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Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

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Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#211

Post by bombcar »

macintux wrote: post #138
vlovich123 wrote: post #108

To me this suggests that theater’s are at least partially incorrectly pricing things which explains why they are struggling.

I was the only person in the theater when I saw Phenomenon , 30 years ago. I’m sure the movie business isn’t a healthy ecosystem right now, but the existence of empty showings isn’t new.

You don't even have to pay for a projectionist anymore, so you might as well digitally project to an empty theater than risk missing out on a ticket sale.

I wonder if they even bother turning the projector on if they sold no tickets? How much energy does the bulb use compared to ticket price?

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#212

Post by bombcar »

izzydata wrote: post #183
fg137 wrote: post #154

Makes me wonder -- does it make any economic sense for a theater to have screenings before 2pm on a Tuesday? I get that some people can afford the leisure, but I'm almost certain the theater loses money on that

How much extra does it cost to show an extra movie that nobody shows up to? It seems like the majority of the cost is rent of the building and salary. If employees are already working to operate the few movies that are expected to have people and the building is already being paid for then they may as well use up all their theaters just in case since the extra cost would be low.

Especially since you may have someone walk-up and willing to buy-in to the movie even though it started ten minutes ago, so I think I've answered my question above - they just show everything no matter what the sales look like.

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#213

Post by alsetmusic »

blintz wrote: post #7

This is cool. Something about dropping everything to go see a movie in an empty theater is sort of tempting.

I was going to the 10am or 11am screenings for years to avoid crowds and drunks who'd talk or otherwise distract from the show. I have a 4k projector so the only movies since the pan have been the Spiderverse sequel on IMAX, the Avatar sequel (regular screening), and Everything Everywhere All At Once in a small theatre with sofas and pizza and beer.

Either it's big enough to warrant a massive video and sound system (because I have pretty great ones at home already, so it has to be extravagant), or it has to be something I've heard about and want to see so much that we don't really care about the best, we just want to go. Otherwise, why mess around with high prices and rude people?

I hate to say it, but I think most theaters are gonna die.

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#214

Post by mikestew »

GJim wrote: post #172
nebula8804 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the one hand Its fun to watch movies alone on a big screen. My area of NJ apparently could care less about movies like Knock Down The House(Biography of AOC and other house candidates), Navalny (Movie about the murdered politician opposing Putin), The Imitation Machine: Movie about Alan Turing or Last Night in Soho (A wonderful Edgar Wright thriller) On the other hand, I feel sad that no one in my region seems to…

> My area of NJ apparently could care less Surely you mean " couldn't care less"?

That, my friend, is a decades-old battle I’ve given up on, even if it literally makes my brain explode.

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#215

Post by sbrother »

linsomniac wrote: post #50
sbrother wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

wait... I don't think I've ever experienced assigned seats in a movie theatre. Is that a thing?

Yes, it's been a thing for at least a decade, I imagine it helps with pre-sales online, though it may just be offered as a convenience. It really does help keep the movie from unexpectedly being a lousy experience; if you're stuck in a crappy seat, or your family can't sit together, it's because you picked those seats. As someone else mentioned, it also allows them to bring you dinner and provide that upsell as well.…

That actually sounds... really nice. Like they've borrowed some of the things from traditional theatre that make the experience not awful.

My reference point for movie theatres is the late 90s/early 2000s so maybe I'll have to give them another try.

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#216

Post by bombcar »

thrownthatway wrote: post #92
qq66 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well it's very different for flights, they need the plane at the destination so they have to fly it. With movies it's probably just simpler to start the movie than to try to manage the logistics of not starting it, just to save 2 hours on the projection bulb.

> different for flights Maybe. Depends. I’m sure I’ve heard of the low cost carriers cancelling flights that are under-sold at the last minute. Would make sense if the destination has fewer tickets sold from there .

[dead]

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#217

Post by sschueller »

pjmlp wrote: post #109
sschueller wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last time I was in a US theater the tickets where not numbered and you could sit anywhere. There was no point in pre purchasing a ticket because if you wanted a good seat you needed to show up early either way. In Switzerland the seats have always been numbered and even if the cinema is empty people wouldn't dare move into another seat. People do show up right before the film starts and try to avoid the ads. Some als…

My experience in Geneva and Lausanne was certainly a bit more flexible regarding moving around the seats, unless this changed in the last 20 years.

I guess I should have been more specific. I was talking about Zürich.

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#218

Post by bombcar »

sbrother wrote: post #215
linsomniac wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it's been a thing for at least a decade, I imagine it helps with pre-sales online, though it may just be offered as a convenience. It really does help keep the movie from unexpectedly being a lousy experience; if you're stuck in a crappy seat, or your family can't sit together, it's because you picked those seats. As someone else mentioned, it also allows them to bring you dinner and provide that upsell as well.…

That actually sounds... really nice. Like they've borrowed some of the things from traditional theatre that make the experience not awful. My reference point for movie theatres is the late 90s/early 2000s so maybe I'll have to give them another try.

The oldest theaters might still be the way they always were, but most have gone to offering direct ticketing (to cut Fandango and friends out) and they need something to offer you to make you buy ahead - being able to select the seat is the carrot.

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#219

Post by mizzao »

blintz wrote: post #7

This is cool. Something about dropping everything to go see a movie in an empty theater is sort of tempting.

I thought this was the case, but then I went to a full movie theater and really enjoyed being a part of an audience that was all experiencing the same thing. You could feel the emotion and that is a different sense than having the theater all to you to, but potentially just as rewarding.

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#220

Post by duped »

sbrother wrote: post #14
m463 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm finding that more and more, when I impulsively go to the theater and try to buy tickets at the door... I always find the only tickets available are horrible, like in the front row to the side. You want like F-6 and F-7 and get A-2 and B-2. And if I even accept this, the people in the choice seats invariably show up right when all the trailers are wrapping up. so - people buy tickets ahead of time, and it might be…

wait... I don't think I've ever experienced assigned seats in a movie theatre. Is that a thing?

I live in a major metro area, basically every theater has assigned seats now.
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