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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

#51

Post by dewey »

pjmlp wrote: post #11
dewey wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t remember the last time I bought a ticket at the cinema. I like picking my own seats online.

In most European countries you only get reserved seats at big multiplex cinemas, stuff like Cinestar, NOS and so on. On the European Cinema network [0], reserved seats is a long gone concept. So not always a given that seats can be reserved online for cinema, depends on ones location. [0] - https://www.europa-cinemas.org

That's not true, I frequently reserve seats at the "Yorck" cinema chain in Berlin which is part of Europa Cinemas and has seat reservation.

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

#52

Post by linsomniac »

MattGaiser wrote: post #16
JoshGlazebrook wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do people really just show up and hope for the best anymore? The "box office" is not even really a thing anymore at most theaters. And the single person you talk to inside that is the "box office" just uses the same system you can reserve seats yourself on your own time? Pretty much every theater is reserved seating these days. Why would I risk showing up last minute on a whim and end up in a horrible seat near the f…

Mostly because unless it is a really desirable movie, hoping for the best has an expected outcome close to the best.I am a planner in most things, but for movies, it often simply does not matter.

Curious... Unless it's a really desirable movie, I typically won't go to the theater to see it. ;-)

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

#53

Post by snailmailman »

nebula8804 wrote: post #24

I have been quite a heavy patron of AMC theaters these past few years since COVID ended. I have seen A LOT of movies play to empty theaters. I used to actually peek at many of the rooms when I left my movie and so many were downright empty. Its the norm and its probably why their stock is trading at $1.45 as of this writing. Its a dead (not dying, dead) entertainment option. When you are competing for the same 24 hrs…

I want to enjoy the movie theater experience. It should be a better screen than the one in my home. It should be a better audio setup, with full surround sound. It should be great, a premium experience.

The last few movies I’ve seen in theaters have not been that. Two of the last 3 movies I’ve seen had audio mixing problems, and dialogue was inaudible in some scenes. (I heard this got fixed later for one of the movies) In all of them, I could hear bass from the adjacent theaters in some scenes. In the last two movies I went to see, both had someone in the audience bring an intermittently crying baby to the movie.

Im done with watching movies in theaters. It’s a better experience to watch at home, with headphones, a blanket, and the ability to pause for bathroom breaks.

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

#54

Post by ButlerianJihad »

Movie theaters are reinventing themselves in various ways, and I’m unsure if it’s working, but some of it is creative.

Around here, films from Bollywood show in Telugu, Hindi, Gujarati languages. There are family films in Spanish (those aren’t bad dubs, but parallel scripts and A-list voice actors.) Want to watch a Studio Ghibli film? Here’s the timetable for dubbed; here’s a timetable for subtitles!

There are live video-game tournaments. There are premieres for live operas and symphony orchestra performances that are simulcast around a region.

There are Christian groups who go in to support a film, and they can turn those into fundraisers and evangelization activity.

The auditoriums can be rented out for special events. Big birthday, Kindergarten graduation, Quinceañeras, etc. They will support teleconferencing and businesses can hold seminars or all-hands meetings there.

I suppose that all of these schemes were harmed by the pandemic and lockdowns, but the advertising is still there, and the Hindus are still showing up on public transit.

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

#55

Post by nebula8804 »

HerbManic wrote: post #23
blintz wrote: post #7

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

The only film I saw in an empty theater was 'The Death of Stalin'. That was kind of odd but a decent film regardless.

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 care enough about these topics. Instead the latest superhero movie is next door packed to the brim and is so loud it rattles the walls to the room playing my quiet documentary with only me sitting inside watching it. :/

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

#57

Post by kelnos »

caymanjim wrote: post #2

Do enough people buy tickets in advance now that this really indicates anything of value? I'm old and have never pre-purchased a movie ticket in my life. I assume a lot of people do, but the few times I've been to the movies lately, it seems people are buying tickets at the theater.

I'm "old" (mid-40s) and cannot remember the last time I didn't pre-purchase a movie ticket. The movie theater I go to the most (Alamo Drafthouse in San Francisco) rarely has anyone in line at the box office when I walk through there. That box office is usually only staffed by one person, which should tell us something about how many people need in-person service.

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

#58

Post by zerocrates »

locallost wrote: post #27
nebula8804 wrote: post #24

I have been quite a heavy patron of AMC theaters these past few years since COVID ended. I have seen A LOT of movies play to empty theaters. I used to actually peek at many of the rooms when I left my movie and so many were downright empty. Its the norm and its probably why their stock is trading at $1.45 as of this writing. Its a dead (not dying, dead) entertainment option. When you are competing for the same 24 hrs…

It's not the ads, but they're not helping. I still like to go to theaters, but am thinking if not going anymore because I can't really take it. I don't go to AMC since not in the US, but where I go you can't even skip them because you never know how long it will be. I sat once for literally 40 minutes. It's also crazy expensive. So they need to do these things to stay afloat, but they're driving away the last people…

AMC have taken to just saying outright that everything will start 25-30 minutes after the posted time. Which is interesting, I guess they're trying to blunt the negative effect of the long trailers but I'm sure the advertisers don't like it.

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

#59

Post by magicalhippo »

pjmlp wrote: post #11
dewey wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t remember the last time I bought a ticket at the cinema. I like picking my own seats online.

In most European countries you only get reserved seats at big multiplex cinemas, stuff like Cinestar, NOS and so on. On the European Cinema network [0], reserved seats is a long gone concept. So not always a given that seats can be reserved online for cinema, depends on ones location. [0] - https://www.europa-cinemas.org

Here in Oslo, Norway I only know of the local cinematheque which doesn't do reserved seats. All commercial theaters have reserved seats, even for the small screens with just a dozen or so seats. Been so as long as I can remember, so several decades.

So yea, location dependent.

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