Anybody else go to the movie theater a lot? Have you noticed how dead they are?

I go to the movie theater a lot and so the events of 2020 were kind of inconvenient to me.

There are 2 main movie theaters in a driving vicinity of me. One is more upscale, one is more average.

I've been a lone theater goer since high school really just like to get out and do something by myself yet also still with a group of people. Watching a movie in the theater is like that. Shared experience with strangers. Like a concert.

Back in high school theaters were booming. I remember seeing Finding Nemo and they oversold the tickets somehow and it was standing room only in that theater. It was almost magic.

So I've seen the decline over time as movies got more and more glossified, politically correct, and the scope of movies Hollywood put out narrowed from many different genres and interesting films to just mostly superheroes, remakes/reboots and sequels upon sequels upon sequels or what are we at now Saw movie #10? Conjuring #4? Should we make another Chucky movie?? We don't know what to do because we can't be creative or original at all or we might not make money!!!!

For example I think the year was 2003 or 04. Two gems of movies came out in the theater that today would probably not even be made by my estimation. Adaptation and A Mighty Wind. I saw both these movies in the theater and I will tell you it wasn't standing room like Finding Nemo or packed like Titanic with repeat viewers. But at both of those movies, the theaters were more than a quarter full at a matinee (I always go to matinee shows).

I have noticed a decline in theater attendance steadily since probably 2010-ish but nothing like what I have seen since the theater closures during the events of 2020.

I dont think it has to do with the events of 2020 specifically other than maybe the worsened economy is causing this. I think people just don't have the money to go to the theater like they used to and all of the movies are just the same old stuff over and over again.

It is disheartening because it is nice to have these shared experiences with people you don't know. Like movie theaters and concerts.

I thought it was just because I was going to the more upscale theater and thats why, but I went to the regular theater yesterday and I was the only person in the movie! The only person! In the movie. The lobby was dead as a doornail. Parking lot very very empty. There wasn't the buzzing excitement in the air like there used to be. Because no one was there! And it made me wonder how are theaters even going to make it? There were 4 employees that I saw and I know my ticket and snacks didn't pay their wage so I think theaters are gonna die and that makes me disappointed.

I think the ending of movie and movie theater culture is really one of the quiet signs our society is failing. And rapidly.

Curious to know if anyone else goes to the movie theater a lot and have you noticed this trend? Or is this localized to my area I dont know.

a reply to: Shoshanna

The average teen date...$24 two tickets, $12-14 large popcorn, $10.00 2 lg drink....and gas to get there.

It's not worth it unless you want the experience like IMAX giant screens.

Last I saw with wife was TOPGUN recently. $62 total....shared a drink...popcorn...it was cheap!😠(Sarcasm)

$20 gas
$25 tickets
$10 lg pcorn
$7 lg drink

a reply to: Shoshanna

I would guess my wife and I used to hit the theater about two times a year. We would usually go to movies where the big screen and sounds were worth the expense.

Avengers, Godzilla, lord of the rings..etc

But honestly with todays big tv’s and surround sound stereo systems it’s really hard to justify a $50-$60 trip to the theatre.
Throw in garbage movies like Star Wars, indiana Jones, pick your poison… nah, I’ll skip it.

a reply to: Shoshanna

I have gone to a few movies recently. The new Ghostbusters an new Avatar were pretty good. The rest were meh at best. That is not counting the old ones they show, Alien and The Mummy were better on the big screen. I was alone for Alien and around 8 for The Mummy.

I saw Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire 3 times. From less than 10 people to half full theater.

I think it has a lot to do with the audience annoyances for some people. In one Ghostbusters, a woman laughed or giggled at almost every action. It got very annoying.

While the experience at the theater has some appeal, home theaters have their own. I would have liked to turn the volume down some for The Mummy and the audience down for other showings. That and $20 for $5 movie is a factor, popcorn and drink added.

Looking forward to a couple of more movies to see this year but not many. It is really not worth it in most cases with the quality of new movies now.

TOO expensive to go.
We wait for movies to come on tv ... 'on demand'.

That being said, the last movie we went to was WONKA.
The one before that was TOP GUN MAVERICK.
The one before that ... too long ago to remember.

Both of those movies had a lot of people in them.
I wondered how the families could afford to bring their kids.
EXPENSIVE 2-3 hour family outing.

a reply to: mysterioustranger

The cost is crazy. They charge 18 dollars extra at the big theater for these plastic 3D glasses on top of 2 extra dollars for the 3D ticket and you have to give the glasses back! After the movie it is a total rip off.

a reply to: BeyondKnowledge3

On audience annoyance hehe when I saw Titanic these two elderly like maybe 75-80 year old women were sitting behind me who had clearly seen the movie previously because they had commentary on every single thing. They hated Rose! And I had no idea why until the door scene.

If it wasn't so comical hearing these two old ladies' disgust for Rose the whole movie I would have said something but it was so cute like they were gossiping about somebody they actually knew.

It's kind of a shame, the theater used to be a really fun place to go, but I haven't been to see a movie on the silver screen for probably 30 years now. The wife and I have talked about going on a movie date several times over the years, but we've never managed to do it.

