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movie theaters becoming extinct

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movie theaters becoming extinct
« on: November 15, 2013, 02:16:03 PM »
 

John B.

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So I am just wondering what you guys think? now that we have the fancy tvs at home do you think movie theaters might slowly start becoming a thing of the past? I mean they might just put movies out and let us watch them online since streaming is a big thing right? I dont know just thinking here and wondering your thoughts.
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Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #1 on: November 15, 2013, 03:03:02 PM »
 

Anthony

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I think the more "Mom & Pop" theatres may go the way of the Doh Doh, but other theatres seem to be "Upgrading" to make the experience match if not surpass your home experience. Our local multi-plex just went through a renovation, new everything, including completly reclining seats. They even have a bar in the theatre now and you can bring your beverage of choice and snacks to your "Reserved" seat. When you purchase your seat you actually get to pick the seats on a little screen.

On the flip side, the little budget theatre in the next town over, small local theatre with bargain prices for 1st run movies is kind of hurting. So do they take the plunge or ride it out and see.

I don't think they'll ever be extinct, they'll just keep improving the experience.....and raising prices of course  ;)
 

Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #2 on: November 15, 2013, 03:11:50 PM »
 

John B.

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where do you live? how much are those tickets? we have a carmikes where I live and they upgraded but not much. I know they were thinking of getting a bar but most the employees thought it would be a bad idea, hard to make sure minors are not drinking and people getting drunk could be problems.
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Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #3 on: November 15, 2013, 03:20:02 PM »
 

Anthony

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I live in the NW Suburbs of Chicago..........the matinee is $10 if I remember correctly
 

Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #4 on: November 15, 2013, 03:21:19 PM »
 

Don Boyer

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So I am just wondering what you guys think? now that we have the fancy tvs at home do you think movie theaters might slowly start becoming a thing of the past? I mean they might just put movies out and let us watch them online since streaming is a big thing right? I dont know just thinking here and wondering your thoughts.

Movie theaters will eventually die out, but home theater technology has a long way to go.  People have been predicting the death of movie theaters ever since the television became an affordable home furnishing.  Plus there's a growing trend to reinvent the movie theater.  We've all seen IMAX - no way a screen that big will fit in your home - and there's also Fathom Events (live shows broadcast on your theater's screen, one night only) and cinema as bar/restaurant is making a comeback with the expansion of the Cinema Drafthouse chain.  It's pretty cool - you get seated at a table, have a nice meal and watch a movie.  There's also auditorium seating as well as a bar at the back of the room.


There's exactly one thing that will kill movie theaters - the cost of the real estate on which they sit.  Movie theaters are cavernous spaces that are poorly utilized in terms of income per square foot.  In New York City, because of the price of the real estate, we have the worst ratio of theater-screens-per-capita in the country, thus pushing our movie ticket prices.  Most theaters charge around $13 a ticket, and that's the cheap part - wait 'til you reach the concession stand.  A night out at the movies for a family of four could end up at close to $100.  The news doesn't get better as time goes on - the population of New York is still growing, but the number of movie theater screens isn't keeping pace.  It's often only a matter of time before people eventually realize that the property the theater stands on is much more profitable if it has an apartment building, retail store or suite of medical offices in its place.
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Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #5 on: November 15, 2013, 03:26:33 PM »
 

John B.

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I live in the NW Suburbs of Chicago..........the matinee is $10 if I remember correctly

wow, thats normal price here in manhattan, ks. the matinees are like $5
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Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #6 on: November 15, 2013, 09:26:30 PM »
 

Don Boyer

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I live in the NW Suburbs of Chicago..........the matinee is $10 if I remember correctly

wow, thats normal price here in manhattan, ks. the matinees are like $5

Most New York City theaters in Manhattan ditched matinee pricing for all but senior citizens.  It's around $13 for a standard showing, $15.50-$16.00 for a 3D show.  You don't want to know what they charge for concessions - let's just say they take plastic...
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Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #7 on: November 15, 2013, 09:34:02 PM »
 

John B.

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my local theater takes plastic as well and are not to bad. what are the prices?
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Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #8 on: November 15, 2013, 09:48:05 PM »
 

Don Boyer

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my local theater takes plastic as well and are not to bad. what are the prices?

Soda and popcorn for one can run $10 or more.  Throw in a candy or an ice cream, it's closer to $20.  They frequently serve all kinds of foods - hot dogs, nachos, pizza, Starbucks coffee, burgers, etc.  Some theaters even have a full bar/restaurant on site, but that's more in the 'burbs - there's already a lot of high-grade competition in Manhattan for that.
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Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #9 on: November 15, 2013, 09:55:23 PM »
 

xela

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Before I moved I would watch at least one movie a month, usually two or three.

