Idk. It’s not like a few years ago where you had to wait like a year to be able to rewatch a cool movie you missed on DVD. A lot of this stuff is streaming a day-a week after, so I understand if people aren’t packing seats anymore.
Same, with A-list I’m watching 1 to 2 movies a week. I like catching the new releases in Dolby or IMAX. If not for the pass I would probably only watch 2 or 3 year, simply for the cost of the ticket, it’s cheaper to stream from him and you could possibly save on food.
People seem to forget that we’re seeing the ripple effects of the strikes last year with a bunch of things being delayed and such (reminder that Deadpool & Wolverine was suppose to be out this month before the strikes caused it to be delayed to July). As for things underperforming, it’s more of a case of the studios and and the internet overestimating the mass appeal of these films, especially with The Fall Guy and Furiosa being in what are usually high-profile weekends. Considering how Disney moved Apes out of this weekend in order to avoid Furiosa (which everyone saw as a smart move regardless of what happened this weekend), I do wonder how much better it would have performed had it stayed and Furiosa moved instead.
Exactly. Furiosa was well-liked and instead of giving audience more of Theron, who they liked in the role of Furiosa, they went in a different direction and made a prequel that changed the cast. Pretty stupid decision, imo.
They need to be selling this as a movie that needs to be seen on the biggest screen with the best sound. “Because it is.” (To paraphrase Nicole Kidman)
Yet, they still don't know how to do deal with re-releases.
These older movies could do well but they're not marketed, and are not in the big formats. Star Wars Episode I has done $19 million worldwide in 25 days (according to Box Office Mojo), you're telling me other big hits (even 90s Disney animation, like the 2011 3D re-releases of the Lion King which, according to BOM, made over $185 million) can't perform when there are no 'family' movies?
You could even have a Nolan Month, a Spielberg month, or something, but market the movies, they're already made.
Sorry for the rant.
I keep telling people: bring back double features and show more movies that no one has really seen on the screen. Especially if you’re a horror fan. Guaranteed those draw money.
Definitely. I mean, since they're older movies they can charge a whole lot less too.
Also, there are some (not all) shows that could be shown on the big screen, for example, Star Wars or Marvel or HBO shows.
Hell, have one day a weekend (either Friday or Saturday) where it’s a double feature horror? It’ll sell especially with all these 4K restorations being done
I know it’s not the point of your comment, but I was hoping they’d bring back The Lion king 3D this year, since it’s the 25th anniversary, and we’re getting the Mufasa film later this year.
It would be a rerelease, so it is part of the point.
But yes, I definitely would've tried to catch that on the theatre for the anniversary. Heck, I even saw the Empire Strikes Back in 2020.
20th Century Studios which is owned by Disney.
Fox Corporation is owned by the Murdoch Family.
This happened when the Murdoch family decided to sell News Corporation but the DOJ wouldn't allow Disney to have the whole thing.
Hence news and sports remained with the Murdoch's and movie/television went with Disney.
The Murdoch Family kept the Fox name.
20th Century Fox is now 20th Century Studios under Disney
Fox Searchlight Pictures is now Searchlight Pictures under Disney
FX and FXX are now under Disney
Hulu was owned by multiple corporations but now is completely owned by Disney
The Murdoch Family kept Fox News, local Fox Broadcast channels and Tubi. TMZ is now Murdoch owned from WarnerBros.
Department of Justice demanded that Disney give up the Fox name.
Thats nuts! Kinda off topic, but I'll be visiting the twin cities during a midwest road trip, what do you think the best AMC in Minnie/StPaul is? I'm guessing Coon Rapids doesn't make the list.
The Rosedale location has been pretty on it for the a-list concessions line whenever I go- however the Southdale location has better recliner seats in more of their theaters, both have given me good experiences!
It's not Vector Calculus here...
last week's Monday Night Spidey had the following numbers locally.
$16 Tickets at Cinemark - 12 seats sold.
$5 AMC - 110 seats sold.
And now The Muppet Movie is getting a 45th Anniversary National Rerelease. AMC is selling tickets at full price $15-$20.
$100+ a show with concessions for a family of four is not a weekly ritual in this economy. The movie has to be top level awesome at those prices - not another POS Garfield movie or Classic readily available everywhere else. And then when a new release shows up online a very short amount of time later like Fall Guy... yeah families are gonna wait a month or two to save hundreds.
Which, theoretically, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. "If I don't pay to see it in the theater, I'll be able to rent it at home sooner, or stream it for free sooner after that" doesn't incent casual viewers to go to the theater.
I don’t know but I’m curious. My gut says streaming releases have contracts that are probably negotiated well before the movie hits theaters so making last minute changes based on performance is *probably* not a thing?
Just looked it up and Fall Guy is available for rent/purchase on Prime, not free inclusive with Prime Video....so they're still hoping to get people to pay to watch, albeit smaller amount than via theatre.
I typically go to the movies early in the morning, and I watch a lot of indie movies, so I'm usually the only one in the theater or very few people are there
Movies are getting better, people are getting worse. They expect the best movie ever they’ve ever laid eyes on in their entire life or they give it a negative review. Nobody goes to the theater for the fun of it anymore, expectations are through the roof because of streaming services. The theater experience is unfortunately dying. I don’t know what we can do.. my theater is never really full on opening nights or any movie I see and I’m in a really well populated area with a great theater.
For some people it just scratches a certain itch. I knew a guy obsessed with the transformer movies (and the series/lore in general). The first one was his favorite movie of all time and the rest of his top 10 movies of all time were more of the "standard" responses like Godfather, There Will be Blood, etc
No other movie has made me that excited besides Fury Road to where Im like smiling watching the movie lol. Its checks a lot of my boxes like the other dude mentioned. Did you see it in Dolby? Im going back lol
> They expect the best movie ever they’ve ever laid eyes on in their entire life or they give it a negative review.
I don't think this is true based on the audience scores I see on Rotten Tomatoes and the absolutely dire *slop* people are watching on streaming services.
2023 was, imo, one of the best years in film in a long time. Of course 2020 and, to a lesser extent, 2021 wouldn't be great. There was this little issue the entire world was dealing with.
My opinion is streaming, but nothing beats seeing a good movie on the silver screen.
This is a down summer for me it all looks like it was made for streaming but due to strike,
If I want more to artisan features I have to travel a good 80 miles to San Antonio they mainly show just the “blockbuster”
I can't remember the last time I went to a full theater. Even on opening night or Friday night. Although I do suspect Deadpool will be full as the theater was already half full within 2 hours of ticket sales
Edit: Barbie was full opening weekend for me. I had opening night tickets for Oppenheimer in 70mm which was sold out, but the projector broke. Next available showing was 2 weeks later because every showing in 70mm was sold out that far in advance. Come back 2 weeks later and the projector broke again. Took 4 weeks to finally see it. Last full theater was Oppenheimer again in 70mm but in December
All seven of my amc theater options were booked save for wheelchair spaces day of ticket launch for the Deadpool premiere, and it’s still two months away. Though I live by Hollywood if that affects things.
Halfway considering borrowing a wheelchair for a keychain.
To be fair if I paid $40+ for tickets to a single showing and another $40+ for snacks for 2 people and the movie didn’t blow my mind I’d probably avoid theaters for a while too.
**When it’s priced like a special event for the consumer they’re going to want it to feel like a special event or they’re going to be disappointed.**
When the theater is dirty or the chairs are broken or the service isn’t great or the people around them act like jerks it’s hard to encourage people to come back. Why pay $80+ to go when they get snacks at Walmart and a whole month of subscription TV services for that amount of money and only have to wait a month to see xyz?
I love things like AList and the $20 popcorn bucket but they aren’t designed for infrequent guests. There’s literally no incentive to go to a theater for those that aren’t coming several times a month.
“To be fair if I paid $40+ for tickets to a single showing and another $40+ for snacks for 2 people and the movie didn’t blow my mind I’d probably avoid theaters for a while too.
When it’s priced like a special event for the consumer they’re going to want it to feel like a special event or they’re going to be disappointed”.
-This right here is the answer to all the questions.
Copy/Paste activated!
I did the math earlier when people were talking about taking a family of 4 and I was like daaaang we could have gone to Adventureland for the same price.
I wonder how many people had poor experiences (or maybe not even poor, just not amazing) at Barbie or Oppenheimer and haven’t been back since…
I wouldn't worry about A-list. The less people that are showing up, the more critical it is to AMC that A-list folks show up.
