People Prefer Movies at Home over the Theater

[James Fee]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.designtechnica.com/article7695.html' target='_blank'>http://news.designtechnica.com/article7695.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Could it be the whining children, the ringing cell phones or the annoying kids sitting in front of you? Or could it be the high ticket prices. A new poll by the AP and AOL showed that 75% percent of those questioned prefer to watch movie in the comfort of their own home. With HDTV television prices falling and movie ticket prices rising, this only makes sense right? According to an article at AudioVideo Revolution, Hollywood is suffering one of their worst slumps in history, despite record sales by movies like Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. And because of movie services like Netflix and Blockbuster Online, people can rent movies without ever leaving their home."</i><br /><br />I saw my first movie at the theater in a couple years last week. I've been busy with my son being born and just not having time to go. I couldn't believe how much it has changed. If I have to sit and watch 10 commercials before even the trailers start, why should I bother. Give my my Netflix and PPV and I'll stay home and watch on my 65" HDTV. I don't mind spending $10 on movie, but don't show me ads for Viagra. :x

[Chris Gohlke]

Amen, for about 5 years now, I've only gone to the theater for movies with Star Wars or Star Trek in the title. I enjoy watching movies on my home theater much better. By the time my wife and I pay for tickets to the theater, we can wait six months and own the DVD. That said, I am breaking my own rule later this week to go see Batman (only because someone gave me a theater GC as a gift and it is about to expire). Another benefit is that you can pause the movie for a bathroom break or rewind if you missed something.

[BugDude10]

That Viagra ad hittin' a little too close to home for ya, Jimbo? :wink:

Actually, my biggest problem with movies at the theater is just that, sometimes, the movie is too dark. Most of the movies I've seen recently have been cartoons (for my 6-year-old, honest), and this hasn't been a problem; but when I saw The Matrix too much of it was too dark to see what was going on.

Now, I saw Episode III a week ago, on a screen with DLP, and it was very sharp and bright. From now on, if I'm looking at a new movie (that isn't a cartoon), I'll be looking for a DLP show.

As much as I enjoy watching movies in the comfort of my own home, there's still something about seeing a big movie on a really big screen. With DLP, my biggest problem with the theater may have disappeared.

Just my $0.02.

[Philip Colmer]

Maybe its something about your cinemas ... :D.

My wife &amp; I love going to the cinema ... so long as there is something decent to watch. If I have a complaint, it is that they don't have enough large screens. It has got to be a large screen to make it wortwhile IMO.

I'm going to upgrade my TV next year to an HD set, possibly 50" - not likely to be bigger than that. I've already got a surround sound system and we love watching DVDs, but even with all of the gadgets &amp; technology that we've got, the cinema still has a lot to offer.

--Philip

[Kent Pribbernow]

The reason for this trend is three-fold. One aspect is that it's simply easier, convenient, and more cost effective to purchase or rent DVDs and watch them from the comfort of your own home.

Another aspect is that consumer electronics has taken video entertainment to unprecedented new heights. Today many consumers have their own home theater systems and entertainment systems that rival movie theaters; spacious widescreen TVs, kick ass surround sounds speakers, etc. Combine that with nice fat comfy chair in place of those uncomfortable fold down movie theater chairs and you can see why people would rather stay home.

Finally, I think the biggest reason is the quality of entertainment these days. Perhaps I'm just getting older and wiser (or just more of a curmudgeon) but movies today suck! Even the "good" movies are poor quality (Episode III being a shining example). The movie industry is a classic example of technology having a detrimental impact on quality. Every new movie that comes out seems to use CGI and special effects in place of well written plots and script. Again, Episode III is an example of this issue. The acting was terrible. Characters were wooden, dialog seemed written by high school students, and every single blessed scene had a million things going on in the background. In scenes where Obi-Wan would interact with another character in discussion, speeders would be zooming across the screen. It was like a whole 'nother movie going on in the background. I don't know if Hollywood thinks our attention spans are so short that we need constant "stimulation', but it completely wrecks the movie experience. Episode III sucked, and I see the same cookie cutout creative style being applied to all big budget films these days. I don't even want to see War Of The Worlds because the trailers all give me ominous dread that yet another over cooked movie is coming down the pike.

Wanna know something really freaky? Lately I've taken a fondness to old classics from the 40s and 50s. The acting and scripts are a thousand times better than today's feature films. Compare classics like North By Northwest to a modern suspense thriller and you see a gulf in terms of quality.

[puithove]

I also haven't been to the theater in quite a while. I only go when I get free tickets. Bombarding me with 15 minutes of Ads while I'm a captive audience member is not the way to get me to come back. Give me a nice evening at home on the big-screen where I can enjoy the clean floors, no screaming brats, and the pause button when I have to pee.

[AKBishop]

Call me crazy, but I love going to the theaters just to watch the commercials and previews. If I can, I'll get there early for "the twenty". Oddly enough, I hate watching commercials during TV shows.

that aside, I prefer watching movies at home where I can relax on the couch with my wife and dog. I've got a decent surround sound system (no frills, but it works. :-) and am happy with my 27" HDTV.

Thanks to Blockbuster's mail-order rental program, we've been able to watch a lot more movies than going to the theater. And their service is great, I mail a DVD off and within 2-3 business days, another one shows up in my mailbox.

