Why less and less people are going to cinemas.
Why less and less people are going to cinemas.
It's the ticket price, stupid!
Dear Peter & Peter,
You talked this week how the megaplexes have become soloplexes and show something like 8 screens of "The Dark Knight" and 5 screens of "Tropic Thunder", etc.
Well, I think that if the price of admission to watch theatrical features in cinemas was drastically cut to say $2.00, THEN and only then can the theatrical cinemas really compete against the new ways to watch movies nowadays, such as DVD rentals (Netflix subscriptions, RedBox only $1.00 per night), cable channels like HBO and Cinemax, the Internet where movies (even new ones still in theatrical release) can be watched online, public libraries that buy DVDs (and now even Blu-ray DVDs) and then patrons can view them for FREE!
I think this is what Hollywood and movie distributors really have to do if they want more butts in the seats. They should also add shorts to the features like they used to do in the early days of cinema. This makes the movie-going experience an event, a night out, something to compete with all the home theaters that people have created for themselves right in their own homes.
I think with a low-priced ticket admission, people will be willing to go to theaters and fight the traffic, the parking, the lines, the high-priced movie snacks, the sticky floors, the rude people that won't shut up during the movie, the cellphones going off during the movie, etc. Otherwise, if not for a really cheap admission price, why would someone want to go through all that aggravation and see a movie in a cinema rather than wait and see it on DVD or whatever?
Only by making the price to see a theatrical movie in a cinema be so cheap (go all "Wal-Marty" on it, where LOW PRICE is all that matters), can the movie business really compete with other media formats to lure back movie-goers in the numbers they used to enjoy in the past. Why the movie biz doesn't realize this, is beyond me. I just don't understand how by constantly increasing ticket prices to whatever it is today, $10, $15, $20 per person (I don't even know, since I haven't even seen a movie in a cinema in many years now) the movie biz thinks it can make money in cinematic releases.
They have to slash prices and make the money on VOLUME sales. Cut the price and you lure back people. It's really that simple. If a family of four had to go see a family movie and a ticket costs $15 per person, that's $60 just to get in the door! Then there are the snacks the kids inevitably want, bringing up the price maybe another $20 so. Now we're up to $80. Factor in the gasoline it costs to drive to the movie theater, fighting the ever-increasing traffic out there, the red-lights (that wastes gas just idling there), fighting the crowds getting in and out of the theater parking lot (again wasting gas just idling there) so add another $10-$20 for gasoline, that makes it $90-$100 for just going out to see ONE movie! Is this anyway to make people WANT to go out to a cinema multiplex to see a movie, when there are so many other, cheaper alternatives available to them out there? I don't think so.
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I hear what you're saying zZz -- the problem is that people are still going to see movies. When a single movie can pull in $500 million, nothing is going to change. The only time Hollywood producers are going to wake up and see what's happening is when they're making less money, which I don't see happening.
It reminds me of The Wire -- how the drug dealers are always amazed how theirs is the only business where they can do a WORSE job and make MORE money. I feel like the same is true of the movie industry. It doesn't matter what they do, people are still going to go see movies. Fewer people, maybe. But tickets are still going to be double the price, so no worries, right?
Three factors are killing the cinema experience. Netflix. Downloads. On-Demand/DVDs.
More and more, people are willing to wait because the gap between what was once known as "first-run" films and "second-run" has shrunk so drastically that very few films qualify as must see now in the theatre-type fare. coupled with high quality home theatres and Blue-Ray quality picture and sound, it's tough to justify the price and the hassle of the movie experience.
That said, most home theaters can't provide the visceral and emotional immersion of a great film experience, such as, say, The Dark Knight or No Country for Old Men.
I used to think that competition from home theater and multi-platform options would raise the quality bar by forcing studios and producers to make films that had to be experienced in the cinema to be truly appreciated, but sadly, the result has been movies that are just longer, louder and more predictable.
Iron Man and the films mentioned above being notable exceptions.
I would not mind the admission price if audience members were more considerate of others.
I am tired of hearing cell phones ring; then cell phone conversations.
I am tired of those who allow their children to run around unattended, making noise and disturbing others. I raised my kids; take responsibility for yours.
My two cents...
I totally hear what you're saying, zzz, but I highly doubt ticket prices will go down, especially during this financial crisis. During the Great Depression in the 30s, movies were very popular because they gave people hope, so (don't quote me on this) I would think that the movie industry is and will see a rise in audience attendance.
I myself used to go to the movies ALL THE TIME when I was a kid, often times by myself because no one could stand to see so many movies. They were cheap and there were a lot of good options to choose from.
But lately, movies coming out in theaters have been SUCKING big time! The Pacifier? Fun With Dick & Jane? Ghost Rider? You Don't Mess With the Zohan??? What the HELL are people in the film industry thinking funding these mov-....sorry, I threw up a little bit in my mouth almost calling these pieces of crap "movies". Oh damn, I just blew chunks.
Sorry, back to the point- if the movie industry wants to see more people coming to the theaters-yes, cutting admission prices will definitely help (but probably won't happen), but most of all, they need to make the quality of the movies better.
Nowadays, i don't bother seeing a movie in the theater unless it is a movie that just deserves to be seen in one (i.e. The Dark Knight, Pirates of the Caribbean, Watchmen?), and these usually tend to be epic, high action movies. What's the point of watching an indie, artistic type movie on a big screen if it can have the same effect in our living rooms?
Hope my feedback was insightful or entertaining!