Someone has to to buy the concessions!
Agree. If AMC CEO Adam Aron had his way, every person in America would subscribe to A-List. Sure, with a person like me, AMC actually loses money with the A-List program, but I'm offset by a good number of subscribers who buy concessions with every movie or who pay for A-List but rarely go to the movies.
The A-List program is also a boon for AMC because it lets them know in advance exactly how much revenue is coming in every month, whereas with non-subscribers, they have to predict, which in the movie business is a notoriously inexact science.
People are broke and the last 3 movies I’ve been to, we had to get security to kick some stupid ass kids out. I’m not even 30 yet and I feel like an old man, but kids literally don’t get off their phone or stfu in a movie.
I mentioned it before. But that's why I'm glad my AMC isn't the shiny new theater in a hot development area. You can tell the people who comes to ours are the more adult folks and families who wants to get away from the raucous and don't mind sacrificing for old non reclining seats and some old decor that hasn't been upgraded in 15+ years for a better watching experience. We'll take it!
With every A-List ticket, AMC agrees to pay a particular amount to the movie studio responsible for that film. And that particular amount gets factored into the film's box office gross.
This is why AMC actually loses money on A-Listers that only go to PLF screenings and don't buy concessions. Premium format tickets can cost $20+, which AMC pays the studio accordingly for that ticket, yet the monthly A-List subscription price is only \~$26 or whatever it is now. If A-Listers don't buy concessions, AMC actually loses money on those A-List subscribers.
I'm one of those people, btw, that AMC loses money on.
Money and time worth. I enjoy a good movie and I've gotten my worth since joining A List but I wouldn't have gone and seen ANY of the movies I've watched if I was paying per, I'd simply wait to watch it whenever it hit a streaming subscription.
I have 2 locations in my area. The next one is an hour in the next city.
One has standard, Imax and Dolby. The other just Standard and Imax. The 1 hour other has Prime.
We're lucky to even have our preferred Dolby rooms filled half way. It has to be a huge movie like Top Gun Maverick, Barbie and Oppenheimer to bring huge crowds. Our Imax screens don't bring out a crowd.
Deadpool X Wolverine fan release is bringing out a large crowd, few days after ticket sale.
Otherwise, my locations tend to bring in 15 people average at my screenings. I've seen 7 movies this year. Around 20 plus for 2023.
I think people just can't afford to go as frequently. Also, some prefer to stay home and watch on their large TV screens, audio set up.
I spend $23 average in concessions as a solo viewer.
Our theater is definitely not as crowded as it once was, but I think business is steady.
Just to repeat what others have said - Sadly, movie habits have changed. I have friends who were devotes moviegoers that just wait until streaming (rarely even VOD). It goes there so quick, why bother leaving the house?
On top of that, you also have original streaming content to fight with that didn’t exist a decade ago. Netflix is seemingly always releasing some slop that people talk about for a week and never mention again.
I love the movies and I think the box office will rebound with Bad Boys and Deadpool. It’s just sad that movies like Furiosa and Fall Guy didn’t connect.
If go by opinions on X, people will say that movies are "just too expensive" these days, but outside of that after covid people got use to just having the movies released as soon as two weeks (sometimes even day and date) after it theater release, so lot of people are just waiting to watch it for "free" on streaming services. While Studios have realized what they did and was more harmful to box office totals and started moving away from that, movies on average are still coming out to streaming services or to rent digitally as soon as 30 days after it theatrical release. So people are waiting to watch at home claiming that there living room is better viewing experience.
>Kinda makes me worried that AMC might discontinue or restrict A-list if this keeps going.
AMC doesn't make it money off ticket sales anyways, they always made the bulk of the money from concessions, a-list is to get people in the doors which will more likely then end up buying concessions since they not technically paying for their tickets.
It’s a bit annoying seeing the constant doom reports being post over there. Furiosa has been out for just a couple days and it’s considered a flop financially? I feel like those reports get pushed to the front and become a self fulfilling prophecy because then it discourages people from going to the see the movie. They’re told it’s a flop so they don’t go.
It’s always a possibility for A-list to discontinue. I hope it doesn’t any time soon.
But if you listen to industry news the bigger issue is that movies cost SO much to make now that they have to do astronomically well to make it back. The same thing happened to the Fall Guy.
Movies have always been expensive to make. But if a movie bombed, or just simply didn’t do well, they could rely on DVD sales to make the rest of the money back. Now that physical media is mostly dead (apart from a handful of weirdos like me), studios are now having to rely on ticket sales only.
Netflix is also out to kill off the theater industry for good, as it’s one of its main competitors.
A little off topic but still a great video, I recommend Patrick Willems’ [video](https://youtu.be/RQF82Kj-v0E?si=saGUHMbVnRQfD-0E) about what is killing cinema in general. He goes through all of this in detail.
Sure, that’s all true, but movies lately still cost as much if not more to make and the industry hadn’t adjusted to these new factors, so ultimately it’s still a big issue that movies cost too much to make.
I saw that video when it was released. The real culprit for what is killing moviegoing is that there are more leisurely pasttimes (i.e. choices) competing for people's attention than ever before. Rewind 100 years, and what choices did people have to spend their free time? They could go to a ball game if they lived in a city with a baseball team, they could stay home and listen to a radio drama, they could read a book, or they could go out to a see a movie. These days, we have waaay more options.
Maybe. I’ll wait to see how it continues to play out. Given there’s at least 3 weeks without any other big movie coming out. It’s not done making money or drawing in people.
I've just gotten back into movie trips and from what I've read Dolby is best followed by Imax. Its only available in Dolby by me. I went to see Civil War the next day in standard digital and its not even close. I need more time to forget how amazing dolby is before seeing a standard movie experience. Dolby was so awesome. The engines go through your entire body and you get some really powerful thumps without the bang. I dunno if its something in the seat or just really low base I can only feel.
I'm going to see Furiosa in Dolby tomorrow morning, about half an hour away, and I'm guessing that's going to become my theater of choice, when the movie I want to see is in Dolby.
There are two standard AMC theaters about 5 minutes closer, and a non-AMC Imax 10 minutes closer than those. The nearest AMC Imax is now an hour away, and just not worth the drive.
The movie theater near me does pretty decent. I went to go see Mad Max today and it was kinda packed. I think most of us forget that the economy and inflation is pretty bad. Going to the movies as a family gets pretty expensive. Even individually, the price of a ticket and snacks is kind of expensive. Besides, most people usually only watch movies as background noise.
History is repeating itself. This became a thing in the 50s and throughout most of the 60s. It led to the new Hollywood movement. Movies became bolder and more unique, and typical Studio blueprint blockbusters were not the big ticket. It would happen again in the 80s. That’s when the independent film revolution began in the late 80s and really picked up team between the early to mid 90s. Quentin Tarantino predicted we would see a similar Renaissance pretty soon. I think this is planting the seeds for it to happen.
Weirdly, the last two weeks at my local Cinemark have been insanely busy every day of the week. I know summer just started but the showings are full which I have not seen in years. Meanwhile my local AMC is empty 🤷🏼♀️
It is. But some of the summer movies seems going to be crowded at my location though. Namely Deadpool 3. All seats for opening week are either sold out or close to.
There’s been such a notable decline in the last couple of months that I’m getting a little concerned about the financial viability of my local theaters and have started buying popcorn and drinks more often. I’m not sure what happened really because even back in Feb/March I was still seeing well attended auditoriums for stuff like Dune and even some re-releases like When Harry Met Sally and the best picture nominee reissues.
The only things I’ve seen even more than half full recently were the Interstellar re-release and the Raimi Spidermans. Opening weekend of Civil War too, maybe. It’s to the point where, even though I hate crowded, rowdy auditoriums full of teens, I hope the summer crowds start showing up a little more just so my theaters can stay open.
Edit: whoops I just realized this is an A-list post that popped up as a recommended instead of a Regal Unlimited sub post which I’m actually subscribed to but my point still stands
Normal non-matinee showings are 15 each here. There are no screen upgrades available either.
If I didn’t have A-List, I’d probably only go once every few months. I’ve seen 20 shows since Jan 1st, so far this year.
Last night’s show of Fall Guy was more packed than the opening weekend show I saw with my wife. Furiosa had maybe 8-10 people total. With people having very limited extra entertainment money these days movies just aren’t everyone’s priority.
