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Goodbye, movie theaters
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114 posts in this topic

1 hour ago, Joe Ankenbauer said:

 I didn't drink any liquids from when I got up until the end of the movie. And, lo and behold, I was able to make through the entire movie without needing a restroom break!

That was exactly what I did when I went to Avengers End Game movie. I avoid drinking during that time, and I had made sure I peed my  bladder to empty before I go. I succeeded watched the full movie, but the 3+ hours sitting does give me bit of pain in my legs.

That’s the reason I favor watching movies at home. That way I can pause it and go to bathroom whenever I need to. And to give my legs a shake up in excises.

some of you here mention the big screen being the reason to get the experience. For me, I am past that and am fine with my tv as it is. 

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i think the experience of going to the theater with one's kid or kids is still unique and a bit more special than watching a movie together at home, which i also love. but i do hope a few theaters survive until such time that most of us feel safe taking our children back to the movies. 

but overall i agree with you, in most ways i prefer the home experience for myself. i cant sit for 2 hours without a pee, either. 

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I’ve been over the movie experience for awhile now but the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back was when I had to sit next to an autistic kid who rocked back and forth and hooted every few minutes during Avengers Endgame.  Add to that all of the people on their phones, and the theater experience has been forever damaged.  

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5 hours ago, HighVoltage said:

It's a little bit of a toss-up for me.

I love my tv and sound system. I can stretch out my legs and eat whatever I want and pause the show whenever I want.

But I do love the social aspect of the theater (most of the time!)

One of the best theater experiences recently was in the last Avengers movie when Captain America picks up Thor's hammer and goes toe-to-toe with Thanos.
The cheers and calls from the crowd were awesome and goose-bump inducing. Just a great theater moment.

Agreed. I love going to theaters by myself in the middle of the day.  I love popcorn and just getting away to enjoy a movie outside of the house.  When we hit 2024 and we feel  safe to go out again, I'll gladly head back to the theaters.

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When I was a kid, me and a buddy would see several movies a week at the theaters in the Detroit suburbs, especially double feature Saturdays. In college date night was a trip to the movies. When I graduated from college, my first job was Asst manager of an AMC multiplex in the Chicago area. (100s of movies a year for free and all the stale popcorn you could eat).

We now live in a rural area with an AMC 10 plex. We rarely go, preferring to wait until the bd comes out. None of this standing in the line to buy a ticket at the concession stand while somebody buys tubs of 4000 calorie popcorn. I don't want to pay extra on a monthly basis to get a seat quicker. I can buy the bd for the price of two tickets and not have to worry about the people around us.

Do some movies need to be seen at the theater? Yes. I'd love to see NO TIME TO DIE or THE BATMAN on the big screen. But we can wait if we have to.

Edited by evilskip
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18 hours ago, valiantman said:

I've seen hundreds of movies in the theater in my lifetime. 

They were a "giant color screen" when I had a small black and white television.

They were a delicious popcorn-with-butter snack before everyone had a microwave.

They had booming sounds all around us when television sets had two speakers on the left.

They gave a group a friends a way to see something "new" which couldn't be seen anywhere else for months.

Yes, it was a problem when you needed to go to the bathroom during the movie, but you tried to make it through or make it quick.

Yes, sometimes the people around you needed to be quieter.

Yes, there might be bad seats left if you got there late.

Yes, it cost too much money for the food.

 

Movies in a theater compared to movies at home in 2020 are not even close to being exciting.

There WILL be some loud people who won't shut up in a theater.

The food WILL cost more than anywhere else on the planet.

The seats WILL be less than the best.

The movie WILL keep playing while you're in the bathroom.

 

All of those problems are easily fixed watching movies at home. 

The television at home is high-definition, full color, with surround sound and a big screen.

The food is as good as you want it to be for a reasonable price. 

You can pause the movie for bathroom breaks or the pizza delivery.

Pay to stream a new movie and there's no months of waiting.

Invite friends over, if you want to.

 

It's sad for the memories and theaters themselves, but every better thing about movies today is true of my own house.

There's just no reason to go back to theaters... ever.

This post started out great, I thought you were a champion for theaters!

Honestly Covid has tried to destroy our way of life. I've saw one movie in theaters this year Tenat, and I honestly miss the theaters, all the aforementioned problems can be rectified.

