Earlier quoted context omitted.
I sometimes fear that, like bookstores and Toys R' Us, if you don't patronize these businesses, they will go away. As a kid I couldn't imagine a world without bookstores, now there aren't any. Same with Toys R' Us. Kids will never have that experience again. Yes, movies are expensive, but would you rather them not be there at all?
Indeed, when the home video/DVD usage was at its peak around the '90s, movie theaters were assumed to be a dying business by most people. Then consolidation and marketing to a younger generation breathed new life into the industry, with ticket prices going up alongside.
I wonder if the proliferation of high definition and TVs with screens 2 or 3 times the size of TVs in the 90's for the same price will make a difference this time around. Back then, theaters were still the best way to see a new movie. Now though, I know a few people who's living rooms are far superior to a movie theater in every way, from the screen, to the sound, to the seats and honestly company and environment. Going to a theater used to be worth it even if the movie wasn't very good, just to get to see a movie on something different than a tiny 20" crt TV. Now it's really only worth it for great movies.