The Sun is Setting on Cinema As We Knew It

[Seeker47]

. . . at least in the U.S.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NWCZek9rpE

Can't really argue much with these observations. Don't know the extent to which this also applies in foreign territories.

[Santiago]

I prefer to watch a movie in a theater instead of at home. Nothing beats a large screen theater movie.

[Brazil]

Best comment to the video by @taylorlibby7642:

The biggest lie in business has always been "nothing will change after the merger".

[Subtitles]

I haven't been to a cinema over the last 30 years maybe.
I need to be able to control the sound volume because usually they have it too loud for my hearing and the adverts are very annoying. Not sure if they still put adverts but you would expect that by paying for a ticket then they shouldn't add adverts.
Also if the theater is crowded then there is also the chance of catching all kind of illnesses and viruses.

In my location I think only young people go to the cinema in the evenings these days.
Pensioners can pay less maybe half the ticket cost but they are restricted to afternoons I think.

[Seeker47]

In full agreement with Subtitles about the adverts: any supposed justification for them on top of a paid ticket just doesn't wash, as far as I'm concerned.

I mostly dropped out of theater attendance at some point prior to the 3 years of the pandemic, and those 3 years really put a lid on it. The rare exceptions have been few and far between "event" films, like Christopher Nolan ones, several of which were shown in 70 MM. (I wouldn't spend 25 bucks for an Imax ticket ! Yeah, forget that !) Because I've been self-employed and able to set my own working hours, that opened up the matinee option for me, at greatly reduced prices. So, those few 70 MM matinees could be seen for $10, instead. When I did go to them, there would usually be like 35 - 40 seats filled out of a 300 seat auditorium . . . and I could sit at the back wall, under the projection window, with hardly anyone close by. Not much exposure to germs in that scenario, or to people talking or doing whatever with their phones. Not very good for the theater's financial viability though.

[cholla]

Like Subtitles & Seeker47 it has been many years since I went to a theater.

The last "theater" I went to was an IMAX in Dallas=Fort Worth.
It had a domed screen & the seats were at a special angle to enhance the effect.

Part of the reason is the multiplex theaters have smaller screens.
When I was a kid & teenager there were 3 theaters here with large screens & one a really large screen.
These were one screen theaters.

I also went to the drive-ins & preferred them. Except for the sound.
I never went to a modern drive-in but there was one that broadcast over FM so a person could use their car stereo sound system.

My dad told me at one time some drive-ins had electric heaters on the speaker polls in winter.
You put them inside your car like the speaker.
There was one that even had an inside viewing area with a large window.
Warm in winter & cool in the Summer.

[pchan]

In late 80s and mid 90s in Singapore, all the cinemas were closed. These were showing HK, TWN and western movies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8wBfSuOX-0

Then we have cineplex i.e. cluster of small cinemas in a shopping complex. Some of these cineplex were close too.
Retirees were encouraged to watch matinee.

[vidsrme]

Nothing beats a large screen theater movie.

I have a 75" TV in my living room (and a surround sound setup)

It's free to torrent any film I want vs paying extortionate cinema ticket prices

I have a big leather couch to sprawl on vs tiny chairs

I can buy in any munchies/drinks I want at supermarket prices vs utterly extortionate prices at the cinema (£10 for a £1 bag of sweets, £10 for a £1 box of popcorn)

Honestly I don't know how the cinemas have lasted so long with their extortionate ticket and food/drink prices.

[ozymango]

I haven't been to an actual movie theater in years. Come to think of it, of all the movies I've watched on my HDTV (with surround sound) in the past ten years, I don't think any of them were made later than 2006. Most of my favorite moves were made between 1939 and maybe 1999. Oh, I did watch "Indiana Jones and the Locket of Luck" or whatever it was called, on HDTV, did that come out in 2025 or 2024? Anyway, I guess it was okay, but I'm glad I didn't pay to watch it.

[Seeker47]

Nothing beats a large screen theater movie.

I have a 75" TV in my living room (and a surround sound setup)

It's free to torrent any film I want vs paying extortionate cinema ticket prices

I have a big leather couch to sprawl on vs tiny chairs

. . .

Honestly I don't know how the cinemas have lasted so long with their extortionate ticket and food/drink prices.

Well, here's the real mystery on how some theaters continue to exist. Ticket prices for most showings at the local Imax, around the start of the pandemic, were in the $18. to $25. range. Don't know whether they've gone up since. Even though it's located in a pretty affluent area, there is a so-called "Luxury" cinemas multiplex nearby, with comfy leather recliners, alcoholic bevs and fancier eats delivered right beside those recliners, and the ticket prices started at $25. ascending UP from there. (Again, my frame of reference is from a few years back, so I don't know current pricing. This theater complex is apparently part of a small-ish chain, with some other locations across the country.) I don't think I ever attended there, unless it might have been under some promo when they first opened, but I did once give a book of their tickets as a holiday gift. They are still very much in business. Despite a lot of gloom and grumbling from so many about the economy, and people continuing to flee the state en masse over cost of living. In a word: Amazing.

