Every top comment on HN is someone with an unprofitable use case complaining that no one serves them. Change my mind.
Also, I would watch the shit out of the Good the Bad and the Ugly in a theater. Same with original Star Wars (which I think happened during extra trilogy releases occasionally), The Matrix, the Princess Bride, and anything in that vein which either has a cult following, is a different/better experience to watch in a theater, or both.
Badly written novels and screenplays often have the feeling of watching a cheap puppet show where the author is clearly visible puppeteering all the other characters because they act unrealistically and in accordance with the author's poor understanding of the world and people. In "The Room", the painfully eccentric author is not only puppeteering, but he's acting and directing it, and not in a hypothetical way. It goes so totally over the top with that that it's epic in an unexpected way because the writing intends to be serious.
I am going to say something unkind, even though I am literally sitting next to a framed and signed Tommy Wiseau head shot and generally adore the guy. It is very obvious that the room springs largely from what appears to me to be some sort of brain damage.
Great. Now every movie theatre starts doing that. What happens to profit margins?
Why would every movie theater need to do that? That seems like an absurd proposition.
Do I really need to watch older movies in some newer giant theater designed with a special sounds system that the entire theater needs to be certified for if I'm watching a movie that wasn't scored to take advantage of it?
> What happens to profit margins?
I dunno. Why don't you ask the theaters that run old/indie movies either exclusively or during designated time slots once a week or so? They seem to think it's profitable, since they do it.
As to whether the industry is actually doomed, it's far too early to call that, IMO. I literally asked my wife last night what she thought about movie theaters now, as I was trying to decide whether taking the kids to one this weekend was worth considering. We both sorta decided "not yet" (and my own personal experience working at a movie theater when I was younger does not make me think they're the cleanest of places).
Additionally, there's going to be slim pickings for good movies soon as I think the pipeline of stuff that was in production or delayed the release to now is used up, and the lack of much new production that happened for a year hits us for a year or so. Does that mean the industry is dead? Maybe if they can't hold on that long or find other revenue streams (and don't get a bailout), but I think it's a bit premature to be all that confident in any assessment.
How do you sustain 20 theatres in a super expensive mall that charges insane rents while sending 75% of the gross back to the studio? It’s not going to happen without big movies that appeal to a broad audience that is compatible with mall foot traffic.
As-is, movies air in theaters for only a couple months, and then they're gone. Like, what the hell. Every time in recent memory that I've ever suggested to someone that we go see a movie, I've had to find out that the movie was no longer in theaters, or was even already available for streaming. That's basically a non-starter for people with jobs. Not that I haven't also gone to a theater with no particular movie in mind and just watched whatever was playing, but if anything that seems way more niche to me.
The last times I went to the movies were March 2019 and October 2017, and both of those were special cases (the latest installments in a series I was heavily invested in, Fate/stay night, each with a limited one-day release and a long expected wait before it would be available for illegal download via Blu-Ray rip). I haven't been to the movies with any kind of regularity since I was a teenager.
Anyway, point being, I think movie theaters would actually be more compelling for more people if they included a revolving door of well regarded classics, rather than only whatever films happen to be the latest releases. I'm unlikely to wander into a theater with no idea what's playing or whether any of it is worth watching*, but if I could rely on them also having one or two that were known great and/or on my bucket list (Citizen Kane, Fight Club, Matrix trilogy, Dark Knight trilogy, Star Wars, Pulp Fiction, Schindler's List, Shawshank Redemption, etc.) then I might just take the gamble that something playing will be worth the time.
*: I suspect that this is also a generational gap in play. Older folks who primarily watch traditional TV with ads probably have a much better idea of current and upcoming movies.
Theaters do that not just because they have arrangements with local governments, but because it's profitable. The way the theater industry works (or at least did when I worked in it at the entry level twenty years ago and had it explained to me) is that new releases have about 80% or more of their ticket sale cost go to the distributor/producer, and the rest the theater, and that percentage goes farther in the theater's favor every week after release (making movies that draw crowds for a long time much more lucrative). That's why concession purchases are so expensive, it's where they make a lion's share of the profit.
Older movies are likely much less costly to get and run, and could also possibly be offered to patrons for cheaper admittance. Concessions, of course, cost as they always do, and they still make that money. I suspect in a lot of cases, theaters might turn a better profit offering tickets at half price for older movies, making more money per ticket and for concession sales for each admittance, as long as they can fill the seats.
Things like that are what appeared to be going on in my area prior to the pandemic, where they would do a cult film series and have the 7 PM and 9 PM showings on Thursdays devoted to the cult film of the week (not sure if they ran one or two screens for it, possibly depended on attendance and how good the other movies where doing on the 14 screens it has).
I suspect as the streaming services continue to expand, we’ll see more limited access to back catalogs.
My guess is that they might restrict or increase cost of purchase for some things (while allowing streaming, which they can limit at any time), but also them make them more likely for strategic rerelease to theaters.
If that promotes more theater showings of these and also helps keep theaters around, I'm not sure it's that bad of a thing (even though blocking digital purchases is a dick move in general)
They’ll let you, the consumer, watch TGTB&TU in your house for next to $0 but if a theater wants to show it, there’s a $200 minimum fee (or 60% of ticket sales whichever is higher) plus another $150 to ship a hard drive with the content and one-time key.
You either have to find a lot of people who want to watch TGTB&TU at the same time and location or the studio needs to lower the costs of back catalog content to exhibitors and quit with the whole driving shipping bullshit.
The Pacific Film Archive[1] is example of such a non-profit. With sufficient interest we could have considerably more of these things.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Art_Museum_and_Pacifi...
Then people will do it as a party experience kind of thing. They could just ask for a minimum of 10 customers, which might be a better turn out than the quiet days.
Then extend it by offering a “ride share” where you let the cinema sell more tickets to strangers and as they sell you might get vouchers towards foods and drink thrown in. Why would anyone do this? Pick YOUR film and maybe get free drinks sounds great.
Democratising the film festival ;-)
Looks like they're still doing it. https://www.cinemark.com/misc/private-watch-party/private-wa...
[1] to be clear: I'm referring to the insistence by those who have the gobs of money/stocks to decide what we can have, not by the average HN commenter.
That’s why Facebook hand Google are free to use, but they mine data for profit.
That’s why we have shit films for the most part, and mediocre restaurants.
There are rare bubbles of quality where there is consumer demand and habits around that. Coffee where I live is pricey and good. But in other places it can be cheap and crap if that’s more profitable.
Get millions of fussy people to spend thousands on the movies and you could conjure up some great experiences!
I think I watched like Monsters Inc there. That's two decades old haha!