POLL RESULTS: Movie Theater Attendance
By John DeNardo |
Monday, July 11th, 2005 at
12:09 am
Here are the results of the latest SF Signal poll.
QUESTION
What is the main reason that you do not go to the movie theater more often than you currently do?
RESULTS
| (41 total votes) |
I wonder what people meant by “Other?”
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Filed under: Polls
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The main reason I don’t go to the movies more is because I have children now – I used to go a lot more.
I also hate the commercials I’m now forced to watch before the show. I guess I don’t mind the slide show ads before the movie starts, but beginning every feature with 10-20 minutes of commercials is flat out annoying. When you think about it, previews are commercials for other movies, but I’m talking about the Ford, Verizon, and Coke ads that are now standard fare.
All told, the entire industry, from filmmaker to distributor to theatre owner, is going to have to seriously rethink the movie-going experience. There’s a lot of money being lost to home DVD viewing (and the nacent video on demand market, not to mention the illegal BitTorrents) that could see the megaplex go the way of the drive-in if they aren’t careful.
I will be honest and say my problem is that the cost of seeing movies is too high combined with a convienance factor. Its much easier for me to wait for DVD and absorb the cost in with my current Netflix cost than to spend 8 bucks to see one movie. Sure I miss the theatrical experience, but at times I get a much broader experience by waiting for the “director’s cut” which tends to fill in some gaps that were left open due to a need to make a certain time or a certain ratings.
Well the reason I rarely go to the theater these days is because I build my own home theater equipment and don’t really have any reason to go anymore, it’s just much funner watching movies in the comfort of your own home. Plus it’s very loud and noisy at the theater, they play the movies at too high a volume, the seating SUCKS, very uncomfortable and sometimes awcward if attendance is high. You cannot pause the movie to go to the bathroom, people kick the back of your sit, can’t control the room temperature, you can’t just kick back and wear whatever you want and not have to worry about what everyone else thinks, gotta worry about people’s big heads gettin in the way, cell phones ringing, expensive concession stand prices, ect ect ect, the list goes on.
…but, the screen is huge and the audio is usually better than even the best home theatre system.
I admit I have a big screen TV and 5.1 AC3 audio – and I know people who have the whole theatre viewing room with projection screen and shakers in the furniture – but that it still isn’t the same as seeing it at the movie theatre.
The main reason I do not go to the movies as much as I used to is that the ‘movie experience’ is far too variable and unreliable. The move experience needs to become a sustainable emotional experience. As most comments have stated, you just ‘dont know’ what kind of experience you will have at the typical theater. It is frightening to think that the movie theater might end up going the way of the drive-in, which if not careful, could very easily happen. I vote for movie theaters in my den where the annoying factors are eliminated and the experience is engaging instead of detaching. The trailers are now so long that I actually get annoyed sitting an extra 10-20 minutes forced to watch ads and things I find distracting. This is NOT what I paid for.
As a professional with less and less quality time in our families lives, I find it arrogant of theater owners and this industry in general to squeeze the patrons tolerance levels with countless ads so theaters can earn revenue to offset shrinking margins. And last but certainly not least, what about those films with countless distorting scratch lines,. It is so annoying that on more then 2-4 occassions I have complained to management and they have given my wife and I passes to another movie.
Mr. Wolfe
I avoid theaters because of uncomfortable, dirty seats and floors, bad smells, and the fact that I get crowd claustrophobia. I like to watch movies with no distractions and it’s hard to get absorbed in a film with strangers all around; some of whom may be criminals. Certain films, like “The Blair Witch Project” are best seen in total privacy so you can get lost in the psychology. Things like “Star Wars” make the best theater films.
With a big screen TV or better yet, a projector with a 10 foot wide image, you can simulate a theater experience and get very accurate surround sound. It doesn’t have to be as big and loud as the “real thing” because it still envelopes you. With hi-def DVDs coming soon it will get even better. Even a 720×480 DVD looks pretty good with the right equipment. Hi-def may all but eliminate pixelation when set up with a good projector.
Also, if you’re with a girlfriend/wife and the movie is boring, you can just shut it off and partake in other forms of entertainment with no delays. You don’t have to bump knees or miss a scene every time you use the bathroom. The best qualities of a sit-down theater and a drive-in can be had right at home.
If future movies are made primarily for home markets, is it really that bad? Do actors have to be THAT rich? Maybe they can become more humble and emulate their characters in real life. The same number of people, if not more, will be watching them, just in smaller crowds.
Would you go to the movie theater to enjoy a gourmet meal while at a private table inside? Dinner and a movie?