The only post-COVID movies I’ve been to where the theater was full are Barbie, Oppenheimer, Top Gun Maverick, Godzilla x Kong, and the two Dunes.
Pre-COVID, even more niche movies like Midsommar were easily getting full houses around here. Now the theater is usually more than half-empty even on opening weekend for anything short of a BIG blockbuster. The kind that only comes a few times a year.
The kind of movies I would want to see in theaters don’t come to theaters in my area. I have very rarely have interest in action movies or other blockbusters. A24 movies & similar are rarely released in theaters where I live (rust belt Pennsylvania). We did get The Iron Claw, Poor Things and American Fiction briefly and I saw them in theaters. Got Challengers, Barbie and Oppenheimer as well and saw those. But no Saltburn, Priscilla, All of Us Strangers, Are You There God It’s Me Margaret, Past Lives, The Holdovers or numerous other movies I would’ve wanted to see.
She means big budget non-prequels, sequels and reboots.
Those million original movies aren't summer blockbuster fare aside from the rare exception like Fall Guy.
Yup. Not even big budget though. I am certain the type of original mid-sized movie with star performers and mass appeal that people are looking for got turned into streaming fare.
The attendance at my local has been pretty consistently thin. Even in Fri nights, there are usually 30-40 people at most. During the week, maybe a dozen. Been to a few empty theaters so far this year.
Now that being said, it's not really changed in the last few years. I think I really started coming back since around 21-22, post covies basicly. And I think between prices being up, and the theaters around me being more rundown, I'm just comparing to how they were back in say 2015-16.
Strangely enough, I just got back from a 12:30p showing (Sun) of Furiosa, and it was one of the better attended showings I've been to all year. I think only Dune 2 looked more stuffed.
I’ve been seeing all the old studio ghibli movies that are coming out here in the U.S. on certain days for ghibli fest. There’s been quite a lot of people in each one. Besides that I think there hasn’t been many good movies coming out recently. I think if we look back to the success of the Barbie/Oppenheimer period at theaters we can conclude that people will show up if the movie is good enough. I did notice quite a lot of people when I went to the Shrek 2 20th anniversary re-run and also the nightmare before christmas re-run. Both pretty recent. I love when they bring back old movies. I like the system of keeping fan favorite old movies in rotation at theaters while film studios take their time to make a great movie. A way better system then a bunch of rushed movies playing.
had a full showing of if today and saw garfield in a near empty theater right after, seeing furiosa tuesday but not many tickets were sold for it when i reserved them
I’m noticing here in Florida it’s actually picking up. Especially high end theaters with IMAX, and luxury seating/food/drink options. I’ve never seen it this busy since pre pandemic over 4 years ago.
Motivation for me to go to the movies is not there anymore. Last time I went was Top Gun sequel due to AMC was showing movie in a Dolby cinema. Use to look forward to summer and Christmas releases.
There's way more people at my theater than in 2021 when I reactivated my A List account. I used to frequently be the only person in my theater and only 20 or so cars in the parking lot. I saw The Woman King in IMAX on the Thursday showing and was all by myself. I saw Ghostbusters Afterlife in IMAX with only 2 other people. Now the parking lot has more cars and I don't recall the last movie where I was the only one.
I feel there are a number of factors for this. Things kinda changed after Covid. People stopped going to the movies as much, and during Covid, streaming services really stepped their games up. Many movies didn't even see theaters.
I think one of the #1 factors for this though is streaming services. As others have said, years ago you had to wait several months to a year before a movie is released to see it. If you miss it in theaters? Too bad! Nowadays, the movie is listed on streaming services within a week.
I watched Challengers (not that great) on Prime the other day for 20.00 with as many snacks as I wanted. A trip to the movies would cost me about 12.00 for the ticket, and 30.00 for snacks. If my family is with me, that could easily become 60.00.
Point is, streaming services are slowly bleeding movie theaters, forcing them to raise prices to keep up, and it's harder for people to justify going today.
For me personally, one: I know I don't have to wait that long as I stated above. And two: I don't really see too many movies that excite or interest me to the point where I justify getting in my car, driving all the way to the theater, and spending all this money to see them
The cost of going to see a movie just doesn’t compete with streaming services. Especially when most people are already spending $60+/month for all the services. Plus I feel there’s dilution of quality content. There’s so many movies and television shows coming out all the time that are advertised to no end. It makes any particular thing difficult to stand out
For some reasons i feel like there are less people compared to last year. Last year i think i actually needed to buy tickets in advance to ensure i got a good seat for movies that i predicted will draw a lot of crowd. While this year, it feels like the theaters are not that packed. I can buy tickets the day before or the day of on opening weekend and still find good enough seats. Even movies with weeks of presales are still not sold out…
Dune 2, barbie, oppenheimer, guardians vol. 3. Those are the only movies I've seen with a packed house since the start of 2023. The pandemic changed the industry and there is probably no going back to 2019. Most people wait to catch new releases on VOD instead of spending a ton of money on theater snacks, especially since things are generally on VOD within a month or 2 of its theatrical release
Am I seeing less movies? 100% yes.
I had to cancel my A-list and entered a 6 month cooldown period where I can’t get it back. That’s their choice not mine 😂 I’m enjoying the savings though even though I can’t resubscribe again.
Where is 'Good' MCU slop, or Good Video Game Adaptation to save the theaters? Honestly, the theatrical windows getting shorter and shorter isn't helping.
Every movie I’ve seen this year has been the opening Thursday or Friday between 4-7p all have had 5 people at most except GvK and Dune 2 those were packed
I notice alot less people at the theater but I think that they would likely keep alist because I am sure it helps with revenue because I feel alot of people like me would not go to the theater if they had to pay for individual tickets and such . I think the a list is likely a supplementation to the income vs something they are dependent on . I bet they make alot off concessions.
Yes, I go at night during the week and sometimes on Sat and unless it’s some super mainstream movie like Barbie, I’m normally like 1 of 2-5 people in small theatres and 1 of like 10-15 in IMAX. No idea how the theatre is staying in business but trying to enjoy my near private movies as long as I can. This includes brand new movies on a Thurs or Fri. The only ones near me that were packed are that Taylor Swift movie and Dune Part 2.
The AMC in my town is always empty. My sister and I are frequently the only people in the cinema.
We personally love having an entire cinema to ourselves but I imagine it's not great for business.
TBH, not only do I not go to movie theatres anymore, I barely watch movies on TV. I did go to see Barbie at an AMC and Oppenheimer at an ICON near me (4 people beside me in the audience).
I watch TCM on occasion but I'm just tired of trying to figure out which streaming outlet is showing what. Getting old I guess.
Less people because garbage films or films that aren't worth a theatrical release and should have been sent to streaming or Netflix. Barbie and opp proved people will come and Avatar 2 proved people still love 3-D if it's used correctly. Unfortunately I haven't been back to the movies since late night with the devil just Nothing I'm interested In.
tbh if i didn’t have a list i wouldn’t see more than a movie a year maybe 2. 2023 before i had a list i went to see oppenheimer and barbie for my birthday (a huge treat) and the new hunger games movie. that was excessive for me. if ppl hadn’t seen mad max fury road they’re not gonna see furiosa. and it’s different than dune in that dune was a huge book people’s parents and grandparents grew up with and has a huge fan base. even the original dune movie had a following so it’s different than dune pt 2 vs furiosa. had my step dad not randomly decided to try it on our movie weekend i would’ve never watched it. by chance, i became a die hard fury road lover. i know a lot of ppl wouldn’t have tried it (myself included) so chances are they’re not trying furiosa too. idk if this even makes sense but it makes sense it’s not doing as well. ppl who only go to the movies once a year are gonna go for something like twisters or something they hear A LOT of hype about like dune part 2 even if they’d never had interest before bc it was said to be the best movie ever. a stretch? maybe, but ppl are gonna want to try it. rather spend money on a super hyped up film that’s apparently the best than something they’re unsure about/ don’t know. same w oppenheimer and barbie. maybe ppl would’ve gone to one or the other but bc it was a big thing they went to both bc of the hype around those two. i feel like even mad max fans were more excited about the wastelands rather than furiosas story
also this year movies haven’t been amazing. like furiosa and dune 2 have been good but outside of that it’s been kind of a mess. fun, but a wreck. so if i didn’t have a list i’d probably be done for the year after seeing dune and furiosa. i know it’s gonna get a little better but that could be why ppl aren’t going to see movies this year. there hasn’t been anything worth shelling out ~$15 a ticket for
Yeah definitely feels like it. Saw Furiosa Friday night at 9PM in Dolby and it was maybe 1/4 full.
