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Why is Movie Theatre Revenue Attendance Declining?

There's been plenty of chatter about declining movie theatrical revenue attendance. You just know the MPAA is itching to tie this onto piracy somehow and thus get some favorable legislation.

Let's nip this one in the bud, shall we? 5 6 7 factors are hurting theater attendance:

1) Social factors eroding theater environment (talking, cell phones, babies crying, etc.); 
2) Sacrificing long term relationships with theater-goers for the increase in short term profitability (commercials, no ushers, etc.);
3) Higher quality experience elsewhere (Home theater);
4) Declining quality of mainstream movies;
5) Easily available Long Tail content alternatives (Netflix, Amazon);
6) Price;
7) Demographics: Aging babyboomers simply go out to movies less.

While content quality has indeed worsened over the years, it shouldn't be the main concern this Summer:  As of late, there have been a spate of movies which have been either well-reviewed (Batman Begins) or had good word-of-mouth (Wedding Crashers) or incredible special effects perfectly suited to the big screen (Revenge of the Sith or War of the Worlds).

So what else might be the source of declining theatrical fortunes?

Well, how about the movie theater-going experience itself? The adventure of heading to a cineplex is becoming a less and less pleasant form of entertainment. Many of the headaches involved have been painfully detailed by Bob Lefsetz' readers (see their ordeals below).

Note that we are not even discussing content quality at this point.

Then there are the adverts. A recent L.A.Times article -- Now playing: A glut of ads -- points out that even studio executives were stunned by 15 minutes of commercials theatre goers had to endure after paying their 10 bucks:

"As head of production at New Line Cinema, Toby Emmerich is not your typical moviegoer. So when he wanted to see "War of the Worlds" the other night, his choice was between seeing the film in a theater with a tub of popcorn or watching it in a screening room at Jim Carrey's house, with a private chef handling the culinary options. Despite this seemingly loaded deck, Emmerich opted for a real theater.

"I love seeing a movie with a big crowd," he says. "But I had no idea how many obnoxious ads I'd have to endure — it really drove me crazy. After sitting through about 15 minutes of ads, I turned to my wife and said, 'Maybe we should've gone to Jim Carrey's house after all.' "

When DreamWorks marketing chief Terry Press took her young twins to see "Robots" this year, she said, "My own children turned to me and said, 'Mommy, there are too many commercials!' Now, when the lights go halfway down, I'm filled with dread. The whole uniqueness of the moviegoing experience is being eroded by all the endless ads."  (emphasis added)

So while the industry laments piracy, consider if you will why going to the theatre has become so much less enjoyable than watching DVD films on your own big screen in the comfort of your home theatre.   

The theatres have adapted Radio's disasterous Hamburger Helper approach: Short term increases in profitability in exchange for alienating your core audience, who eventually seek out a more enjoyable substitute. Quite frankly, I'm astonished the film industry has (contractually) allowed theatre owners to degrade their copyright protected product by diminishing the experience so dramatically.

As Radio has so painfully learned, the end result is a big fat Buh-bye!

To a large degree, this is  a zero sum game: The theatre chains losses are Best Buys' gain; Is it any surprise that high quality home sound systems and large screen TV sales have gone through a ginormous growth spurt over the past 5 years? Even as the lowest common denominator productions falter, Netflix (and its rivals) allow home theater owners to enjoy a Long Tail orgy of DVD content. 

Yo, theatre owners, when a segment of retail electronics called HOME THEATRE explodes in sales, that is your wake up call. You seem to have been oblivous, and missed the bell ringing.

Good luck getting the toothepaste back in the tube!

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UPDATE: July 25, 2005 7:37pm
At Slate, Edward Jay Epstein explains the numbers behind decreased attendance on increased revenue. Fascinating stuff . . .

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UPDATE II: August 30, 2005 12:07pm
A weekend NYT article, titled Summer Fading, Hollywood Sees Fizzle quotes an exec as blaming the quality of flicks:

"Part of this is the fact that the movies may not have lived up to the expectations of the audience, not just in this year, but in years prior," said Michael Lynton, chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which had some flops this summer, including the science fiction action movie "Stealth" and the romantic comedy "Bewitched." "Audiences have gotten smart to the marketing, and they can smell the good ones from the bad ones at a distance."

