Movie Theaters Go Big to Compete with Online Videos

Hmmm, lets see

Movie = $10
Popcorn = $6
Soda = $4
Bottled Water = $5

So that's $25 just for one person. Times two if you're taking a date.

$50.

Now, suppose you had to take a piss after all of those fluids. Well, guess what hotshot? They aren't going to stop the movie for you just because you've got a bladder the size of a peanut. So now you have to go back the next day to see the movie again because now you have no idea what the hell is going on. That's another $25. Taking a date? Add $25.

All in total Inglorious Basterds is going to run you anywhere from $75-$100.

Makes $30 Bluray movies almost worth it.
 
Is there some kind of rule that you have to buy popcorn and soda when you go to the movies?

Obviously, that is where they rape you. If you don't buy anything but the movie ticket, you can squeeze by on just $10
 
I usually sneak in a camelback bladder with about 1.5 liters of water and some droewors (google them, they're delicious) when I go to the movies.
 
I don't know if any of you have been to an IMXA movie, but for $14, it's completely worth it. NO living room home theater in a box is going to come anywhere near close to that experience.
 
bonsai said:
I don't know if any of you have been to an IMXA movie, but for $14, it's completely worth it. NO living room home theater in a box is going to come anywhere near close to that experience.
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I disagree with you, Sir. It depends if the movie playing in the IMAX was filmed with special cameras or not. If it wasn't and they are just showing a regular version of Lion King or Matrix, it looks like crap, especially on 40 foot high screens!:rolleyes:
 
Watching stuff at home is fine, but getting out of the house is better. And in what world do you guys live in that you pay $35-$40 for 2 people? Who actually buys concession food? You're concerned about getting ripped off yet you pay for theatre food? Really?
 
myndcrime said:
Is there some kind of rule that you have to buy popcorn and soda when you go to the movies?

Obviously, that is where they rape you. If you don't buy anything but the movie ticket, you can squeeze by on just $10
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mustang_steve said:
I usually sneak in a camelback bladder with about 1.5 liters of water and some droewors (google them, they're delicious) when I go to the movies.
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Seriously? Choose between bending over for a soda and a snack, watching the movie thirsty, or the anxiety of bootlegging and the ensuing embarrassment if caught? :rolleyes:
 
Recently I have been going to my local drive-in. I find my vehicles seats are much more comfortable than the local theatre, and they can recline nearly flat. My cars sound system is decent and I am able to set the sound to the level I want, and fine tune the audio if I need to. I can control the temperature of my vehicle and there is an element of privacy which is missing from the theatre.

I was really surprised with how much the drive-in experience has improved. The same day movies are released in theaters, they are at my local drive-in. My GF and I spent 20$ total, to see G.I. Joe and Transformers 2, the last time we went, and we didn't take advantage of the 3 bucks off, each ticket, by wearing PJs. The only downside I see, is that at certain angles the screen can appear dim, it would be nice if they could boost the brightness or improve viewing angles.

I really think theaters would benefit from private and semi-private box seating. It would be great to have a room for a couple to watch a movie, or a larger space to watch with friends, and be able to comment and not disturb others.
 
bonsai said:
lol
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LOL what?

You're the blind and retarded one if you think it takes 25k of gear to match your average commercial cinema's quality.

You're never going to be able to touch the really great setups, like the leicester square theater, but the average AMC/National Showcase is garbage.

For the film based theaters, the amount of dust and artifacts is simply ridiculous. Add in the terrible focus and convergence issues. Plus the fact that someone is always bitching that the volume is too soft or too loud (which leads to incorrect volume). To top it off, unless you get the perfect seat in the house, you're not going to be at proper THX viewing distance or angle. Don't forget that you're never going to have truly good blacks because of the high amount of ambient lighting.

