used to go all the time in the 90s, about the last time prices were reasonable.
These days if there is a movie I really am interested in and I'm fairly certain it's something I will enjoy, instead of seeing it in the theaters I have in fact just bought the DVD or even the Blu-ray later when it came out, since it often happens that it's the same price as the movie theater ticket would have cost.
But I get to see it in the comfort of my own home, and if I don't like it I can just sell it on e-bay or give it away -- I've still only spent the price of one viewing in the theater. And if I like it, yay, I have it for keeps.