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The ‘Rona may kill off the institution of movie theaters before she is stopped. For some, this is a boon. For others, a disaster. Please weigh in with your opinion—but also with stories of your best or worst theater experiences. Share as many memorable experiences as you can, for this may be a wake.


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One of my more memorable experiences was seeing The Blair Witch Project with my friends. One member of our group was prone to motion sickness...and he’d had a chimichanga followed by a bag of Skittles before the movie. He managed to hold it in until the very last scene. In my heart, that movie always ends with an enormous double-splattering sound.

I hate them.
When i saw the avengers in theater, when hulk started beating Loki, i missed the line "Puny God" Because so many people where laughing. Even after that, i still liked them.
Until theaters started making me reserve for seats. No more could i go pop in with a group of friends and see a movie, get there early and get the good seats. Now we have reserve maybe a few days ahead of time, and with a Matinee going from 8$ here to 13$ it is insane.
Then, I have to buy a 5$ soda ant 6$ candy. Your fething candy aint magically better than 7/11 or Dollar store candy. You just jack up the price because you cant bring in your own food.
Lets say movies are 20$ to buy VOD day of release like Trolls 2 was. Well i spend 20$ 15$ on two pizzas and a Liter of soda. yeahs thats 35$. but i get the movie, i get to sit down in a chair that doesnt move when the movie makes sound AND AND i get to share it all with my friends.

Love going to the theater. The cinema has a very powerful effect on me, I think because some of my fondest childhood memories were my folks taking me to watch Jurassic Park, Lion King, Jumanji, etc. To this day I'm enthralled by the experience and it would break my heart to see them go. I've seen a lot of people on here bitch and moan about loud moviegoers who ruin the show for them and while this has happened to me a couple times it's honestly been pretty rare in my experience. I find it weird that people who hate theaters want to see them go away when they themselves could just stop going. Let us who enjoy the experience continue having the option, and let those who don't stay the hell away.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
I hate them.
When i saw the avengers in theater, when hulk started beating Loki, i missed the line "Puny God" Because so many people where laughing. Even after that, i still liked them.

This is a cultural thing I think, not a problem with cinemas. Here in the UK we tend to be more reserved, so the audience will remain largely quiet (unless it's a kid's film) and a cinema is one of the few places that a typical Brit will actually tell somebody to sit the feth down and shut the feth up if they're being obnoxious (only more politely, and heralded by aggressive tutting and nuclear level sighing, but it will happen.)

Until theaters started making me reserve for seats. No more could i go pop in with a group of friends and see a movie, get there early and get the good seats. Now we have reserve maybe a few days ahead of time, and with a Matinee going from 8$ here to 13$ it is insane.

You see, I actually think a group of people organising to get together for an activity and not ensuring they'll be able to do that activity is insane, but you do you.

Then, I have to buy a 5$ soda ant 6$ candy.

Wow, cinemas are different in the US. In the UK these purchases are a choice made the by the patron.

Lets say movies are 20$ to buy VOD day of release like Trolls 2 was. Well i spend 20$ 15$ on two pizzas and a Liter of soda. yeahs thats 35$. but i get the movie, i get to sit down in a chair that doesnt move when the movie makes sound AND AND i get to share it all with my friends.

But you still spent $20 on Trolls 2, so who really came out ahead here?


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Oh, and as I type, the "no" option in the survey has 0 votes, so a thread you're responsible for causing to be created and you're not going to vote?

Strangely my corner of the Shire has a cinema which has a massive screen 1 so its been a fairly regular haunt even if the sound needs a tune up

Few tales of note;

Like ive mentioned before wee Turnip having a melt down at the end of Bednobs and Broomstick at the 'special tricks' of animated knight and uniforms

Going to watch Ants half cut and mostly sleeping all I can recall is it starts like a Woody Allen movie and ends with a tower of Ants, ditto Captain Corelli, only woke up at the shooty/splodey bits

"strewth theres a sheila down there with no strides on" possibly the greatest reveiw of Sirens ever, many many moons ago had a minion job at an Art Centre that ran films and watched a lot whilst envelope stuffing mail whilst the projectionist did test runs , and given he was a sarky scottish fellow it had a whole mystery science vibe, the Sirens line being the most memorable

@ hotsauce yes the snacks are steep but given they only see 20-30% of a tickets price its an important income stream

Not to sound like a hipster, but I'm lucky enough to have a small art house style theater nearby. They usually show stuff I'm not interested in, but they will run whatever the big movie of the season is (Star Wars, Marvel movies etc).

