Why are movies becoming less popular

[4X4]

I don't go to many movies either. If its one that must be seen in theatre (like LOTR or ROTS) I am happy to pay for the big screen & awesome sound.
As for most of the rest of them, there's not much originality on the silver screen anymore. It seems like its all been done, y'know? In my head, I'm guessing the outcome. 6 or 7 times out of 10, I'm right.
The other reason I like to rent is because I can pause the flick for bathroom or refreshment breaks.

[Table 5]

the fact that most movies rely on special effects and hype, as opposed to strong story lines and good acting, really turns me off as well. CGI might have been a big deal 10 years ago, but the honeymoon is over. Movies really need to get back to what made them interesting in the first place.

[Radically Red]

To expensive.. Period.. If they charged less they just may see more folks going.

Its alot cheaper to Rent or order a movie from you cable company then it is to go see a flick.
or even download the movie. Not that that is the recommended practice :P

[Cowperson]

I'm a bit of a movie buff . . . . . but I go to only a couple in a theatre a year.

Its just inconvenient to go to a theatre at a time of their choosing and with satellite I have four movie stations alone. Eventually, they all find me.

A few weeks ago, with Mrs. Cowperson out of town, I rented five movies I needed to catch up on and watched them in a day.

I just don't need to see them in a theatre anymore at a fixed time and an admittedly stupendous price.

Cowperson

[Hakan]

The fade is on because paying $30 or $35 (minimum) to take youself and a date to see Mr. and Mrs. Smith, a totally rancid hell-movie you'll barely want to rent when it hits DVD next November or December, is a repugnant joke.

Gah, that movie was so awful. I was hoping for another light True Lies like movie but ended up with a unravelling convoluted mess that played on one joke for the duration of the movie. Not even those two super-babes could save that pile of trash.

As per why people don't go to movies, price is probably the number one reason. It has made seeing a movie less of an impulse date into a more planned and deliberated outing. When I was in Jr. High the price for students was like 4 bucks, if we were bored, we went to a movie because it was cheap. I really don't think movie quality has anything to do with it. Look at the popular movies, Mr and Mrs Smith (a total crap fest) handily beats Cinderella Man (of which I haven't seen but heard is quite good). North American audiences wouldn't know a good movie if it kicked 'em in the shin.

[habernac]

same as the music industry, they're hurting their own cause with ridiculous prices. Both the movies and the snacks (who you can't blame the movie folks for, or can you?) are way too expensive. I go to a few a year and watch more at home with rentals.

[the crispy badger]

remake after remake ..what movies do you think are going to be remade in 20 years that were originals from the last few years?

[Bill Bumface]

I'd say alot has to do with home theatre technology advances. You can watch a DVD on your massive projector at home, why pay?

[Resolute 14]

Originally posted by fotze@Jul 7 2005, 08:57 AM
http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/

The fade is on because older people don't like the prices and having to listen to bozos talk during the movie, along with those laughably absurd prices for popcorn and cokes and having to sit through those awful TV ads.

The fade is on because paying $30 or $35 (minimum) to take youself and a date to see Mr. and Mrs. Smith, a totally rancid hell-movie you'll barely want to rent when it hits DVD next November or December, is a repugnant joke.


Great quote. I think people can afford going to a movie but being ripped off just burns people. A small popcorn costing $6 bucks is affordable but it makes you just say 'fata you' to the company gouging you, which causes resentment.

I go to maybe 3 movies a year, used to go a lot more when they had the matinee prices.

IMO that is just an excuse.

Why is it that people dont like being ripped off in 2005, yet 2004 was a record setting year? Prices have not increased that much, if at all, from last year to this.

The problem is that nearly everything that has come out this year is crap.

[spydermal]

I actually find paying 11 or so dollars for a big screen and good sound to be fair. The thing that turns me off about movies is the price for pop and popcorn. No way in hell should it cost as much as a movie to have a snack. I also dont really have to deal with this. In drumheller my friend who works at the theatre lets us watch movies after hours all alone(with his boss' approval).

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

1. The prices are way to high. went to War of the Worlds as I toteled it up while I was there (the movie wasn't very good) and the cost of the tickets along with a drink and some popcord was $45.50 for two people. Movies used to be a cheap date thing, now I could go for a fairly nice meal for less than it would cost to go to a movie.
2. DVD/surround sound technology. Why not sit in the comforts of your own home and watch the movie. Be able to pause the movie to take a p*ss or get a beer or whatnot.
3. Just the hastle of it all - movie theaters now have almost nothing for parking I find unless you want to go for a hike to get in, waiting in line is never fun.
4. shinguardty movies - I can't think of any real great movies that have come out in 2005 that I have seen or heard about at least.
5. Advertisments - They suck on a small TV and they are worse on a large screen.