1. You can't rival the theater release date at home.

2. A good surround sound set up with a brilliant television costs thousands, not including furniture.

3. Regal's cheese pizza is fucking bomb.

4. I collect movie stubs.

5. I think the current $10-11 per ticket is a fair price, but I think the 3D prices are a rip-off.

6. Movies make for great casual dates.

7. Skadoosh


That is all
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Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #10 on: November 15, 2013, 10:19:15 PM »
 

John B.

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I wish we had those kinds of luxurys, ours just has decent seats, popcorn, soda, nachos and candy. they even cut cost by instead of having the nice looking tickets they basically just print out a piece of a receipt for ya. I mean if I wanted to I could probably find a way to fake it.
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Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #11 on: November 15, 2013, 11:00:49 PM »
 

xela

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Most cities have the luxury theaters now. With the La-z-boy recliners, drinks, waiters, etc.    By the way, if you ever want to see a nightmare of a theater, step into NYC's theaters. Sweet holy ballsack they're awful. o_o
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Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #12 on: November 16, 2013, 12:05:53 AM »
 

Don Boyer

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I wish we had those kinds of luxurys, ours just has decent seats, popcorn, soda, nachos and candy. they even cut cost by instead of having the nice looking tickets they basically just print out a piece of a receipt for ya. I mean if I wanted to I could probably find a way to fake it.

It's been many years since theaters used pre-printed tickets rather than terminal-printed ones.  in the 1980s, I worked at the first theater that had computer-generated tickets - AND took telephone reservations.

You could probably fake the tickets, though you'd have to get the paper right - not easy, since it's custom-made for each theater chain.  You could even get away with it for a while.  But the problem is that sooner or later, unless the theater has a huge turnover and you attend only on busy-but-not-sold-out nights, people will start figuring out that they never see you at the cashier's booth or the ticket terminals.  Then it's a simple matter of reviewing security video footage and the tickets stubs collected by the doorman - they actually save the stubs, because they have to be able to prove to the studios how many seats were sold for a given show to calculate the studio's cut.  Unless you've also cracked their ticket numbering system, they'll find your fakes in an audit (with your fingerprints on them, should they take it that far), they'd catch pretty close to every single fraudulent ticket you printed.  (Stub audits such as those could even be the way they catch on to your plot, since they do hold them periodically and randomly.  A stub from a forged ticket would trigger a more widespread audit very quickly.)  You could wear gloves all the time and not leave fingerprints, but they'd still be able to track you by video surveillance, since the more movie screenings they audit and find your stubs in the mix, the less likely it would be anyone else who attended all those shows - and couldn't produce a single shred of evidence of having purchased a ticket.

I don't think forgery charges would apply, but theft would since you're seeing movies you didn't pay for, and if the total in ticket costs was high enough, it could go past misdemeanor territory straight into felony land.  It's the kind of thing you could only get away with if you were in a large area with a lot of theaters from the same chain and you attended at different times of the day and days of the week - a lot of trouble for a few free movies.  The cost in gas would probably cancel out a lot of the money you saved not buying tickets.

Wow, can I make a tangent, or what?  :))

Most cities have the luxury theaters now. With the La-z-boy recliners, drinks, waiters, etc.    By the way, if you ever want to see a nightmare of a theater, step into NYC's theaters. Sweet holy ballsack they're awful. o_o

Then you've just been to the wrong theaters.  Try catching a movie at the Radio City Music Hall or the Ziegfeld - they're the two largest single-screen theaters in the city - possible even the country.  The AMC chain has also been introducing theaters with recliners and reserved seating.  I was planning to hit one up near my home (it's in Fresh Meadows) for a triple feature last week: "Thor", "The Avengers", and "Thor: the Dark World", all on one bill.  But my mother-in-law had spent the night in a hospital emergency room and I had to be around to bring her there the night before and bring her home that day.

We're not up to drinks and waiters yet, but there is a Cinema Drafthouse that opened in Yonkers, just north of the city limits.
« Last Edit: November 16, 2013, 12:06:39 AM by Don Boyer »
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Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #13 on: November 16, 2013, 08:42:26 AM »
 

John B.

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its literally receipt paper - nothing fancy. and I very rarely go to the theaters, all I would have to do is every once in a while send someone else in with the fake while I go buy one so someone else is not paying and its not all on me.
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Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #14 on: November 16, 2013, 10:37:36 AM »
 

Don Boyer

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its literally receipt paper - nothing fancy. and I very rarely go to the theaters, all I would have to do is every once in a while send someone else in with the fake while I go buy one so someone else is not paying and its not all on me.

Odd. Most chains have their logos on the back, front or both, and disclaimer information printed on the back.  Even a mom-and-pop outfit would have that printed on the back.
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Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #15 on: November 16, 2013, 03:45:17 PM »
 

John B.