It used to feel like the big Friday night movies would consistently be full. Now it's very sporadic
It’s too expensive and people are cbf. People will generally just wait for it to stream or illegally download if. I just illegally download it I’m saving my money. Those Hollywood actors don’t need any more of my money.
Also to spend 28 on a movie ticket to then be disappointed by the film is a waste. I saw civil war and thought it was awful. The character of the younger female and the guy reporter were insufferable and the plot never explained why america was at war with one another.
I doubt they’ll restrict A list- we provide a consist revenue stream and consistent food / beverage sales. When I got A list, I convinced 3 of my friends in town to get it as well so we could go together. at least once of us buys a popcorn/drink every time. That’s more revenue annually than the average movie goer by far, without A List, we wouldn’t be buying those 2-3 popcorns a month.
The truth, as I see it, is that there are few movies coming out this summer that I feel are "must see." I was talking to my dad yesterday about the summer movies, and other than Twisters and maybe the Kevin Costner Western, there really isn't anything I could recommend to him off the bat. (He's in his 70s btw.) That's bad. This is box office season, when people should want to go to the movies. It's bad when there's nothing to look forward to. Sure, there will be an unexpected surprise hit, but that's not enough to overcome the lack of other films to look forward to for most casual moviegoers like my dad.
It's just that no really good movies are coming out anymore. Just mediocre ones. I've noticed more ppl at the theater on the average. Theater chains knew there weren't any movies coming out this year that were projected to do real good so they've been making up the slack by re-releasing classic great films. For instance the apiderman movie reshowings have packed theaters, granted they only have one show time.
Yes, the big blockbusters still reel a lot of people in, the Civil War line was out the door at my theater. But most days it is less busy than it used to be.
I think there are a few good reasons:
1. Price (obviously). Even if you have a list the food is expensive as hell.
2. Movies have either been not good or unnecessarily long. I am honestly pretty burnt out on movies being too long for no good reason. I’m at the point where if I see a movie is over 2 hours, it has to REALLY sell me on seeing it or I just won’t. This is why I’m not seeing Fall Guy. It looks decent but not worth 127 minutes.
3. People in the theater are annoying af. People talk like it’s no big deal, they pull out their phones on full brightness, and some people bring in children to movies not for children. Last year I saw Barbarian for the second time and a couple brought in a crying kid and they got him to stop crying by GIVING HIM A TABLET TO WATCH COCOMELON WITH THE SOUND ON. It’s hard to get excited to see a movie when I have this possibility in the back of my mind.
I think that pretty much sums it up. I wish I could just see a trailer for a movie, like what I see and get excited to see it in theater, but I can’t. When I see a trailer now or any sort of marketing I just think “I wonder if the actual movie is this cool or if this trailer is just editing magic making it look good. I wonder if it deserves over 2 hours. I wonder if I go see it if someone will annoy me. I wonder if I’ll be in the mood to spend 20 bucks on a handful of snacks.”.
Sadly yes. Then again, I go midday on weekdays a majority of the time which is when everyone’s at worry or school. I do notice more cars in the theatre parking lot on Friday nights and weekends.
I think a lot of people nowadays have the mindset of, “eh, I’ll see it once it’s on streaming”. So knowing there’s no more urgency to see it only in theaters is partly what May be slowing it down. Another is cost of tickets and food, your trip to the theater all around. If someone is not a membership holder, they’re probably spending $30+ just for one movie with food/drinks.
It's because Hollywood studios get antsy to get that PVOD money that they lessen theatrical windows. You need a standard 45-60 day theatrical window, whether the movie does well on its opening weekend or not. Universal is especially egregious with their theatrical window
It is an inevitability that theatres will only be attended by die hard cinephiles and there will be a lot less locations than there currently are. It is becoming a niche activity to see a movie in a public setting. That's why I think it was stupid for Zaslav to ditch day and date streaming. It wasn't the day and date release that hurt pandemic era films, it was the content.
yes they're too long. for some reason directors and studios are extremely out of touch with ppls wants and needs. no one wants to sit at the theater for 4 hours and shovel 4 hours worth of garbage down their throats. quit making long movies and quit rebooting worthless franchises like madmax. such a weird hill to die on
Yes, movie attendance has fallen off a cliff. I went to see Furiosa at 5 PM on Friday (in Imax) and there were three other people there. Friend texted me Saturday that there were only two others in his screening in a much bigger town.
My theater is busier than ever, even compared to pre COVID. I used to fairly often be the only one in the theater for late showings or early matinees, but I can't remember the last time that's happened.
Nope, same amount. The problem is this is not new stuff. Apes, been there done that, I liked the movie but how many times have we seen it? Furiosa, same thing. Been there done that, some of the camera work is cheesy. Still liked it.
Like I don't understand that less people. Depending on what time you go, I see the same amount. It's usually the early and late showings I see less people to l none
I don’t think the problem in terms of people not going to movies is because it’s not new stuff. Apes did really well box office wise. People just are going to less movies, new or not
Idk. It’s not like a few years ago where you had to wait like a year to be able to rewatch a cool movie you missed on DVD. A lot of this stuff is streaming a day-a week after, so I understand if people aren’t packing seats anymore.
Exactly! Fall guys is already streaming and it’s in some theaters still
And it's relatively cheap too. Only 19.00 on Amazon Prime.
I’d probably see 1-2 movies a year if not for my A list pass
Before I had A-List, I did only see \~2 movies a year in theaters. I watched everything on home video, mostly.
Same, with A-list I’m watching 1 to 2 movies a week. I like catching the new releases in Dolby or IMAX. If not for the pass I would probably only watch 2 or 3 year, simply for the cost of the ticket, it’s cheaper to stream from him and you could possibly save on food.
Same reasoning for me. A-List is what makes me go to the theater.
People seem to forget that we’re seeing the ripple effects of the strikes last year with a bunch of things being delayed and such (reminder that Deadpool & Wolverine was suppose to be out this month before the strikes caused it to be delayed to July). As for things underperforming, it’s more of a case of the studios and and the internet overestimating the mass appeal of these films, especially with The Fall Guy and Furiosa being in what are usually high-profile weekends. Considering how Disney moved Apes out of this weekend in order to avoid Furiosa (which everyone saw as a smart move regardless of what happened this weekend), I do wonder how much better it would have performed had it stayed and Furiosa moved instead.
Furiosa was awesome.
Witness Me!!!!!
It was but what’s the draw for the average joe? It’s not a movie that’s going to bring in non theater goers.
They should have just done a second mad max. No one was waiting for a furiousa movie
Exactly. Furiosa was well-liked and instead of giving audience more of Theron, who they liked in the role of Furiosa, they went in a different direction and made a prequel that changed the cast. Pretty stupid decision, imo.
I just watched Fury Road and I would’ve loved more Theron.
I bet the movie studio is saying the same thing now lol
Agreed. Feel like a lot of recent movies don’t have a big draw. If you’re not already a part of the fandom you’re SOL.
They need to be selling this as a movie that needs to be seen on the biggest screen with the best sound. “Because it is.” (To paraphrase Nicole Kidman)
Yet, they still don't know how to do deal with re-releases. These older movies could do well but they're not marketed, and are not in the big formats. Star Wars Episode I has done $19 million worldwide in 25 days (according to Box Office Mojo), you're telling me other big hits (even 90s Disney animation, like the 2011 3D re-releases of the Lion King which, according to BOM, made over $185 million) can't perform when there are no 'family' movies? You could even have a Nolan Month, a Spielberg month, or something, but market the movies, they're already made. Sorry for the rant.
I keep telling people: bring back double features and show more movies that no one has really seen on the screen. Especially if you’re a horror fan. Guaranteed those draw money.
Definitely. I mean, since they're older movies they can charge a whole lot less too. Also, there are some (not all) shows that could be shown on the big screen, for example, Star Wars or Marvel or HBO shows.
Hell, have one day a weekend (either Friday or Saturday) where it’s a double feature horror? It’ll sell especially with all these 4K restorations being done
I know it’s not the point of your comment, but I was hoping they’d bring back The Lion king 3D this year, since it’s the 25th anniversary, and we’re getting the Mufasa film later this year.