 

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Sources:
Now Playing: A Glut Of Ads
The Big Picture
Patrick Goldstein
L. A. Times, July 12, 2005
http://www.latimes.com/business/custom/admark/la-et-goldstein12jul12,1,35978.story

Lefstz Letter
June 5, 2005
(complete sourcing below)

Summer Fading, Hollywood Sees Fizzle
By SHARON WAXMAN
NYTimes, August 24, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/24/movies/24slum.htm

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Continue to see Lefsetz' readers critique of the theater experience . . .

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Comments in response to the Lefsetz Letter about declining theatre going experience:

Steve Lukather:

Hey Bob, its MUCH worse in Europe. I went to a movie in London a few years ago and it was almost 45 MINUTES of commercials!! This was before this shit started to happen in the USA. I was freaked out! Pissed off, same as you. Fucking COMMERCIALS in a movie theatre!???? I like the trailers for new movies, thats cool, but I am with you 1000%. It is all about greed as the movie theatres or the people that made the movie you are PAYING to see are getting that kickback from the sponsors. Hell it is bad enough with "product placement" in the actual MOVIE! Look around in the backround of a scene and see a coke can, or what kind of car the bad guy drives..I could go on but hey.
I would rather stay home and crank it on my 5.1 system, smoke a bowl and have a pizza and some wine. Why deal with the traffic and the assholes in the theatre.How much is it for popcorn and candy????? 100 bucks? hahaha Parking..yeah THATS like 15 bucks now. Fuck that? I should have bought parking lots when I was young. i would bwe stinkiing rich. Its fucking pavement with minimum wage losers taking your money. PURE profit. hahaha
Anyway, have a nice weekend. I will. hahahaha
Luke

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Wade Biery:

There is not ONE person I know who has chosen NOT to go to the theater anymore, who chose that because of the MOVIES. Not one. They have ALL chosen it because the experience SUCKS!! A bowl of wet dicks......

Kids (as well as their self-important over-entitled asshole parents who taught them that they really ARE that fucking special) on cell phones, kicking my fucking seat and hollering at the screen, 20 minutes of previews and commercials and other dickhole nonsense that starts when MY FUCKING MOVIE is supposed to be starting, prices for junk food that would make a 50 year old hooker embarrassed, and the slack-jawed mouth-breathing progeny of a trailer park orgy 18 years ago running the whole thing, no fucking wonder people are staying away in droves. I know these days if I were to go to a theater, I'd end up punching people right and left, and that's not what I'm into these days.....

Fuck those cock-cracks, they get what they deserve.

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Jason Miles:

We went to go see Crash a few weeks ago and the Movie went out of Focus 5 Times-I was the only one in the theater who got up to tell the manager that it was out of focus-people were just sitting there. I got up the 5th time and started to really complain to the manager. He then said if I don't stop complaining he's going to call the police on me.
Do you believe that!! I got my wife and we left I wouldn't leave until they gave us our money back. The manager (20 something) started to then harass us and wouldn't give us our money back until we produced our ticket stubs told him to take the ticket stubs and shove them.
i mean what a great movie experience-we missed the end of the movie and I know people were sitting there just watching a movie out of focus-So do you think people in the year 2005 are totally fucked up or what

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John Boylan:

Okay, okay, I agree, although I only pay $8.00 at AMC because I'm over 55. But how did you like "Crash?" I loved it. I suspended disbelief for almost two hours and had a great time. Plus, I was stimulated to have a long discussion about racial issues with my significant other. Plus, I was glad I have a house in the Hudson Valley.

__________________________________________________________

Michael Patterson:

When is the last time you went to see a movie in Europe? The commercials before the movie are amazing. I usually try to go early to make sure I see them.
I was living in NYC when prices hit $9.50 and my friends from the Midwest were shocked. I went out on the road with an artist at that time and paid $2.50 for a matinee in Iowa and $4.50 at night. How times change.
I now use bit torrent to find a movie if I miss it in a theatre. I am going to the SPOT conference in Denmark this week and I have 25 things lined up to download for the travel time. Of course it is all student films that use creative commons to let me download  it and use it as long as I follow the cc license.
I also have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale if you are interested.

