Red Letter Media – famed hack frauds who produced those wonderful Plinkett reviews that will never be made again due to Content ID shit – discuss the woes of movie theaters and how they can survive in this world of streaming video and movies not quite having the same impact as they once did. Apparently, this discussion came about because a couple “big” movies flopped at the box office during memorial weekend and that, along with news of multiple movie theaters shutting down, is signaling the end of the movie theater.
I don’t know if I can make that determination… probably why I posted the above video instead, but I will say this much.
There used to be a time when going to the movies felt like an event. A gathering of friends and family to see the newest, highly anticipated film. My brother and I have seen many big films in the theaters. Every Star Trek since V or VI, every Star Wars movie since the Special Editions hit in 97, a lot of the superhero movies. I, myself, went to see a bunch of films in theaters with friends that were outside my toybox; dramas, comedies, things of that nature. If there was a movie that appealed to us, we’d make a point to get together and watch it at the theaters.
The key thing is that back in my day, there was a wide gap between television and movies. Television was cheaper, wasn’t quite as extravagant, and focused more on smaller stories emphasizing characters and the world around them. Whereas movies were a spectacle, high-caliber, high-quality production where you’d have the grandest scopes, the biggest name actors giving off top-tier performances, accompanied by the grandiose of musical compositions and ambience. Movies in those days took you to places where television could only dream of taking you. Even when television dabbled in movies, they were technically “movies” but they were more like extended television episodes, pilots, or one-shots. Perhaps slightly higher caliber, but nowhere near the scope of movies.
Nowadays, the gap in quality between television and movies is so miniscule that it’s practically non-existent. When it comes to the big event pictures, television can look just as high-end as the latest movies. Hell, sometimes, the television can oftentimes feel more higher end than the movies that hit theaters. And when you can access all that stuff on a streaming video service, where’s the need to go to a movie theater if you’re getting the same quality at home?
You could argue that theaters have bigger screens, louder experiences, and a lively audience also helps with the atmosphere… but the question becomes do you really need those things? When you go to a movie theater these days to watch a movie, do you come out of it with a smile on your face or do you come out of it wishing that you had waited until it hit Netflix or whatever streamer of choice? Considering how short the release windows are these days, is there really an urgency to watch it on the big screen? Does it really matter?
I’m not here saying that movie theaters are dying. Sure, some are closing down, but it’s not a total lost cause. Every so often, you’d still have the occasional blockbuster hit that makes shitloads of money. Dune 2 was the last movie I went to and the theater was pretty full for a Sunday afternoon showing. You have movies like Barbie and Oppenheimer doing well, the last Avatar film did its usual numbers and there’s an absolute certainty that the next one will do well. Clearly, there is room for the big-time movie that feels like a big deal… not sure if I’d count Barbie among those, but hey, there are all those Barbenheimer memes we have to feed on the Internets or something.
Let me put this another way. I like going to the movies. I like to enjoy the big-screen experience. I like to lose myself in the grand-scale epic. I like – and want – to be excited about going to the movies, but I also want to see movies that will make me excited about going to the movies… and that’s where my problem lies. There aren’t any movies that entice me to want to go to the movies as opposed to waiting until it hits streaming. I went out and saw Dune with my older brother, but that’s because it’s Dune. All those other blockbusters I mentioned? Haven’t touched a single one of those. Hell, I enjoyed Avatar 1 back in the day – the first film I saw in 3D – and I had no desire to watch the sequel… and that’s fine because that film still made money.
But films like those are a rare thing. Everything around those films… no thanks.
What are movies offering these days that I can’t get at home besides a bigger screen, which does nothing for me since I have big screens at home? What kind of experience are movies providing that you can’t get from a television product produced on a smaller scale? What makes movies feel like a big deal that they need to be celebrated in a movie house? These are questions that come up whenever I see a new trailer and a trailer used to be something you’d watch to get you excited to watching a movie in theaters. Hell, I’d get a kick out of watching and re-watching the trailers until the movie came out and we’d go check it out. Nowadays, most of the trailers I end up watching either gets a “no buys” or “I’ll wait until it hits Netflix.”
And I don’t even watch Netflix all that much these days. I just stick with Youtube and whatever I have on DVD, Blu-Ray, or VHS.
Movie theaters have a lot of things to compete with and almost all of them provide more convenience and value for far less than the average price of a ticket. As time passes, there will be even newer avenues to entertainment that will compete for the viewing audience’s attention and wallets. It’s not going to be any easier for theaters. They need to find ways to make the movie going experience attractive and well worth the price of admission. These people can blame things like COVID or anything else all the want, but truthfully, my excitement for the moviegoing experience waned long before the supposed collapse.
Anyway, I’ve said everything I had to say… maybe one of these days, I’ll think of more stuff to say, but for now… enjoy the hacks.
dtm666 