Hacker News Reader

Comment by nsnick | Hacker News Reader

Cinemark is not in competition with MoviePass. If someone uses a MoviePass, Cinemark makes money because MoviePass bought a ticket. The reason Cinemark is losing money is because they have a bad product. They show terrible Hollywood films, have terrible seats, and terrible food. I still go to the theater, but when I do, I go to theaters like Alamo Draft House (Austin), Hollywood Theater (Portland), Manor Theater (Pittsburgh), Broadway Theater (Salt Lake City).

View on HN

My local Cinemark recently remodeled all the rooms to have fantastic reclining seats and reserved seating. In my experience, the trendy or upscale theaters like Alamo Draft House have far worse seats and screens. If I want $10 craft beers I can buy those at a store and drink them at home. The only reason I'm going to a cinema is to have the best possible comfort, picture, and audio.

The one in Mountain View, CA is like this as well... It's so great!!! No stress in any way to go to the movies, or even getting up to go to the bathroom. I've easily gone to the movies 10 times as much over the past few years because of it. And I pretty much refuse to go see a movie anywhere else. I'm sure many people have the same feeling as there's rarely an empty seat. I really hope they're making money as I would hate for this to be a short lived trend.

Have you been to the Hollywood Theater in Portland? They have a 70mm film projector something no Cinemark has. You can see movies like Dunkirk in the format the director intended.

There's certainly an appeal to specific formats like 70mm, but that comes along fairly rarely. I haven't been to Portland, but I have seen 70mm films in classic theaters. They're rarely comfortable, the sound usually sucks, and the lack of stadium seating can be brutal, but you're there for the insane effort that went into end-to-end 70mm production.

Of course, I saw Dunkirk in IMAX 70mm projection at the Metreon in San Francisco, which is a state of the art screening room, but that will probably only ever happen every few years. Sadly the Metreon recently remodeled with completely terrible seats (only in the IMAX room), so I'm rarely tempted to go there.

Seats in the IMAX room is indeed very bad. It’s sad because the screen is 2nd largest in North America. But your only memory of the movie becomes how much pain your back and behind are. Try the shoreline cinemark in MV, very comfy seats!

The Metreon IMAX is such a shame. They installed that incredible new digital projector (Dolby laser, I believe) but at the same time ruined the seats.

There's definitely Cinemark theaters with 70mm. I saw Dunkirk at one.

More importantly, though, not very many movies were/are shot in that format. Not enough to really build a business on.

70mm film?

A number of Cinemark theaters that featured Dunkirk in 70mm listed here: http://www.slashfilm.com/dunkirk-70mm-locations/

There's nothing stopping one from going to a special theatre for that one film shot in 70mm. But most movies are not that.

You are ignoring all the other arguments. Better movies, better food, a general lack of children.

Which Alamo do you go to? I've two in proximity and the quality of service and comfort is different enough to go to different ones depending on the movie I'm seeing.

Additionally, I will pay for the more expensive Alamo ticket every time because of their fanaticism about NOT TALKING during the move

The Cinemark on International Drive in Orlando is fantastic. Cheap prices and big comfy reserved seating. Can't comment on the food but the snacks and drinks are much lower priced than anywhere else I've been recently.

Are the theaters you list known for good films / good food / good seats?

A theater showing great classic films with great seats would be a nice change and as a 30-something, quite an affordable entertainment option.

Can only really speak for Alamo Drafthouse, but yes to all. Reserve seating ahead of time, order food/drinks off a menu at your seat + sometimes movie-specific menu items.

They do a lot of classic movie showings on various days, there are Signature Series events https://drafthouse.com/austin/series that fit more to a theme, Terror Tuesdays, Afternoon Tea, etc. Master Pancake is also incredibly popular which is a live comedy showing of a movie.

All that and the fanaticism about no talking and no phones

They all have better food than Cinemark, and they all show better films than Cinemark. Most of them have better seats.

My local cinemark is by far the best theater in the area. Large, leather recliners, reserved seating, and a variety of special events (Anime, classic movies, and things like the Dr. Who christmas special) make it pretty nice. I can't comment on their food other than popcorn, which I thought was average. It's not quite the Alamo Draft House, but between it and my local indie theater, I think we have it pretty nice.

Shout out to the Broadway Theater! Awesome independent films and great community.

If you like the Alamo Drafthouse, next time you're in SLC check out Brewvies.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com