The Multiplex Under Siege

The Wall Street Journal ^ | Dec 24, 2005 | Kate Kelly

[abb]

With attendance down and movies popping up faster on DVD, theater chains are scrambling to pry you off the couch -- trying everything from discount tickets to curbs on rude patrons. Their fight to stay relevant in the flat-TV era

On a recent Friday night, some patrons of Pacific Theatres' The Grove Stadium 14 in Los Angeles were in for a rude awakening: Their 7:20 p.m. screening of "The Family Stone" in theater six was being invaded by the 7 p.m. show of "King Kong" in theater seven.

During a teary life-and-death passage of "The Family Stone," a loud, earth-rattling rumble emanated from the "Kong" screening next door. As Diane Keaton broke the news of a life-threatening illness in one theater, the mood was broken by the sound of the mighty ape stomping through the jungle in the other. A few minutes later, another emotional scene was pierced when a customer's mobile phone cut in with a thumping hip-hop beat. The interruptions capped a night of moviegoing already marred by out-of-order ticketing kiosks and a parade of preshow ads so long that, upon seeing the Coca-Cola polar bears on screen, one customer grumbled: "This is obscene."

For moviegoers, it's become an all-too-familiar scene, and some are opting to forget the theater altogether. This year, domestic movie attendance is down 7%, and industry officials blame competition from home entertainment -- everything from DVDs and pay-per-view to videogames that appeal to the young men who have been a core audience for action blockbusters. With millions of new flat-screen TVs hitting living rooms this year -- and an ever-shorter window between a film's theatrical release and when it appears on DVD -- the temptation to stay at home is getting even more widespread.

[marajade]

I liked Kingdom of Heaven. I didn't feel it showed Muslims in a good light.

[irv]

As I understand it (and it's quite possible I don't) the studios dictate how much money they want per screening of a movie, and that certainly influences ticket prices, but they can't actually dictate terms.

The entire industry seems to have gotten locked in to a model of product delivery that simply isn't appealing to the customers. And they are refusing to face that simple reality. Oh well.

I used to love going to the drive-in, but those are incredibly hard to find now, too. I hear there are still a few, mostly in warm states, but they also killed themselves.

Guess I'll just have to get a super wide screen TV!

[Windcatcher]

We've known for ten years how to avoid rude patrons. It's to patronize theatres that are at least ten miles from urban areas (preferably fifteen).

Of course, with the fare of the last few years, it's all moot anyway. The only thing that will satisfy me at this point is a headline like "Paramount Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection".

[GeneD]

I do appreciate that, and I now understand why the original post had to be excerpted. It's troublesome trying to figure out what we can and can't quote fully from. Really this list ought to be put in a central place somewhere for all of us, possibly on the Help page, unless perhaps I've missed it (it's been a while since I've gone there).

I might propose too that when we have to excerpt we perhaps give a summary in our own words of the remainder of the piece, in the lead comment, or perhaps with sites like USAToday.com we can just write a digest in our own words in one paragraph. I think some of us are capable enough.

As to using pieces from WSJ.com, we really shouldn't unless we get them through its skimpy "free" page, or its giveaways to bloggers, or from OpinionJournal.com. We should do this out of principle: a news Web site that cordons itself from the world is an irrelevance (i.e., TimesSelect), and we should encourage the free distribution of news by snubbing pay distributors like the Journal (which I have trouble with for other reasons anyway).

Again thank you for the post, and I hope I didn't cause too much trouble, and Merry Christmas!

[an amused spectator]

Also, there is only junk food and no health snacks, and a lot of Americans are trying to lose weight.

You know, I noticed that. You can only get half-gallon Super Slurps of flavored high fructose corn syrup.

Thanks, but no thanks.

[PAR35]

The easiest thing to do is to either bookmark it on your browser or on your FR links page. The list does change from time to time.

It helped a lot when they put the automatic function in the posting program.

I do agree that if someone posts an excerpt or a link only, they should take the time to provide a summary in their own words.

[dsc]

" high fructose corn syrup" Are you the guy who's always on about that in weight-loss threads? I've been meaning to ask - fructose is a simple sugar, a five-membered ring with two CH2OH groups sticking off of it, and sucrose is a fructose plus a glucose - C12H22O11, or 2 C6H12O6 − H2O. That means it requires more energy to cleave the carbons from a molecule of sucrose and metabolize it. So how come fructose is more fattening than sucrose?

[mysterio]

Merry Christmas.

[an amused spectator]

Are you the guy who's always on about that in weight-loss threads?

No, but there's a few posters who are REALLY down on HFCS, as you have noted.

