Will Movie Theaters be obsolete in the next 20 years??

The first movie theater opened in 1905. Here we are 107 years later and I think things are changing. This is something I never thought I would say. Being a long time movie fan there's nothing like watching movies on the Big Screen. Theater packed and the crowd really into it. It's a great feeling. But something happen since I was born in the 1980's. Technology is changing rapidly. People are getting their movies now on their phones and computers. Look at Video Rentals.

Remember going to rent a movie on Friday Night? Now you got Red Box's, Netflix and blockbusters closing down all over the world. Let's not forget downloading is going to be there. So what's my point? I think people are slowly moving away from watching movies on the Big Screen. Hollywood keeps upping those ticket prices to make up the difference but the fact is more and more people are saying home. Add in the even higher cost of concessions, a Family of four could end up spending close to 100 dollars going to the movies. I think we are seeing the downfall of cinema.

Let's also not forget with the recent theater shootings, more people are choosing to say away from crowded theaters. Hollywood is going to have to adapt or they will lose even more money like the music industry. Soon you will get to watch brand new movies in the confort of your home for a price. So even though it's been here for over 100 years? Do you agree that Movie Theaters are falling off? Or will people always want to watch a movie on the Big Screen.

20 years? Who knows what will be out in that time. Going to the theatre is always 50/50 for me. When I went to see Gangster Squad, I had a running commentary by the guy behind me. At home, I don't have anyone kicking the back seat of my chair.


.....but there is just something about seeing a movie on the big screen, with a crowd of people (the right crowd) that can't be replicated.

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

You need to get the Wittertainment Cinema Code Of Conduct printed up and prominetly displayed.

1. No Eating
2. No slurping
3. No rustling
4. No irresponsible parents
5. No hobbies
6. No talking
7. No mobile phone usage
8. No kicking of seats
9. No arriving late
10. No shoe removal




This really is something special.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

It's something I've wondered about as well.

The cinema was once a place of wonder and enjoyment and the thrill of seeing the film on a big screen...

Back in those days, it was tougher to get hold of movies though... VHS and rentals were really the only way for home cinema and televison sets were barely 20 inches.

These days, like TUS said, you have plebs in the cinema, kicking your chair and talking and generally arsing about. Plus the cinema is way over priced and usually filthy and has little quality in terms of price.

On the other side of the coin though, the biggest DVD and home cinema retailer in Britain, HMV, is on the verge of folding.

I doubt they'll become obsolete, but declining cinema-goers like myself may be a factor in them becoming more scarce.
Cinemas really need to buck up their ideas, prices, cleanliness and quality if they want to keep going.

In the past 10 years, I've been to the cinema to see The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, The Expendables 2 and Dredd.
That's it... and TDKR, Ex 2 and Dredd were within the past 6 months.

Can't stand the cinema.
Good job I went to see TDKR when I did as well... I saw the second showing on the day it opened and I noticed they had the sound up too high... and my cinema's speakers blew on the third showing of TDKR (the showing immediately after when I saw it) and it near caused a riot.
Bad build quality.

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My most memorable theatre experiences:

Grindhouse
Paranormal Activity
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Cabin in the Woods
Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part II (for the sheer fact that everyone in the audience was freaking out at one part while I was laughing my ass off....then booing)

Most memorable theatre experiences...

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (the most annoying audience ever -- everybody talked at the movie - the majority was black, so think Brenda from Scary Movie times 100 - I saw the movie, but I did not hear it for one second.)

Skins (this movie about Native Americans that came out in 2002 - Caitlyn loves it - the film literally broke and burned away right on a shot of a dead Native American guy in a coffin - the movie stopped, lights came back on, ten minutes later it was back on - the theatre did not refund our money.)

Friday the 13th part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (it was 1989 and I was five years old - I went with my mother - someone with the theatre, I assume, dressed as JASON... complete with a machete - went stalking up and down the aisle several times and he even tried to attack audience members. I remember these two women behind me bouncing from seat to seat as Jason came into their row, machete raised. At one point, he pointed his machete at me. I was SCARED TO DEATH - at first I saw a guy wearing a Jason mask and I was like, "Did I really just see that?" Then he started attacking people. I didn't scream or cry, but I was so scared and trying to hide. When the movie ended, he was right outside the theatre door, too, with the mask on. He had longish hair (it was the 80's) that I could see better in the light and I was like, "That ain't Jason!")

And a ton of other movies that hold emotional weight with me, but don't really have anything specifically memorable about them. I could name off a bunch, but they're only memorable because I was happy being there.

These are all disappointing posts. Maybe i'm just lucky but I rarely get idiots ruining the cinema experience for me, and i'm disappointed that you lot just allow that stuff to happen instead of finding a way around it. Yes, cinema prices are getting more expensive by the min, yes, some cinemas aren't the most comfortable to sit in, but you know what? You choose one that is, even if you have to go out of your way to do so.