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Barry Ritholtz:

I used to go to the movies all the time -- Even my blog is called the Big Picture.  Then I started going less -- and then less still and now -- hardly at all.

My screen at home is better, the sound system is better, the picture is in focus, the floors aren't sticky and the movies start on time. My seat is clean.
And there's no idiot chattering away 2 rows behind me, and (this is my favorite) THERE'S NO CELL PHONES RINGING.  EVER.

Hey, but they are saving $6 an hour per theatre on ushers.

The commercials just add insult to an already declining experience.

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Damon Lawner:

I usually start screaming obscenities, and my wife looks at me funny and that quiets me down a bit. those fucking commercials. it's worth the $14 to skip them, AND I don't have cable in my home anymore for a reason. with a child on the way, I am trying to keep the bombardment from those fuckers down to a minimum.

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Al M:

re: the whole get to the theatre for the show, then
having to sit through 20 minutes of crap - i treat it
as shit buffer time. if you're gonna see anything at a
multiplex, know that you don't really have to get
there right on time. to do this reliably, you have to
go during the off-peak times, and it means you can't
see movies opening day (but honestly, who the shit
wants to brave that gong show, ESPECIALLY for the dork
fests. i got roomies who went to the episode three
midnite screenings. freaks come out at night...).

course, none of this applies if you go to a decent
art-house cinema. could be i'm just spoiled, but if
you go to the Cumberland or Carlton cinemas here in
TO, you sit through 6, 7 minutes max before your
flick, and most of that being artsy trailers you
wouldn't see advertised in usual channels anyway.

movies are generally crap nowadays anyhow; TV, too.
best to just download the stuff you know is good
(recommendation from a trusted source). i've always
felt that if you're gonna waste your time on something
totally gratuitous, might as well surf some porn.
cheaper, and no one's insulting your intelligent under
the pretext that it's anything other than what it is.

__________________________________________________________

Mike Campbell:

Hahaha. Oh man, I was wondering when you'd get around to this one!

Tickets cost more, they've torn down all the best movie theatres (real estate value, don't you know), the popcorn SUCKS - I don't care that the average large bag of excellent popcorn has as many calories as a Big Mac, I'm not fat, where's MY option? - and I've been subjected to fucking ads for years now!

I love the movie experience, almost as much as I love the musical experience. My brother hasn't seen a film in a theatre for eons. He waits for the DVD. Truth to tell, he hasn't seen a movie at a theatre in so long that he used to wait for the VHS - and that was BEFORE decent home theatre units...

The point is well taken; shouldn't the addition of advertising before a film bring the cost of the feature DOWN? I do believe that was the original idea. Pretty much in the same ballpark as the old record company saw about "when there are enough manufacturing plants to meet demand, CD prices will come down," as they should have. That was a big fat lie too. Hopelessly sad and spectacularly short-sighted at the same time...

Music and movies both moving into the realm of the virtual experience. I'm sure you've been in more than one place where the appetite for the tech experience has known no financial constraints. It's pretty amazing. I can't drop $25,000 on a home system that takes full advantage of what's currently available but if I could, maybe I'd go for it. It must be tantalizing. The idea that you could hang out in an environment, that you were totally comforable in - if you smoke, you could smoke (anything you wanted to smoke) - the popcorn wouldn't have to suck, you wouldn't need babysitters, you wouldn't need to have someone killed to find a place to park, there would be decent music before the feature. Bliss.

You've hit the nail on the head again - greed, plain and simple - will be the downfall of this, otherwise, brilliant run at another chance for the current human cilvilization to prove it's more than another momentary blight on the global landscape. Sadly, the handcart to Hell is voluminous and picking up speed daily. I sure hope the kids with the iPods can suss this out and put a stop to it before the Woodstock generation finishes fucking up their own previously Utopian ideal. Wankers...

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John Bertsche:

the arrogance of our big business is hurting all of us

the US is so hopelessly behind the curve that we'll probably never 
catch up.

what do we actually make, other than  entertainment?

germany has liquid-hydrogen powered BMW's

china is making fuel-cell powered cars

does anything we really NEED say "made in USA" ?

