Movie theaters: "Why are movie theaters dying?"

(Also Movie theaters)

Seems like a major selling point for theaters could be that they DON'T show ads, and that would be a draw.

They're competing with my big TV at home, my comfortable couch, surround sound, private bathroom, control over the volume, ability to pause, great snacks, and no annoying people. The only thing they have is first access, and I'm more than willing to wait to get all the benefits of watching at home.

Their website literally said a movie started at 7 pm tonight so we get there at 7. Unfortunately it was a mistake and the movie started at 6:30.

We got to our seats with 3 trailers to spare.

I won't sit through an ad, at home, in my underwear. I most certainly am not putting on pants, leaving the house, and paying admission to see ads.

I didn't think there was anything worth watching before. I'm certain now. All ads are insults to your time and intelligence.

I think the saddest of all is when they roll ads for themselves. I'm already in your shitty theater, why are you advertising how "magical" your experience is? Just reeks of desperation and won't convince me to visit more frequently, there are many reasons why I very rarely go to AMC theaters and wasting my time advertising yourselves while I'm already there won't change my mind.

I don't mind previews much, but ads? No.

It's been ~25 minutes of trailers since 2010. All that's new here is the transparency.

The ad industry is destroying every form of entertainment or data access available. Even within the entertainment itself we get product placement for cars, foods, etc.

To all those people saying “well I’ll just show up late”, wait till they start denying entry if you are past a certain point with no refund, forcing people to sit through the ads.

If the sentiment in this thread is representative of the population, it seems like theaters no longer have a value proposition. Home theaters are good enough, we have streaming, and we have budget limitations.

Tvs are gigantic, projectors aren't all that expensive anymore, people are sometimes obnoxious in public, and it's a lot of fun to piece together a good sound system. Fuck theaters.

Well...I'm never going to see a movie in any theater ever again.

I now warn AMC to expect more yarr 🏴‍☠️

Sail the high seas.

Fine by me. At least my local AMC theatre only does reserved seating, so now I know there's really no rush. Plenty of time to stop by the grocery store for candy on the drive over

This comment section seems to think this is news. 15 minutes of trailers is probably the least I've ever seen in my life at a chain at least. 25 minutes has been pretty standard for years. Doubt it's increased very much over the past ten years.

Same "logic" that expects me to watch ads for a streaming service I pay for at home.

I can get ads for free, capitalists. You're not even playing your own game anymore. You're playing some bullshit home version and hoping we don't see the difference.

I haven't gone to see a movie in years. If I paid to see a movie in a theater and they started showing me fucking ads (not trailers, full on ads), I'd walk out and get my money back.

"Oh boy, here I go [pirating] again"

Well they're already doing it so at least they're being open about it now I guess.

It's so sad. The studios started turning out an endless stream of absolute dogshit, just totally boring spectacle that there's no reason at all to get excited about let alone pay $87 or whatever it costs to go see a movie nowadays. And when people started not going to see movies so much anymore, they learned how to market the facsimile of a groundbreaking and awesome movie that everyone's excited to see, that leaves everyone satisfied and happy, but after being burned a few too many times by going and seeing a movie that was okay but basically am aggressive and overly proud-of-itself waste of a weekend night, people stopped going.

And now the theaters are fucked, the studios are fine because they can get away with rent-seeking from all the streaming platforms, and the people who made all these decisions are looking at their fat retirement funds and trying to figure out what new things they can even buy with all this money. I don't really blame the theaters for trying to figure out how to keep the lights on, but I don't think it's going to work real well for all that much longer.

Movies used to be fun

Just solidifies my hatred of theaters even more lol

Theaters are really testing the limits of the bullshit its viewers will sit through.

Guess I'm never going to their theaters again.

A reason not to go to theaters and stream or rent dvds instead.

AMC has been in hard times but now theyve totally lost the plot and make times way worse.

Actually went to an AMC a few days ago to see that new Wes Anderson film. There were A LOT of previews (trailers), like what i would consider an excessive amount, with some ads sprinkled in. Reminded me why I don't go to the movies 😒

The movie was great BTW, 10/10 enjoyed.

Lol what? I guess I haven't been to the movies in longer than I thought, it was like 10 minutes max before. Well, no reason to go back now I guess.

I haven't been in a theater since the first Deadpool. I doubt I'll ever see a movie in a theater again.

The early couple decades of cable TV divided the audience into an ad-free overclass and an ad-inflicted underclass. Streaming services, once the province of the overclass, are now dividing their audience the same way.