The big chain theaters here in the US? Not really my choice unless the person I'm with really really wants to see a movie.

Definitely nay.
Filthy, crowded, uncomfortable and the between the sound engineers and the projector staff, movies haven't managed to get a good sound mix this century. Loud bits are too loud, and quiet bits (the actual talking parts involving actual story, rather than pure special effects snooze-fests) are too quiet, and often trampled by the soundtrack.

And that's before factoring in the pandemic at all.
Goodbye and good riddance.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
I hate them.
When i saw the avengers in theater, when hulk started beating Loki, i missed the line "Puny God" Because so many people where laughing. Even after that, i still liked them.
Until theaters started making me reserve for seats. No more could i go pop in with a group of friends and see a movie, get there early and get the good seats. Now we have reserve maybe a few days ahead of time, and with a Matinee going from 8$ here to 13$ it is insane.
Then, I have to buy a 5$ soda ant 6$ candy. Your fething candy aint magically better than 7/11 or Dollar store candy. You just jack up the price because you cant bring in your own food.
Lets say movies are 20$ to buy VOD day of release like Trolls 2 was. Well i spend 20$ 15$ on two pizzas and a Liter of soda. yeahs thats 35$. but i get the movie, i get to sit down in a chair that doesnt move when the movie makes sound AND AND i get to share it all with my friends.

Wow, that's the opposite of my experience.

I never buy anything than the ticket to watch the movie, and here the ticket is the equivalent of 6-7 $ if you pre-pay 10 tickets. Watching the 22.45 show means that there are like 15-30 people in total so zero noise in the room.

I hate paying for watching movies at home though. I'm not a netflix guy I guess.

I like them, but I’m not attached to them.

Most of the media I consume has a “bombastic” feel to it. A large screen and loud sound system complements this interest perfectly. I watched Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame on the big screen, and felt a rush of excitement the whole way through. I probably would have never been able to replicate that experience at home.

That being said, it costs roughly 10.00$ for a movie, not including food and beverages (let’s assume 16.00$). This amounts to an experience that lasts an hour. I can use this same amount to buy at least 5 books at a secondhand store (each taking several hours), a couple of decent video games on a good Steam sale (which can take as long as 30 hours each), a DVD for repeat viewing of that same movie, or a month on a streaming service (which features not only repeat viewing but a wider selection of movies).

It would be a shame if other people missed the experience, since there may be a good experience to be had. It would also be a shame if people lost their jobs as a result of theatre closures. At the same time, it doesn’t change my movie consumption habits very much.

 Blackie wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
I hate them.
When i saw the avengers in theater, when hulk started beating Loki, i missed the line "Puny God" Because so many people where laughing. Even after that, i still liked them.
Until theaters started making me reserve for seats. No more could i go pop in with a group of friends and see a movie, get there early and get the good seats. Now we have reserve maybe a few days ahead of time, and with a Matinee going from 8$ here to 13$ it is insane.
Then, I have to buy a 5$ soda ant 6$ candy. Your fething candy aint magically better than 7/11 or Dollar store candy. You just jack up the price because you cant bring in your own food.
Lets say movies are 20$ to buy VOD day of release like Trolls 2 was. Well i spend 20$ 15$ on two pizzas and a Liter of soda. yeahs thats 35$. but i get the movie, i get to sit down in a chair that doesnt move when the movie makes sound AND AND i get to share it all with my friends.

Wow, that's the opposite of my experience.

I never buy anything than the ticket to watch the movie, and here the ticket is the equivalent of 6-7 $ if you pre-pay 10 tickets. .

On the rare occasions I do go to theaters, its generally a matinee (so about $8 here, because its a tourist town). Usually don't buy anything else, and its usually 2 weeks or so after release weekend. Still a nasty experience.