OK, I need a new pair of Tony Lama's....I know I can't get those 
anywhere else...

but I think I'll wait till I'm in Nashville...they're too expensive 
here...

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James Lee:

as usual bob, you hit the nail on the head.  $10.50 per ticket and then i 've got to see commercials?   and stand in line to buy a eight dollar bag of popcorn on which they are making a profit of $7.75.    what the hell is going on here.    we don't go anymore.  and it's their fault.

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Alan:

POSSIBLE FUTURE?

I walk into my favorite restaurant. The hostess asks for my ticket.
"Ticket?", I ask?
"Oh, you haven't heard about our new policy...It's $15.00 for a seat near the kitchen, $25.00 for a seat near the door and $50.00 for the "preferred" tables. "OR", she goes on, "you can get a table for half-price if you're willing to sit in our waiting room and watch a short entertaining commercial from our corporate partners."
I go for my wallet and my party is seated near the door.
The waiter arrives in a vest festooned with patches and buttons advertising Coke, AOl and Sony Music. He wears a Microsoft ballcap.
"Hi, I'm Todd, I'll be your meal facilitator tonight.  Everyone want Coke?", he asks cheerily.
No, no one wants Coke..."What kind of beer and wine do you have?"
"All our beers are Budweiser, all our wines are Gallo but you have many choices within those brands. May I suggest the White Zin, it's on sale?"
We make our choices and he hands out the menus.
They are unusually heavy with thick plastic pages.
"What's this?, I ask.
"Oh, those are our brand new, improved, Interactive Choice Selectors from Microsoft."
I open the menu to the first page.
It's a brightly lit list of the restaurant's specials for next week.
I try to turn the page. It won't turn.
"You have to read it first and vote for your favorite", Todd explains. "Then you can read page two."
I don't even think I'll be here next week", I tell him.
"No problem! Just vote anyway. It's fun!"
I choose yellowfin tuna with the wand and hear a click as page two is released.
It's a listing of what's on TV tonight. "Vote For Your Favorite Show" it says.
It seems I can also vote for my favorite American Idol.
I go through three more pages of advertisements for Anti spamware, Computer Pop-up protection and a contest to name Brittny's baby, sponsored by the Advertising Council of America.

I could go on but you get the idea...
It's an ad, ad, ad mad world and it's getting worse.
The golden geese of music, movies and who knows what's next have been covered in posters and flyers and will die from suffocation.
The long run health of industries have been sacrificed for the fast buck.

You are correct again Bob. You, me, the public, we get no respect...We are Rodney Dangerfields all.
They love us only for our purchasing power and they treat us like we're stupid.
Seeing the ironic truth that it is they who are stupid and shortsighted does not provide enough satisfaction to make up for what they have taken from us....the joys of a great concert experience and movie experience.  Fuck 'em all.

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Joshua Freni:

I stopped going to the movies regularly when I got surround sound with a bass cube at home.  Why bother with the crowds, the cost and the commercials?  So I can see it on a big screen?  Plus, u can't watch a movie in your underwear while drinking a six pack at the theatre.

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Comments courtesy of Lefsetz Letter

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Sources:
Now Playing: A Glut Of Ads
The Big Picture
Patrick Goldstein
L. A. Times, July 12, 2005
http://www.latimes.com/business/custom/admark/la-et-goldstein12jul12,1,35978.story

Lefstz Letter
June 5, 2005

'Apocalypse Now' for America's movie theaters?
William Bunch
Knight Ridder Newspapers
http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/entertainment/11967028.htm

Hollywood has been cruisin' for this year's box-office bruisin'
Michael Heaton
Plain Dealer Columnist, Friday, June 24, 2005
http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1119605870191140.xml&coll=2

Hollywood is lacking its usual summer sizzle
By David Germain
Associated Press
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/living/12022602.htm

DVDs producing renaissance for R-rated comedies,
Video sales bring in the big bucks
Patrick Goldstein
Tribune Newspapers: Los Angeles Times
http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/movies/mmx-0507100394jul10,0,5742633.story

Film revenues in decline: This season's disaster movies
Andrew Gumbel
Independent UK,  28 June 2005
http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/film/news/article295292.ece

Tuesday, July 19, 2005 | 08:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (86) | TrackBack (18)
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Comments

The decline in sales is probably not anyone's fault. It's probably unavoidable. Digital media is just changing the way we want content. People will still go to the movies, but they'll go less often because they can substitute a cheaper, individualized, private experience for the pleasures and annoyances that come with watching a movie on a big screen with a group of strangers.

