The War between Digital Streaming and Theatrical Releases (2 Viewers)

Previous Next
If the state of the AMC theater we have in the town I live in is any indication, AMC is going the way of the Dodo.

There's a new theater near me called Film Alley and since it opened, the AMC theater has been all but dead.

Add Alamo Drafthouse and Studio Movie Grill to the mix and I haven't been to a regular theater in ages.
 
Devildog said:
If the state of the AMC theater we have in the town I live in is any indication, AMC is going the way of the Dodo.

There's a new theater near me called Film Alley and since it opened, the AMC theater has been all but dead.

Add Alamo Drafthouse and Studio Movie Grill to the mix and I haven't been to a regular theater in ages.
Click to expand...

This is what I believe the future of the theatrical experience will be: Same day VOD and theatrical releases, with theatrical entailing Alamo Drafthouse style locations (lots of local and smaller chains have appropriated their model in recent years. Just using them as a frame of reference.). Multiplexes will largely be dead. More people will be watching brand new movies at home day of release. But there will be theaters if you still want that experience, albeit much more upscale ones (restaurant/bar hybrids) with far fewer screens.
 
I guess I'm in the minority but I'd really miss going to the theater to watch a movie. It's just not the same experience watching it at home. I love the giant screen, the volume just a bit too loud, the reaction of the audience (even though I usually wait a couple of weeks so its not too crowded), and the excitement of waiting for the movie to start.
I know this sounds weird but watching it at home is just too convenient. It's too easy to get distracted by my real life around me. Going to the theater is an event; a good distraction that I just can't get watching a movie in my living room.
 
Sun Wukong said:
It won't start with tentpoles. The smaller releases will be the ones to watch. You'll probably see more midrange releases open same day theatrical/VOD (this is something that was starting to happen here and there. Midrange animated fare is probably the canary in the coal mine.

But, hypothetically, say Disney reaches a point where they have essentially achieved worldwide market penetration with Disney+. Could I see a future in which major releases are released new to that platform with maybe a new premium VOD feature added to the service (meaning immediate new releases aren't part of the base package, you pay a fee for those as you would buying or renting a streaming film now)? 100% I can. No distributors, no ticket sales split with the theaters. 100% pure profit for Disney aside from infrastructure and marketing costs.

Theater ticket sales peaked in the early 2000's and have been in a pretty irreversible state of decline ever since. The future of theaters has been looking dismal for a while. This is likely the way of the future. But we're not there just yet.
Click to expand...
I think a lot depends on the aftermath of this. Disney has Black Widow opening up in November. If that takes a hit, say less than Ant Man numbers, then they may take notice.
But that’s just one release. It’s gonna take a few big release bombs to change the studio’s mind.
 
I love both experiences equally so have no preference.
I do believe that theaters will be next to obsolete in about a decade.
 
This is one of those I’m really backwards on. I went for years not wanting to go to the movies at all. It was like Buzd said. Pause, my own snacks etc... I actually went from Titanic all the way until the first It several years ago. Some 15 years or more.

but just recently i went to a few on dates. And then I wanted to go to the last Star Wars because I thought I just needed to see one on the big screen. I went by myself mid day. Had a hoodie with the huge pocket on the front and went it with it sagging bellow my belt with candy. Got the ticket through the app. I really enjoyed it and I didn’t think I would. so I’ve finally come around to thinking going to theater has it’s place and everyone else seems to be going in the opposite direction. Story of my life lol
 
Zack Lee said:
This is one of those I’m really backwards on. I went for years not wanting to go to the movies at all. It was like Buzd said. Pause, my own snacks etc... I actually went from Titanic all the way until the first It several years ago. Some 15 years or more.

but just recently i went to a few on dates. And then I wanted to go to the last Star Wars because I thought I just needed to see one on the big screen. I went by myself mid day. Had a hoodie with the huge pocket on the front and went it with it sagging bellow my belt with candy. Got the ticket through the app. I really enjoyed it and I didn’t think I would. so I’ve finally come around to thinking going to theater has it’s place and everyone else seems to be going in the opposite direction. Story of my life lol
Click to expand...
always went to the movies (bad news bears was my first), but once i moved to NYC movie going accelerated considerably - a few blockbusters but lots of artsy fartsy stuff - for those of us on a budget it was the best date option
once i met my wife she was an even bigger movie going than me
...but then we decided to breed...
 
I only go to the theater to avoid seeing a spoiler between theatrical and home releases. Like a couple others, I have a pretty good home theater system (65” OLED/5.1 that’ll shake my walls), and I’m perfectly happy to pay a couple more bucks and watch it at home.
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account on our community. It's easy!

Register

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Previous Next

Users who are viewing this thread

    Total: 3 (members: 0, guests: 3)

    Share this page

     

    Twitter

    Back
    Top Bottom