Going to see a film at a movie theatre is becoming increasingly unattractive. For one, you have to put up with people. You know the ones. They talk, knee your back through the seat, SMS on their phones (yes, it may be on silent but the modern phone’s backlight is typically brighter than a burning strip of magnesium) and so forth. I haven’t experienced anyone talking on a mobile for a long time, so it seems that little social grace is becoming a norm.
Then you have the films. It seems that the typical multiplex, while maybe showing screening a bunch of movies, only a handful are good. Take for example this sample from a local multiplex. It is showing 17 films concurrently. The average Rotten Tomatoes score of these films is only 53%.
Why else makes cinemas unattractive? The money making: advertising and sky-high food prices. You pay to see a two hour movie, and sit through 15 minutes of advertising beforehand. It used to be the case that high-budget made-for-cinema ads were passably watchable, but now any old ads are on. Then you have the product placement in the film itself. Pre-screening advertising and snack sales is how theatre owners get their money. From a CNN report:
“Owners joke about being in the candy business,” said theater owner Howard Edelman, proprietor of Movieland Cinemas, an independent string of cinemas in the Long Island, NY-area. “If you didn’t have concessions at a movie theater, there would be no movie theater. We have movies just to get people in to buy popcorn and candy, where we make our money.”
Theatre owners only get around 20% of the ticket price from new blockbusters, with their share increasing the more weeks it plays. In the US, owners get 50% of local business advertising, and get paid for screening trailers depending on audience numbers. Howstuffworks fills in movie distribution some more. In the first couple of weeks, theatres make little profit (or even a loss) until the profit sharing percentage slides to their favour later on.
As the cinema experience gets more and more obnoxious, the price for setting up a home theatre system is dropping. How can cinema owners make a “night out to the movies” compelling? One attempt is exclusive luxury cinemas, such as Greater Union’s Gold Class which features a small-sized theatre, big plush reclining chairs and waiter service. It is certainly a nicer experience, but unfortunately the selection of films is even more skewed towards mass-market appeal popular movies.