People complaining about the cinema being dead and all that are actively contributing to that decline and to soaring ticket prices by NOT attending. EVERY film should be watched at the cinema as it's the closets way of honouring a filmmakers vision. A film like, say, The Dark Knight films lose their impact on a screen that's not IMAX. Imagine ****ing paying a few quid to watch The Dark Knight films on your 40 inch telly, films shot on the highest and largest film format possible. And you'd pay to watch that at home? It's attitudes like that that's costing people their jobs at the cinema.

Get a grip. You either love film, or you don't. If you don't love film then stick to downloads off your PS3 netflix or whatever. If you do, then by god, you honour film and you make the effort to go to the cinema.

^^^^Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning....

I lost my job at a now arbitrary system, renting movies. It's a matter of time with these things, companies need to adjust to the new market, if theatres can't....they will eventually die.

To be honest, I could care less about people losing their jobs at the cinema. 90% of them are pimple faced teenagers who couldn't give a damn.

The only theaters I go to are independent theaters, I despise Cinemark, AMC, Regal, Carmike or any other chain which has been killing good theaters and replacing them with over-sized, over-priced hell-holes. If you give money to these theaters, you aren't helping the cinema industry, you're helping to ruin it. Keep on nailing that coffin, boys.

That said, I don't want to drive 45 minutes every time I want to see a movie at a nice theater, so unless it's something I've been looking forward to for months, I'll wait until it's on Netflix.Not only could I not care less about Christopher "Hack" Nolan's so-called "vision," I also could not care less about the entry-level teenagers working at the movie theaters to supplement their allowance.Wow there, calm down with that No True Scotsman stuff, someone might think you're a jerk.

Some of you are saying that people would rather go to the theater then why has Attendance gone down dramatically? Obviously people aren't going to movies as much as someone of you think they are. They are saying "The Hobbit" sold less tickets than any of the original "Lord of the Rings" films. I do agree that overseas theaters are booming though.

I remember a time when Blockbuster thought nobody could stop them, then Technology damn near destroyed their business model. I see a trend, more and more people are not going to the movies, they are finding a new way to get their entertainment.

Because movies today suck and theatre chains marks up popcorn 400%.

I never said that I was a fan of big chains like Vue, Odeon, Cineworld etc, either. But the fact remains that the industry relies on such chains. The cinemas I go to are classy and very much independent, too. I wouldn't challenge anybody else on this topic if that wasn't the case, so next time ask before you make assumptions about me.



They are called CINEMAS not theatres. You speak my language so please ensure that you speak it properly, mate. Also, your weak attempts to get under my skin by calling Nolan a hack is a good couple of years old now. If it wasn't cool back in 2010, it certainly ain't now. I've heard more wit coming from Basil Brush's arsehole.

I'm alright with that. Thanks for looking out for me, though.

You seem content with this.

No rustling?! But I like to rustle.

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"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

I never made any assumptions, and if you read my post without the red haze of rage blinding you, you'll realize I was talking about myself, and I made no implication about what theaters you go to.Wait, so now you want to turn this into an argument about semantics? Ha! I can call them whatever the hell I want, thank you very much.Now I'm apparently trying to be "cool" because I think Nolan is a talentless hack, which he is. Funny how you accuse me of making assumptions about you, and then you turn around and do just that to me. How amusing.

By the way, I'm not your mate, you self-important, fallacy-spouting malcontent. Shouldn't you be trolling the IMDB forums or something?I'm glad you're okay with people thinking you're a big jerk. People like me and pretty much everyone else who saw your first post.

Calling Nolan a hack seems like trolling to me.

Calm down, mate. Relax your arsehole for a bit, yeah?

They are obsolete already.

Well, this got ugly quickly. LOL! Nah, I hardly ever go to the theater. If there is some movie out that my friends want to go and see I will usually go with them, but that only happens once maybe twice a year. I watch most of my movies online on my PS3 (go ahead and hate, I don't care). The way I see it why should I pay 9 dollars for a ticket and another 15-20 dollars for popcorn, a sweet, and a drink when I can watch it for free at home, pop my own popcorn (which comes 3 to a box 10 boxes for 10 dollars) and drink my own soda (which tastes better and is colder than theirs). Sure does save a lot of money, not to mention gas prices.

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You are no Vader. You are just a child in a mask.

I havent been to see a movie in a theatre for years. True, the big screen experience is awesome, but thats not that important to me. The prices are out of sight, especially for the treats. I get just as much out of watching a good movie on my 16 inch TV which is hooked up to a surround sound system as I would by watching it in a theatre. Netflix sucks, what I have seen of it is poor picture quality and the streaming freezing up. I buy or rent videos and with some snacks and a couple cigars it works for me.