I hate to break it to you, but with the following equipment you can FAR SURPASS the quality of both audio and video of 95% of local cinemas in the comfort of your own home:

Decent 720p/1080p projector
DIY black velvet/blackout cloth Screen
Marantz SR4003 Receiver
JVC XV-BP1 Bluray player (let's see a cinema do DTS-MA or TRUE-HD...audio)
Elemental Designs subwoofer (THX reference levels down to 18hz)
Any number of good speakers

That can EASILY be done for just a few grand. In my theater I sit at the optimal THX viewing angle, have TOTAL control of ambient lighting, have my sound system calibrated to THX reference levels AT MY EXACT SEATING POSITION, am free of the dust/artifacts/focusing/convergence issues that theaters have, etc, etc.

There's just no possible way that an intelligent person could say that a 5k home theater has less audio/video quality than your average commercial theater. Hell, the nearest AMC around here hasn't even replaced their two blown out JBL surrounds in over two months.
 
You can't get decent speakers for a few grand let alone an entire setup, plus remodeling your living for lighting, acoustics etc. $5,000 is a joke. And has been mentioned here earlier no home theater is going to reproduce an IMAX theater.
 
bonsai said:
You can't get decent speakers for a few grand .
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You're so wrong. And don't tell me I don't know what I'm talking about - I had a $3000 headphone setup.

Grado RS-1
Melos SHA-Reference Maestrobator (modified it myself with blackgates and auricaps)
Electrocompaniet EDC-1
99.999% pure silver litz braid cables with HGA Rhodium connectors.
 
Hulk said:
Last time I went to the theater it was to see "Terminator Salvation" and they must have had the sound system turned on 50 out of 10.
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Salvation was just very heavily compressed. Odds are your theater had their end right.
 
quixotic said:
Seriously? Choose between bending over for a soda and a snack, watching the movie thirsty, or the anxiety of bootlegging and the ensuing embarrassment if caught? :rolleyes:
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Lol, if you eat and drink before you go, you should be fine. And drinking a lot just means you have to go wee during the movie.

Or you could make friends with someone who works there, get in for free, and bring your own food... until they find a girlfriend and start taking her instead of you
 
gwarren007 said:
By your own admission, you would rather spend money on a movie you deem not worth watching, and be happy you overpaid to do it.
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Not sure what you meant?

I can't see a movie for free before I pay for it, so how do I know what is worthy before I see it?

But I paid about $13 to see all three this summer. Have no real plans to see any of them again.

Can hardly rent 'em for that price. Can't buy them for that price.

If they made movies worth watching, the home theater would be the better bargain.

But, I wouldn't get ~$2,000 worth's of usage out of it myself. But I wouldn't spend $2,000 at a regular theater, either.

So, the theater's still cheaper if you don't watch movies much.

If I did, I'd have a home theater.

Obviously people are still going to the movies, but I know I could never come up with 900 movies worth watching.

But for someone who can, it would save money.

(Although at one movie a weekend to watch, it would take 18 years anyway to watch 900 movies... I wonder how much tech would have changed in a generation? Let's see, 18 years ago was still primarily VHS with some laserdisc, so I guess you must be watching a lot of movies to make it worth it...)

Hmph, now I'm not sure which side of the argument I'm on...

I do know at the theater you can see some nice eye candy before the show even starts...
 
$7.50 for movie
$5.00 for popcorn
$4 for water
-----------------
16.50 for one person and for two add another $7.50


It's not that bad. Imax is well worth he $13
 
The one other thing that would be really nice is if the theaters and studios stopped charging so much for their crap. Digital distribution and equipment is supposed to ultimately lower ticket prices since you don't have to put in all that extra time and money getting the physical media, cut and tape the film together, get a projectionist and deal with sending the media back.
 
the theaters by me don't even have surround sound. Or if they do, they don't turn it the fuck on.

I'm sorry but I'm not paying $10 a ticket plus $15 in food to deal with 2.1 sound. I can do that right in front of my PC just fine.
 
myndcrime said:
The thing is, everyone will be talking about a movie that just came out, and you're sitting there waiting for it to come out on blu-ray, and you don't know what the hell they're talking about.

