To think cinemas will soon become obsolete?

[Keyansier]

Reasons why:

1. Home media systems are getting bigger and better as each year passes.
2. Society is getting more inconsiderate as each year passes and people think nothing of yakking all the way through a film or playing on their phone/kids playing on their ipads.
3. Films are available through home streaming 1 or 2 months after a cinema release these days, not like before when it would take over a year until a video/DVD release.
4. The cost, which isn't worth points 2 and 3.
5. The after effects of covid and lockdown and films being released on home media only - people realising they don't actually miss the cinema at all.

We used to go regularly. Always saw Disney/Pixar/MCU movies at the cinema and was always quite an event for us as a family. We just don't seem to be bothered anymore. I think Covid is responsible tbh. The last movie we went to see at the cinema was Onward and it was more scary than anything else - everyone sat miles apart with masks on whenever you left your seat, trying to keep a wide berth from any other human. Making me quite sad to think of those times actually.

Popcorn I get and pick and mix, but hotdogs and nachoes? The smell is just grim. Our local Cineworld is in a development with around 15 restaurants/coffee shops so why do they need to serve food?

I love popcorn and chocolate in the same mouthful! I’m actually eating a bag of butterkist as we speak.

I'm glad that someone else appreciates just how incredible that combination is. I'm envious of your Butterkist but hope that you enjoy it. I haven't had that for years and I think I'll have to treat myself to some tomorrow.

Popcorn I get and pick and mix, but hotdogs and nachoes? The smell is just grim. Our local Cineworld is in a development with around 15 restaurants/coffee shops so why do they need to serve food?

Because they make money from it, which helps make up for the comparatively small revenue they make from ticket sales.

I love the cinema but to me there’s just nothing worth watching. I have no interest in star wars or marvel or James Bond, there’s nothing else.

where have the comedies gone?

We have a lovely new cinema near us which is a proper posh, indulgent experience. There’s a bar and restaurant where you can have a meal/cocktail before you go into the film or you can order from a tablet (they aren’t bright so not distracting to others) during the film. They do pizzas, burgers and its proper food as well, not fast food and milkshakes with all the trimmings, then the staff will bring it in for you. The interior is beautiful and the seating incredibly comfy. It costs an arm and a leg obviously, went with DD in July and it was £55 for the 2 of us.

I think it’ll be a very occasional treat for us but after going there it’s put us off our local Odeon with paying stupid prices for shite snacks, disgusting screen rooms with rubbish in there and inconsiderate people. I’d rather save my money for infrequent trips to the posh cinema or stay at home.

Our cheaper under £7 a ticket cinema has just closed down, leaving us with a much newer, but much more expensive cinema - I think it’s about £16 a ticket. It’s really expensive for a family trip. I do like going though, but when I looked at what was on over half term I was really disappointed with the offerings, so I doubt we will be going until Matilda comes out.

Try Ticket To Paradise!

Sorry, that was to @thebellagio

Cinema was my home for 20yrs as a projectionist. If they didn’t sell snacks etc they would never open the doors. The rental of film was always expensive, remember when Jaws came out. minimum booking was 6 weeks with return to renter 98% so left with 2p out of every pound, going down to 95% in 7th week. So that’s the rental done, you have several freezers 247, ventilation.general rates, water, & the electric bill is humungous & staff wages. I have put films on to an empty house & the above still needs paying. Tickets are today relatively cheap I hop this gives everyone an insight as to how it all goes on

I do want to see that. But I feel like I’ve seen that film before, I feel like from the trailer I can guess the ending! A bit like the hallmark films, just with a bigger budget!

where are the original film ideas?

the last one I saw at the cinema and loved was Elvis. Before that, it was probably Booksmart

Needmorelego, that’s true, one can see live streamed performances in the cinema from eg the National Theatre, the New York Met etc. I have done that, but it is rather frustrating. I remember the whole audience once stood to give the actors an ovation - then embarrassedly sat down, realising that the cast couldn’t even see them!
I am perhaps fortunate to live within easy reach of Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee, so have a multitude of theatres and concert halls as live venues, plus the Edinburgh festival, so “streamed via cinema” is just a last resort for me.