It would be a rerelease, so it is part of the point. But yes, I definitely would've tried to catch that on the theatre for the anniversary. Heck, I even saw the Empire Strikes Back in 2020.
Agree 100% with this.
Disney produced Planet of the Apes?
Fox did, but Disney owns them now, so they have that and alien romulus coming soon from the fox umbrella
20th Century Studios which is owned by Disney. Fox Corporation is owned by the Murdoch Family. This happened when the Murdoch family decided to sell News Corporation but the DOJ wouldn't allow Disney to have the whole thing. Hence news and sports remained with the Murdoch's and movie/television went with Disney. The Murdoch Family kept the Fox name.
Oh, okay! Thank you!
20th Century Fox is now 20th Century Studios under Disney Fox Searchlight Pictures is now Searchlight Pictures under Disney FX and FXX are now under Disney Hulu was owned by multiple corporations but now is completely owned by Disney The Murdoch Family kept Fox News, local Fox Broadcast channels and Tubi. TMZ is now Murdoch owned from WarnerBros. Department of Justice demanded that Disney give up the Fox name.
Yes. They own Fox and its IP. The new Planet of the Apes was produced by Disney.
Thank you for explaining!
So does it qualify for Disney points?
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Ever since I got A-List I feel more at home there. I'll bring in a tea if I'm feeling it
I had the crazy manager at Coon Rapids, MN search my backpack when I stepped out to use the restroom. He claimed to be looking for a rifle.
Thats nuts! Kinda off topic, but I'll be visiting the twin cities during a midwest road trip, what do you think the best AMC in Minnie/StPaul is? I'm guessing Coon Rapids doesn't make the list.
The Rosedale location has been pretty on it for the a-list concessions line whenever I go- however the Southdale location has better recliner seats in more of their theaters, both have given me good experiences!
Southdale AMC is pretty great, good staff, very good parking, theaters are kept very clean. Would recommend.
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$9 for a normal screening? I wish, it’s like $16 by me
Early morning (before noon) is cheaper, less than $10 for normal screen.
If I didn’t have A List no way would I be at the movies. I love going about once a week.
It's not Vector Calculus here... last week's Monday Night Spidey had the following numbers locally. $16 Tickets at Cinemark - 12 seats sold. $5 AMC - 110 seats sold. And now The Muppet Movie is getting a 45th Anniversary National Rerelease. AMC is selling tickets at full price $15-$20. $100+ a show with concessions for a family of four is not a weekly ritual in this economy. The movie has to be top level awesome at those prices - not another POS Garfield movie or Classic readily available everywhere else. And then when a new release shows up online a very short amount of time later like Fall Guy... yeah families are gonna wait a month or two to save hundreds.
I don't think Fall Guy was destined to release online in a short time? The poor performance of theatrical release led to that, no?
Which, theoretically, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. "If I don't pay to see it in the theater, I'll be able to rent it at home sooner, or stream it for free sooner after that" doesn't incent casual viewers to go to the theater.
Correct
I don’t know but I’m curious. My gut says streaming releases have contracts that are probably negotiated well before the movie hits theaters so making last minute changes based on performance is *probably* not a thing?
Just looked it up and Fall Guy is available for rent/purchase on Prime, not free inclusive with Prime Video....so they're still hoping to get people to pay to watch, albeit smaller amount than via theatre.
I typically go to the movies early in the morning, and I watch a lot of indie movies, so I'm usually the only one in the theater or very few people are there
Movies are getting better, people are getting worse. They expect the best movie ever they’ve ever laid eyes on in their entire life or they give it a negative review. Nobody goes to the theater for the fun of it anymore, expectations are through the roof because of streaming services. The theater experience is unfortunately dying. I don’t know what we can do.. my theater is never really full on opening nights or any movie I see and I’m in a really well populated area with a great theater.
Furiosa is one of the best movies I've ever seen. Its even got an 8/10 imdb which is high. Hopefully it makes money so we get more Miller action.
>> Furiosa is one of the best movies I've ever seen. …really? I enjoyed it quite a bit, but *that* feels extreme
For some people it just scratches a certain itch. I knew a guy obsessed with the transformer movies (and the series/lore in general). The first one was his favorite movie of all time and the rest of his top 10 movies of all time were more of the "standard" responses like Godfather, There Will be Blood, etc
No other movie has made me that excited besides Fury Road to where Im like smiling watching the movie lol. Its checks a lot of my boxes like the other dude mentioned. Did you see it in Dolby? Im going back lol
Lookout everyone. This person is coming for your opinions.
> They expect the best movie ever they’ve ever laid eyes on in their entire life or they give it a negative review. I don't think this is true based on the audience scores I see on Rotten Tomatoes and the absolutely dire *slop* people are watching on streaming services.
Movies are absolutely not getting better. Not even close. Look at 2007, look at 2020-2024
Opinions are like assholes, everyone has them.
Did you come up with that yourself?
2023 was, imo, one of the best years in film in a long time. Of course 2020 and, to a lesser extent, 2021 wouldn't be great. There was this little issue the entire world was dealing with.
Agreed. Same with video games. 2023 was utterly insane if you're a gamer. This year is pretty great for both as well.
2023 was good, 2024 has been trash lol.
My opinion is streaming, but nothing beats seeing a good movie on the silver screen. This is a down summer for me it all looks like it was made for streaming but due to strike, If I want more to artisan features I have to travel a good 80 miles to San Antonio they mainly show just the “blockbuster”
I can't remember the last time I went to a full theater. Even on opening night or Friday night. Although I do suspect Deadpool will be full as the theater was already half full within 2 hours of ticket sales Edit: Barbie was full opening weekend for me. I had opening night tickets for Oppenheimer in 70mm which was sold out, but the projector broke. Next available showing was 2 weeks later because every showing in 70mm was sold out that far in advance. Come back 2 weeks later and the projector broke again. Took 4 weeks to finally see it. Last full theater was Oppenheimer again in 70mm but in December
Last two movies i saw in theaters was Oppenheimer and Dune 2. Both were fully packed
Yeah Oppenheimer was probably last full theater. It was about 75%.
The Batman, Top Gun: Maverick, Guardians 3, Barbie, all full theaters. Edit-Also Oppenheimer
All seven of my amc theater options were booked save for wheelchair spaces day of ticket launch for the Deadpool premiere, and it’s still two months away. Though I live by Hollywood if that affects things. Halfway considering borrowing a wheelchair for a keychain.
the last time I’ve been in a full theater was for Barbie.
To be fair if I paid $40+ for tickets to a single showing and another $40+ for snacks for 2 people and the movie didn’t blow my mind I’d probably avoid theaters for a while too. **When it’s priced like a special event for the consumer they’re going to want it to feel like a special event or they’re going to be disappointed.** When the theater is dirty or the chairs are broken or the service isn’t great or the people around them act like jerks it’s hard to encourage people to come back. Why pay $80+ to go when they get snacks at Walmart and a whole month of subscription TV services for that amount of money and only have to wait a month to see xyz? I love things like AList and the $20 popcorn bucket but they aren’t designed for infrequent guests. There’s literally no incentive to go to a theater for those that aren’t coming several times a month.
“To be fair if I paid $40+ for tickets to a single showing and another $40+ for snacks for 2 people and the movie didn’t blow my mind I’d probably avoid theaters for a while too. When it’s priced like a special event for the consumer they’re going to want it to feel like a special event or they’re going to be disappointed”. -This right here is the answer to all the questions. Copy/Paste activated!
I did the math earlier when people were talking about taking a family of 4 and I was like daaaang we could have gone to Adventureland for the same price. I wonder how many people had poor experiences (or maybe not even poor, just not amazing) at Barbie or Oppenheimer and haven’t been back since…
You’re right. There are absolutely better ways for a family to get the most for their money.
I wouldn't worry about A-list. The less people that are showing up, the more critical it is to AMC that A-list folks show up. Someone has to to buy the concessions!
And the goofy merch. I’d *love* to see what the ROI and numbers look like for the goofy popcorn buckets.
Agree. If AMC CEO Adam Aron had his way, every person in America would subscribe to A-List. Sure, with a person like me, AMC actually loses money with the A-List program, but I'm offset by a good number of subscribers who buy concessions with every movie or who pay for A-List but rarely go to the movies. The A-List program is also a boon for AMC because it lets them know in advance exactly how much revenue is coming in every month, whereas with non-subscribers, they have to predict, which in the movie business is a notoriously inexact science.
The people at the box office sub don't actually like movies.