I'll pay $10.50 to see a movie that I REALLY want to see if it means I don't have to wait 4 or 5 months to see it.
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I have noticed that the time passes quickly...

Before I know it, it's out on blu-ray... And I still can't seem to be bothered to watch it...

Last movie I was impatient to have hit the market for home viewing was Gran Torino (I actually had to look up the name, it was that memorable...), as word-of-mouth was good... Watched it, and wished I had spent the time watching a quality anti-gang film like American History X instead... Oh, well...

At least it's the final time I have to watch Clint in front of the camera! Bon voyage!
 
there is a movie theater that opened up a couple years ago in downtown bellevue wa... its really nice. digital screens. great sound. just saw Inglorious Bastards and couldnt ask for a better experience, the screen was sooo big and so clear. oh man...

so many haters here. i love the theaters, i usually go to the last showings of the night, less people. and i dont buy anything at the concession, popcorn is overrated... and too expensive lol

and people that have to go to the bathroom during a movie crack me up, especially men, iv never once had to go to the bathrom during a movie.. its only a 2hour ordeal come on..
 
bonsai said:
You can't get decent speakers for a few grand let alone an entire setup
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Actually, you can. It's even easier if you have the ability to build them yourself, which is what I'm doing. Did the 7 channel mains last month, and the subwoofer is just about to come together now too. Had to wait forever for the driver to come back in stock.

So far, I'm about $950 Canadian into my upgrade. That includes a Pioneer VSX-919AH receiver, the 7 main speakers, and the 18" Mach 5 IXL sub driver. I have about $700 to go before it's all done (sub amp, wood, subsonic filter). It already rivals the local DVD theater and blows the film theater and its mono sound gear from the 70's right out of the water.

The only thing is, I won't have the big screen. Ceiling is too low for a budget projector, so I'm hoping to go plasma at some point. For the big screen, I'll just head over to the DVD theater.

I do wish there was a decent film theater nearby, but there just isn't :(
 
Ryle said:
there is a movie theater that opened up a couple years ago in downtown bellevue wa... its really nice. digital screens. great sound. just saw Inglorious Bastards and couldnt ask for a better experience, the screen was sooo big and so clear. oh man...

so many haters here. i love the theaters, i usually go to the last showings of the night, less people. and i dont buy anything at the concession, popcorn is overrated... and too expensive lol

and people that have to go to the bathroom during a movie crack me up, especially men, iv never once had to go to the bathrom during a movie.. its only a 2hour ordeal come on..
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Ya, where I live, there's a lot of quality movie theaters. The only bad ones are the dollar theaters...

Just buy your movie ticket, and don't buy anything else. Not even a candy bar!!
 
I have quite a bit invested in my home theater. More than anyone else I know, and I'm sure less than a few people on here. While it is definately fun to screen movies at home with a bunch of friends. In my opinion there is no replacement for seeing a quality movie in the theater. I also love seeing them on Imax.

On a side note. It bothers me a lot when people carry on and on that the future of movie distribution will be downloadable content. I want the biggest, least compressed format possible. You may not be able to notice a difference on your 40" VIZIO, but I can assure you it is quite noticible to me.
 
12 Axes said:
On a side note. It bothers me a lot when people carry on and on that the future of movie distribution will be downloadable content. I want the biggest, least compressed format possible. You may not be able to notice a difference on your 40" VIZIO, but I can assure you it is quite noticible to me.
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The future is already here. All new mainstream theaters are using digital projectors and any IMAX movie of course is digital.

They use cine grade codecs so that they get the highest quality possible.

I know that the bigger movie theater franchises use satellite distribution methods to get their content and everything else is pretty much automated for the most part.

The only places that aren't digital are the crappy theaters that can't afford the upgrade or still have 35mm projectors because their distributors don't deliver digitally.
 
12 Axes said:
On a side note. It bothers me a lot when people carry on and on that the future of movie distribution will be downloadable content. I want the biggest, least compressed format possible. You may not be able to notice a difference on your 40" VIZIO, but I can assure you it is quite noticible to me.
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THIS. I'm so sick of hearing all the people raving over "netflix hd streaming". I'm sorry, but netflix HD isn't even as good as DVD.
 
