Mike, consider this:

– ya go to the theatre, plunk down your 20 bucks, maybe another 10 for even the smallest snack (holy crap, can the prices GET higher?) and then try to sit in those wish-they-were comfortable seats. If you’re lucky, you get stadium seating and the only issue is whether you or the smelly guy that crams next to you at the last minute is gonna hog the armrest.

OR

– buy a movie. Head on home. Most dvd collectors have a decent ~30″ TV, some of them have bigger, some, like my officemate, have the widescreen thingy with the dolby 5:1 whatever and a million speakers artfully arranged around a pair of love seats or a couple of lazyboys.
My officemate also has beer, and he’s a man of Generous Proportion. So is his lovely wife. While they could do Jenny Craig, they’ll probably never be able to drink beer in the theatre; and getting them to pay $30 for a theatre experience and the contest of the armrests with Mr Smelly there, that’s not gonna happen.

The theatres have overpriced their rickety seats and bad popcorn to the point that no one wants to go if there’s an alternative. For some, the alternative is cheaper and we consequently get to keep the movie for ANOTHER showing in 3 months when we’ve forgotten about it. I ALREADY prefer the Home Viewing Experience, even though my ‘Home Theatre’ is about the cheapest I know of:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000632FX
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000949XG
(well, my TV is a 1999 ct-2764a)
What’s $350 give a cheap bastard like me?

– I spend more on beer
– I watch my movie and DRINK THE BEER AT THE SAME TIME
– I don’t have a parking hassle
– I don’t have a car-broken-into risk
– I don’t have a driving hassle.
– I don’t have to worry about driving home drunk
– I CAN TALK ALL I WANT ON MY WIRELESS AND YOU ALL CAN’T DO A DAMNED THING
– I don’t have to listen to YOU lot talking on YOUR wireless units. Piss off!
– I can check my mail while someone’s in the WC
– I can eat Pizza in my theatre
– I don’t care about whatever pamela said to you in third period. Now, I don’t have to hear it either.
– no gum stuck to the ass of my pants. Unless I do the sticking.
– no fronting teens throwing debris at me and tittering like girls.
– I can put my feet on any seat I like.

Really, the only thing I’d ever want to go to the theatre for, these days, is Lord of the Rings. Its vast costneresque lanscape/battle shots are the only reason to hit the cinema for anything.

This past year was a prime example. Bought 10 DVDs. Watched them all a few times, traded them with my buddy for 10 other ones. Didn’t have to fuck with envelopes or extra fees. Had too much beer and wayyy better/cheaper candy selection than at the rinky-dink cineplex. I went to the theatre for Matrix (what a letdown) and LotR (woo!).

I’ve traded the cineplex for WalMart and I’m a happier man for it. Not even lookin’ back.