It might not just about the cost, my nephews (14 and 11) have never known a non-streaming world and what they regard as small tellys would have been magic godtech when I was that age so changing culture may be what ends cinemas

That's fair, and I have a feeling Covid may show the studios that a release model that doesn't require theatres is viable (correctly priced because they're much more vulnerable to piracy of good quality copies of they get greedy.)

I'm sat a little over 6' from a 55" 4K display with a solid 5.1 system, I think the argument about *needing* to see big blockbuster movies at the cinema is still valid, but is becoming less so as tech advances.

Lets not forget cinemas have changed a lot over the years, at one time you got commercial breaks, ads (not just more movies) and also news broadcasts. Because you didn't have a TV at home, you might have one on the whole street if you were lucky.

The cinema weathered the rise of the home TV by being the place to watch big movies.

I think it still holds that spot, but I can see that Corona might well push many at both ends toward the home subscriber system, it has several benefits:

1) It allows the streaming service complete control over their product. No more will a directors edition be needed if there's no cinema group buying the film and cutting bits out to make it fit into a time slot; if they do modify anything it goes into the one streaming version, no need for legacies (Han will always shoot second).
They can pull or even do neat advertising things such as using a grey drinks can and then being able to edit in any brand they want; leading to potential subtle marketing options. Coke pays or all the coke cans and bottles become generic brand A in a flick of a switch.

2) It allows people at home to pause; eat what they want; not have to travel etc..



Of course there are downsides too:
1) It might lead to less and less DVD ownership and production; promoting a powerful rise in streaming dominance. Nice if you can afford it; a right pain if you hit a bad few months and have to cut streaming services and suddenly can't watch your favourite film

2) A cinema ticket costs; a streaming service also costs. One is a one time cost; one comes with a lot more, but is a rolling cost. I can see already that trying to support multiple streaming services starts to come to quite a significant cost per month.
Whilst you get a lot for your money its still a lot of rolling costs for many people to juggle in life.

3) You lose some of the group entertainment value of staying at home compared to going out with friends/family and watching a film then going out for food etc...

4) Going out is often a good thing to get independence from home.


I can honestly see that what might happen is once Corona is over and we can use cinemas and restaurants normally once more; we might well see many smaller cinemas close doors. We will likely see bigger cinemas struggle but manage to hold on and carve a bit of a market for themselves. It will change for them quite dramatically though and, unlike restaurants, where we might see many close, but once safety is back demand will rise and many new ones will open to replace them. With Cinemas we might not see such a resurgence.


Then again who knows, perhaps the huge social boom and the whole "blockbuster" system will return with great power as people enter a period of celebration at the restoration of normality etc...

As a guy still in his teens, they're always a great day out for me and my mates. Especially in my town, we have both an odeon and a cineworld so our theaters are almost never full- and there have even been times were it was only us in the theatre! A great day that was- pretty sure the film was crap but having the whole thing to ourselves as a bunch of teenagers is an experience I won't soon forget.
But really, a day out is what cinemas are right now. Get some drinks and snacks (not from the cinema haha) before you go in, enjoy the experience of watching a film on a massive screen, and more importantly with your mates, then be able to discuss it afterwards perhaps over a restaurant dinner.
I'll be really upset if corona completely kills off the industry, because streaming from home just isn't the same

I share the same opinion with live sport and music- the entertainment itself is seconded by the experience of enjoying it in a communal environment with people who are also there to enjoy it with you- streaming will never give the same vibe, however hard it tries to simulate it.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
I hate them.
When i saw the avengers in theater, when hulk started beating Loki, i missed the line "Puny God" Because so many people where laughing. Even after that, i still liked them.
Until theaters started making me reserve for seats. No more could i go pop in with a group of friends and see a movie, get there early and get the good seats. Now we have reserve maybe a few days ahead of time, and with a Matinee going from 8$ here to 13$ it is insane.
Then, I have to buy a 5$ soda ant 6$ candy. Your fething candy aint magically better than 7/11 or Dollar store candy. You just jack up the price because you cant bring in your own food.
Lets say movies are 20$ to buy VOD day of release like Trolls 2 was. Well i spend 20$ 15$ on two pizzas and a Liter of soda. yeahs thats 35$. but i get the movie, i get to sit down in a chair that doesnt move when the movie makes sound AND AND i get to share it all with my friends.

