My wife and my daughter went to see the latest Twilight movie on opening night. The local megaplex chain charged $9.50 per ticket, so there is $19. They bought one large drink, a large popcorn, and a "theater size" candy item, and the ticket was $18.75. For two people to see the movie and get a snack it cost nearly $40. I can buy the movie on DVD at full retail price, get a couple of 2 liter bottles of soda, a bag of "fun size" candybars, and a couple of bags of microwave popcorn, invite a few friends over to watch, and still be $10 ahead of the game. Add to this that if someone needs to use the restroom we hit the pause button and nobody misses anything. No missing a key point in dialogue due to a screaming kid or cell phone ringer. A $1 rental instead of buying it brings the cost down even further for the same if not better experience than the overpriced theater!
My wife and I do enjoy going to a local theater called the Northern Lights Cinema Grill. All evening showings are 21 and over since they serve alcohol. When you walk in you buy your tickets at $3 (second run) and you can order dinner. They serve burgers, nachos, that type of food, and desert if you like. Next you go sit in the theater which is a renovated theater that closed down years ago where they took every other row of seating out and put tables in their place. As the previews are running just before the movie starts they deliver everybody's dinners to them. About half way through the movie they deliver deserts to those that ordered them. All in all it cost us $20 for us for the traditional "dinner and a movie" in an enjoyable kid-free atmosphere.
This is how theaters need to treat their customers. Treat them (and their wallets) with respect and provide an experience. Theaters that just provide a large screen and poorly tuned audio system just aren't worth it anymore with the quality of today's (even low end) "home theater" systems. I remember watching plenty of movies back in my school days with over-driven bass and ear-splitting treble. I did that because it was still better than watching it on my crummy TV at home. Now that just isn't the case, my TV and stereo in the house look and sound just as good and usually better, and it is by no means a "top of the line" setup. Far from it actually.
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A lot of it is the price
My wife and my daughter went to see the latest Twilight movie on opening night. The local megaplex chain charged $9.50 per ticket, so there is $19. They bought one large drink, a large popcorn, and a "theater size" candy item, and the ticket was $18.75. For two people to see the movie and get a snack it cost nearly $40. I can buy the movie on DVD at full retail price, get a couple of 2 liter bottles of soda, a bag of "fun size" candybars, and a couple of bags of microwave popcorn, invite a few friends over to watch, and still be $10 ahead of the game. Add to this that if someone needs to use the restroom we hit the pause button and nobody misses anything. No missing a key point in dialogue due to a screaming kid or cell phone ringer. A $1 rental instead of buying it brings the cost down even further for the same if not better experience than the overpriced theater!
My wife and I do enjoy going to a local theater called the Northern Lights Cinema Grill. All evening showings are 21 and over since they serve alcohol. When you walk in you buy your tickets at $3 (second run) and you can order dinner. They serve burgers, nachos, that type of food, and desert if you like. Next you go sit in the theater which is a renovated theater that closed down years ago where they took every other row of seating out and put tables in their place. As the previews are running just before the movie starts they deliver everybody's dinners to them. About half way through the movie they deliver deserts to those that ordered them. All in all it cost us $20 for us for the traditional "dinner and a movie" in an enjoyable kid-free atmosphere.
This is how theaters need to treat their customers. Treat them (and their wallets) with respect and provide an experience. Theaters that just provide a large screen and poorly tuned audio system just aren't worth it anymore with the quality of today's (even low end) "home theater" systems. I remember watching plenty of movies back in my school days with over-driven bass and ear-splitting treble. I did that because it was still better than watching it on my crummy TV at home. Now that just isn't the case, my TV and stereo in the house look and sound just as good and usually better, and it is by no means a "top of the line" setup. Far from it actually.