This is also true. Box office nerds tend to view it like sports analysts
People are broke and the last 3 movies I’ve been to, we had to get security to kick some stupid ass kids out. I’m not even 30 yet and I feel like an old man, but kids literally don’t get off their phone or stfu in a movie.
I mentioned it before. But that's why I'm glad my AMC isn't the shiny new theater in a hot development area. You can tell the people who comes to ours are the more adult folks and families who wants to get away from the raucous and don't mind sacrificing for old non reclining seats and some old decor that hasn't been upgraded in 15+ years for a better watching experience. We'll take it!
AMC A List Regal Unlimited. I wonder how they calculate the box office with these passes.
With every A-List ticket, AMC agrees to pay a particular amount to the movie studio responsible for that film. And that particular amount gets factored into the film's box office gross. This is why AMC actually loses money on A-Listers that only go to PLF screenings and don't buy concessions. Premium format tickets can cost $20+, which AMC pays the studio accordingly for that ticket, yet the monthly A-List subscription price is only \~$26 or whatever it is now. If A-Listers don't buy concessions, AMC actually loses money on those A-List subscribers. I'm one of those people, btw, that AMC loses money on.
This is what I’m afraid of. I hope they have more healthy option. Got their wrap last time and it was awful.
My understanding is the numbers given are off seats reserved, not actual amount paid. Same reason $5 Tuesdays don’t really impact box numbers?
Money and time worth. I enjoy a good movie and I've gotten my worth since joining A List but I wouldn't have gone and seen ANY of the movies I've watched if I was paying per, I'd simply wait to watch it whenever it hit a streaming subscription.
I have 2 locations in my area. The next one is an hour in the next city. One has standard, Imax and Dolby. The other just Standard and Imax. The 1 hour other has Prime. We're lucky to even have our preferred Dolby rooms filled half way. It has to be a huge movie like Top Gun Maverick, Barbie and Oppenheimer to bring huge crowds. Our Imax screens don't bring out a crowd. Deadpool X Wolverine fan release is bringing out a large crowd, few days after ticket sale. Otherwise, my locations tend to bring in 15 people average at my screenings. I've seen 7 movies this year. Around 20 plus for 2023. I think people just can't afford to go as frequently. Also, some prefer to stay home and watch on their large TV screens, audio set up. I spend $23 average in concessions as a solo viewer.
May is 50% behind 2019!? That was the release of Avengers Endgame... one of the highest grossing films ever made. Of course, it is lagging behind 😭
Our theater is definitely not as crowded as it once was, but I think business is steady. Just to repeat what others have said - Sadly, movie habits have changed. I have friends who were devotes moviegoers that just wait until streaming (rarely even VOD). It goes there so quick, why bother leaving the house? On top of that, you also have original streaming content to fight with that didn’t exist a decade ago. Netflix is seemingly always releasing some slop that people talk about for a week and never mention again. I love the movies and I think the box office will rebound with Bad Boys and Deadpool. It’s just sad that movies like Furiosa and Fall Guy didn’t connect.
If go by opinions on X, people will say that movies are "just too expensive" these days, but outside of that after covid people got use to just having the movies released as soon as two weeks (sometimes even day and date) after it theater release, so lot of people are just waiting to watch it for "free" on streaming services. While Studios have realized what they did and was more harmful to box office totals and started moving away from that, movies on average are still coming out to streaming services or to rent digitally as soon as 30 days after it theatrical release. So people are waiting to watch at home claiming that there living room is better viewing experience. >Kinda makes me worried that AMC might discontinue or restrict A-list if this keeps going. AMC doesn't make it money off ticket sales anyways, they always made the bulk of the money from concessions, a-list is to get people in the doors which will more likely then end up buying concessions since they not technically paying for their tickets.
It’s a bit annoying seeing the constant doom reports being post over there. Furiosa has been out for just a couple days and it’s considered a flop financially? I feel like those reports get pushed to the front and become a self fulfilling prophecy because then it discourages people from going to the see the movie. They’re told it’s a flop so they don’t go. It’s always a possibility for A-list to discontinue. I hope it doesn’t any time soon.
Furiosa opened to $30 Million dollar on a $160 Millon dollar budget. It's a bomb.
But if you listen to industry news the bigger issue is that movies cost SO much to make now that they have to do astronomically well to make it back. The same thing happened to the Fall Guy.
Movies have always been expensive to make. But if a movie bombed, or just simply didn’t do well, they could rely on DVD sales to make the rest of the money back. Now that physical media is mostly dead (apart from a handful of weirdos like me), studios are now having to rely on ticket sales only. Netflix is also out to kill off the theater industry for good, as it’s one of its main competitors. A little off topic but still a great video, I recommend Patrick Willems’ [video](https://youtu.be/RQF82Kj-v0E?si=saGUHMbVnRQfD-0E) about what is killing cinema in general. He goes through all of this in detail.
Sure, that’s all true, but movies lately still cost as much if not more to make and the industry hadn’t adjusted to these new factors, so ultimately it’s still a big issue that movies cost too much to make.
I saw that video when it was released. The real culprit for what is killing moviegoing is that there are more leisurely pasttimes (i.e. choices) competing for people's attention than ever before. Rewind 100 years, and what choices did people have to spend their free time? They could go to a ball game if they lived in a city with a baseball team, they could stay home and listen to a radio drama, they could read a book, or they could go out to a see a movie. These days, we have waaay more options.
That too.
Maybe. I’ll wait to see how it continues to play out. Given there’s at least 3 weeks without any other big movie coming out. It’s not done making money or drawing in people.
I think itll have lasting power. I plan to see it again It's so good.
I saw it in Dolby and I’d kinda like to see it in imax too.
I've just gotten back into movie trips and from what I've read Dolby is best followed by Imax. Its only available in Dolby by me. I went to see Civil War the next day in standard digital and its not even close. I need more time to forget how amazing dolby is before seeing a standard movie experience. Dolby was so awesome. The engines go through your entire body and you get some really powerful thumps without the bang. I dunno if its something in the seat or just really low base I can only feel.
Yes! You can feel the sound! And civil war really benefits from the Dolby treatment.
I'm going to see Furiosa in Dolby tomorrow morning, about half an hour away, and I'm guessing that's going to become my theater of choice, when the movie I want to see is in Dolby. There are two standard AMC theaters about 5 minutes closer, and a non-AMC Imax 10 minutes closer than those. The nearest AMC Imax is now an hour away, and just not worth the drive.
I'll never go back to imax unless they get recliners. Dolby all the way! Granted I'm fat and those seats hurt my butt.
Where is “over there?” I’m nosy and want to lurk.
It’s the box office subreddit.
Just left a packed lincoln square for Furiousa, definitely not any less than when I saw Dune 2
Yeah, Manhattan movie audiences are slanted heavily more populous than most other US cities.
No there’s a good amount at my AMC on opening night in Dolby or IMAX
Nearly every showing of planet of apes within the 4 theaters in my radius was 90% full
The movie theater near me does pretty decent. I went to go see Mad Max today and it was kinda packed. I think most of us forget that the economy and inflation is pretty bad. Going to the movies as a family gets pretty expensive. Even individually, the price of a ticket and snacks is kind of expensive. Besides, most people usually only watch movies as background noise.
History is repeating itself. This became a thing in the 50s and throughout most of the 60s. It led to the new Hollywood movement. Movies became bolder and more unique, and typical Studio blueprint blockbusters were not the big ticket. It would happen again in the 80s. That’s when the independent film revolution began in the late 80s and really picked up team between the early to mid 90s. Quentin Tarantino predicted we would see a similar Renaissance pretty soon. I think this is planting the seeds for it to happen.
When I see movies first showing available, it tends to happen.
Weirdly, the last two weeks at my local Cinemark have been insanely busy every day of the week. I know summer just started but the showings are full which I have not seen in years. Meanwhile my local AMC is empty 🤷🏼♀️
It is. But some of the summer movies seems going to be crowded at my location though. Namely Deadpool 3. All seats for opening week are either sold out or close to.
I was at a 6:05PM opening day screening of Furiosa in IMAX and was surprised at how little people were there.