I used to love the cinema (about 20 years ago) and went all the time. Went nearly every week and saw so many great films. But there have been very few films in recent years I have been interested in watching. I go maybe 2 or 3 times a year now to a lovely local cinema (not part of a chain). It's in 50s style and it really is like stepping back in time.
I don't know if cinemas will be completely obsolete - for people who love Star Wars and James Bond and those types of films, home cinema or watching the films on a laptop just can't compete with the cinema experience.
I suppose it depends how much prices go up - my local cinema is still cheap but I couldn't afford more than around 12 quid a ticket. And there will be plenty more people like me who can't afford it.

They can survive if they offer more than over-priced tickets and snacks or improve their value for money. We have mostly been to Vue/Odeon viewings in the last 6 years for kid's club viewings. Before covid, they used to do a little cardboard box with a small portion of popcorn, mini bag of haribo and a fruit shoot for a couple of quid each, so DCs would get one each. Now they are £5, so we bring our own drinks and snacks and the cinema misses out on any possible snack profit (even if it isn't a huge margin). As others have said, the constant interruptions of other customers chatting/playing on their phones and seat kicking are also very off-putting as basic expectations aren't enforced.
In contrast, we are going to a lovely local independent cinema next weekend. It isn't cheap and we aren't seeing a new film, but a chap appears at a lectern before the film to tell you all about it, we'll be seated in comfy armchairs next to a small table, and staff take orders then bring your wine and cheese & biscuits to your table. We are happy to pay for that experience especially when drink prices are comparable to a regular (but nice) bar.

I love the cinema. I am more focussed on the film at the cinema and the seats are comfy. I

I go to the cinema about once a week. Twice last week! We have members cards, 15€ a month, can see every film once, large leather recline seats.
Great value

Also I always think comments like this are a bit random - do you never ever go to restaurants or anywhere they sell street food? Hotdogs and nachos smell like food. You surely encounter food in other areas, why is it so grim in a cinema but not a small cafe?

@thebellagio It's probably not showing any more but Three Thousand Years Of Longing was far from the usual Hollywood action / rom-com / horror formulas.

DH and I really enjoyed it. There are some super films about still but not all of them get enough general publicity. I have the Cineworld app and every so often I'll just watch all the trailers for things coming up & often find one I hadn't heard of.

I was looking forward to Emily too but it's been and gone at our local cinema already, only came out a week ago

I fidget less in the cinema than I do at home. I went to see "Blonde" in the cinema a few weeks ago and didn't check the time once even though it was nearly 3 hours long.

I like to watch things on my sofa, with pjs on and glass in hand. Cinema doesn't do it.

I hope not. I am picky about what I see at the cinema, but you can't beat seeing a big action sci-fi on the big screen.
There is also that sense of sharing the experience with a load of strangers too.

Also, not everyone has a massive TV and sound system at home.

The cost of 2 cinema tickets, a small bucket of popcorn, and 2 small cokes, is bloody ridiculous. This is the main reason I don't bother going anymore.

DS2 was at the cinema last weekend and it was packed out.

Number 2 is the reason I hate going anywhere these days. I used to go to our local one when it was owned by Virgin, me and a couple of workmates went every week near enough. Had a pass that I think was £25 per month, Pizza Hut next door used to do their £4.99 buffet on Monday & Tuesday evenings back then (late ‘90s).

We saw quite a few good films that I can still remember; This Years Love, If Only, Never Been Kissed, The Parent Trap, She’s All That, Ever After.

Apart from most things being ruined by gobshites, there’s very little to interest me. I couldn’t care less about Avengers/Spider-Man/James Bond etc. On a recent flight, both films I watched were over 20 years old. Like pp said, there doesn’t seem to be any light room-coms. It’s either all the above or pop star epics, which is great if you’re a fan but a bit crap otherwise.

I love the cinema. Have ADHD and can’t sit through a film at home. But the cinema is a different story. No phone, nowhere else to be and no other distractions. It’s like a break from real life. Plus hot nuts.