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Movie stars get paid too much. Who really needs more than 10 million bucks to survive? Allocate money properly so everyone has a chance to thrive. If the theater biz crashing hurts them, so be it. I honestly don't have sympathy. 

I get the nostalgia of the theater. But it has gone. Theatres have done nothing to change the experience. They are still the same (injecting a couple rows of premium seats for people to pay more and charging $10 for a bag of popcorn does not help your cause). Things change. Theatres have not which is why they are destined to continue to fall. They may not disappear but they will never be what they once were. 

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I would much rather watch 8-10 one hour episodes of a TV show on a platform like Netflix than spend 2.5 hours in a theater. The reward for a great movie just is not there, whereas with show being released the way they are, I can control the pace and generally, they contain a lot more quality acting and storytelling than is crammed into 2.5 hours.

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21 hours ago, valiantman said:

I've seen hundreds of movies in the theater in my lifetime. 

They were a "giant color screen" when I had a small black and white television.

They were a delicious popcorn-with-butter snack before everyone had a microwave.

They had booming sounds all around us when television sets had two speakers on the left.

They gave a group a friends a way to see something "new" which couldn't be seen anywhere else for months.

Yes, it was a problem when you needed to go to the bathroom during the movie, but you tried to make it through or make it quick.

Yes, sometimes the people around you needed to be quieter.

Yes, there might be bad seats left if you got there late.

Yes, it cost too much money for the food.

 

You forgot the top movie theatre experience:

The thrill of making out in public with your boyfriend/girlfriend in the back row while trying to be as quiet as possible. 

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2 hours ago, comicginger1789 said:

Movie stars get paid too much. Who really needs more than 10 million bucks to survive? Allocate money properly so everyone has a chance to thrive. If the theater biz crashing hurts them, so be it. I honestly don't have sympathy. 

I get the nostalgia of the theater. But it has gone. Theatres have done nothing to change the experience. They are still the same (injecting a couple rows of premium seats for people to pay more and charging $10 for a bag of popcorn does not help your cause). Things change. Theatres have not which is why they are destined to continue to fall. They may not disappear but they will never be what they once were. 

:sick:

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50 minutes ago, kimik said:

You forgot the top movie theatre experience:

The thrill of making out in public with your boyfriend/girlfriend in the back row while trying to be as quiet as possible. 

I've been old enough to drive to a nice quiet spot for about 30 years (and I've been married for 23 of those years), so I don't remember this "top movie experience" you're describing.  Sounds like pathetic option even for a tween, actually. lol

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I really like to go to movies for the enjoyment of doing something different in a different environment.  Watching movies at home on the 65" tv is great but it really pales compared to the thrill of watching a movie on opening weekend.  There are some negatives but the popcorn tastes better - candy tastes sweeter - just a great way to get out of the house for a few hours and recharge.  I'll really miss theaters if they go the way of the dodo.

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11 hours ago, PopKulture said:

But it saddens me to write that if fewer theatres going forward means hearing fewer lectures from people like George Clooney and Mark Ruffalo, then a diminished Hollywood is that much a lighter loss for me. 

totally agree

hollyweird actors and actresses when offscreen are totally turning off millions of those of us who previously loved going to the theater. i will never watch a johnny depp movie again

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I don't miss theaters in general, but there are maybe two dozen blockbusters I feel absolutely privileged to have seen on the big screen. These include:

  • Ghostbusters
  • Batman ('89)
  • T2
  • Jurassic Park
  • Titanic
  • Lord of the Rings trilogy
  • Gladiator
  • Inception
  • Interstellar
  • Gravity
  • Avengers
  • Wonder Woman
  • Alien (re-release)
  • Lawrence of Arabia (re-release)
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12 minutes ago, Gatsby77 said:

I don't miss theaters in general, but there are maybe two dozen blockbusters I feel absolutely privileged to have seen on the big screen. These include:

  • Ghostbusters
  • Batman ('89)
  • T2
  • Jurassic Park
  • Titanic
  • Lord of the Rings trilogy
  • Gladiator
  • Inception
  • Interstellar
  • Gravity
  • Avengers
  • Wonder Woman
  • Alien (re-release)
  • Lawrence of Arabia (re-release)

That's a pretty awesome list!

 

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