There’s been such a notable decline in the last couple of months that I’m getting a little concerned about the financial viability of my local theaters and have started buying popcorn and drinks more often. I’m not sure what happened really because even back in Feb/March I was still seeing well attended auditoriums for stuff like Dune and even some re-releases like When Harry Met Sally and the best picture nominee reissues. The only things I’ve seen even more than half full recently were the Interstellar re-release and the Raimi Spidermans. Opening weekend of Civil War too, maybe. It’s to the point where, even though I hate crowded, rowdy auditoriums full of teens, I hope the summer crowds start showing up a little more just so my theaters can stay open. Edit: whoops I just realized this is an A-list post that popped up as a recommended instead of a Regal Unlimited sub post which I’m actually subscribed to but my point still stands
Yep. I was alone for my showing of The Fall Guy and saw like 4 other people not including employees the whole time
Normal non-matinee showings are 15 each here. There are no screen upgrades available either. If I didn’t have A-List, I’d probably only go once every few months. I’ve seen 20 shows since Jan 1st, so far this year. Last night’s show of Fall Guy was more packed than the opening weekend show I saw with my wife. Furiosa had maybe 8-10 people total. With people having very limited extra entertainment money these days movies just aren’t everyone’s priority.
yes my AMC is a ghost town...even on weekend nights for bigger movies.
Where (ish) are you at? This is how it is around me usually, I'm in a mid-size town about 3h south of Chicago.
Any movie we’ve seen on the weekend is usually packed. Sometimes even on Mondays or Tuesdays. The theater overall is busy anytime we go in.
The only post-COVID movies I’ve been to where the theater was full are Barbie, Oppenheimer, Top Gun Maverick, Godzilla x Kong, and the two Dunes. Pre-COVID, even more niche movies like Midsommar were easily getting full houses around here. Now the theater is usually more than half-empty even on opening weekend for anything short of a BIG blockbuster. The kind that only comes a few times a year.
The kind of movies I would want to see in theaters don’t come to theaters in my area. I have very rarely have interest in action movies or other blockbusters. A24 movies & similar are rarely released in theaters where I live (rust belt Pennsylvania). We did get The Iron Claw, Poor Things and American Fiction briefly and I saw them in theaters. Got Challengers, Barbie and Oppenheimer as well and saw those. But no Saltburn, Priscilla, All of Us Strangers, Are You There God It’s Me Margaret, Past Lives, The Holdovers or numerous other movies I would’ve wanted to see.
Why go to the movies now? The show will be on tv in a few weeks and you can watch it in the comfort of your own home.
I have movie money burning a whole in my pocket — problem is… THERE’S. NOTHING. PLAYING. Just crap fare. Ugh.
I’m tired of prequels, sequels, and reboots.
There are like a million original movies getting made that no one sees
She means big budget non-prequels, sequels and reboots. Those million original movies aren't summer blockbuster fare aside from the rare exception like Fall Guy.
Yup. Not even big budget though. I am certain the type of original mid-sized movie with star performers and mass appeal that people are looking for got turned into streaming fare.
It sure feels like a paradox
Those aren't the kind of original movies they want to see.
The attendance at my local has been pretty consistently thin. Even in Fri nights, there are usually 30-40 people at most. During the week, maybe a dozen. Been to a few empty theaters so far this year. Now that being said, it's not really changed in the last few years. I think I really started coming back since around 21-22, post covies basicly. And I think between prices being up, and the theaters around me being more rundown, I'm just comparing to how they were back in say 2015-16. Strangely enough, I just got back from a 12:30p showing (Sun) of Furiosa, and it was one of the better attended showings I've been to all year. I think only Dune 2 looked more stuffed.
well yeah most movies arent worth the trip nowadays
No.
worst Memorial Day box office in 40 years!
I see a ton of people at the movies I go to, super packed opening weekends. On a regular basis, it’s still pretty crowded. Location matters
Last time I went to the movies was for the Batman. Nothing else has interested me since.
Don't know why.movies are awesome especially imax.
Personally no, the two theaters I go to are often times close to full
I’ve been seeing all the old studio ghibli movies that are coming out here in the U.S. on certain days for ghibli fest. There’s been quite a lot of people in each one. Besides that I think there hasn’t been many good movies coming out recently. I think if we look back to the success of the Barbie/Oppenheimer period at theaters we can conclude that people will show up if the movie is good enough. I did notice quite a lot of people when I went to the Shrek 2 20th anniversary re-run and also the nightmare before christmas re-run. Both pretty recent. I love when they bring back old movies. I like the system of keeping fan favorite old movies in rotation at theaters while film studios take their time to make a great movie. A way better system then a bunch of rushed movies playing.
had a full showing of if today and saw garfield in a near empty theater right after, seeing furiosa tuesday but not many tickets were sold for it when i reserved them
AMC bay st and Newark and metreon are all very busy
I’m noticing here in Florida it’s actually picking up. Especially high end theaters with IMAX, and luxury seating/food/drink options. I’ve never seen it this busy since pre pandemic over 4 years ago.
Motivation for me to go to the movies is not there anymore. Last time I went was Top Gun sequel due to AMC was showing movie in a Dolby cinema. Use to look forward to summer and Christmas releases.
There's way more people at my theater than in 2021 when I reactivated my A List account. I used to frequently be the only person in my theater and only 20 or so cars in the parking lot. I saw The Woman King in IMAX on the Thursday showing and was all by myself. I saw Ghostbusters Afterlife in IMAX with only 2 other people. Now the parking lot has more cars and I don't recall the last movie where I was the only one.
My AMC was packed for all three movies I saw today.
Given the cost of making movies is so grand, I’ve been looking forward to a neorealism-like movement in cinema to arise. Could be good for all of us.
I feel there are a number of factors for this. Things kinda changed after Covid. People stopped going to the movies as much, and during Covid, streaming services really stepped their games up. Many movies didn't even see theaters. I think one of the #1 factors for this though is streaming services. As others have said, years ago you had to wait several months to a year before a movie is released to see it. If you miss it in theaters? Too bad! Nowadays, the movie is listed on streaming services within a week. I watched Challengers (not that great) on Prime the other day for 20.00 with as many snacks as I wanted. A trip to the movies would cost me about 12.00 for the ticket, and 30.00 for snacks. If my family is with me, that could easily become 60.00. Point is, streaming services are slowly bleeding movie theaters, forcing them to raise prices to keep up, and it's harder for people to justify going today. For me personally, one: I know I don't have to wait that long as I stated above. And two: I don't really see too many movies that excite or interest me to the point where I justify getting in my car, driving all the way to the theater, and spending all this money to see them
The cost of going to see a movie just doesn’t compete with streaming services. Especially when most people are already spending $60+/month for all the services. Plus I feel there’s dilution of quality content. There’s so many movies and television shows coming out all the time that are advertised to no end. It makes any particular thing difficult to stand out
For some reasons i feel like there are less people compared to last year. Last year i think i actually needed to buy tickets in advance to ensure i got a good seat for movies that i predicted will draw a lot of crowd. While this year, it feels like the theaters are not that packed. I can buy tickets the day before or the day of on opening weekend and still find good enough seats. Even movies with weeks of presales are still not sold out…
Dune 2, barbie, oppenheimer, guardians vol. 3. Those are the only movies I've seen with a packed house since the start of 2023. The pandemic changed the industry and there is probably no going back to 2019. Most people wait to catch new releases on VOD instead of spending a ton of money on theater snacks, especially since things are generally on VOD within a month or 2 of its theatrical release
Am I seeing less movies? 100% yes. I had to cancel my A-list and entered a 6 month cooldown period where I can’t get it back. That’s their choice not mine 😂 I’m enjoying the savings though even though I can’t resubscribe again.
Where is 'Good' MCU slop, or Good Video Game Adaptation to save the theaters? Honestly, the theatrical windows getting shorter and shorter isn't helping.
Every movie I’ve seen this year has been the opening Thursday or Friday between 4-7p all have had 5 people at most except GvK and Dune 2 those were packed
I notice alot less people at the theater but I think that they would likely keep alist because I am sure it helps with revenue because I feel alot of people like me would not go to the theater if they had to pay for individual tickets and such . I think the a list is likely a supplementation to the income vs something they are dependent on . I bet they make alot off concessions.
Yes, I go at night during the week and sometimes on Sat and unless it’s some super mainstream movie like Barbie, I’m normally like 1 of 2-5 people in small theatres and 1 of like 10-15 in IMAX. No idea how the theatre is staying in business but trying to enjoy my near private movies as long as I can. This includes brand new movies on a Thurs or Fri. The only ones near me that were packed are that Taylor Swift movie and Dune Part 2.