I don't mind digital projection in theaters. I'm sure the quality is still all there in the theaters. There is no reason for them to compress the films to the point where they lose quality. They would be shooting themselves in the foot if they did so.

However, on the consumer side they will compress the crap out of the films to save on bandwidth and increase download times. Just look at DirecTV with their hdlite mpeg4 boxes. They compress the crap out of their 1080i and have the nerve to call their picture quality the best. I was a loyal directv customer for many years until fios recently became available in my area. While I am already missing the Sunday Ticket and vastly superior DVR. The picture quality with the mpeg2 fios box is markedly improved.
 
The "lengthy, pre-show advertising" is why I don't go to movies. The movie industry is the only one to continually raise prices to make up for losing customers. Not to mention over half of all the movies made just plain suck.
 
delahaya said:
The "lengthy, pre-show advertising" is why I don't go to movies. The movie industry is the only one to continually raise prices to make up for losing customers. Not to mention over 95.57% of all the movies made just plain suck.
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Fixed for accuracy, Sir. :D


Seriously, there's usually just one or at most two movies that are worth seeing each year.
 
We're talking about an industry that not only survived, but ended up thriving amid the arrival of television in the 1950s, videotapes in the 1980s, and DVDs in the '90s. The reason? An ability to continually remake themselves and find new ways to generate revenue, by introducing everything from the multiplex and more elaborate concessions to lengthy pre-show advertising.
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I always thought the only reason why theater could do that is because movies are always available on theaters only when first release, before going to VHS/DVD later on and TV much later on:confused:

For fans who wants to watch a movie early when they are released, they don't actually have any choice but to go to the theater:p
 
bonsai said:
You can't get decent speakers for a few grand let alone an entire setup, plus remodeling your living for lighting, acoustics etc. $5,000 is a joke. And has been mentioned here earlier no home theater is going to reproduce an IMAX theater.
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Most people here don't go to IMAX for movies. The only difference between an IMAX and a THX certified home theater is the screen. The sound system may be larger, but that's one of the finer details about THX...so long as they are teh same THX sub-standard...they will perform almost identically.

The IMAX screen will be availible eventually as well....I bet the owners of the tech will get desperate as soon as people stop going there as well.

You don't need to "remodel" a room for acoustics and lighting....install a fucking dimmer switch on your lights. For acoustics it's all in speaker placement. After that, if there is a glaring issue, then buy a trap just to handle that issue. In the end, the cost should be from $20 to $500 for "lighting and room treatment", depending on what was needed. My answer was just use lower wattage light bulbs, the room needed no acoustical adjustments.

A good HT setup will start at $1200 for the sound system/reciever. That's based on using bookshelf speakers for all channels, an entry level sub, and an entry level reciever from a good maker. This will deliver the goods with some knowledge on how to set it all up properly (hint: most people think they do, but don't...minor shit like proper delay and individual channel volume settings are often mangled...white noise tests aren't reliable). In general, the reciever should cost about 1/3rd the cost of the loudspeakers (not counting the sub)...if you go with the equation, the reciever will never be the weakest link.
 
$10 for a single ticket. $6.50 for a large drink. $5 for a twizzlers. they really don't know why less and less people are going to the movies ?
 
Went to see harry potter, the new one and honestly the picture wasn't too much better then a camed version. Should have complained but oh well.

Otherwise the new 3d stuff is pretty cool.
 
Djaric said:
Went to see harry potter, the new one and honestly the picture wasn't too much better then a camed version. Should have complained but oh well.

Otherwise the new 3d stuff is pretty cool.
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(not sure how you edit your own posts on this forum?)

