It sounds like we would make great movie buddies! You know, if theaters survive and there are theaters to go to in 2 years.
There’s usually between 15-20 minutes of previews after the listed movie time so I usually arrive about 15 minutes “late”. For blockbusters during busy times or the first few weeks it’ll go longer so I’ll shoot for 20-25 minutes late.
Movies are averaging over two hours now it feels like. Even “simple” action movies. I don’t want to sit in a theater seat for approaching 3 hours, so I don’t. In and out. Makes me feel good, but I don’t care one lick about previews.
I’m also chronically late but even so I’ve only missed the first couple minutes of maybe two movies in the last 30 or so? I had the movie pass thing from AMC over the summer so I went a lot.
If I were still going to regular theaters, I’d always aim to skip trailers, not because I am not interested in seeing what’s coming up, but because every second until the trailers start is absolutely packed with obnoxious non-movie advertising and I’ve found they now find the time to stick a couple of those in around the trailers as well. This kind of advertising is why I stopped watching television, and it would turn me right off moviegoing as well. Thankfully, the Alamo instead has fun hand-curated video content related to the movie that’s airing as the preroll, such that we actively enjoy getting there well ahead of the start time.
In other news, MN has now mandated all movie theaters in the state close for the time being, along with restaurants, bars, and so on. At least the Alamo is suspending my season pass until they’re open again.
All Alamos closed this morning, too.
This would be a great time for one of those “buy one get 3 free” events for 4K blu ray players and blue ray disks. I can’t imagine 4K blu ray are selling all that well.
I don’t quite follow this…if the cinema is empty, who is there to stop you moving seats? Maybe it’s different there but we don’t have attendants at quiet times any more…and even at busy times it’s often two people taking tickets at the start of the cinema area and no one at the actual cinema rooms.
I think that what he’s saying is that the seats are already booked, the other people just haven’t arrived yet.
Oh duh
Yeah, and they have added the luxury seating and removed seats to fit them in. The theaters in the complexes don’t hold as many now. You can’t with any confidence move into empty seats.
My cinemas locally you have assigned seats but you always get to pick them so you at least know where you are sitting, if there are only crappy options left I don’t book
Is there any cinema that assigns you a seat you didn’t pick? I would never go to such a place!
All of these are 55" 4K TVs which support HDR for under $400 US. That’s an enormous screen that’s probably pretty decent. Sure, it’s no $3,000 US OLED TV, but they will all be way better value than the 13% of the cost they represent there.
I think in the last few years the value of low end TVs has basically exploded, and the size of TVs has exploded as well. Price is no longer a factor in TV size and actually very small TVs that are good, something less than 40", actually go up in price again. The average consumer doesn’t need some $10k custom home theater investment like the good old days to watch films and television content in a very acceptable way closer to an actual cinema than ever before.
- 55" TV’s do not fit in most typical English homes
- A TV speaker is in no way a replacement for a theatre sound system when it comes to immersion. And, again, standing speakers and so on are hard to fit in a UK house.
- Noise and light isolation aren’t close to similar. We also tend to live a lot more in semi detached or terraced houses (or apartments) where noise is a consideration.
I know some people have the space and means to create really cool video set ups. I did before I had kids. Pity that was in the era of DVD and when 32" screens were considered huge. But nothing in my home replaces the cinema experience right now. It wouldn’t fit and it would be an expense I can’t afford.
Don’t assume that everybody can have that experience at home because some here can.
There used to be, if you bought tickets at the cinema they just auto allocated. I don’t buy on the door ever as I like to choose my seats
That’s all true. Before kids I had a 32" tv and a Sony 7.1 system and it took up a lot of room but once kids arrived that went by the by. I have a 42" and a Sound plate these days, not a patch on what I used to have.
Additionally in the UK a lot of properties are semi detached or terraced meaning you cannot have it that loud without annoying the neighbors.
Indeed. Kids, eh? What are they good for? :)
And good call on the noise. I was just editing my message to add that too.
Hehe, we are trying to move atm, not likely to happen but my next place is having a stand alone games room / tv console area.
I am having a decent sound system in it :)
I don’t want “restaurants,” I want that Japanese place down the street that makes okonomiyaki, and there’s absolutely no guarantee that if they go bankrupt someone else who does the same will take their place. In fact, it’s virtually guaranteed to not happen. The interesting places will likely be the hardest hit and the hardest to replace if they go under.
Iowa just closed all theaters from today until March 31st, so that won’t help matters.
Honestly, if the move goes from “theaters” to “release dates allow for digital streaming at $15-20 per film” or something, that might end up being chaper. It costs me $60 for 4 tickets right now to take the family to see something we all want to see, but if we could stream it for $20, even $30? Hell yeah. We can pause it, not deal with people talking or putting bare feat up on the seat next to us (that has happened!), have our own snacks and maybe even like order a pizza or something? Fuck yes. I’d be all in.
It’s not my intent to downplay the effect on other industries, especially restaurants. I’m going to miss local restaurants that don’t make it through this far more than any theaters or particular movies.
But at an industry level, restaurants will still exist, and they’ll come back in some form. There’s not a competing “technology” for eating socially that’s just been waiting in the wings to disrupt dining.
That’s the situation theaters are in.
Another example of my situation and preferences being the complete opposite of the average person. I almost always see movies alone, I almost always see movies in a near-empty theater, half the reason I go is the snacks, etc. For me, a worse experience in every way but more expensive. I understand I’m in the minority, of course.