Yeah, not gonna work. How about the Hollywood fuckers quit shafting the places responsible for showing their blockbusters. Someone already said theaters don't get a large percentage of the ticket sales(depending on contract, they get an increasing amount each week but the won't be much for a film with bad word of mouth of something like Avengers where the contract probably would state less royalties to the theater than a typical film). Maybe theater owner's should use what little leverage they have left to stop getting screwed so easy. Even if Hollywood bypassed them with straight to video, they'd screw it up by charging $50 per DVD or demanding ridiculous rental fees knowing they couldn't control the amount of people watching a new film that way. Theaters are still a big part of the movie market (especially for the "hang out" crowds like teenagers or couples with no plans for the evening).
SonOfVoorhees said:
Need to sort out the cost, getting stupid how much they charge. Especially when you cant guarantee you can watch the movie without arseholes spoiling it. Before you used to have ushers (years ago) who walked the aisles telling people to stop talking or just telling them to leave. Now you have to put up with noise, chatting or idiots on their phones. Havnt been to a cinema since 2010.
Also they need to stop with all the 3d rubbish and all the new stuff they are bringing out. Like that chair that moves and blows air and water at you. Sorry, but thats just damn annoying when you just want to relax and watch a film.
I used to work at the local theater, before and (regrettably) after it became AMC. One of their rules was you could not disturb anyone once the movie started unless another guest(they also banned the word customer, because they might as well be pretentious pricks while we're at it.) complained about them first. That also meant as long as you could get that full piece Popeye's Chicken meal to your seat without being noticed, the only way we could get you to surrender it was if some else felt jealous that they spent $40 on a couple sodas, bag of popcorn and maybe a hotdog.
I also can't believe they're all still trying to push 3D and the seat motion thing. 3D alone requires much more expensive projectors and screens along with the continual costs of higher wattage bulbs(darker screen and multiple polarizing filters darken the image, a lot. Stay far away from any 3D movie that looks like it will mostly have dark scenes.) and the electricity to run them.[footnote]AMC also wants to use cheaper blulbs that don't last long and have a early failure rate that gives the Xbox 360 a run for its money. Plenty of times I either had to change a bulb super fast or we had to cancel a show because a lamp failed. In fact one lamp of the same brand did blow, grenade style, in one of the more robust 35mm projectors right before we went all digital. That never happened to our old brand even when we went WAYYY past the warranty hours. Good times, that was.[/footnote] All for something that looks like ass until you get a headache then looks worse when you take off the specs. I'd agree, I wouldn't want a theme park ride every time I watched a movie. They're coming up with gimmicks that grab attention for a few months then turns into a waste of money. It's like the motion control fad in games.
Gizmo1990 said:
I have never understood why 3D and expensive food put people off going. If the food is expensive, don't buy it. If you don't like 3D, don't see a movie in 3D.
The problem with 3D is they force it on you with the two theaters by me for some movies, especially older ones or limited run films. They either only run 3D shows, giving you no choice, or have maybe one or two shows a day that aren't 3D, but are usually at inconvenient times like 9:00 AM or 11:30 PM, while the other 3-5 are in blur-o-vision. Same thing with the IMAX. If a 3D version is available for a certain title, they will only show the 3D one and WILL charge you the extra $3.50. (Our IMAX isn't even worth it since it's just a conversion where they squeezed the biggest screen they could in an auditorium, took out the front row seats, installed fancy equipment (which glitched all the time) and charged an extra $1.50-3.50 a seat for the "experience". It's like they don't care you don't want 3D and they will milk you for extra money if you give in to them.
WhiteTigerShiro said:
You know how basically every theater has little side-kiosks that are never open? Yeah, they actually used to keep those staffed[footnote]In fact, back when I was a teenager, I worked at my local theater for a while and actually worked in the side kiosks from time to time before they got closed for good.[/footnote]; now they don't even put people in there during the busiest times. That's how badly theaters are doing right now.
Howdy, fellow theater vet. My building had 2 of those side stands, too. They had everything you needed to function as a concession stand. I remember up until late 2009, maybe 2010, we'd open them at least once a weekend (and as a manager I had to count all the stock moving around, ugh). Then things fell quiet, and soon A[sub]sshole[/sub]M[sub]ovie[/sub]C[sub]orporation[/sub] came in, raised prices, lowered refills and drove off business for the weekend. I don't think they've been opened since I left 2 years ago, more so since they probably never open after 2010 at all. In fact one probably can't open legally, or at least the poor souls running it will be running back and forth for utensils and cleaning, since the 3 compartment sink in the cramped back room was ripped out to put a IMAX glasses dishwasher in its place. I'd also bet the pop syrup hoses have such nasty old stuff in them, they'll have to be replaced if they ever opened again, flushing ain't cleaning them out this time.
Times are a changing, and the movie theaters are oblivious to the fact they aren't going in the right direction.
The food/confectionary prices are also a lot more resonable than the big companies and it has a small seating area to meet with friends for a pint before the film starts. This is how it should be!