It's worth noting that theaters don't make very much money on the ticket sales. Most of that money goes to the production company. The concession sales covers all the operating costs, salaries, utilities, etc.

I’m sorry you had such bad experiences, Hotsauceman. I’m pretty spoiled for theaters here, and prices are generally not that bad if I’m not going to a blockbuster on ole wing weekend.

My wife and I personally view concessions as the equivalent to tipping at a restaurant, in that we know the theater gets bupkis from ticket sales and we need to support it we we want it to stay in business. We also have different theaters we go to for different movies. There are cheaper ‘second run’ theaters for movies we don’t want to pay much to see. There are a couple of huge cineplexes for movies we can’t find at our favorite theater, although the crowds are more likely to use cell phones or talk back. We usually go to a theater near a mall (and a smaller art house theater that draws off the oldies) that has a lively yet well-behaved audience for medium-high ticket prices. That’s where we’ve had some of the best movie-going experiences. For event movies back in the day we used to pay premium prices for a premium experience at a theater called Big Newport.

At Big Newport, we would have to wait for hours on opening day. The crowd would form some comraderie anticipating the movie. Then they would let us in almost an hour early, and patrons would inflate beach balls for the crowd to bat around. Ten minutes before the movie would start, the theater staff would put on a live performance—besuited dancers for Men in Black, Stormtroopers for Star Wars, etc.—and get the crowd all riled up. Those experiences made the movies so much more special than a TV screen ever could. Sadly, I don’t think they’ve put that much effort into opening weekends for a while.

I used to love movie theaters, and went all the time.. but the older I got the less I liked it, and we haven't gone in years. They're filled with bratty loud kids and they all smell like pee (the theaters, and probably the kids too).

We're happy to wait a few months to watch at home. I have a home theater with a big 4K TV and a poofy recliner couch.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
I’m sorry you had such bad experiences, Hotsauceman. I’m pretty spoiled for theaters here, and prices are generally not that bad if I’m not going to a blockbuster on ole wing weekend.

See, This is what happened and kinda why I dont like them
We have like 3 major theaters. They used to have stadium seating. But they alll switched to recliners. Requireing you do buy them and reserve in advance.
This meant i could no longer pop in to theaters with my friends spur of the moment and gak. or we would end up split up quite often. requireing one person to pay.
I also cant just go with my family to the theater and get a seat.
Combine with a lot of the prices skyrocketing from 8$ to 13$ meant more money for a less enjoyable experiance.
Yes i know i dont HAVE to buy the snacks....but you ever sit through a 3 hour movie with no drink or anything? it SUCKS.
That said, i enjoy WATCHING movies in the theaters but like i would be more than fine watching it from home.

It sounds like the theaters all took the same gamble at the same time. Only one theater close by me has recliners and deluxe unicorn sound and all that jazz. It’s fine for matinees, though still kind of pricey, but that’s the same theater with all the jerk texters. I’m surprised no theater near you opted to be the cheaper, more accessible alternative. You got screwed on that front.

As for snacks, just bring in your own if you’re not going to buy. Yeah, theaters need the money, but they need satisfied, repeat customers even more.

I love the movie going experience. I am eagerly awaiting the theaters opening back up so I can get back to my movie watching.

I like going to the cinema.

Back in February, I went to see 1917. That film has a strong start but trends turgid. Next to me was a teenage couple and they were riffing on the movie. I kind of tuned in and those kids were hilarious.

 Manchu wrote:
I like going to the cinema.

Back in February, I went to see 1917. That film has a strong start but trends turgid. Next to me was a teenage couple and they were riffing on the movie. I kind of tuned in and those kids were hilarious.

This was the last movie I watched before the lockdown. Re-watched at home and man, it really was a different experience. At the theatre I simply had no words, watching at home I just though: ok, solid movie but nothing exceptional.

