Movie Studios Approve $30 Rental Plan, Theater Owners Mightily Upset

That's just asinine. Once someone has decided not to go to the theater, the appropriate price comparison isn't tickets + refreshments + babysitter + parking + whatever else people pay for to leave home. For one, nobody spends more than $30 just to see a movie with their spouse. They might spend $30 on a babysitter, $10 on popcorn and refreshments and an extra $15 on the tickets, which seems like an easy win for a $30 rental. However, the key difference is that $30 rental isn't going to watch your kids so you can watch Sex, Lies and Videotape in peace. That rental isn't going to coat itself in salt and butter so you can snack on it while you watch. That rental is really just money you give to sit on your own damn couch (which you paid for earlier), to eat your own damn popcorn (which you paid for earlier) and to worry that your kids will wake up and watch your adult movie (which you'll pay for later in therapy). The comparison doesn't make any sense because the rental gives none of the value they're wrapping up in the "movie night out" experience.

Wait, so it hits theatres, and then a WHOLE 60 DAYS after it is in the theatre one can get that movie on-demand? For as low as $30?

No wonder why people pirate.

The problem is that the vallue of movie entertainment is artificially high - and they are struggling to keep it there. The game is lost. It will come down.