Roger Ebert fears so. One reason besides the ballooning price of tickets and snacks:
Competition from other forms of delivery. Movies streaming over the internet are no longer a sci-fi fantasy. TV screens are growing larger and cheaper. Consumers are finding devices that easily play internet movies through TV sets. Netflix alone accounts for 30% of all internet traffic in the evening. That represents millions of moviegoers. They’re simply not in a theater. This could be seen as an argument about why newspapers and their readers need movie critics more than ever; the number of choices can be baffling.
Ctd …
A reader writes:
My wife and I (late 40s, kids out of college) haven’t been to the “big chain” theaters for at least five years now – it’s the teenagers talking, laughing, cell phone calls, etc. We’ve been spoiled by the pristine conditions at home.
The exception is the “over 21” theaters we have in Portland, Oregon. They run movies that are just about to come out on DVD for a very low price, have great pizza, and a beer or glass of wine. No one under 21 allowed, and the 21-29 crowd seems very reasonable. We just saw the movie “Drive”, ate two giant slices of pizza, drank two hefeweizen beers, for $20 (yes, really) at the Laurelhurst theater. No distractions, great place to set our drinks and pizza, it was awesome as usual.
First-run mega-theaters: let the kids have ’em. I’ll never go back.
A reader in Austin is on the same page:
When I read your post, one movie chain stood out: The Alamo Drafthouse, which started in Austin, Texas. You may remember this chain when its no-talking PSA [seen above] made national news (and you linked to it back then). Ebert hits on some critical points which can also be attributed to the Alamo’s success.
Obviously, they’re very strict about texting and talking during the movie, but they’re also not out to get you. They rely on the audience members to flag violators to the wait staff by writing it down on an order card. This keeps the process fairly anonymous. After the usually funny PSA, they show a screen which basically says, “No, seriously. No talking. Keep your phone silent and dark. We really, really mean it.” I’ve personally witnessed in other theaters people answering their phones, screaming kids, and parents having conversations with their kids throughout the movie, and for that reason alone I now only watch movies at the Alamo.
They also have fun events all the time. Master Pancake (their version of Mystery Science Theater 3000) sells out frequently. They have sing-a-longs, quote-a-longs, and more. But what everyone loves is that they offer food and drink (yes, including alcohol). Admittedly, their food has gotten on the expensive side, but most of it is good. They try new menu items. They show you how a movie theater can offer you more than cartoonishly large popcorn buckets and soda.
Update from another reader:
I’m sure someone’s already mentioned Cinebarre, north of Seattle. My husband and I (late 50s) won’t go to the movies anywhere else. Just as strict on talking and texting. Burgers, pizza, beer and NO yapping teenagers or crying babies. Clean, comfortable – a little spendy, but first-run films in a pleasant atmosphere is so worth it!
Ctd …
A reader continues the thread:
I’m wondering if why first-run movie theaters are so horrible isn’t only due to the improvements in home theater; what if it’s simply a question of age? If you’re older than say 35, the first movie you saw was likely at a theater. If you’re under 35, your first movie was probably viewed on a VCR in your home, where there was no one to object to your talking, where if you needed to take a break the film could be stopped for you, and if you missed a plot point or a line of dialogue, you were just a rewind button away from seeing it again.
Another writes:
I feel that it should be pointed out that it’s not only kids and teenagers talking during movies these days. During a few recent movie outings, my girlfriend and I have been annoyed by older couples who also don’t seem to understand the etiquette of watching a movie in a public theater. They’ll either attempt to whisper guesses about what will happen to one another, or explain to their friend/spouse what just happened when the other doesn’t understand. Then there are the elderly couples who have trouble hearing and ask for lines to be repeated.
Another joins the readers from Austin, Portland and Seattle:
My partner and I live in Greenwich Village, which is a movie lover’s heaven. We live within walking distance of several megaplaxes and at least four independent cinemas. One of them is Film Forum, which shows a wild variety of movies, ranging from new releases to the most obsure vintage films. For example, last night I attended a screening of the 1924 silent epic Greed, and it was sold out. (The theater accommodates 250-300). Last week, a screening of The Cameraman, starring Buster Keaton, also sold out. I occasionally see a film on Turner Classic Movies, but, for us and for many other New Yorkers, the big screen still rules.
By the way, if you haven’t seen it, don’t miss the new Iranian film A Separation. It was acclaimed in its home country, but to my eyes, it lays bare the foundations of a society informed by a vision of justice that does nothing to help its people. It’s also the most gripping drama I’ve seen all year.
Ctd …
More readers keep the discussion going:
I actually find myself going to more movies now than I ever have for one sole reason: my waning attention span. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to put on a DVD or a downloaded movie only to pause it after 20 minutes because I’m so fidgety. I’ll also usually find my iPad in my hands while I’m trying to watch, which isn’t exactly the best way to immerse oneself in a story. However, when I go to the theater, I have no choice but to give the movie my undivided attention for two hours. I can’t check email (or The Dish!) and I can’t get up to putter around while the movie is on. The theater forces me to watch what’s in front of me, and I subseqently find that I get far more enjoyment as I would at home.
