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I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...

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Re: I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...

#241

Post by Legion »

tptacek wrote: post #202
kes wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you've ever been there — which, if you have the chance, you should, it's great — then you would. (So my answer is yes.)

Have been there. Like it. But this is a bit... "perfect".

I have a hard time imagining Tim League fabricating this. It would seem out of character from the way he runs the rest of his business, at least.

But the most important thing is, the enforcement of the rules behind the scenario in the voicemail is unflinchingly real. And given how much that clashes with the over-entitled brat crowd, I have little doubt that there have been voicemails like this left on the Alamo machines.

Re: I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...

#242

Post by jeffool »

phaus wrote: post #170
jonhohle wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The CG has not aged well at all. Really? I look to Jurassic Park as what CG should look like in movies. The opening reveal of the brontosauruses is still amazing, especially when you think of when the movie was made. What hasn't aged well? Other movies from the mid-to-late 90s, on the other hand, have not aged well. Many of these used CG for the sake of having CG and did not take any care of ensuring it integrated…

No one is disputing how awesome it looked when it first came out, but the same thing could be said for quake 1. As our eyes adjust to the ever increasing details in movies and games, what used to look awesome begins to look awful. Here is the scene with the Brontosaurs While it seemed photo-realistic when it first came out, it now looks choppy, grainy, and artificial. Most low-budget T.V. shows have better CG now. Bu…

I have to agree with you. If any film needs a special edition, it's this, not Star Wars or E.T.

Honestly? I may even be up for a 3d conversion... If anyone's able to do them well?

Re: I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...

#243

Post by Legion »

msluyter wrote: post #34

I think Alamo Drafthouse in Austin is doing it right: 1. Food & beer/wine served with movie -- convenient and much preferable to overpriced popcorn. 2. Cellphones must be turned off. 3. They take talking seriously, and preface each film with a strongly (and amusingly) worded statement to that effect. 4. No babies allowed except on specified baby nights. 5. Creative and fun special events, such as quote-alongs, sing-a…

#5 is what makes the Drafthouse for me.

Every time I sit down to see a Drafthouse movie, and I see the montage of that month's events, I inevitably find myself saying, "I want to come for that!" at least a few times.

This month's for the Austin area Drafthouses: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBQNmmoEirc

If I just want to watch movies, I can sit at home and Netflix my brains out. The Drafthouse makes movies events again, and that's what gets me excited and wanting to come to the theater.

I'm a little fanboyish for the Drafthouse, I must admit. It was one of the things I was most looking forward to coming to regularly when I moved to Texas.

Re: I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...

#244

Post by lloeki »

ChrisLTD wrote: post #17
tptacek wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, they were texting like mad on their little Nokia dumbphone displays. Also, LASER POINTERS.

At least those weren't as bright! :-)

Not so bright, and not so big-ass screen. We're actually using those screens as flashlights nowadays. Flashlights.

Re: I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...

#245

Post by VonLipwig »

I used to go to the cinema all the time. Unfortunately, as my local cinema no longer has a projectionist and no staff are apparently watching the movie people talk, they text.. some even get up and run around. I don't bother going much now.

I was watching the Harry Potter part 8 movie and teens came with their dad. They talked on and off for the first half of the film. Their dad did nothing. It wasn't until I turned around in my seat and told them to shut up that they actually did.

Flash back about 10 years. Maybe a bit more. There was a projectionist. There was often a staff member sitting by the entrance of the movie. Some kids would mess around. The staff would wait to see if it settled down for a minute or so then a flash light would come on and out would go the talkers.

I forget what film it was but there were 4 major distractions where staff had to come in and order people out. As we left staff members apologised and handed out vouchers because they knew the screening had been ruined.

I don't mind people gasping or saying "Oh no he didn't!" during scary films. There have always been idiots at the cinema. They have only started ruining films of late because cinemas have lost the will to deal with these people.

Re: I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...

#246

Post by droithomme »

matwood wrote: post #97
rokhayakebe wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For example, one of the best films of the year -- Margin Call -- was released on a variety of streaming services the same day it was available in theaters I agree. Sometimes I feel I could pay $3-$5 if I could watch the movie from home on opening day.

They are experimenting with that and pricing it more as a PPV event, $30-$50. Not a bad price if you consider a family of 4 or if you have a good spot to gather some friends together.