In all honesty during the lockdown I didn't miss going to the concerts, to the pubs or clubs. I don't attend sports events either (massed uncivilized hooligans presence here). I can overcome going to restaurants. But right after the gym, what I really missed was going to the cinema. Still missing, despite the re-opening of theatres, since all the interesting movies have been shifted to september or further.

I used to enjoy cinema going in my younger days, but not any more,

i'm sure it's partly getting older, in part moving so the mix of the audience & cinemas available are different is but that's not all

audiences have got louder, more annoying and the introduction of smartphones with bleeps, bloops and islands of distracting light there everywhere

I used to love cinema. My fiance is a film producer so we're usually watching something when we get the change. The entire industry has ground to a halt due to COVID, but I would argue that it's been slowly killing itself over the last few years anyway. As production budgets go up the consumer inevitably has to pay more. Back in my day (whatever way I phrase this it sounds old despite me being only 26), you could get a ticket and snacks for probably around £7, whereas now the larger brands are charging close to £15 for your ticket alone, with snacks/drinks easily costing another £10 per person. Competition from streaming services and torrenting are just making it easier to avoid cinema alltogether.

The worst experience I've personally had however was seeing Assassin's Creed with my flatmates. Some kid in the front row starts complaining, the mum pulls out an iPad for him to start watching Fortnite videos on at full-volume. Around a minute passed with everyone baffled before someone asked her to turn it off, at which point we all receive an earfull about her kids and why should she have to listen to us. Luckily the staff were on hand to kick her out.

The worst experience I've personally had however was seeing Assassin's Creed

Wow, and I thought HSM had it bad paying $20 for Trolls. You have my condolences.

Love them so much! Was really bummed that a number of releases I was looking forward to got (obviously appropriately) delayed due to the pandemic. Just get to look forward to them longer, I guess

(A Quiet Place 2 was at the top of that list - thriller movies really benefit from the theater environment)

I enjoy the movie theater experience a lot. I like it more the older I get. My local cinema is a small family run place, where the owners take the tickets and their kids and their friends do concessions. Only two screens and old fashioned seats.

In my town, if someone is a jerk in the theater, you can usually call them out by first name! "Tony, stop acting like an idiot!" Done.

I absolutely, 100%, unflinching adore drive-ins. I am so lucky to have one in my town!

I go with friends when they want to.

I am not a fan due to

Idiots eating noisely
Idiots talking
in fact other people in general.

 Mr Morden wrote:
I go with friends when they want to.

I am not a fan due to

Idiots eating noisely
Idiots talking
in fact other people in general.

This is basically how I feel about going to mainstream cinemas. People (by and large) don't appear care about anyone other than themselves. People talking/eating/making noise/constantly moving around is incredibly irritating and will often ruin the experience.

I tend to only go to places like the BFI (British Film Institute) where the clientele is more considerate of others around them, mostly for older films, though they do normally show the bigger new release for a few weeks.

 Azreal13 wrote:

The worst experience I've personally had however was seeing Assassin's Creed

Wow, and I thought HSM had it bad paying $20 for Trolls. You have my condolences.

I actually did not buy it.
I was using it as an example of a movie that went VOD for 20$ and did well. It did so well infact that the studio head said he will release all his movies VOD now along with theaters.
Then AMC and several others threw a hissyfit so he backed down.


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 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
It sounds like the theaters all took the same gamble at the same time. Only one theater close by me has recliners and deluxe unicorn sound and all that jazz. It’s fine for matinees, though still kind of pricey, but that’s the same theater with all the jerk texters. I’m surprised no theater near you opted to be the cheaper, more accessible alternative. You got screwed on that front.

As for snacks, just bring in your own if you’re not going to buy. Yeah, theaters need the money, but they need satisfied, repeat customers even more.

Yeah, it sucks
When i lived in another town, on main streeth there where 4 theaters.
1 big recliners one where all the big movies went, 1 second run theater(that was nice) and two independent movie theaters. one that only had like, 20 seats in a single room.
I loved going on dates there(Protip, Never take someone on a first date to a True crime movie about a man that murdered his entire family), going to them by myself all the time.
But now its just frustration with getting the tickets, making sure you buy days in advance to get good seats, sneak in snacks or pay 8$ for an Oz of beer and gak.