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ours did, and had nice paper. But they have goten really cheap. A lot of times they wont even have the ticket booth open, they will just have you buy at concessions. I mean if you go during the more popular times that does not happen but for like matinees and such
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Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #16 on: November 16, 2013, 05:00:23 PM »
 

xela

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"single screen movie theaters"

*cringe*
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Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #17 on: November 16, 2013, 05:56:30 PM »
 

Don Boyer

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"single screen movie theaters"

*cringe*

Yeah, and over 2,000 seats in the auditorium...the Ziegfeld is HUUUUUUGE...  Radio City isn't exactly tiny, either, but it's a multi-purpose theater while the Ziegfeld is strictly movies.  They have to play blockbusters - only way they'll fill the house often enough.

It's not exactly like New York has no multi-screen theaters...  Do you remember the movie theater on Main Street, a little north of the Grand Central Parkway?
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Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #18 on: November 16, 2013, 06:44:34 PM »
 

xela

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"single screen movie theaters"

*cringe*

Yeah, and over 2,000 seats in the auditorium...the Ziegfeld is HUUUUUUGE...  Radio City isn't exactly tiny, either, but it's a multi-purpose theater while the Ziegfeld is strictly movies.  They have to play blockbusters - only way they'll fill the house often enough.

It's not exactly like New York has no multi-screen theaters...  Do you remember the movie theater on Main Street, a little north of the Grand Central Parkway?

I remember how terrible that one is. :P

I prefer the luxury theater experience, but it's so damn pricey. Second would have to be smaller rooms, with tons of screenings so I can go whenever I please.
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Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #19 on: November 16, 2013, 08:33:05 PM »
 

Don Boyer

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Do you remember the movie theater on Main Street, a little north of the Grand Central Parkway?

I remember how terrible that one is. :P

I prefer the luxury theater experience, but it's so damn pricey. Second would have to be smaller rooms, with tons of screenings so I can go whenever I please.

Yeah, New York real estate being what it is, we have a lot fewer screens per capita than pretty much all of the rest of the country.  Theater owners can get away with being a bit less than luxury because busy theaters sell out on weekend nights.

BTW: that theater?  Just as much of a dump, but now has state-of-the-art digital projection and sound...go figure...
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Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #20 on: November 17, 2013, 12:09:03 AM »
 

John B.

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So I really want to visit a new york theater, just for purpose of my thinking what city do you live in Don.
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Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #21 on: November 17, 2013, 01:24:17 AM »
 

Don Boyer

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So I really want to visit a new york theater, just for purpose of my thinking what city do you live in Don.

Yeah, well, New York is pretty unique.  No other place on Earth quite like it.  It'll really be great when they finally finish building it!  :))
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Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #22 on: November 17, 2013, 07:10:58 AM »
 

shutupdangit

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During college I hardly ever went to movie theaters, and the one I did go to was the cheap $3 theater that had movies that had been out for a while and has the ticket receipt paper John B is describing. The other theater in town was Cinemark, your standard boring theater chain, so options were limited.

I've moved since then and the town I'm currently in got an Alamo Drafthouse which I've been really loving recently because of the different type of programming (cult movies, quote-alongs, etc.), the strict no talking/texting policy, and the ability to drink a beer in the theater is something I never knew I would enjoy. The food's not terrible either.

......cinema as bar/restaurant is making a comeback with the expansion of the Cinema Drafthouse chain.  It's pretty cool - you get seated at a table, have a nice meal and watch a movie. There's also auditorium seating as well as a bar at the back of the room.

Yep, that's the Alamo. Another franchise that uses the same theater/restaurant model and is working on expansion is Cinebarre, which I believe was founded by a former Alamo Drafthouse CEO.
 

Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #23 on: November 17, 2013, 08:02:40 AM »
 

Nurul

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In Birmingham, we have the electric cinema which is the oldest cinema in the UK. In the last couple years, they've put in leather sofas, a bar and have a waiting service. It's pretty nice. It was on the brink of getting closed until it changed it's ways. They have 2 digital screens which show a mixture of newly released, classic, foreign and independent movies.
It's popular with the older crowd, only seats about 40-50 people.

We do still have our regular cinemas with floor to ceiling screens, and they get rammed whenever big movies come out. Wednesdays are usually busy too as some selected cinemas have 2for1 tickets.

I don't think they're on the way to being extinct, not in the UK anyway. It's a good part of the social life over here.
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Re: movie theaters becoming extinct
« Reply #24 on: November 17, 2013, 09:24:23 AM »
 

Don Boyer

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...the strict no talking/texting policy...

There's a NYC law against the use of cellular phones in any theater, live or movies.  Unfortunately, there's no actual penalties associated with getting caught, so it's among the least-enforced laws on the books...  Best they can do would be to use the Federal restriction against the use of recording devices, since most cellphones these days have built-in audio and video recording capabilities, but that's really stretching it.
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