Would You Pay $20-$30 to Watch a New Movie at Home?

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-27/sony-warner-disney-said-to-plan-30-home-film-viewing-option.html' target='_blank'>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-...ing-option.html</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. and Walt Disney Co. are in talks with the largest cable TV systems to offer films for as much as $30 per showing soon after they run in theaters. The studios are talking with In Demand, a partnership of Cox Communications Inc., Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable Inc., Bob Benya, chief executive officer of In Demand, said in an interview. Disney is also discussing streaming films on Web- linked devices such as Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox console and Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3, people with knowledge of the talks said."</em></p><p>So would you pay $20 or $30 to watch a brand-new, just released to a theatre movie in the comfort of your own home? I'd might pay $20, because that's about the price of two movie tickets, but $30 would be a bit too much in my opinion. I have a nice Toshiba 72" TV coupled with a set of <a href="http://www.digitalhomethoughts.com/news/show/88803/orb-audio-do-these-small-speakers-measure-up.html" target="_blank">Orb Audio 5.1 speakers</a>, so my at home theatre experience is quite fulfilling. And, certainly, it's valuable for me to have the flexibility of watching a movie at home; no one talking behind me, no one kicking my seat, and (presumably) a pause button for bath room breaks. On the other hand, a 72" TV pales in comparison to the truly BIG SCREEN experience of a newer theatre rocking a digital projector.</p><p>Where do you weigh in on this? Would you pay $20 to watch a brand new movie at home?</p>

[Andy Dixon]

I like the idea, but I'm not sure about the price. I might pay $10-$15 as I usually go to the movies by myself or with friends, but most likely would watch this at home by myself. If it also came with subtitles then I would definitely be interested but I'm not sure I'd pay much more than the cost of a ticket and petrol to view it at home.

[Jason Dunn]

I like the idea, but I'm not sure about the price. I might pay $10-$15 as I usually go to the movies by myself or with friends, but most likely would watch this at home by myself. If it also came with subtitles then I would definitely be interested. I'm not sure I'd pay more for myself though.

Yeah, I didn't explain that part: I'd only pay $20 because I go to movies with a friend (and this friend would then pay me $10 for his half of the movie), or with my wife (so the cost ends up being the same. I would absolutely NOT pay $20 to watch a movie by myself at home. :cool:

[Tony Rylow]

I think this is a neat idea, but I certainly wouldn't do this often. Maybe with a group of friends over who all want to see something new. I rarely get out to the theaters to see a movie anyway - I usually just wait for the movie to come out on BluRay to buy it. With a watch-it-once cost the same or more as a BluRay, this really isn't a very good deal.

[Jon Childs]

If I could get the latest kids stuff I would do this every couple months. We usually end up taking the kids to see a movie maybe every other month or so. With 4 tickets, popcorn, candy etc we easily drop 60-70 bucks. My kids always want to sit in the way back in case the movie is too loud which means that my 120" front projector at home provides just about the same experience (not that they really care). Also, I could read a book or do something else while they were watching. Seems like a big win for me. Now if they can just get this rolling before Megamind comes out I will guarantee them one sale.

[sundown]

There is no way I'd do this. $10 is my maximum for watching at home and only for special new releases. Sure I'd pay a lot more to go to the theater but I'm not paying just to see a movie, I'm paying for the movie experience. We'll go have dinner and escape from home for a while, eat some overly expensive popcorn and then walk away from the movie and talk about it on the car ride home. If I don't see it in the theater, I don't mind waiting 4 months until I can get it from Netflix.

[crimsonsky]

Movie/TV watching isn't a large part of my life at all, so I'd definitely pass on this "deal". Typically I just wait until the movie is available on Netflix or if I REALLY want it, I'll buy the DVD when it comes out. There's nothing so compelling about any movie that I'd pay that price to see it when it first comes out.

[Jason Dunn]

If I could get the latest kids stuff I would do this every couple months. We usually end up taking the kids to see a movie maybe every other month or so. With 4 tickets, popcorn, candy etc we easily drop 60-70 bucks.

Sounds like you're the target market all right! :D

[gdoerr56]

Sounds like they're being greedy. I know the studios get less than 50% of an average ticket price so even if you assume first run movies at $9 per person they're getting less than $5 per ticket.

If you assume an average 2 to 4 person household, that's $10 to $20 per movie to the studio including distribution costs.

Call it $15 to $18 and I'm in....more than $20 and I'll wait until it shows up at Redbox or on Netflix.

Of course I haven't been to an actual theater in years.

[Rob Alexander]

I wouldn't pay anything for this service. I'm rarely in a hurry to see a particular movie, and my Netflix queue is about a hundred long, so I have plenty to keep me occupied while a new one works it's way through the channels. If they can figure out a way to make more money from their movies, then more power to them.

[Reid Kistler]

Am currently unwilling to pay $20 to OWN a movie - let alone $30 - and that includes Blu-ray releases: so the idea of coughing up $20 to simply RENT a movie sounds totally ridiculous! :confused:


OTOH, can easily see Jon's perspective: We usually end up taking the kids to see a movie maybe every other month or so. With 4 tickets, popcorn, candy etc we easily drop 60-70 bucks.

IF we still had a houseful of kids, a new-release rental - of something multiple kids were BEGGING to see - might be attractive: but, even then, only a few times per year.

Could also understand the concept of "Let's have a bunch of people over & have a Movie Party" having appeal to some of the younger folks: think several of our (mid-20s) kids would be willing to consider that. (People OUR age seem to be happy with just about any old movie we toss in! :D )