Movies in theaters

[Aaron]

i havent seen it.  I haven't seen a movie in the theater since February because they aren't worth the money

[Josh]

i havent seen it.  I haven't seen a movie in the theater since February because they aren't worth the money

Maybe not to you. And that's fine. But I don't think that's an especially fair statement. Generalizations rarely are...

[Aaron]

Maybe not to you. And that's fine. But I don't think that's an especially fair statement. Generalizations rarely are...

I'm referring to the absurd price that it costs to see a movie.  I'm not going to shell out 8 bucks for any movie.  It's simply not worth it.  

[Josh]

I'm referring to the absurd price that it costs to see a movie.  I'm not going to shell out 8 bucks for any movie.  It's simply not worth it.

Again, to you, it might not be, and that's fine. But, for some of us, there might be certain movies that are well worth 8 bucks.

[Aaron]

Again, to you, it might not be, and that's fine. But, for some of us, there might be certain movies that are well worth 8 bucks.

I don't doubt that The Incredibles is a great movie.  You might be misunderstanding me.   My issue is with the theaters that charge high rates just for one movie.  If it was a 3 hour movie like the Lord of the Rings, I understand.  However, for a movie that's around 90 minutes long, we shouldn't have to be screwed monetarily like what happens nowadays

[Vlad!]

I thought that some interesting discussion might come of this, but I didn't want to pollute the other thread with it. Hence, this thread.

I would agree with Wanderer that the theaters charge prices that border on absurd. For the price of two viewings, I can buy the DVD and watch it as many times as I want. I like to see the movie in theaters first to determine if the DVD is worth buying, but the price is indeed somewhat prohibitive.

On the other hand, I don't generalize this to the entire world. There are plenty of people who are willing to buy a movie ticket, and who feel that they have gotten a good value for their money. And to be fair, you're not just buying a single viewing of a movie. You're helping 'rent' the huge screen, the projector, the sound system, and the expertise to run them all. If a bunch of friends want to see a movie (and I and my friends have sometimes filled in an entire row of seats), you are paying for a place to hang out for a few hours. I don't think it's fair to claim that it's worthless and just make a blanket statement of it, since I'm sure there are many things that you pay money for that I think are worthless, and vice-versa.  

[Josh]

My point is simply this: Yes, move tickets are very, very pricey, far more than they should be.

But, for me, certain movies are worth it. I paid 8 bucks to see The Incredibles, for example, and thought it was worth every penny. And I would have paid much, much more than 8 dollars to see, say, Lord of the Rings or Star Wars on the big screen.

For what its worth, though, the vast majority of my trips to the theater are matinees, which only cost 5 bucks here in Knoxville.

[Aaron]

Josh,


I would think with people like you and bethany and the others who see movies all the time that prices would be an issue for you.  Even matinee prices can add up pretty quickly.  

 

[Vlad!]

For what its worth, though, the vast majority of my trips to the theater are matinees, which only cost 5 bucks here in Knoxville.

Aye, and the dollar theater is a great place to revisit favorites on the big screen (or see them for the first time on the cheap, heh).

I think the last movie I saw on the big screen was Prisoner of Azkaban, and I saw it more because I wanted to hang out with my friends than because I thought it would be a great movie (though it was, in fact, decent). I didn't buy one of the Popcorn Boats ($105.43 plus tax) or a Movie Pee Generator (aka Vat o' cola, $75.12 plust tax), and I thought it was a great price to spend time with my buddies and be entertained.

[Josh]

Josh,


I would think with people like you and bethany and the others who see movies all the time that prices would be an issue for you.  Even matinee prices can add up pretty quickly.

Well, in most other areas of life I'm pretty stingy, so, thankfully, I can afford my moviegoing habit at this point.

Also keep in mind that I see many movies with my mom and/or dad, who are generous enough to pay for my ticket when I let them tag along.    

[Aaron]

Josh,


I would think with people like you and bethany and the others who see movies all the time that prices would be an issue for you.  Even matinee prices can add up pretty quickly.

Well, in most other areas of life I'm pretty stingy, so, thankfully, I can afford my moviegoing habit at this point.

Also keep in mind that I see many movies with my mom and/or dad, who are generous enough to pay for my ticket when I let them tag along.  

Ok.  I have a better understanding now that you explained it that way.

[enemy anemone]

matinees are about $7.50 in my area, but occasionally my dad gives me a supersaver ticket or two. he has also given me ticket and popcorn money if I take my little sis to see a movie. otherwise I usually don't shell out the big bucks to see a movie on the big screen. with that said, I didn't hesitate to plunk down $10 or whatever it was to see RotK last year on opening night.
lately my biggest movie expense has been netflix. but hey, I don't have a monthly cell phone bill or a Starbucks habit, so that's already a lot of money that I *don't* spend.

[Aaron]

7.50 for a matinee?  holy crap..thats alot..where do you live?

[bethany]

I really don't see movies in the theatre all that often, mostly due to a lack of time more than the cost. Going to a movie at the theatre isn't really that much more expensive than renting it, though. For example, it costs me 4.23 to rent a dvd at Blockbuster, and it costs either $6 at the local theatre (mainstream movies) or $5 at my university's (indie flicks), or $2 at the late-run theatre. So for anywhere from 77 cents to $1.77 more than it costs to rent the dvd and watch it at home on my crappy tv, I can see it projected on a huge screen with a good sound system. If it's a movie that I anticipate enjoying much, it's well worth it to catch it in the theatre.  Plus the immediacy of seeing it when its first out might outweigh the small financial benefit gained from waiting months to see it on dvd.