My own personal reaction is that $50 to see a movie is not "not bad" unless it's spread out across quite a few people as you mention, then of course collect each person's share, say have 30 people over, charge $5 each, that's $150, $100 profit after expenses, plus the proceeds from popcorn sales. This could be a nice home business, OK, I'm convinced.

Re: I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...

#247

Post by droithomme »

prawn wrote: post #171
learc83 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems that at any given time about 1/3 of my local theater's screens are 3D. Also non-3D movies have broken the $10 mark, which I think is a fairly important psychological barrier.

Non-3D here in Australia can be US$17pp. Don't complain too much!

Hey I'm not complaining at all. I'm perfectly happy watching at home on disks I borrowed for free from the library, or traded with my neighbors with large collections.

They can raise the price all they want for their empty theatres, I'll never complain.

Re: I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...

#248

Post by ghshephard »

derleth wrote: post #227
electromagnetic wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cineplex here in Canada is getting much better. They've started opening VIP theatres, which because of the drinking age here in Ontario means absolutely no-one under 19. People paying the extra couple bucks don't use their cellphones and don't talk during the movies. In their main theatres they now have stroller screenings where the volume is reduced and the lights stay on low. They've done the sing-alongs. They also…

> Although I've heard several times that they're interested in the cellphone jamming Doctors go to the movies, too. Think about this: A doctor is on-call, meaning that at any moment they might be called in to come to the hospital to save your life. They have a cell phone which is the only way they can be reached when they settle in to watch a film in the local multiplex. The same multiplex that jammed cell phones wit…

One would hope that a doctor on call would monitor their pager/cell phone to ensure they have service.

I know when I was on pager rotation, I was very aware of when I lost service, and governed my location accordingly.

Actually, I'm not on Internet Operations Pager Duty anymore, and I can _still_ tell you that the Old Spaghetti Factory in Redwood City results in my iPhone losing Data - I get very nervous while I'm there.

Net-Net - the doctor argument doesn't hold water, there are a ton of other reasons why you might lose service beyond a theater jamming - and you need to be aware of all of them and take appropriate measures.

Re: I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...

#249

Post by droithomme »

ericd wrote: post #237
tptacek wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or, in other words, for a family of four who would have ordinarily gone to the movies every other weekend, the cost of 2 years worth of movie tickets before concessions. In return: * They have a massively improved home viewing experience, which is something they were doing already with television. * They have a massive improvement in convenience (they don't have to leave the house to see it). * They have a "good enou…

To be honest, I like the AV quality better on that setup I described. Too many theaters are poorly configured and are actually losing on the quality front - too loud, too cold, technical difficulties. Then there's the indignity of being forced to watch lame commercials thinly disguised as a "First Look"

I agree with you. 3D movies are dark. Darker still are regular movies where the 3D lens was left on because the theatre owners all like to save a few bucks by not hiring a projectionist who knows how to swap out and calibrate the normal lenses. Often surround sound isn't even working and is just turned off with sound coming through the three speakers in the front, or sometimes only the center speaker is working. Often a speaker will be blown and be crackling. It's not uncommon to have 30 minutes of advertisements and previews at the beginning.

This is what I get for $12-$15 at an upscale cinema. When I complain I am told there are no refunds. I walked away from this. The simple fact is my theatre at home is vastly superior to even the best cinemas in the country right now, because those cinemas are all absolutely horrible experiences sold at rip off prices and incredibly inconvenient.

This industry is dead. It is completely unrepentant of its sins of horrible customer experience. They are not selling a quality product, nor are they selling at a reasonable price.

There are better options and many of us have taken them. Too bad. I also liked drive in theatres, but they are also obsolete and as long gone as movie theatres will be in a few years.

Re: I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping...

#250

Post by jbjohns »

IMO, the problem is that the guaranteed short-term profit strategy (MBA?) has infested Hollywood. These days they will only make a movie that has already done well. That means sequels and remakes. Every time you think your seeing an original Hollywood film in the last "I don't even know how many" years you're actually just seeing a foreign remake (e.g. Shall we Dance, Departed, 13, 3 idiots, etc.). These days they're waiting less and less time to remake popular foreign films. 3 idiots is from 2009 and they're already copying it.

Some people are saying "but this is what makes the most money!"... weren't we just complaining that revenues have fallen? They may make the most money of any of their other offerings (which are just more of the same!) but they're making less over all.

People still try to have the movie experience as we have for so long but then why pay so much? I can watch a well made series on free TV and then I only need to wait a week to see the next episode instead of 2-3 years.

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