More commercials is a symptom of the underlying problem, not the cause.

Posted by: royce | Jul 19, 2005 10:59:50 AM

Shouldn't one of the reasons for the decline be the increasing price differential between seeing a movie in the theater and seeing it at home? Sort of similar to the home theater point, but different in that it a cost decision. I, for one, pass on many movies whether I see them on a small TV or on my HD giganta screen mainly because I don't think it is worth $30 (Two people, popcorn, etc.)....just a thought

Posted by: Damian | Jul 19, 2005 1:08:26 PM

Actually the core problem is the general business problem. Assuming that sales will go up, all time, on an infinate basis. Personally, as a movie buff, I still enjoy the movie experience. Mind you, where I've never had talking at the movies, no cell phones, no nothing like that. So yeah.

But because movies are a creative venture, receipts are going to vary from year to year. People don't go to the movies just to go to the movies. People don't go to the movies, and wait until they get there and say...what do you want to see? It doesn't happen. People say, I'm going to go to see movie X. And if there's no movies they want to see? They stay home or do something else.

Simple as that. I don't think that DVD sales play a huge part in this, I think it's mostly the natural nature of the content delivery business.

Posted by: Karmakin | Jul 19, 2005 2:04:18 PM

Oh and by the way. We get the ads before the movies, but generally speaking the ads start 15 minutes before the posted startime. at the start time you get the trailers (which I personally enjoy. I feel gipped if a movie has only one trailer), then a short (no cells, no talking, please bring out trash) clip (with decent music), then the movie.

But because the product ads are BEFORE the startime, I don't mind it. Because I ignore it, keep on talking, whatever. And it's something other than pop music crap in the background.

Posted by: Karmakin | Jul 19, 2005 2:12:12 PM

I love the movie experience but the cost does not justify the experience for me. I hate spending $60 to take my kids to a movie and then not being entertained what so ever (Madagascar). I would rather take them to another form of entertainment. If we go to a water park and spend $100 I think that is ok because of the value. I will wait for a movie to come out on dvd or pay per view because if I hate the movie, it wasn't as costly. I don't mind seeing a bad movie, but I hate paying so much for it. Anyway, I think it is a cost issue. Make it more affordable and I will go to many more movies. Send it straight to DVD and I will pay $20 to watch it in my home!

Posted by: Lance | Jul 19, 2005 5:26:25 PM

Barry, as a long-time reader I recognize that you are a big film/music buff, just like me. So, with that in mind, I *implore* you to make it to the Alamo Drafthouse if you ever visit us here in TX. They started in Austin, but they now have a few in San Antonio and Houston. These independent theaters are beating the hell out of the chains, and I refuse to go anywhere else.

To start with, they serve *real* food, desserts, beer, and wine. At reasonable prices, brought to your seat. ZERO paid advertisements. Now, on the other hand, there is always content playing on the big screen before the movie starts. For example, before "Revenge of the Sith" they showed the (in)famous Star Wars Christmas Special. Before Kill Bill, they showed several clips of classic, cheesy kung fu films. Before some movie with Tom Hanks in it (I think it was The Terminal), they showed old episodes of "Bosom Buddies". This is actual *entertainment*. And, you better show up early, because they sell out every single show.

You should check these guys out, because people are going to wake up to this, and the theater chain that goes in this direction is going to print money.

http://www.alamodrafthouse.com

Posted by: Tim | Jul 19, 2005 5:49:41 PM

I think I am a typical consumer and here's why I don't go to the theater anymore:
1. Decreased movie quality - the studios are just not putting out as many movies of the really high quality, and because there is so much competition, its harder to find those movies, so you have to be more discriminating in what you select to spend your money on.

2. Overhype - another thing that exasserbates that problem is that the studios hype every movie beyond any measure of normal so that its impossible to determine which movies are the ones you want to see based on the claims of the studios. its a classic case of "the boy who cried wolf". The studios keep telling us that every dang movie they make is a blockbuster, so pretty soon, you just tune them all out and let other people waste their $8 and report back to you.