So how come fructose is more fattening than sucrose?

I dunno. When it comes to stuff like HFCS, I just use my "butter" rule-of-thumb. I remember when butter was going to cause the death of everyone on the planet, and you were REQUIRED to switch to margarine. The health Nazis lost me at that point, and I started ignoring their BS advice.

Years afterward, we discovered that margarine had the evil "trans-fats", and butter wasn't as bad.

So, when I view the HFCS versus sugar deal in soft drinks, I just remember that the same idiots that pushed margarine on us are responsible for pushing HFCS-sweetened soft drinks on us, too.

[dsc]

"Years afterward, we discovered that margarine had the evil "trans-fats", and butter wasn't as bad."

Which was a real "moon'em like Bart Simpson" moment for me. I never switched to yellow chemical grease.

"So, when I view the HFCS versus sugar deal in soft drinks, I just remember that the same idiots that pushed margarine on us are responsible for pushing HFCS-sweetened soft drinks on us, too."

That seems pretty sound, but I want to know a bit about the science involved. Based on what I think I know, it seems counter-intuitive.

[lewislynn]

The "pitcher show" was an American staple back when people didn't have visual entertainment options in their homes. Also, on a hot summer afternoon, the local "Beesju" was often the only building in town with an air conditioned environment.

And it was always a double feature (2 movies) with cartoons on a wide screen (Cinemascope) in a huge theater...

[paulat]

and $18.50 for popcorn, 2 medium drinks, an order of nachos, and a hotdog.

Hate to say it...but you guys are why I don't go to the movies anymore.

Why do Americans think they need to have a full-course meal for a movie? Used to be, a popcorn and a coke was fine.

The smells of horrible fast food and the obnoxious chomping of things like nachos just make me crazy!

[TheWriterTX]

We stopped going to the theater for a completely different reason. Everytime another "star" opened up their mouth to bash conservatives or the War in Iraq, I decided not to give them my support through my ticket price.

Our options are now very few, indeed, so we only go to the movies maybe two to three times a year (mostly for the little ones as a special treat).

That, combined with the cost of the outing, makes it a rare event indeed.

[irishjuggler]

Even if Hollywood were producing masterpieces, I'd still stay home. The movie theater concept is a relic of the 20th century. Who wants to pay a ridiculous amount of money to sit in some multiplex dump and eat overpriced garbage? I think that last movie that I saw a movie in a theater was 'LOTR: Return of the King,' which came out two years ago. The theater was packed that day and seated next to me was an old Chinese man with a bad cough. The dude didn't even have the courtesy to cover his mouth. Fun, eh?

I'm a Netflix subscriber now. I figure that, based on my monthly usage, it works out to about $1.50 per movie. The whole family can watch. The popcorn at home is fresh and cheap and comes with real butter. Moreover, there are no lines, parking hassles, elderly Asian coughers, etc.

[backhoe]

Even if Hollywood were producing masterpieces, I'd still stay home. The movie theater concept is a relic of the 20th century. Who wants to pay a ridiculous amount of money to sit in some multiplex dump and eat overpriced garbage? I think that last movie that I saw a movie in a theater was 'LOTR: Return of the King,' which came out two years ago. The theater was packed that day and seated next to me was an old Chinese man with a bad cough. The dude didn't even have the courtesy to cover his mouth. Fun, eh? I'm a Netflix subscriber now. I figure that, based on my monthly usage, it works out to about $1.50 per movie. The whole family can watch. The popcorn at home is fresh and cheap and comes with real butter. Moreover, there are no lines, parking hassles, elderly Asian coughers, etc.

Let me drop out of Lurk & Link Mode long enough to post a rare commentary. ( Besides agreeing with you )

You know Hollywood has jumped the proverbial Shark when they make movies about cartoons... and can't seem to find an original idea to write a script about.

They are stuck on ( stupid ) a few general, bad concepts:

1) It's the Future ( or not, the scenes remain the same regardless ) and everything is dark, wet, and nasty.

2) Everything blows up, flys, catches fire, or shoots lightning bolts.

3) All the women are one-woman Commando Teams- a few fast moves, and the Bad Guys fall like wheat before a scythe.

LOTR is one of the almost nonexistent movies I would pay to go see- but in the end, I'll probably wait until we upgrade the TV, and get the DVD edition.

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

Hate to say it...but you guys are why I don't go to the movies anymore.

Well then, keep on staying home....no skin off my nose!

[carumba]

The only thing I remember from Dumb and Dumber was the bit about the shih tzu and the bulldog cross breeding program.