I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping... • Hacker News Board

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

#281

Post by monkeypizza » Sat, Dec 31, 2011, 10:07 AM UTC

callmeed wrote: post #67

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…

Never been but sounds awesome. McMenamins in Oregon does similar things: - Couches in some theaters - Order food and beer from their restaurant - special events (like Monday night football)

do they turn down the sound during commercials?

are there local announcers over a game-sound-only feed?

I have always thought having free announcers who could say whatever they want would be way better than ones who are restrained by having to keep relationships with the players coaches, and networks who pay their salaries.

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

#282

Post by Karellen » Sat, Dec 31, 2011, 5:12 PM UTC

hansy wrote: post #276

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…

Never been to the Alamo, but I imagine the process of kicking someone out who is using his/her cell phone during a movie must be quite distracting to everyone else, no?

Maybe, that one time. But if it gets the word out that the theatre /does not tolerate/ cell phone usage during a show, and that you really /will/ get kicked out if you do so, then it should make for less distractions overall for regular/repeat patrons in the future. I fucking hate people who use their goddamn phones during a movie, because of how insanely distracting their bright screen and bleepy feedback noises are in an otherwise most dark and sometimes quiet room. Heck, I would gladly sit through one of these fuckheads being noisily ejected from the theatre simply because they've /already/ ruined my enjoyment of the show, and deserve nothing less. That it will hopefully make phone use less likely in the future is just the cherry on top.

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

#283

Post by Karellen » Sat, Dec 31, 2011, 5:28 PM UTC

caw wrote: post #187

Tycho wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

15 minutes? Seriously, in the UK it's like 40 minutes of ads and trailers sometimes.

I don't live in the UK, so I'm going to ask -- is this serious? I know in the US there's about 15 minutes of previews/commercials after the presentation starts, but for the 30 min prior to the screening there's the "First Look" or some other less preview/ad thing running. That would make 40 minutes but only if you came significantly before showtime.

I've been to cinemas in a few places around the UK, and it's been The Twenty[0] - 10 mins of ads, then 10 mins of trailers, from the time the show is scheduled to start, before the movie - for well over a decade. However, of late at my local multiplex, it's definitely stretched out to more like 15/15, with 30 mins between the posted start of the show, and the start of the actual movie.

[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twenty

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

#284

Post by RobAtticus » Sat, Dec 31, 2011, 10:56 PM UTC

philwelch wrote: post #216

RobAtticus wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Concerts maybe not, but watching sporting events at home can usually be a better view and watching experience. Yes, the atmosphere of a home game for a passionate fan base cannot be replicated, but for casual fans who just want to watch the game in comfort, HD TV, comfy couches, and regularly priced food and drink is an attractive alternative compared to going to the stadium.

You'd think so, but you have no idea just how much you miss by watching TV. At a football or soccer game, you can follow all 22 players at once, not just the half dozen around the ball. And a baseball game in the summer is as much a warm day spent outside with friends as it is a sporting event. Also you get to see more of the game, since you see how the fielders are positioning themselves and how the base runners are…

Having been to football and baseball games, I do have an idea of just how much I miss. I prefer watching on tv (at least for football, baseball is more fun in person because I find it boring as hell but at least in person I'm there with friends). Obviously this is just personal opinion, but I think there are probably a lot of people who don't care about what everyone is doing and therefore the TV views are more than adequate.

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

#285

Post by vdm » Sun, Jan 01, 2012, 11:24 PM UTC

deathwarmedover wrote: post #39

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…

The Prince Charles Cinema in London, UK [1] is also doing this kind of thing and is about the only place I can be bothered to go see a film these days. [1] http://www.princecharlescinema.com/

The Electric on Portobello Road[1] is nice too.

1. http://www.electriccinema.co.uk/experience.php

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

#286

Post by GFischer » Mon, Jan 02, 2012, 7:21 PM UTC

RandallBrown wrote: post #219

drzaiusapelord wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

7.89 for movies? What? Where? I'm guessing this data is skewed by the low prices of rural and suburban centers that are underpopulated. Here in the urban world where most of the population lives, movies start at 11 or 12 dollars and then there's a 3D surcharge of a couple bucks. When my gf and go to the movies here in Chicago its about 30 dollars before any snacks. Toss in a few bucks parking too. Oh, want to order o…

It's pretty common for me to pay 7.50 in Lansing MI (almost 500,000 in the metro area). That's mostly because I always get a student discount (hooray college town where they assume everyone under 30 is a student).

My sister works at a movie theater, and she gets so annoyed because everybody under 30 wants to take advantage of the student discount..

It works if it's crowded, but if not, she'll ask for your ID :)

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

#287

Post by GFischer » Mon, Jan 02, 2012, 7:26 PM UTC

erichocean wrote: post #270

Joeri wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Movies aren't expensive to make, unless you want to make them expensive. The technology involved has been getting cheaper year after year. Take "monsters" for example. It's a sci-fi movie in the best tradition, that doesn't look low-budget, and that cost less than a million dollars to make. I think the problem is that studio's have too many incentives to increase budgets and few reasons to trim them. I'm sure they co…

Movies are very expensive to market (average cost in Hollywood is over $20 million in marketing), and a movie _without_ marketing -- virtually regardless of the how much it cost to make -- will do almost no theatrical business at all. Tarsem's "The Fall" is a great example: the guy spent tens of millions of dollars of his own money making a pretty interesting film, had no marketing, and did just a few million at the…

I' never heard of it, but it doesn't seem like a mainstream movie:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the-fall-2008/

The niche audience liked it just fine, but I don't know how they could turn it into recouping those millions.