I think there are several factors which have contributed to waning movie theater attendance. Cost is certainly one of the top reasons, but I think there are others also. Home theaters and giant TV's have certainly taken a bite out of movie ticket sales. The Wu-Flu was another, no doubt. But even all of those things aren't the biggest one for me, I'd still go if it was just those things. The biggest single factor for me which keeps me out of the movie theater is CGI.

There used to be a time when, even though you knew the movie wasn't real, you knew that the sets and stunts were all done by real people. Now days, they can just create any wildly unrealistic scene using CGI and for me this just ruins the experience. Before CGI was used as extensively as it is today, movies had to have a certain level of traction with what could happen in real life because the stunts and effects had to be staged by real people. Now...anything goes. This break with reality really just kind of turns me off. Candidly, I don't even care to watch these heavily CGI laden films at home.

The other thing which I think drives people away is the complete loss of control over the volume in theaters. It seems like the modern theater wisdom is to assume everyone inside is completely deaf, so they turn the volume up to 11. Worse, they often vary the volume, so the soft parts you can't hear, and the dramatic parts are positively deafening.

Oh, and one last thing while I'm at it. There has always been a history, ever since silent movies, of using darkly lit scenes in movies to increase drama, but more importantly to lower set costs during production (if you can't see it, it doesn't mater). This also has been taken to extremes in movies now days. Now many movies are just darkly lit shadows throughout the whole movie. That just seems cheap to me.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now. I have to go chase some damn kids off my lawn with the hose!

I'm afraid that technology and people's personal preferences have been evolving over time. Add a stupid President and his party's destructive policies over the past 5 years or so along with Covid and double digit inflation and stuff in general has been changing at a lightning pace.

Afraid the movies are just too expensive for most people anymore. Along with the horrendous flops that have been coming out. But really, why would anyone go to a first run movie at the theater when you can wait 1-2 months and get it at home on PPV for half the price of a single movie ticket? Or 6 months later on Netflix, Hulu, or another service?

a reply to: Shoshanna

I prefer to have a theater all to myself, actually.


But then, I have never really been "into" the whole "shared experience" thing; perhaps it's memories from past lives where crowds became mobs and horror ensued?


And we have to consider the nature of the current film industry: it is largely no longer "Art for Art's Sake", but "art" to generate capital, money. And the standards by which films, and film actors, perform have evolved to reflect that reality. I think another can be gleaned from a quote I believe was once uttered by the actor Benedict Cumberbatch(sp?);

"...The difference, one if them anyway, between British actors and those from America, is that, in Britain, we were taught to memorize the entire script (before the production), whereas in here, actors just learn their own parts..."


Folks used to go to the movies to be immersed in a "fantasy", now they go to simply be "entertained" by a diversion.

originally posted by: Shoshanna
So I've seen the decline over time as movies got more and more glossified, politically correct, and the scope of movies Hollywood put out narrowed

Which is why Hollywood got the last of my money before Covid.

Done with overpaying to sit in a giant dark dumpster and have their woke rubbed in my face. Too many other outlets now; LONG past are the days when the theater/cinema was the only place around with entertainment and air conditioning (and the new films were actually good).

Why pay to see people who hate America/God and anyone who owns a gun? I will pass. I paid to see Dune and I read the book, so I did like it. That may be too much money for Hollywierd there.

a reply to: Shoshanna

Prob now? You pi-- someone off inside, they pull guns...true.

a reply to: Mantiss2021

S.O.A.B. BLUE tooth lights in the dark!

Leave your phone in the car!😠

I go to Marcus Theaters in my hometown and on Tuesday its only 6 dollars for movies. You can get a large
Popcorn and a Large Soda for 10 dollars. Only time i go. I will be going this week to see the Planet of the
Apes and will see the new Mad Max Movie and the new Silent Place one this summer.

It's ironic that theaters are closing, yet more people are watching more movies than ever before. Streaming globally...

We are looking for members to join IATSE if you have skills.

iatse.net...

a reply to: lilzazz

Not too ironic, really; there are a lot of reasons. Many of them are sad and disappointing, but understandable.

a reply to: Drugstorecowboy56

You need to see my review of that movie before you go. I just got back from that one. If you have any technical communication knowledge you will hate it.

a reply to: Shoshanna

I have a 120-inch UST laser projector and a Sonos surround sound system; I'm quite alright with waiting for movies to come out on streaming or physical release. I do miss the simultaneous releases they did during Covid; I would likely cough up $20 to watch something day of release in the comfort of my home; probably a better profit margin for them if I do. I don't have to try and hold it until the end of the movie and fight with a bunch of other people for toilet space; I can have more high-end snacks, have a drink or two if the mood strikes, and do not have to worry about anyone else being loud and obnoxious. You couldn't pay to get me back in a theater at this point.

originally posted by: mysterioustranger
a reply to: Shoshanna

The average teen date...$24 two tickets, $12-14 large popcorn, $10.00 2 lg drink....and gas to get there.

It's not worth it unless you want the experience like IMAX giant screens.

Last I saw with wife was TOPGUN recently. $62 total....shared a drink...popcorn...it was cheap!😠(Sarcasm)

$20 gas
$25 tickets
$10 lg pcorn
$7 lg drink

Another good time to drop the cash is on something like the lord of the rings marathon. Dis that... it was phenomenal and only like 25 bucks. And the chairs reclined!