[dannyboy48888]

Oddly I go more now to the movies. With Cinemark movie pass I get 2 free tickets a month and 25% off concessioss. Most movies with comfy seats are $7-$15 they regularly show classics like the matrix, back to the future, blazing saddles etc. for $5. They also have studio Ghibli stuff all the time too.

[lordsmurf]

Nothing beats a large screen theater movie.

I have a 75" TV in my living room (and a surround sound setup)
It's free to torrent any film I want vs paying extortionate cinema ticket prices
I have a big leather couch to sprawl on vs tiny chairs
I can buy in any munchies/drinks I want at supermarket prices vs utterly extortionate prices at the cinema (£10 for a £1 bag of sweets, £10 for a £1 box of popcorn)
Honestly I don't know how the cinemas have lasted so long with their extortionate ticket and food/drink prices.

You forgot one: The ability to hit pause, to take a bathroom break. Very important as you get older.

I fully support Netflix buying Warner Bros. More streaming, less PITA like too-loud theatres, kids talking, phones, nasty floors and chairs, etc. I can do without all that BS. I just want to watch a good movies without having to wait 3-6 months (and be subjected to spoilers). I had to (almost entirely) quit going to the cinema 10+ years ago, due to health.

We also shouldn't have to keep subsidizing actors that make $millions/movie. Or sports/athletes, for that matter.

[Seeker47]

You forgot one: The ability to hit pause, to take a bathroom break. Very important as you get older.

Roger that.
On one of those 3-hour extravaganzas (in a theater), it simply becomes a question of what scene do you guess that you can most afford to miss. Sound familiar ?

I fully support Netflix buying Warner Bros. More streaming,

But we diverge sharply here: Company mergers always = less competition, with the consumers getting it in the neck -- Big Time. Also deadly for the labor that makes the movies (& TV), since that is going to = a big loss of jobs. I support the Writers Guild. You may be laboring under the false impression that these guys (the writers) make tons of money, but that is incorrect. Careers in that are typically SHORT; freelancers and their ability to break in in the first place have been on a steadily downward trajectory for many years now, with available slots already quite pinched. This will only make it worse. Ditto for costumers, set carpenters, and most of the other crafts.

We also shouldn't have to keep subsidizing actors that make $millions/movie. Or sports/athletes, for that matter.

May depend on which sports you choose to follow -- as to the pricing levels that filter down to us as consumers. It was a real parting of the ways for me when -- in an awesome greed move -- Netflix took over the NFL Sunday Ticket and promptly doubled the price I had been paying. It was plenty high prior to that. Nah, not gonna acquiesce to this ! But there are now "alternatives." (That we can't officially discuss here.) When I tried to utilize them some years ago, it was pretty hopeless, as the powers-that-be had clamped down on them very effectively. But things have changed dramatically since then. Someone on another forum pointed the way for me. [Happy to go into more detail via PM.]

[ricardouk]

i stopped going to cinema long ago, they should ban food from the cinema rooms, you're trying to watch a movie and all you ear is people munching popcorn, crisps etc, never again.

[Seeker47]

Oddly I go more now to the movies. With Cinemark movie pass I get 2 free tickets a month and 25% off concessioss. Most movies with comfy seats are $7-$15 they regularly show classics like the matrix, back to the future, blazing saddles etc. for $5. They also have studio Ghibli stuff all the time too.

Some deals still exist, but this tends to be very regional. For the major metro areas, Not So Much.

[TreeTops]

Yes, but the wife still goes to the theaters. She has many lady friends that will go with her as a group. They all agree on a movie, then pick a local theater that has hot dogs. They really enjoy that outing. Last one that they went to showed 'Barbi'. It's not an every week thing but maybe 5 or six shows a year and always a matinee show to save costs.

[netmask56]

My cinema experience seems to be one blockbuster per year these days. Tomorrow New Years day a group of my friends will be seeing Avatar at the local cinema complex. A 5 minute walk from my place but for the rest I prefer to stream or get a physical disc, reason I have a far better sound system in my home theatre and don't have to put up with constant chatter and continuous "grazing" from the starving audience. At 87 my tolerance for poor behaviour is lacking!

[Tom Saurus]

My family just did not have the money to go to the theater to watch a movie. We did go once and it was enjoyable and stands out in my memory. I have pleasant memories of in Public School we watched films from projectors and eventually video tapes. It was mostly Disney movies and now I can see them with Disney Plus.

I particularly remember Benji and The Witch Mountain movies.

I remember when I was a teen at a gathering they rented Alien and I was intently watching and someone put their hand on my shoulder and I jumped what seemed like ten feet in there I thought the Alien had grabbed me. We had a laugh and I remember the who event as something special from those years. I consider the Alien Franchise must watch movies; I did see the newest one "Alien Romulus" on Disney Plus and liked it quite a bit.

I find it fascinating that the Avatar movies made so much money but have never watched any of them at least not yet and I imagine I am missing a lot just watching the 2D version some point in the future.

[Seeker47]

My cinema experience seems to be one blockbuster per year these days.
. . .

