Saturday, September 10, 2011

Why I Don't Go To Movie Theaters Any More

The movie industry is bemoaning sagging theater attendance. They struggle to entice audience back (and it isn't working).

Funny how something so simple evades those guys in suits pulling down 6 figures. I just finished watching a rented movie via iTunes for $2.99. At a movie theater, $2.99 might cover some of the tax on my expenses for the evening.

I would get to pay $10 or more just to get in to see the movie. I'm forced to sit through at least 5 to 10 minutes of commercials, where the volume is turned WAY up. Eventually the movie I wanted to see rolls around.

Being an experienced movie goer, I've purchased my huge bucket of popcorn with extra butter. Popcorn for a price which makes me think of airport prices as being fair and balanced! But who can watch a movie without popcorn?

In the theater I'm subjected to the following "fringe benefits":

  • sticky floors with and without moisture
  • people talking to each other / their cell phones / the movie
  • Language used by 6-year-olds, in response to my request for quiet, which would shock a drunken sailor
  • people throwing things, usually popcorn, at each other, or the screen
  • inability to hear softer dialogue due to all of the above
Here at home I avoid all of the nonsense above, truly relax and enjoy a movie for only $2.99.

OK all you MBA's out there, which would you choose?