3. Too many movies - By the time you find someone who has seen the movie and says that its great, then find someone to corroborate the story, there are so many movies coming out that by this time, the movie is no longer in the theater. Again, i think I am an average consumer, and planning my schedule around the 1 week that the average movie is in the theater just doesn't work for me. If the theaters don't bother keeping them in the theater long enough, I'll just wait for the DVD instead of configuring my schedule around theirs. who is the dang customer here anyway?

4. Increased quality of Home theater and poor quality of theaters - since I now have a 52" TV with surround sound and great speakers, I find that my system at home is pretty much better than what I find at the theater, especially with sound. This was certainly the case with Episode III, which was the last movie I saw in the theater. The sound at the theater was barely cranked up and thus defeats the prupose of going to the theater. Why do most theaters today still use a reel to reel mechine to display movies? step up to digital for pete's sake! on top of all that, I can lay on my couhc at home and eat homemade lasagne. that hardly compares to a $25 for a hot dog, popcorn, and a drink while sitting in an uncomfortable seat that only reclines to the point of discomfort and the guy next to me who has a bladder the size of a peanut.

5. DVD's come out so fast now, and the content/convenience of places like Netflix and filmmovement.com is really uncomparable.

Although I have downloaded one movie when I went to the theater and had to leave in the middle of the film because the fire alarm was triggered, that experience made me really reject downloading bootlegs because of the astounding poor quality (and my TV is bilt to be a computer monitor). In my life, priracy is not a factor in why I do not go to the theater. They just need to improve their product.

Posted by: dude | Jul 19, 2005 6:03:00 PM

My two cents worth - last week I took my grandson to the movies and was amazed at what I spent for popcorn and drinks! And the movie was certainly not that wonderful either. I had only ONE G rated film to choose from.

My husband and I gave up movies years ago, with the exception of going to see the Lord of the Rings. So my only experience is with the grandkids. But I tell you to take all four of them at once is cost prohibitive.

Posted by: JWC | Jul 19, 2005 7:19:09 PM

Trailers. They friggin tell you the whole plot. They suck big time. Look at the trailers for The Island. They literally spoiled the whole movie!!!

Posted by: Dragian | Jul 19, 2005 10:13:45 PM

1. Not many movies worth seeing on a big screen.

2. Poor quality/sick of star overexposure

3. Popcorn (and other snacks) better at home

4. Experience generally better at home. No control over sound. Too loud way too often. I have to cover my ears at every action scene!

5. The ads/trailers way too long. By the time the movie comes on my kids are restless.

Posted by: Danielle | Jul 19, 2005 10:32:18 PM

Personally speaking I don't go to the cinema as much as I used to because I am older.

Posted by: dsquared | Jul 20, 2005 2:18:53 AM

I actually just wrote about this on my site.

Yes, the commercials suck, but I am not too bothered by them, because they don't (yet) play past the start time of the movie. As long as the movie starts when it is supposed to (with previews) I don't really care what's on the screen, every one is chatting and ignoring it anyway.

Posted by: Stephen Collins | Jul 20, 2005 10:02:12 AM

Just once, I'd love to see a discussion of the moviegoing experience that doesn't involve child-haters spewing their nastiness all over the place. For the record: not once have I ever had my theater experience spoiled by crying children, talking children or any variety of child-centric unpleasantness. Rather, adults who think the theater is an extension of their living rooms are a far greater issue.

(Barry Responds below)

Posted by: James | Jul 20, 2005 10:09:57 AM

Ditto on the Alamo Drafthouse. My wife and I went to our first movie out of the house in about 2 years (new baby) for SW Ep III, and saw it at the Alamo. It's hard to justify going anywhere else anymore, even though the theaters the Alamo owns are slightly less rock-em sock-em in the visual and audio department.

Posted by: M1EK | Jul 20, 2005 11:30:13 AM

I used to love seeing movies on the big screen but I just don't enjoy it as much anymore. Reasons, besides the expense and the CRAZY cost of theatre food (I either don't buy it or I take in my own since what they charge is criminal anyway), are mostly ...

