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Do You Go Out to the Movies or Wait for the DVD?
SpecialAgentXXX asks "After I see a movie, I usually end up buying the DVD to see the deleted and behind-the-scenes bonus material. So I not only pay for $20 the DVD, but also $24 for a pair of tickets, $8 for parking, and $12 for popcorn & drinks. But now that I have a home theater system, I've mostly stopped going to the movies and just wait half a year for the DVD. The only exception is watching a movie in DLP or the IMAX Experience like Harry Potter since those are better qualities than a DVD. Are more people doing this? The cost of going to the movies is now more than double that of a DVD!"
I used to enjoy going to the cinema to see a movie, and certainly some of the really require a look in at the cinema - big screen, and all that.
However, I do find that other people in the cinema are annoying. Generally there are:
- people talking;
- people eating stuff from noisy bags;
- people slurping the last few drops of their drink;
- kids kicking the back of the seat;
- any number of other annoyances.
It's getting more and more difficult to actually enjoy watching a film in a cinema these days. With the advent of high-quality DVDs and home theatre systems, I'm moving more and more towards waiting for the film to come out on DVD and watching it, in peace, at home.
Here, a trip to the movies is a little cheaper that in the US. And DVDs are more expensive. But I think it's worth the extra money and waiting a big of time.
Granted, some films have to be seen in the cinema. I'll be there the 'Return of the Sith'. Sorry, but even if it's a terrible film, I will have to see it.
T.
By waiting, most people will either say it's good or bad.
Also there's been a loss in the "movie-going experience"
I mean, commercials in the intro, those stupid "No Smoking" jingles, at home, I can just watch the movie
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... on how much DVDs cost where you live ! Here they are about 5 or 6 times the price of a ticket (30 euros compared to 5 or 6 euros at most cinemas). Can you say overpriced ? That's why my collection of DVDs can be counted on a single-digit.
I still go to the movies, especially since they built that huge multiplex to replace the two smaller cinemas. The main difference is that I'm more demanding of the whole experience : I generally pick a morning session during work days of the second or third week after release, so that there are about 4 or 5 other spectators besides me in the room.
Another advantage of reduced audience, in addition to the total silence during the movie, is that you can just go to the other spectators and discuss the movie with them afterwards.
Maybe we deserve this world ?
Your cost estimate is missing the amount you presumably shelled out to build that state of the art home cinema experience. How much "savings" from cheaper DVDs are you really making when you add that in? Or, in other words, how many DVDs would you have to buy instead of cinema tickets to make up for the value of your huge TV / surround sound? My pulled-out-my-ass guess is >1000 at least.
Of course I realise its nice to have a big TV and sound system for other reasons, but really...
Meine Schwester ist sehr, sehr reizvoll - Nietzsche
You can't beat the dollar theatre. During the week at night its a dollar. Weekend nights I think are like 2.50 or 2. I'm not sure. But the best is the 50 cent weekday matinee.
As for annoyances, I don't get too many in the theatres around here, even when its crowded. And when I get them, they don't bother me. I think they actually improve the movie experience somewhat. Sitting with a bunch of strangers is the way movies are meant to be watched, it definitely adds something.
The problem is that there are so few movies worth seeing even in the dollar theatre. I guess I'll see episode 3 for 50 cents. Other than that, I can't think of a movie I'm dying to see. It's pretty sad. All the movies I want to see I can rent at video barn where they have the HK imports and every Kung Fu movie ever.
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I wouldn't mind the trailers, per se, but the last movie I saw was AvP, and it had been a year and a half since the previous time I'd gone into a theater. 3 things stuck out at me:
:(
1. The 'downloading movies is a crime' signs all over the theater. WTF? I just spent $7.50 to get into the movie, and you're preaching at us not to steal. Right.....and this was an afternoon matinee.
2. 22 minutes of trailers. !!!!!!!!!!!!! That is just flat out insane. Without excuse. Commericals commercials and more commercials. There's absolutely no excuse for it.
3. I made the mistake of not eating luch before I went. No big deal, just grab popcorn and a soda. I know it'll hurt, but I haven't been in a while....go up, toss a $5 bill on the counter, and place my order. They bring back the soda and popcorn, then tell me that I'm $3 short.
WHAT. $5 not only won't cover popcorn and a soda anymore, but THE PRICE OF THE TICKET WON'T EITHER. That's right, popcorn and soda now cost more than seeing the movie itself. Of course it's summertime, so I can't get away with wearing my coat and bringing in whatever I want...it's just wrong.
The theater is basically a scam to make you a captive audience for commercials and overpriced goods. Sad that's it has degraded so far.
Karma: Chameleon (mostly due to the fact that you come and go).
Actually, while I'm not the parent poster, and I don't really know if he is actually talking about pirating the movies, he may in fact be talking about buying imported dvds of movies that have already been released in other countries. (assuming he lives in the United States) For example, two recent movies (Hero and Shaun of the Dead) were both already available on dvd in other countries before they were released in theaters in the US. This also seems like it might be becoming more prevalant as US audiences let go of their prejudices against foreign movies, and Hollywood starts importing more of them.
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
By buying a used DVD, you are taking a used DVD off the shelf that someone else might have bought, forcing them to buy the original instead.
This assumes that the same people who trawl through ex-rental bargain bins are happy to pay full price for a new copy. I imagine that this isn't the case for most of the '2 for $x' crowd. Also, a 1/4 price DVD is more likely to be an impulse purchase than a full price copy. I just impulse bought a copy of The Thirteenth Floor for AUD$7 -- it's a fun movie but I wouldn't have paid full price for it if the bargain bin was empty.
A less intuitive but more accurate visualization is the understanding that by supporting a market for used DVDs, you push the asking price for brand-new DVDs up past what their price point would otherwise be.
This makes more sense, but unless the price doubles due to the second hand market, one and a bit DVDs are supplying two customers, which is a gain for us and a loss for them (relatively speaking).
Vino, gyno, and techno -Bruce Sterling