> and competition for people's time and money

No greater competition than taxes and inflation.

When I was a kid back in the 70's and 80's going to the theater was a great experience. Fast forward 40 years and it's dismal. The few times I took my own kids they didn't like it. It's expensive, the ads last FOREVER, and the comfort level could never achieve sitting at home in front of the big screen (with the ability to PAUSE). I don't plan on ever going to a theater again, and I know my kids (and their friends) think it's old school and stupid.

I'd make it more like Asian karaoke rooms. Give me a setup I can't afford at home, but not nearly the cost of a full theatre setup. Like a screen that's 32:9 superwide. Studio monitor speakers setup for surround. Have lots of rooms on hand that can accomidate 4-6 people, and fewer rooms for larger parties. To prevent shennanigans, all rooms have CCTV cameras. Give me a touch screen to order food or whatever. Flat price per 2 hour block, watch whatever I want. New stuff, old stuff, etc. Take it a bit beyond movies though. Earlier I said model it after karaoke rooms, so add karaoke. Add video games. It's been a long time since I've been to the theatre and seen it packed to the point people were sitting on the steps (Jurrasic Park comes to mind) but those days are over. People can get a passable quality at home, without all the annoyance. So cater to that, cater to the fact that people no longer want to be in a huge auditorium with strangers doing strange things.

Last week, [1]the CEO of AMC Theaters said [hollywoodreporter.com],

> “Personally, I think it’s inconceivable that AMC would have to restructure like Regal Cinemas did and file for Chapter 11. One of the things I’m very proud of is that going into the pandemic, AMC was in very strong position. We are the biggest and best movie theater chain in the world. Somehow all of us on this planet got handed COVID as something to deal with. And the movie theater industry has been hit quite hard by COVID, and it’s been slow to recover. And the labor strikes were a double whammy. We are already at the four-year mark since COVID shut theaters in March of 2020. And the box office is still not yet back to where it was before,”

Which means, based on this story, they are definitely filing for Chapter 11 in the near future. Their stock is at [2]$2.66/share [marketwatch.com] after all the meme stock frenzy and down 94% in the past year. They can talk all they want about money in the bank, but if they're asking for more, and better, movies, that only means their finances aren't as rosy as they claim.

[1] https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/adam-aron-box-office-amc-theatres-1235870377/

[2] https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/amc?mod=search_symbol

Why not make it easier to do reruns of movies?

I've gone to the movie theater for one of two reasons: it was an IMAX-worthy film (eg Dune and Bladerunner), or it was some kind of fan service (eg: several episodes of the restored ST: TNG series). Well, since an IMAX worthy film is maybe a once a year thing for me, why not have more fan service?

I've never seen the original Matrix in theaters. I'd happily pay for a ticket and a bag of overpriced popcorn to be able to do it.

A diverse and healthy movie scene is what's great for the theatre community, both exhibitors and movie lovers. I suspect economies of scale and consolidation of studios has resulted in larger scale productions, which tend to lean "safe" to protect investments (clearly that's a generalization, but there is definitely a growing sense of "meh" whenever a new movie comes out).

People want to be taken for a journey with an original and engaging story, not just more franchise installments. "Joker: Folie à Deux, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Transformers One, and Deadpool & Wolverine" All of those are sequels/franchise movies. It feels like movies as ART is dead and it's all sequels/entertainment. Basically, movies have turned into explody novellas.

1). Crackdown on audience assholes. Kick out anyone on their phone or talking during the movie.

2). Price your food more reasonably.

3). Turn the volume the fuck down.

4). Start the movie at the time listed, not after 30 minutes of commercials and other bullshit.

5). Have a fucking intermission halfway through the movie.

The last two movies I saw in the theatre were poor experiences for me, thanks to... people. People should understand that even if your ringer is off, a multitude of glowing small rectangles in the darkness is a problem. That an audible text notification is also in poor taste. That shutting the fuck up is good form.

Given that I will not ever again spend so much as one thin dime on comic book franchise movies, the modern theatre experience holds little value for me. My home setup is terrific, and the popcorn is better. Movies are worse. People are worse. Prices are nuts. I cannot think of a single reason why I would ever go to a theatre again.

Or a competitor. Moving seats, wind and mist, etc. Immersion is the key.

The only reason they haven't is that there's a law against it. So yeah you're not going to get anything but a handful of high profit blockbusters out of the studios. Especially with how weak and he trust law enforcement is right now. There's damn few cops walking that beat and the judges they're collared criminals go in front of are corrupt as hell...

Last movie I went to was Top Gun: Maverick. All the movies these days are politically correct, no REAL humor, part 4,5,6 movies, reboots etc. Bring back the good ole days of movies like the original James Bond type movies, Blazing Saddles etc. Oh! But they are racist, sexist bla bla bla bla.

This is just like cable tv but they don't get it.

You're goddamn right movie going is on the down trend. You know why? Becuase I'm a reasonable person and I can't justify spending $45-$50 to sit on my ass for 2 hours and eat popcorn.

I know what popcorn costs.

I know what soda costs.

Stop ripping me off and I'll probably visit you more often.

Or, OK, make those, but don't fund, make and distribute ONLY green-screen stuff that's loud and colorful and goes boom and we have to save _the whole world_ - NO WAIT, _the whole universe_ AGAIN this week.

In New Zealand ticket prices have gone through the roof. If they put them back down to $8 or $10 I'd go back again. I'd love to go but I just can't afford it.

We have the FX, and what we don't have in actors, we have in AMV or AI generated video. What we need are epic fantasy movies, with new IP. I am not talking about reboots or sequels. We don't need another Krull, Legend, Gor, The Last Unicorn, or Beastmaster. What we need are new fantasy stuff, with new IP, good ol' swords and sorcery, with villains with zero redemption arcs. Not another Darth Vader, but someone or something that is just plain evil, and nobody will shed a tear once it gets stomped out of

Hollywood has been spending exorbitant amounts of money to bamboozle people into watching the dogshit it produces. That's finally catching up with them as streaming services get saturated and theaters struggle because nothing Hollywood produces is worth the money theaters and streaming services are charging. Kanopy and mubi are the only streaming services worth subscribing to--and Kanopy is paid by your tax dollars, if your local library buys into it. It's oddly related to McDonald's falling sales. The shit

Most movies are regurgitated crap, so they can use AI to make some non-expensive movie scripts. It really seems that's where they were going with these discussions.