Like I said, I don't go to the movie theatre what I would consider very often (I saw The Village at the $2 theater, and Finding Neverland and Shall We Dance - $6 to see both -  in November, that's it as far as I recall), but I think it many instances it's more than worth it.  

[Vlad!]

NetFlix I think is a decent bargain compared to movie prices and rental prices, assuming you have time to watch several movies per month. The cheapo movie rental place here is two bucks for two days, so I'd have to watch nine movies a month to break even with that--I certainly doubt I could pull that kind of time out of my schedule (or, for that matter, doubt that I could come up with a years' worth--108 movies--that I wanted to see that badly). But say you don't go to see a movie in the theater but wait a few months and NetFlix the DVD instead. Assuming a $5 matinee price, four movies a month would put you ahead.  

[enemy anemone]

7.50 for a matinee?  holy crap..thats alot..where do you live?

southern California, Los Angeles area. we don't have a dollar theater here; it's a $3 theater.

but on the plus side, the nearby library has the best selection of dvds I've seen in a library, and it only costs $1 a day for the new releases and $1 a week for the others.  

[bethany]

I do use Netflix as well. Actually, my parents use it, but I fill the queue so I get the benefit of free movies. Yay.

And there is a place here that just opened that rents movies for $2 for two days...I always forget about it though. I should patronize it more often - they have a really good selection of hard-to-find indie and foreign movies.  

[Aaron]

southern California, Los Angeles area. we don't have a dollar theater here; it's a $3 theater.

but on the plus side, the nearby library has the best selection of dvds I've seen in a library, and it only costs $1 a day for the new releases and $1 a week for the others.

Man..libraries shouldn't charge to borrow moveies!..but then again many people don't take care of library stuff.

[DvChWi]

but on the plus side, the nearby library has the best selection of dvds I've seen in a library, and it only costs $1 a day for the new releases and $1 a week for the others.

Your library charges you to check stuff out?

I like to see "big" movies(LOTR, Star Wars, ect.) in the theaters.  It's a fun thing to do with friends.  I do, however, try to catch the matinee whenever possible, since they are significantly cheaper.  I don't like going to the dollar theater, because the last two movies I saw there(Holes and Master and Commander), the sound quality was so crappy I honestly couldn't hear more than a few scattered bits of dialogue here and there(keep in mind I have a pretty noticeable hearing impairment).  I actually had to ask my family what in the world the movie was about afterwords.  It was awful.  In a first run theater, their sound system is usually crisp enough for me, though sometimes they have it setup awfully quiet.  Because of the whole hearing issue, I really enjoy watching DVDs at home, with subtitles turned on.    

[bethany]

Dv, if the sound (or picture for that matter) is messed up at a theatre you should go inform someone (politely, of course). You're paying to be there, and they should either fix it or refund your money if it's messed up enough that you're unable to enjoy it.

[DvChWi]

Dv, if the sound (or picture for that matter) is messed up at a theatre you should go inform someone (politely, of course). You're paying to be there, and they should either fix it or refund your money if it's messed up enough that you're unable to enjoy it.

I probably should, but  it just seems to be me that has any problem with it, so I feel I little awkward bringing it up with them.  

[Josh]

Dv, if the sound (or picture for that matter) is messed up at a theatre you should go inform someone (politely, of course). You're paying to be there, and they should either fix it or refund your money if it's messed up enough that you're unable to enjoy it.

I had to do that when I saw Shaun of the Dead a couple of months ago. It's a pain, but, as Bethany says, you have every right to bring it to their attention.

[bethany]

I've been to a lot of movies where people will just sit through a messed up picture or sound with no one getting up to tell the staff. Most times there's no one in the projection booth, so the employees might not even know there's anything wrong with it. It never hurts to tell them nicely that there's a problem, in my experience, if it is actually something wrong with their system and not just your head/hearing/vision.

[DvChWi]

It never hurts to tell them nicely that there's a problem, in my experience, if it is actually something wrong with their system and not just your head/hearing/vision.

Well, there is something wrong with my hearing, but I'll be sure to bring any issues to their attention next time.  

[dgp11776]

Well, my 2 cents is that I usually only like to see movies in the theater if it's an action flick.  In that case, the overall sound and viewing experience adds to the movies.  But sometimes, I see movies in the theater because I don't want my wife to kill me (like Alfie or Jersey Girl).

[Josh]

Well, my 2 cents is that I usually only like to see movies in the theater if it's an action flick.  In that case, the overall sound and viewing experience adds to the movies.  But sometimes, I see movies in the theater because I don't want my wife to kill me (like Alfie or Jersey Girl).

Indeed, there are certain films that you just HAVE to see on the big screen in order to fully appreciate them. I can't imagine how underwhelming it would be to see Lord of the Rings or Star Wars or Hero for the first time on the small screen...

[Brett]

7.50 for a matinee?  holy crap..thats alot..where do you live?

wow...i live in southwest nebraska, and everyone here complains about our $6.50 prices to get in the theater. I guess it's better than $7.50, then though.