1. The temperature. I'm usually cold in a theatre. I know to dress warmer than I would typically but even then, sometimes, I'm freezing! It's nasty to sit through a 2 hour movie with goosebumps the whole time. Why have such a cold temperature for such a sedentary activity?

2. The sound! Horrendously loud!! It used to be that I would expect the previews to be loud and then the movie itself would be acceptable. The last movie I saw in a theatre (Cinderella Man) was so loud that I had to keep my fingers in my ears the entire time and even then I could hear loud and clear.

3. The ads. More and more ads for longer and longer time. I went to Cinderalla Man for a start time of 9:45 but I had to sit through so many ads and trailers that it was well after midnight before I got out of the theatre on week night when I had to work the next morning. I like to see a few trailers but the ads really get my goat! Shouldn't they have to pay ME to watch those?

No matter how comfortable the seats and how big the screen, if I'm otherwise uncomfortable through a whole feature length movie (and then some), I want to be real comfortable being there (sound and temperature included) and I want some special treatment for what I'm putting out to be there. At the price of popcorn, they should be bringing it to me on a silver platter with a sprinking of edible gold cust and with a shnooky popcorn spoon so my fingers don't get too buttery and, on second thought, a real cloth napkin ... and maybe an attendent to wipe my lips with it.

Remind me again what I'm getting for the price I pay to see a movie?

Posted by: Heather | Jul 20, 2005 11:34:47 AM

James,

Anyone who goes to a movie like Revenge of the Sith or The Incredibles really cannot complain about children -- these are essentially kids films (cleverly created so as to have some appeal to adults also).

What I specifically mentioned was crying babies -- not children -- and I am continually astounded at some parents bringing their infants to inapproprite films (NC 17 or R) or inappropriate times.

btw, its not just movies -- I was completely astonished when on Valentine Day, at a very upscale restaurant with a heavily promoted special Valentines Day Dinner, a couple brought their infant to dinner at 8:00. The baby cried all meal, ruining many an evening.

The restautrant was fully booked. Obviously, its not the infants fault -- rather 2 very selfish parents, and a cowardly/clueless Maitre D.

The restaurants name is Diannes (in Roslyn, NY) -- and we've never gone back.

Posted by: Barry Ritholtz | Jul 20, 2005 12:04:50 PM

I agree with all your complaints--but I have to add that, for us, declining movie quality is the big factor. This summer, for example, the three 'big' movies--Revenge of the Sith, War of the Worlds, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory--are remakes or sequels. So many more of the others are worthless special effects binges--"Stealth" anyone? If you want to see a long-term connection with the audience eroded for the sake of short-term profitability, just look to the movies Hollywood is producing. This is as much of a factor as anything else. We continue to patronize our local art cinemas and film archives, which are not only commercial free but which also show good movies.

The truth is that there have been several 'gold ages' of cinema--think back to the era of "Rear Window" or, more recently, to "Apocalypse Now." These were movies that people went to see because it was important to see them, and they were mainstream movies that were widely released in theaters. Nowadays there is a total disjunction: I can see "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" on four screens at the cineplex down the block or I can take the subway to a completely different theater that only shows 'art' movies. And I'm lucky to even have an art theater, since many places don't have them at all. Movie theaters are doing badly because they're showing crap movies.

Posted by: Josh Rothman | Jul 20, 2005 12:44:08 PM

>"Just once, I'd love to see a discussion of the moviegoing experience that doesn't involve child-haters spewing their nastiness all over the place. For the record: not once have I ever had my theater experience spoiled by crying children, talking children or any variety of child-centric unpleasantness. Rather, adults who think the theater is an extension of their living rooms are a far greater issue."

I suppose all the children have turned to donkeys on the childless island where you apparently live, but back here in the real world, pointing out that kids can be disruptive in a movie theater hardly makes one a "child-hater". The fact is that selfish parents do indeed bring young kids to R films or late shows, and i'd love to smack them on the head with a blunt instrument (The parents, not the kids). It might actually be a form of child abuse, exposing a 3-year old to horrific gore and violent imagery.