Another writes:
I can only speak from my experience, but I manage a multi-screen art house (with a few mainstream movies thrown in here and there) in a large city. 2011 was actually our most successful year ever at the box office and in overall revenue (and 2010 was the previous high). We are definitely not seeing any long-term downturn. But I think the mainstream industry problem comes from two areas in particular:
a) The dumbing down of major mainstream product and turning them into video games to appeal to a younger audience has backfired. A movie resembles a video game is always going to pale in comparison to the interactivity of an actual video game. This is why all the kids that I know like going to the movies – but they LOVE playing video games.
b) Post Avatar – the rush by several of the mainstream chains to add additional surcharges (for IMAX, for 3-D, for additional screen size, etc.) has backfired and has threatened the main advantage that movies have had. People are going to always want to go out and movies have been and should always remain about the most inexpensive form of quality entertainment (especially compared to going to a performing arts or sporting event).
Another:
What really has helped break the back of movie theaters is computer graphics getting cheaper and easier. It used to be that serials like Lost, Walking Dead, etc. were not possible except at great expense and as a major broadcast event for a limited run because special effects were so expensive. Using computers to digitize what used to be man- and money-intensive scenes has opened up TV production studios to produce shows/movies that would have filled the low-A/good-B-film and hobbyist niches (hobbyist niche is like zombie-fan, murder-mystery-fans, etc).
Another reader counters previous ones who complained about other moviegoers:
If there is a segment of the market that is actually saying, “I would go to the movie, but I hate those damn kids with their smart phones!” I am certain it is minuscule. If you’re truly bothered, here’s a tip: see movies a few weeks after their release, when the crowds are smaller.
One more:
Your commentator who said “If you’re older than say 35, the first movie you saw was likely at a theater” is off by about 30 years. Those over 65 or so probably saw their first movies in a theater. But movies started airing on TV almost as soon as there was commercial TV, so once the television became fairly ubiquitous – and that was in the ’50s – television became the first home for movies for pretty much everyone.
Though VCRs didn’t really appear until the late ’70s.
Shattering The Release Window
Driven to illegally downloading his new favorite show, “Homeland”, Frederic Filloux wants to end release windows, or the amount of time between the airing of a TV show or movie and its availability online or through DVD:
Motion pictures should probably be granted a short headstart in the release process. But it should coincide with the theatrical lifetime of a production of about three to four weeks. Even better, it should be adjusted to the box office life – if a movie performs so well that people keep flocking to cinemas, DVDs should wait. On the contrary, if the movie bombs, it should be given a chance to resurrect online, quickly, sustained by a cheaper but better targeted marketing campaign mostly powered by social networks.
Similarly, movie releases should be simultaneous and global.
I see no reason why Apple or Microsoft are able to make their products available worldwide almost at the same time while a moviegoer has to wait three weeks here or two months there. As for the DVD release windows, it should go along with the complete availability of a movie for all possible audiences, worldwide and on every medium. Why? Because the release on DVD systematically opens piracy floodgates (but not for the legitimate purchase on Netflix, Amazon Prime or iTunes).
I’ve effectively stopped “going to” the movies, because TVs are as good, if not as giant, and because I don’t like crowds, can stop the movie at home to take a pee or grab some munchies, and rewind parts I didn’t quite catch.
And I think all the publicity and promotion for movies would be more productive if reviews came out and potential viewers could all watch it the same night. Movie theaters would go the way of books in a Tablet world. They’d be for purists, nostalgics and those who need the big movie event experience. But increasingly, with HD and 3D TVs competing, you need an Imax to really get the full benefits of physical scale.
I think a huge market exists for people who read a review on Friday morning and download it Friday night. Because they have to wait their attention wanders. Then the movie is out of theaters for a while. By the time it’s available on your TV, all the marketing money is essentially useless. I’m sure movie-theaters want to resist the direct-to-viewer streaming and downloading. But so did Blockbuster.
Are Movie Theaters Fading?, Ctd
Hollywood screenwriter and director Paul Schrader revives a Dish thread:
Films were never communal just because people wanted a communal experience‒it just happened to be the economic model that made the most sense. You could sell a lot of tickets and show the film at the same time to everyone. On a nickelodeon, of course, which predated movie theaters, only one person could watch the movie at a time. Nobody said, ‘We want to sit in a hot room together!’ That’s just how it was. But it doesn’t have to be that way anymore. You know, this myth that people will always want to go out to the movies, they’ll always want a communal experience‒I don’t know that that’s necessarily true. … I always prefer to go to an empty theater‒I’d rather go to an eleven o’clock matinee than an eight o’clock show, so I don’t have to be there with all those people. The seats are uncomfortable, when there’s lots of people there you can’t get up so easily, so I prefer to go with less people there.
Many readers know my thoughts on this:
I’ve effectively stopped “going to” the movies, because TVs are as good, if not as giant, and because I don’t like crowds, can stop the movie at home to take a pee or grab some munchies, and rewind parts I didn’t quite catch.
The Dish 