Anyway forgot to add the Imax here was flooded last year during the midwest floods. NEver did get to see a movie there. Don't think it is up and running again.
:(
 
they are losing attendance due to sky rocket prices!

i remeber when a theater was that, a place to pay, walk in, get food, and then watchj a movie

now it is a god dam meseum with crap hanging all over, expensive decorations, but even then now alot have brand name resturants in their paying a crap load for rent and a movie ticket is still $12+


In costa rica we have VIP theaters, $8 , you get reclining chairs, pleather, and waiters that server on you!
 
I gotta say, while I did spend $2800 on my home theater setup, the point of it was to stop bellyaching about the cost of tickets and even the more incredibly ridiculous cost snacks. I may watch the top 3-4 summer blockbusters at the movie theaters, but when you add up the cost of tickets and popcorn, drinks and so forth, that one trip is $65 to $80 dollars! I mean seriously, $4.50 for a tub of $1 worth of popcorn?!? 5 for a buck and a half of Coke?!? And then add in some candy or a pretzel? There's probably another half dozen other movies I'd like to go see throughout the year, but man! It's so much cheaper to rent the blu-ray dvd for 5 bucks or DL content to my el-cheapo media PC attached via hdmi. When will AMC, Regal and the like finally realize it's not how loud you can make it or how tall, but simply how affordable?
 
I still go maybe once a month. If you get there before 5 or so the tickets are ~6 bucks.

As for the food. My wife will start going "I want some popcorn and a coke" I just reply "I will take you to olive garden later, it will be better and cheaper". Sadly it is the truth. Olive garden seems to have shrunken their meals but at least I can still fill up on salad.
 
I don't care how much money they thrown at the movie houses to make them more appealing. I am NEVER going back to another digital 3D XXX theater. :eek:
 
quixotic said:
A minimum wage of $185 makes it possible.
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yes true, the wages here are considerably lower then in the U.S but even still the theater VIP here i have seen rivals theaters in Canada in terms of quality.

if you want to go to the normal theater, it is $3-$4 vs $14 in canada last time i went.

more people now make good money in CR in the city area's, escazu, guachepelin, Curribitdat, cartago and so on, people i talk to seem very suprised at how well costa rica is developed in areas and the amount of people driving around in nice cars, who own nice condo's and houses.
 
mustang_steve said:
Most people here don't go to IMAX for movies. The only difference between an IMAX and a THX certified home theater is the screen. The sound system may be larger, but that's one of the finer details about THX...so long as they are teh same THX sub-standard...they will perform almost identically.

The IMAX screen will be availible eventually as well....I bet the owners of the tech will get desperate as soon as people stop going there as well.

You don't need to "remodel" a room for acoustics and lighting....install a fucking dimmer switch on your lights. For acoustics it's all in speaker placement. After that, if there is a glaring issue, then buy a trap just to handle that issue. In the end, the cost should be from $20 to $500 for "lighting and room treatment", depending on what was needed. My answer was just use lower wattage light bulbs, the room needed no acoustical adjustments.

A good HT setup will start at $1200 for the sound system/reciever. That's based on using bookshelf speakers for all channels, an entry level sub, and an entry level reciever from a good maker. This will deliver the goods with some knowledge on how to set it all up properly (hint: most people think they do, but don't...minor shit like proper delay and individual channel volume settings are often mangled...white noise tests aren't reliable). In general, the reciever should cost about 1/3rd the cost of the loudspeakers (not counting the sub)...if you go with the equation, the reciever will never be the weakest link.
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Either your local theaters are complete crap or you are dillusional. You will not come close to recreating the theater experience at home for $1200. Thats not to say you can't build an enjoyable system for that much, but close to theater level performance you are dreaming.

I would also like to see your house if you think you are going to fit a 50ft tall IMAX screen in your room.

THX is a licensing system. Any manufacturer who pays the fee and meets minimum requirements can get the label. It does not in any way your system will perform the same as tens of thousands of dollar systems of pro equipment that theaters have.

Please stop spreading the FUD. If you enjoy your home system more than visiting the local theater thats fine, just say so. However, stop trying to convince others that visiting your house is far superior than the movie theater.
 
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