Aside from that, i think a point has been missed about the decline of movie theater attendance. I dont think its primarily about content, or picture quality, or about the superiority of the home-viewing experience. Movies are, and have ALWAYS been, fuled by the desire of kids and couples to simply GET OUT OF THE HOUSE. It's not a matter of there being nothing worth seeing, or films being easier to watch at home. It's that there are simply more, better, cheaper, more pleasant environments to go OUT to.

Movies used to be the cheapest date you could go on, but they're not anymore. That the experience has been degraded by ads, bad food, bad projection and bad service certainly adds insult to injury, but if they were still a cheap, convenient night out, the decline would be less pronounced. That the movies aren't particularly good... thats subjective and cyclical. That you can have better viewing at home is true for high-end tech owners but thats not yet so widespread as to have had this kind of effect. It also doesn't address the still existing need to "go out".

The answer for movie theaters isn't better technology or better movies. Its about making the experience of going out to a movie a good, relatively inexpensive option for people again.

Posted by: Ralph | Jul 20, 2005 12:44:50 PM

Karmakin wrote:

"Simple as that. I don't think that DVD sales play a huge part in this, I think it's mostly the natural nature of the content delivery business."

Uh....and you'd be wrong. Check out the declining revenue and ticket sales of the theaters. Then look at relative penetration rates of DVD and home theaters - pretty strong correlation.

Posted by: Damian | Jul 20, 2005 1:14:58 PM

THank goodness others here have pointed out the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin. For my money, the best movie theater in the country.

Great, "long-tail" programming, as well as current releases and summer blockbusters. And we *willingly* arrive 30 minutes ahead in order to catch the fantastic and often quite rare stuff they show before the movies.

Good food and beer. Reasonably comfortable seats at the old Alamos, and plush, wonderful seats at the new ones.

If I ever leave Austin, it will be the single thing I miss the most. Live music I won't miss. The Alamo, though, that place is heaven.

Posted by: Andrew | Jul 20, 2005 1:41:28 PM

here's another thought on the reason for the decline: Americans have less disposible income. Real Wages have been going down for about the last 5 or 6 years, and inflation is going up. I'd be curious to know if other entertainment goods and services have also experienced a decline in sales. The RIAA will be quick to point to CD's and music declines, but what about theme park sales? What about video game console sales? Perhaps people are strpped for cash and choose the video game console, which is tangible and retains at least some of its value, over things like movies and theme parks, which are bassically just money down the drain since one cannot sell memories. ...just a thought.

Posted by: dude | Jul 20, 2005 1:52:19 PM

When I went to see Return of the King, I was turned away by the long line-up. Then every time I considered going, I thought that I would be funding Hollywood's evil copyright policies. On top of the crowds, the loud noise, the endless advertising, the expense, it was just enough. Overnight, I went from over a movie a month to one or two a year. I never did see Return of the King.

Posted by: Geof | Jul 20, 2005 2:34:34 PM

Sadly, avoiding theaters is no longer a sure way to avoid ads. Too many DVDs disable the ability to bypass coming attraction previews, FBI warnings, and the new anti-piracy segments I've seen on rented DVDs recently. It's a rare DVD that loads the main menu directly (the extended version of the Lord of the Rings, for example). If theatrical revenues continue to decline, I'm sure we'll see more ads on DVDs to make up the shortfall. I wonder how long a business model based on the idea that the customer is always wrong can last?

Posted by: Thomas Claburn | Jul 20, 2005 2:50:04 PM

Interestingly, I just had a dialogue with a city newspaper reporter who wrote a basically pro-commercials at the movie theatre. She surveyed the local theatres (in Houston) and found that while theatres had lots of commercials, most of them started before the official movie start time. In other words, come early and get bombarded by commercials.

I still don't like that, but if movie times aren't being postponed, that's a different story.

Posted by: Robert Nagle | Jul 20, 2005 4:44:15 PM

"Let's nip this one in the bud, shall we? 5 factors are hurting theater revenue"

What rot.

It's a coincidence that theater revenue starts dropping at the exact same moment as movie piracy takes off on Bittorrent?

To reiterate, what rot.

----------

If you think movie piracy is OK, just say so. Don't resort to intellectual dishonesty to make your case.

Posted by: Petey | Jul 20, 2005 5:01:16 PM

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