[Jason Dunn]

It's an interesting chain of events - you have actors demanding $30 million dollar salaries, bloated movie companies with sky-high expenses, expensive CGI budgets, and a very competative marketplace where everyone is trying to out-spend everyone else. That results in expensive movie tickets, theatres that don't/won't invest money in comfortable seats, digital screens, etc. The net result is a turn-off for consumers - Ashley and I only go see movies that we think NEED to be seen on the big screen to be fully appreciated. That usually means big actioin movies, which means only a few a year. I really enjoyed seeing Batman Begins on the big screen, but my butt was numb after 30 minutes because of the horrible seats in the movie theatre. Doh! 8O

[socrates63]

With HDTV television prices falling and movie ticket prices rising, this only makes sense right?
The reason for this trend is three-fold. One aspect is that it's simply easier, convenient, and more cost effective to purchase or rent DVDs and watch them from the comfort of your own home.
No, that's not what the poll results indicate. Before you think that DVDs and home theaters are cannabalizing theater ticket sales, read the following excerpt from "Pass the microwave popcorn: Poll says we prefer movies at home" by Will Lester (Associated Press):

But the poll found that people who use DVDs, watch pay-per-view movies on cable, download movies from the Internet and play computer games actually go to movies in theaters more than people at the same income levels who don't use those technologies. That suggests the technology may be complementing rather than competing with theatergoing. Eight in 10 in the poll said they have DVD players at home.

Basically, people who love movies want it any which way they can get it.

It's the other factors, some already mentioned by posts above, that are contributing to lackadaisical ticket sales. In my case, before I had kids, I use to go to a theater regularly on a monthly basis. More than any other factor, changes in my personal life, namely having kids and raising a family, have kept me away from the theater for the past four, five years.

[jizmo]

Finally, I think the biggest reason is the quality of entertainment these days. Perhaps I'm just getting older and wiser (or just more of a curmudgeon) but movies today suck!

This kind of generalisation is very easy to make. You think of ALL the movies made in the past and then compare them to few bad mainstream films made in latest years, like Charlies Angels, Hitch, Bad Boys or any movie with Will Smith or Ben Stiller in 'em. I can assure you as a film freak that in 1985 your average movie wasn't any better. In fact, most of them are even sillier and inept than current films.

(I'm a huge fan of those cheesy 80's horror / comedy movies, though)

It's pretty much the same thing that's going on with music. You can't usually take a main-stream film, which has been planned out for main-stream audience (romantic comedies come to mind first) and expect it to suit your taste. Like in music, you have to dig in deeper.

I personally think we've had some amazing movies in the past few years, like Motorcycle Diaries, Lilja-4-ever, Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, The Pianist, 21 grams and Mystic River come off top of my head. Even many "main"-mainstream movies are suprisingly good lately, like The Incredibles, Sin City etc.

Therefore, I think stating that movies of today suck seriously lacks any perspective.

/jizmo

[Crocuta]

I love the huge screen for movies that call for it visually, but absolutely hate the imposition of other people around me. I don't know how the tallest person in the theater always knows to sit right in front of me, nor how they arrange it that all the other seats are gone before he does. I also don't know how the kids who like to kick backs of seats always know where I'm sitting so they can get behind me, but they do.

That's mostly why I rarely go to the theater any more. I have a beautiful 52" HD TV and a surround sound system and it's just nicer in my home.

On the other hand, I just saw Star Wars III in the theater. It was the first movie I've been to since moving to Virginia about two years ago. In this case, though, it was great. College classes were over, but regular schools weren't, so I went on a Tuesday at noon and there were no more than a dozen people in the theater. It was all adults and we each had our own little space. I thoroughly enjoyed going to the theater for the first time in many years.

Nevertheless, I'll wait for the DVD for the other new movies I'd like to see. That was the exception, not the rule.

[yoda2u]

try this: www.iwatchnow.com The site will be active soon.

[jeffd]

Hmm, pretty messed up poll. I can understand why people who arnt tecnology driven don't go out to the movies much, they don't care much for the tv thing. However the poll seems to contradict 2 proven trends...

#1 the number of users buying dvds, tivos, HDTVs, renting from netflix, and surfing the net using broad band is increasing..

#2 the number of people going to the theatres is DECREASING, box office sales are at an all time low, even WITH big hits like batman begins in the box office. And it has nothing to do with pirates.


I much prefer watching my movies at home, not only out of convienence.. but the assurance that I will not dislike the movie due to factors not of the movies control. This can be from a) out of focus projectors, b) screens with visual blemishes and bad repair jobs, c) audio systems that are too loud and have crappy EQ settings, creating a bad balance between bass and treble (most movies sound like they are in mono except for a few well places sound effects, thanks to the speakers being positioned either behind the screen, or dead center above it), d) bad theatre temperatures, e) smelly theatres, f) noisy people, g) pain in the ass to bring food in unless you wanna pay 12 bucks for a pop corn and small soda (soda? yuck!).

[kiwi]

yeah, I went to the movies here in Toronto last week. For us single dudes, its still a viable option when dating.. :? I just about died when told the price for 2 adults to see Mr &amp; Mrs Smith was $CA29.00 8O !!!

Thats before we got to the candybar! :cry:

... at least there were explosions and car chases in the flick :wink: that kinda made up for it..

b.

oh yeah, we get the Viagra Ads as well here!