Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis • Hacker News Board

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#551

Post by justinclift » Tue, Mar 17, 2026, 9:17 AM UTC

tyjen wrote: post #157

WarmWash wrote: post #96

My fiance mentioned we haven't gone to see a movie in theaters in years and it would be fun to go. I checked what was playing and: 2 tickets, 2 sodas, 1 popcorn. $86 dollars. Don't know if I'll ever go to a conventional movie theater again.

The last movie we attended people were incredibly disruptive throughout the film, to the point that it was difficult to focus on the film. Some people enjoy screaming, laughing, and talking as part of the experience, but it's apparently been normalized beyond my tolerance threshold. Add in the cost and overall movie quality decrease of Hollywood productions, and it's difficult to justify. Presently, we watch foreign…

If you haven't seen it already, then Wind River (from 2017) is pretty good: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5362988/

Well, it suited my tastes anyway. :)

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#552

Post by spicymaki » Tue, Mar 17, 2026, 12:19 PM UTC

socalgal2 wrote: post #230

If Sinners and One Battle After Another are up for movie of the year then it's no wonder no one is going. One is a fun but ultimately forgettable horror action movie. The other is a movie that just based on its major theme would attract less then half the country and even in those remaining is a very polarizing movie. It's up for best picture because to preach, not because it's actually good.

> The other is a movie that just based on its major theme would attract less then half the country and even in those remaining is a very polarizing movie. It's up for best picture because to preach, not because it's actually good.

I am not sure why you see "One Battle After Another" as preachy. It was ultimately a chase movie, perhaps you did not like the intent of the revolutionaries who kicked off the chase, but there was no lecturing as far as I could tell. All of the characters were flawed and broken. Moments where characters could do the "right thing" many ended up doing things out of self interest. The movie was deeply cynical and piercing critique on radicalism left and right.

The movie also has a metacritic score of 95, so you are objectively wrong.

Did you even see the movie?

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#553

Post by jasonlotito » Tue, Mar 17, 2026, 5:08 PM UTC

embedding-shape wrote: post #498

jasonlotito wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$20 for the tickets. $20 for 2x soda and popcorn, but they've always been on the expensive side compared to tickets. Tickets are a bit more for IMAX. Less than an hour outside Philly. The theater is recently renovated too and has nice recliner seats, and everyone has their own armrest.

Seems crazy to me, always had to (presumed) view that cinema was cheap in the US, otherwise how is the business so big there? In Spain I went to regular cinema this Sunday, 8 EUR per ticket per person, + ~10 EUR per person for snacks, so ~20 EUR per person for me and my wife. Also got tickets to see Project Hail Mary at IMAX, 2 tickets for the premiere, and I paid 29.80 EUR for two tickets, thought it was expensive,…

I was pricing for 2 people ($20 for 2 tickets, etc).

It seems the pricing is about the same as yours.

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#554

Post by cguess » Tue, Mar 17, 2026, 5:10 PM UTC

psherman wrote: post #268

czhu12 wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought tickets had more standard pricing across markets. For a standard ticket here in SF -- (I know we're comparing probably the highest end to the lowset end here) -- its $22. For IMAX its about $30, at your standard AMC. Indie theatres are not cheaper and are often more expensive. 7 dollar tickets I haven't seen since elementary school

Go on a Tuesday or Wednesday and tickets are 50% off at AMC (and maybe other theaters). While still not cheap, that gets you down to $16.49 for an imax showing at the metreon AMC and $9.49 for a standard screen.

AMC also has their A List thing which is $27/month (here in NYC) while a regular evening ticket is ~$24. It's a stupidly good deal if you go to even two movies a month.

Despite what everyone here always says I haven't noticed a substantial difference in service or the audience quality since pre-COVID. Remember, even in the early 90's Seinfeld had an entire B-plot about disruptive movie-goers. This isn't new.

The one thing that's annoying is the commercials, but AMC even tells you how long those are now, and with reserved seats, you can just show up near the end of them.

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#555

Post by cguess » Tue, Mar 17, 2026, 6:24 PM UTC

fhdkweig wrote: post #423

jrowen wrote: post #344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm talking about the best of the best though, the top of the form at the time. Yes those are classics and for good reason. But there were also lots more. Lucas, Kubrick, Spielberg, Lynch...feels like they just don't make 'em like that anymore. It's crazy that in some ways nothing has really eclipsed a movie from 1977 and we're still awash in its glow. I tried to provide specific examples and contrast with something…

Big budget films today don't take risks. They go through focus groups and oscar checklists. They are homogenized to the point of banality. Don't focus on the big budget films. If they spend a lot on marketing, it's reeks of desperation. Those great directors you just named were nobodies at the time those films were made. You need to find movies made by the current nobodies. Those are indie films. Go find more indie f…

> Big budget films today don't take risks

It's hard to argue Sinners wasn't taking risks, or One Battle After Another (not my favorite this year, but it was a wild ride). Even Marty Supreme was a very weird and strange film that was very high budget (the CGI was in the background, but there's a lot).

