Movie Theaters Won’t Be Around Much Longer

I have wondered at times how theaters have survived as long as they have with all the pirated videos one can access plus the expense of making a movie.... Around here I have several friends who purchased an Android box for less than a one time cost of 145USD and have over 35,000 movies to see. First run usually show up 3 weeks after they hit the theaters; the only requirement is you must have decent internet.. Now having said that I do not expect them to fold in the next year or so.. Some movie theaters in the states also serve dinner or finger food and drinks.. However I can see a day when a movie theater will be as rare as a drive-in movie... Those were the days ... First car, great girl, and who cared what was showing...it was Friday or Saturday night and party time... !

It’s been a great run for cinema, a business that began with the Lumière brothers’ early creations flickering in Paris playhouses in 1895, then generated untold billions in ticket sales over its 120-plus years since. Sadly, it’s about to suffer a mortal wound, right there in your living room.

The movie theater as we know it is poised to die a slow, mostly peaceful death. But it is certain.

The cause: Premium VOD, digital on-demand delivery of films to your TV and devices on a much shorter schedule than the traditional 90 days. The latest proposals bring movies to homes 10 or 45 days after they hit theaters; others have aspired to deliver them day-of.

But these particulars are immaterial. They are coming, and they will prove fatal to the movie-theater business.

sorendreier.com...

The author says ten to fifteen years max before the movie Armageddon.... another article saying the same thing..

The cause: Premium VOD, digital on-demand delivery of films to your TV and devices on a much shorter schedule than the traditional 90 days. The latest proposals bring movies to homes 10 or 45 days after they hit theaters; others have aspired to deliver them day-of.

mashable.com...

a reply to: 727Sky

I disagree I think theaters definately survive.. they will be worked by automation and almost no employees.

But pirating and VOD cannot replace the huge screen experience , nor provide a neutral date spot.

The reason theaters have lasted to today isn't to because you get to see the flick earlier..

It is the big screen experience and ability to "go out".

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
a reply to: 727Sky

I disagree I think theaters definately survive.. they will be worked by automation and almost no employees.

But pirating and VOD cannot replace the huge screen experience , nor provide a neutral date spot.

The reason theaters have lasted to today isn't to because you get to see the flick earlier..

It is the big screen experience and ability to "go out".

I for one hope you are correct.. not to mention some really great 3d..

a reply to: 727Sky

They better not take away my theaters! I love going. Big screen with loud surround sound and lots of ppl in there experiencing the movie together. Its fun.

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
It is the big screen experience and ability to "go out".

I would bet that it is just the "going out" part.

I don't know a single person with a tv that is as bad as what the local theatre provides, in terms of resolution. Nor do I know a person who's surround systems don't exceed the local offerings by a very large margin.

Personally, I get a better experience at home. Granted, I have a dedicated theatre room, as my wife and I are both huge "movie" fans, from when we used to "go out".

The movie studios make to much money from ticket sales to let theatres go away.

a reply to: JoshuaCox

Maybe the ability to go out, but with projectors, and surround systems, you can have the "big screen" experience in your home.

I can see them going away. It will be sad, much like the drive in's. We have a few left, but they are like an hour away from me, so I don't go.

a reply to: JoshuaCox

People said the same things about drive-in theaters.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
The movie studios make to much money from ticket sales to let theatres go away.

True and a bag of popcorn for 6 bucks.

xl1067.iheart.com...


However, Cable, DVD sales and rentals outpace theater distribution by a wide margin.

I work on lots of films that are designed to go straight to cable, DVD, foreign distribution with no thought of theater showings.

a reply to: JoshuaCox

I have a VR Set, I have the full screen right in front of my eyes with full surround vision and sound dumped directly into my ears and eyes, and with capability of 3D also...it's amazing and oh so much better then the cinema - a place I still go to at least 4 times a year.

Motion sickness is not a problem, as when you own a pair you adjust to the new experience - you may feel some sick effects from it if you use it for the first time and give up when trying it out in full motion, however that is normal and variable on the frame rate being pumped out from the set.

The cinema is not going to go away anytime soon, but recent advents in streaming and tech is taking a big hit to box office sales.

a reply to: olaru12

Do the direct to DVD movie have a $200 million budget to recoup?

a reply to: JoshuaCox

I'm with you. I download all the time but my wife and I still go to the theater. We have gone to see a movie that I already have on the hard drive. For us it's a night out. Neither of us drink. Don't like busy environments so we go have date night there. Of course we hit the drug store and smuggle in our own munchies.

a reply to: olaru12

Movies with 100 million dollar budgets don't usually to direct to DVD

originally posted by: JoshuaCox

It is the big screen experience and ability to "go out".

And that is less and less attractive in an increasingly volatile world. Hell, it's less attractive simply based on expense. And collapsing cultural norms.

They'll be around for some time only because most people worldwide earn less than $10 a day, and thus can't afford VOD, etc.

I hope they just charge less, but knowing them, they well charge more. They will go away and then one day in the future when every one has forgotten, some one will project an image on the side of a building....for free!

Just look what happened to arcades.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: olaru12

Do the direct to DVD movie have a $200 million budget to recoup?

Most direct to cable, DVD movies don't have a $200 mil budget. Many, many big budget movies lose money in fact. Worked on The Lone Ranger with Depp; total disaster, flop, and the production companies just write it off.

Just wrapped on a 1 mil lightweight action flik, picked up by netflix even before post production, editing was finished.
Scripwriters are producing/directing their own films with money they burrow from the bank/ Credit Union. Technology has changed everything. The indy world is exploding.

Feature movies are now being filmed on cameras you can by at walmart and even on iphones. Edited on a laptop and marketed on the www. It's crazy!!

a reply to: olaru12

I understand that a lot of these big name movies while they flop state side end up turning a hefty profit overseas. That's how Michael Bay keeps being allowed to make Transformers movies.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: olaru12

I understand that a lot of these big name movies while they flop state side end up turning a hefty profit overseas. That's how Michael Bay keeps being allowed to make Transformers movies.

Correct...CGI, SFX, animation houses are swamped with projects. The teen, tween, demographic worldwide demands their entertainment. Now China, bollywood, European producers are making their projects in the US, farmed out to Sony, because of the SFX capabilities available here.

And not just SFX, all the cowboy western movie sets here are booked thru till Xmas.

originally posted by: Idreamofme
a reply to: 727Sky

They better not take away my theaters! I love going. Big screen with loud surround sound and lots of ppl in there experiencing the movie together. Its fun.

I think there will be a few movie theater relics for those who want to date or relive nostalgia.

But, the article is right. In about 10 to 15 years, the children who are sensory afflicted and can't handle the sights, sounds and smell of the movie theater, will have grown up.

Every year, I've been meeting more adults and children who have food allergies to corn, nuts, wheat, dairy and/or dyes. Great for people like me, but bad for the theater business, which has those substances embedded in every surface.