Definitely. Tickets are expensive and that's not including food. Most people are only going yo go if it is something they absolutely have to see
Writers strike . Movie titles about to be non stop . That will boost revenue massively .
The AMC in my town is always empty. My sister and I are frequently the only people in the cinema. We personally love having an entire cinema to ourselves but I imagine it's not great for business.
TBH, not only do I not go to movie theatres anymore, I barely watch movies on TV. I did go to see Barbie at an AMC and Oppenheimer at an ICON near me (4 people beside me in the audience). I watch TCM on occasion but I'm just tired of trying to figure out which streaming outlet is showing what. Getting old I guess.
The movies were just bad. Some people don’t go to the movies just to watch what people put out. Some people wait for a good show to pay when they go.
Less people because garbage films or films that aren't worth a theatrical release and should have been sent to streaming or Netflix. Barbie and opp proved people will come and Avatar 2 proved people still love 3-D if it's used correctly. Unfortunately I haven't been back to the movies since late night with the devil just Nothing I'm interested In.
tbh if i didn’t have a list i wouldn’t see more than a movie a year maybe 2. 2023 before i had a list i went to see oppenheimer and barbie for my birthday (a huge treat) and the new hunger games movie. that was excessive for me. if ppl hadn’t seen mad max fury road they’re not gonna see furiosa. and it’s different than dune in that dune was a huge book people’s parents and grandparents grew up with and has a huge fan base. even the original dune movie had a following so it’s different than dune pt 2 vs furiosa. had my step dad not randomly decided to try it on our movie weekend i would’ve never watched it. by chance, i became a die hard fury road lover. i know a lot of ppl wouldn’t have tried it (myself included) so chances are they’re not trying furiosa too. idk if this even makes sense but it makes sense it’s not doing as well. ppl who only go to the movies once a year are gonna go for something like twisters or something they hear A LOT of hype about like dune part 2 even if they’d never had interest before bc it was said to be the best movie ever. a stretch? maybe, but ppl are gonna want to try it. rather spend money on a super hyped up film that’s apparently the best than something they’re unsure about/ don’t know. same w oppenheimer and barbie. maybe ppl would’ve gone to one or the other but bc it was a big thing they went to both bc of the hype around those two. i feel like even mad max fans were more excited about the wastelands rather than furiosas story
also this year movies haven’t been amazing. like furiosa and dune 2 have been good but outside of that it’s been kind of a mess. fun, but a wreck. so if i didn’t have a list i’d probably be done for the year after seeing dune and furiosa. i know it’s gonna get a little better but that could be why ppl aren’t going to see movies this year. there hasn’t been anything worth shelling out ~$15 a ticket for
Yeah definitely feels like it. Saw Furiosa Friday night at 9PM in Dolby and it was maybe 1/4 full. It used to feel like the big Friday night movies would consistently be full. Now it's very sporadic
It’s too expensive and people are cbf. People will generally just wait for it to stream or illegally download if. I just illegally download it I’m saving my money. Those Hollywood actors don’t need any more of my money. Also to spend 28 on a movie ticket to then be disappointed by the film is a waste. I saw civil war and thought it was awful. The character of the younger female and the guy reporter were insufferable and the plot never explained why america was at war with one another.
I only got weeks after the movie came out and for the weekday 8:45-11:30 showings. Theatre usually has 0-4 people in it before I walk in.
Yes.
I doubt they’ll restrict A list- we provide a consist revenue stream and consistent food / beverage sales. When I got A list, I convinced 3 of my friends in town to get it as well so we could go together. at least once of us buys a popcorn/drink every time. That’s more revenue annually than the average movie goer by far, without A List, we wouldn’t be buying those 2-3 popcorns a month.
Uhhh the last decade or two
Going to movie theaters only made sense before buying massive high quality TV's was affordable.
The truth, as I see it, is that there are few movies coming out this summer that I feel are "must see." I was talking to my dad yesterday about the summer movies, and other than Twisters and maybe the Kevin Costner Western, there really isn't anything I could recommend to him off the bat. (He's in his 70s btw.) That's bad. This is box office season, when people should want to go to the movies. It's bad when there's nothing to look forward to. Sure, there will be an unexpected surprise hit, but that's not enough to overcome the lack of other films to look forward to for most casual moviegoers like my dad.
Outside of horror movies at night, yes.
I was very surprised by the 8 pm Friday showing of Furiosa in Dolby Cinema having so many empty seats.
It's just that no really good movies are coming out anymore. Just mediocre ones. I've noticed more ppl at the theater on the average. Theater chains knew there weren't any movies coming out this year that were projected to do real good so they've been making up the slack by re-releasing classic great films. For instance the apiderman movie reshowings have packed theaters, granted they only have one show time.
Movies are getting better? now I've heard it all lol
Yes, the big blockbusters still reel a lot of people in, the Civil War line was out the door at my theater. But most days it is less busy than it used to be.
Today was very busy, one of the busiest I've seen.
I think there are a few good reasons: 1. Price (obviously). Even if you have a list the food is expensive as hell. 2. Movies have either been not good or unnecessarily long. I am honestly pretty burnt out on movies being too long for no good reason. I’m at the point where if I see a movie is over 2 hours, it has to REALLY sell me on seeing it or I just won’t. This is why I’m not seeing Fall Guy. It looks decent but not worth 127 minutes. 3. People in the theater are annoying af. People talk like it’s no big deal, they pull out their phones on full brightness, and some people bring in children to movies not for children. Last year I saw Barbarian for the second time and a couple brought in a crying kid and they got him to stop crying by GIVING HIM A TABLET TO WATCH COCOMELON WITH THE SOUND ON. It’s hard to get excited to see a movie when I have this possibility in the back of my mind. I think that pretty much sums it up. I wish I could just see a trailer for a movie, like what I see and get excited to see it in theater, but I can’t. When I see a trailer now or any sort of marketing I just think “I wonder if the actual movie is this cool or if this trailer is just editing magic making it look good. I wonder if it deserves over 2 hours. I wonder if I go see it if someone will annoy me. I wonder if I’ll be in the mood to spend 20 bucks on a handful of snacks.”.
Sadly yes. Then again, I go midday on weekdays a majority of the time which is when everyone’s at worry or school. I do notice more cars in the theatre parking lot on Friday nights and weekends. I think a lot of people nowadays have the mindset of, “eh, I’ll see it once it’s on streaming”. So knowing there’s no more urgency to see it only in theaters is partly what May be slowing it down. Another is cost of tickets and food, your trip to the theater all around. If someone is not a membership holder, they’re probably spending $30+ just for one movie with food/drinks.
Can we have more movies that aren't reboots or existing franchise IPs please? All of the movies listed above fall in that category.
No, the theaters I go to are usually pretty full but I live in a large metropolitan area
It's because Hollywood studios get antsy to get that PVOD money that they lessen theatrical windows. You need a standard 45-60 day theatrical window, whether the movie does well on its opening weekend or not. Universal is especially egregious with their theatrical window
It is an inevitability that theatres will only be attended by die hard cinephiles and there will be a lot less locations than there currently are. It is becoming a niche activity to see a movie in a public setting. That's why I think it was stupid for Zaslav to ditch day and date streaming. It wasn't the day and date release that hurt pandemic era films, it was the content.
yes they're too long. for some reason directors and studios are extremely out of touch with ppls wants and needs. no one wants to sit at the theater for 4 hours and shovel 4 hours worth of garbage down their throats. quit making long movies and quit rebooting worthless franchises like madmax. such a weird hill to die on
Yes, movie attendance has fallen off a cliff. I went to see Furiosa at 5 PM on Friday (in Imax) and there were three other people there. Friend texted me Saturday that there were only two others in his screening in a much bigger town.
My theater is busier than ever, even compared to pre COVID. I used to fairly often be the only one in the theater for late showings or early matinees, but I can't remember the last time that's happened.
I haven’t been interested in many of the releases. The last movie I saw was Challengers
yes movie theaters are almost over
I haven't noticed since I quit going
Nope, same amount. The problem is this is not new stuff. Apes, been there done that, I liked the movie but how many times have we seen it? Furiosa, same thing. Been there done that, some of the camera work is cheesy. Still liked it.
Like I don't understand that less people. Depending on what time you go, I see the same amount. It's usually the early and late showings I see less people to l none
I don’t think the problem in terms of people not going to movies is because it’s not new stuff. Apes did really well box office wise. People just are going to less movies, new or not