The future of movie theaters

Tuesday's merger announcement of AMC Entertainment and Loews Cineplex - two of the USA's biggest theater operators - underscores the industry's attempt to bolster profits in an era of sagging attendance and competition from other entertainment sources.

Read the writing on the screen. The days of huge multiplex theaters are over. I think this is a good thing for the public.

The moving going experience today is just too much. The prices here in Australia are around AUD$16, which works out to about USD$12. I think they are around $10 in the US now. Then you have to stand in line, pay for overpriced popcorn and soft drinks. Then when you are in the theatre, they make you watch 30 minutes of commercial ads mixed with previews. In the mean time there are mobile phones going off. People chatting, etc. . If you take a date to a movie, you could be out about $50.

I know I rarely go to a theater any more. Perhaps 2-3 times a year, tops.

The film industry, to its credit, has been smart on how it now distributes films. Rather than be afraid of the home entertainment market, they embrace it. They now make more money from the DVD release of a film than the theater release of a film. You can buy a film on DVD for about the same price it costs to see it in the theater. If you have a family, it makes economic sense, since the whole family can watch it for the price of one purchase.

Where they have gotten smart is to allow the price of DVD's to be low enough to both make them impulse purchases, and to make the pirate and online versions of films simply not worth the bother. The music industry on the other hand insists on charging big bucks for every CD, dispute the fact that the CD may suck, or that it costs them nothing to produce each CD.

The DVD's also offer the consumer more options, with extras, director's cuts, etc. I know I like being able to pause a film to use the restroom, take a phone call, or simple continue to watch it the next day. I like being able to rewind if I did not understand some critical dialog. I like not being forced to sit through commercial ads, and having to be further insulted by knowing that I paid a lot of money for the priviledge.

However, I don't think that movie theaters are going to disappear. They still serve a purpose, which won't go away. They work well for dates, and are still needed. How else are you going to get to strangers to sit together in a dark room? It allows them to spend some time together without being forced to talk to each other. It gives them a safe subject to talk about afterwards.

I am seeing what I think is going to be the future of theaters going on right here in Australia. They are called "Gold Class" theaters. They have smaller rooms, with pairs of nice Lazy-boy reclining chairs and a small table between. They offer beer, wine, pizza, and sushi. They have waiters who bring your food and drinks to you. They do not bombard you with ads before hand. It is actually a pleasant experience. They will be expensive, but I think people will feel they are worth it from time to time.

The home entertainment market is good for the film fan. It gives the studios a new market for their films. Better yet, it allows them to produce films that are not geared for mass market teen-agers. They can make a good film for adults, and let the rental and buyer market pick it up. Films like "Shawshank Redemption" failed in the theaters, but redeemded themselves many times over in the home entertainment market once people started to tell their friends about it.

The mom-n-pop corner video rental store is going to change too, if they survived. They were killed by the large chains. I don't like Blockbuster and Hollywood video stores who only seem to stock the latest Hollywood crap and not much more of anything else. I think that the smaller boutique video stores will survive as the big chains fail. They are going to switch to a rent-n-keep policy. If you rent the movie, and like it, then for a reasonable fee you can keep it. They will be able to stock more varied titles to cater to all tastes. The big chains are going to be caught between the boutiques, and Walmart, Target, and Bestbuy selling the same video that people used to rent. The won't be able to compete on either end of the market.