[Prototype]

Originally posted by Hakan@Jul 7 2005, 09:28 AM
Gah, that movie was so awful. I was hoping for another light True Lies like movie but ended up with a unravelling convoluted mess that played on one joke for the duration of the movie. Not even those two super-babes could save that pile of trash.

Personally, I enjoyed the movie, but I'm not here to argue that.

Basically Hollywood, music, entertainment in general is crap lately. People are more interested in sequels or the bottom dollar, and not making good, entertaining movies.

I agree with the comment that the honeymoon is over on CGI, but then again, it would have ruined the Spiderman franchise, and whatever wasn't ruined by Lucas in the latest Star Wars Trilogy. There's a time for it, and a time to not use it.

I admit, I have downloaded the occasional movie. I don't have the time, money, want, etc to go to the theater and watch the film. Most times, after I've downloaded it, I end up buying the DVD (sometimes for the same price as a night at the theater) and enjoy the special features as well.

Actors are making too much money, movie ideas are getting weaker and weaker, and we, the audience, are the only ones penalized with outlandish ticket prices, and having to sit through the film.

Hollywood needs an intervention. They need to realize this 19 week slump, or whatever it is, isn't a slump... it's a result of the way the market is. But when a movie costs 80 Million to make, and earns a boxoffice of 300 Million world wide, I don't see anything changing in the near future.

[Hakan]

5. Advertisments - They suck on a small TV and they are worse on a large screen.

This is the most annoying and aggravating thing about movies these days. I took my girlfriend to go see Batman Begins and we sat through 15 minutes of ads! Not only that but the ads themselves are presumptuous piles of trash passing themselves off as some cinematic masterpiece as if to go in with the theme of the movie theatre. They're long, loud, showy and intensely crappy. I hate the fact that I pay 12 bucks to see 15 minutes of ads. That's BS!

[Frank the Tank]

Originally posted by Table 5@Jul 7 2005, 11:07 AM
the fact that most movies rely on special effects and hype, as opposed to strong story lines and good acting, really turns me off as well. CGI might have been a big deal 10 years ago, but the honeymoon is over. Movies really need to get back to what made them interesting in the first place.

This sums up my thoughts to a tee. So many movies are just plain BAD and people flock to them because they have amazing effects. With todays technology, effects are not an exception, they are the standard and should be flawless, therefor making them have no weight as to whether or not I will see a movie in the theatre.

Star Wars 1 ruined the other two for me. Spider-Man 2 ruined all future Spidey movies for me. I'll never see 2 and 3 of Star Wars nor another Spidey/Hulk movie ever again.

And remakes are ruining Hollywood. Come up with something original already!!

[Prototype]

Originally posted by Hakan@Jul 7 2005, 10:26 AM
This is the most annoying and aggravating thing about movies these days. I took my girlfriend to go see Batman Begins and we sat through 15 minutes of ads! Not only that but the ads themselves are presumptuous piles of trash passing themselves off as some cinematic masterpiece as if to go in with the theme of the movie theatre. They're long, loud, showy and intensely crappy. I hate the fact that I pay 12 bucks to see 15 minutes of ads. That's BS!

I'm sure I'm not the only one, but what made it worse one of the last times I went to the movies was they showed the same ad twice. Not the powerpoint presentations or whatever... 2 ads for Alieve or whatever the crap it was.

[Clarkey]

I wonder what the cost breakdown is for each ticket sold? Does anybody have an idea? 11 bucks seems rediculously high but I wonder how much profit are they making off of that?

I buy tickets at AMA for $8 bucks which is a little better, but I doubt they are selling those at cost so there is at least 3-4 bucks of profit in the 11 dollar ticket.

Are we going to see smaller independent theaters popping up to undercut the Cineplex's high prices?

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Theaters are losing money with the tickets and only making money with the selling of popcorn and pop at huge markups. The movie companies just charge outragous amounts to rent the reels or whatever.

[Pagal4321]

Pretty much agree with the sentiments of the masses on this one.
Movies are just too expensive in my view, especially for the quality of movies being released. Remake after remake filled with senseless CGI, no plot line, etc.
Granted I'm one of those people who are etertained very easily (ie. don't dislike alot of movies)
But I will wait to rent the movies these days....and themarkup on the concessions is ######edly high.
I mean the cost to make a large bag of popcorn cannot excede $2 even with the "butter" on it. And they charge a good, what, $8 bucks for a large popcorn.

[JiriHrdina]

Well if the movie going experience isn't working for you its time to start supporting the local art houses more. (Globe, Plaza, Uptown in Calgary). Movies that actually have stories are shown and they don't have ads before the movie itself. Cheaper tickets and cheaper snacks too.

[Calgary Flames]

I think movie theaters are going down because for the price of a ticket, popcorn and a pop you could almost buy 2 dvd's... I almost never go to the theater anymore. I just buy dvd's and watch them on our 52" wide HDTV. Who needs a theater?