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#556

Post by opan » Wed, Mar 18, 2026, 5:02 AM UTC

WarmWash wrote: post #96

My fiance mentioned we haven't gone to see a movie in theaters in years and it would be fun to go. I checked what was playing and: 2 tickets, 2 sodas, 1 popcorn. $86 dollars. Don't know if I'll ever go to a conventional movie theater again.

I don't wanna come off as defending any of this, but even 20 years ago I'd bring my own snacks or eat nothing at the movies, the stuff they sell was always considered overpriced. So I'd definitely skip the sodas and popcorn.

That being said, I don't go to theaters anymore either. I'd rather watch stuff from the comfort of my home, at any hour of the day. If I have to wait a few months for web/BD releases, no big deal. I have plenty to watch in the meantime.

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#557

Post by shiroiuma » Wed, Mar 18, 2026, 8:24 AM UTC

dredmorbius wrote: post #408

nout wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think one highlight is that the old propaganda doesn't affect you in the same way as the "current thing" propaganda. Old propaganda feels sort of cute. So this is an argument for watching older movies :)

For what it's worth, I feel similarly about old advertising . Anything from, say, the 1970s and before just doesn't hit me the same way, particularly in print. Audio/visual ads somewhat, but even they seem different and more innocent. If no less deadly (tobacco, fizzy drinks, etc.).

>I feel similarly about old advertising. Anything from, say, the 1970s and before just doesn't hit me the same way, particularly in print. Audio/visual ads somewhat, but even they seem different and more innocent.

No, the reason they seem so different and innocent is because you aren't bombarded by them. You watch an old ad on YouTube once, and you think it's cute or corny and laugh at it. Now imagine you're watching a movie, and they show you the same 1980s ad over and over again while you're watching the movie, every 15 minutes.

If you're old enough that you had to watch ads on TV because TiVo didn't exist yet, you might remember how annoying they became, and how glad people were when they got remote control TVs with mute buttons. Or maybe it's been so long you've forgotten how bad it was.

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#558

Post by shiroiuma » Wed, Mar 18, 2026, 8:38 AM UTC

alternatetwo wrote: post #541

rdtsc wrote: post #17

There just aren’t as many good new movies. Most movies we watch at home are from decades ago. If we didn’t have streaming maybe we’d go to the movies more often, but it’s hard to say. A few movies we watched are not worth the money. To stay afloat they have to raise ticket prices, but if we’re paying so much, the movie better be absolutely outstanding, and the are just not usually, so we stopped going.

Recent good movies, just going in release order off my letterboxd, although I have to be careful to include only "Hollywood" here: - 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple - beautifully shot and a beautiful theme about what humanity is - One Battle After Another - it's PTA, all his movies are good - Bugonia - incredible dark comedy - Weapons - fun little horror comedy movie - Sinners - just won an oscar for the soundtrack,…

A few I think you left out:

- Frankenstein

- Dune and Dune Part Two

- Star Trek: Section 31 (just kidding)

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#559

Post by sdoering » Wed, Mar 18, 2026, 11:36 AM UTC

bojan wrote: post #141

sdoering wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

German here. I have never not had popcorn when going to the movies in my younger days. It is just part of the experience. But in my days it was around 12€ for a ticket, popcorn and a coke. And there were cinema days with special deals. Or cheap sneak previews. I would never go when paying for me and my SO is equivalent of one of my subscriptions for a year.

I don't think that math checks out as the subscriptions got way more expensive as well.

I did the math. Works out fine for me.

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#560

Post by throwaway91827 » Wed, Mar 18, 2026, 4:00 PM UTC

boca_honey wrote: post #548

throwaway91827 wrote: post #494

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just trying to understand your point here- so non-westerners are primitive and irrational, unlike the West, led by Donald Trump, champion of rational, elevated discourse?

He's right. Moral self-righteousness aside, Hollywood was a window for many of us in "developing countries" to a better world. Yeah, it was an idealized version of reality, but that's how many of us discovered science, athleticism or sexual freedom, for example.

I don't disagree that you got a window into American values, I just don't agree that proximity to American values is the same as civilization versus primitivism.