I'll still go to a Chris Nolan 70MM "experience", much as detailed in my Post #5 above. It seems that he is one of the very "last of the Mohicans" who insist on shooting film; only he and Quentin also willing to go 70MM . . . although some other directors will shoot certain sequences with Imax cameras. (I'm wondering if "F1: the Movie" may have been one such, recently.) It is not really unfortunate to me that Quentin is reportedly retiring after one more, but his foray with 70MM -- a format that I like a lot -- was "The Hateful Eight." They truly were, the film was a stinker, I drove much too far just to see that, and it was a terrible waste of ~ $25. for the ticket. Lesson learned, in case he goes that way again.

[vidsrme]

Nothing beats a large screen theater movie.

I have a 75" TV in my living room (and a surround sound setup)
It's free to torrent any film I want vs paying extortionate cinema ticket prices
I have a big leather couch to sprawl on vs tiny chairs
I can buy in any munchies/drinks I want at supermarket prices vs utterly extortionate prices at the cinema (£10 for a £1 bag of sweets, £10 for a £1 box of popcorn)
Honestly I don't know how the cinemas have lasted so long with their extortionate ticket and food/drink prices.

You forgot one: The ability to hit pause, to take a bathroom break. Very important as you get older.

Yeah I did forget that one, even rewind in fact in case you wanna see a certain bit again, or turn on subtitles in case there's a bit of audio you can't make out.

At 87 my tolerance for poor behaviour is lacking!

Way to go, congrats, I hope I'm still able to go to the cinema at 87!

I did see the newest one "Alien Romulus" on Disney Plus and liked it quite a bit.

I love my sci-fi's, watched Predator: Badlands recently, was very good, would recommend! Also Tron Ares!

[TimA-C]

i stopped going to cinema long ago, they should ban food from the cinema rooms, you're trying to watch a movie and all you ear is people munching popcorn, crisps etc, never again.

BOO! I can remember sneaking an Uncle Sam's burger & fries into "The Road Warrior" with my older sister, down in Brighton, here in the UK. Waiting for the lights to go down, for the main feature to start, and checking that there were no ushers anywhere near before surreptitiously unwrapping and sneakily eating it! Wendy's were another option. Ah, Great Days!

I think the last film I saw in the cinema was probably "S.P.E.C.T.R.E." - quite possibly the worst Bond film ever made! Too darned stoopid and too darned long! One of my MANY "issues" with the film is Bautista's character chases Bond - both in fantastic looking super cars - in what turns out to be The Lamest, The Dullest, The Most Boring car chase EVER filmed! Bautista, who's chasing Bond, at one point overtakes Bond, and accelerates off, like he's in a race with Bond rather than trying to capture him . . . !!!! Then there was the "funny" that neither Q nor any of his team would be able to program the entertainment system in 008's Aston DB10 . . . ? None of them could load a smeggin' playlist? PAH! And don't get me started on the idea of giving a SECRET Agent a one-of-a-kind prototype from Aston Martin when EVERY car enthusiast In The World has got a smart phone with an HD camera, the internet, and social media! SO STOOPID! (And Breathe! )

Off the top of my head, the only films I can think of that I regret not seeing in a cinema over the last 10 to 15 years, are probably "Interstellar" and "Rogue One". Maybe the two Dunes? (Although the desaturated Arrakis does make them look like they were filmed in a deserted cement works rather than the actual desert with the golden sand and stunning blue skies that we can see in the 'behind the scenes' featurettes . . . At least I can knock the saturation on my TV up to 150% of it's usual setting, and go some way to making Arrakis more pleasing to look at!) I'm SO glad I didn't directly contribute to, or in any way either give or appear to give support to any of the JarJar Abrams/Rian (spelt wrong) Johnson (SUCH an apt surname!) woefully disappointing Star Wars diarrhoea-fests.

With seemingly So few decent story-tellers working in Film or TV these days, and (apparently) even fewer execs who actually love & understand film-making in the studios, I'm afraid that even the so-called "Must See Blockbusters" are usually fairly unsatisfying, easily forgettable, luke-warm messes. Thank the Great Maker for the likes of Chris Nolan & Denis Villeneuve, I hope we see some more talented directors AND ESPECIALLY SOME MORE TALENTED WRITERS coming up soon.

[TreeTops]

Received a Regal Theater gift card this Christmas but nothing worth seeing so far in Jan 2026. (We looked up all the coming movies for Jan) We'll try again in Feb.

Good post TimA-C..We agree with you 100%.

[Seeker47]

. . .
With seemingly So few decent story-tellers working in Film or TV these days, and (apparently) even fewer execs who actually love & understand film-making in the studios, I'm afraid that even the so-called "Must See Blockbusters" are usually fairly unsatisfying, easily forgettable, luke-warm messes. Thank the Great Maker for the likes of Chris Nolan & Denis Villeneuve, I hope we see some more talented directors AND ESPECIALLY SOME MORE TALENTED WRITERS coming up soon.

"Why Modern Movies Suck" [part of a continuing series of concise video essays, covering various aspects of this topic]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vK1LY1KC_w