Cinemas: It's time to compete.
Discussion
Telegraph: Movies to get to pay-tv in just a month
Independent cinemas are worried about moves by the major studios to release films to Pay-TV services on a shorter cycle then ever. DVD sales are falling and the traditional staggered route from cinema to DVD rental to DVD sales to TV broadcast is not delivering the maximised profits it once did. So studios, whose only care is to get the maximum revenue per title, are looking at other strategies - ones that cut out the cinema altogether, or reduce its traditional advantage, that of being FIRST, to just four weeks.
So where does this leave the Cinemas? In my opinion they have been able to relax, safe in the knowledge that film fans will not want to wait six months or a year to see a movie and will therefore stump up the loot to sit in their foul smelling fleapits with dodgy sound and picture quality and an army of mouthy chavs texting through the main feature.
But with less reason than ever before to visit the Cinema will film fans just wait a month to see the picture on their 50" 3D TV screens with high quality 5.1 surround sound in the comfort of their own homes or can they be persuaded that a night out at the flicks still offers something you can't get at home?
Dear Cinemas and Cinema owners: It is time to compete. Yes you need your teenager market and you will still need to cater to them (to be honest I'd suggest removing the back row and just putting down some wipe clean mattresses) but perhaps you will now also need to attract back young families and maybe even, for some films, the more adult set.
Independent cinemas are worried about moves by the major studios to release films to Pay-TV services on a shorter cycle then ever. DVD sales are falling and the traditional staggered route from cinema to DVD rental to DVD sales to TV broadcast is not delivering the maximised profits it once did. So studios, whose only care is to get the maximum revenue per title, are looking at other strategies - ones that cut out the cinema altogether, or reduce its traditional advantage, that of being FIRST, to just four weeks.
So where does this leave the Cinemas? In my opinion they have been able to relax, safe in the knowledge that film fans will not want to wait six months or a year to see a movie and will therefore stump up the loot to sit in their foul smelling fleapits with dodgy sound and picture quality and an army of mouthy chavs texting through the main feature.
But with less reason than ever before to visit the Cinema will film fans just wait a month to see the picture on their 50" 3D TV screens with high quality 5.1 surround sound in the comfort of their own homes or can they be persuaded that a night out at the flicks still offers something you can't get at home?
Dear Cinemas and Cinema owners: It is time to compete. Yes you need your teenager market and you will still need to cater to them (to be honest I'd suggest removing the back row and just putting down some wipe clean mattresses) but perhaps you will now also need to attract back young families and maybe even, for some films, the more adult set.
To be honest mate I am only 20 and don't even bother with the cinema unless I get hold of an Orange Wednesday from somewhere. My most recent visit a few months ago cost me and my girlfriend just under £25...Granted we got food and drink for that but only a Medium popcorn and 2 medium drinks...
I remember when I was still in school (but old enough to need "Adult" tickets) and being able to sort me and my companion with 2 drinks, popcorn and a film for about £15...We then ussually spent another £15-£20 in the arcade & bowling, which the Cinema owned anyway. Nowdays if I go I just walk in, watch my film, and back out again. My wallet feels so empty from the first mugging that I recieved, so I actually spend LESS.
I think its only the Chavs these days that go so might aswell rip all the seats out and put this "wipe clean" stuff down that you speak of
I remember when I was still in school (but old enough to need "Adult" tickets) and being able to sort me and my companion with 2 drinks, popcorn and a film for about £15...We then ussually spent another £15-£20 in the arcade & bowling, which the Cinema owned anyway. Nowdays if I go I just walk in, watch my film, and back out again. My wallet feels so empty from the first mugging that I recieved, so I actually spend LESS.
I think its only the Chavs these days that go so might aswell rip all the seats out and put this "wipe clean" stuff down that you speak of
Edited by ymwoods on Monday 24th May 07:40
I'd be happy for them to remove the Chavez element they seem so scared of asking to be polite. Whenever I tell them to be quiet, or to sit down you just get a torrent of abuse so I don't go anymore. You're paying to have a pleasant experience destroyed by f
k wits. I shall endeavor to torrent stuff until they fix it.
k wits. I shall endeavor to torrent stuff until they fix it.The only thing that drags me to the cinema is something that I really want to see as soon as it comes out, such as a Bond film. Or the Mrs likes Harry Potter.
Other than that, I just wait for it to come on DVD or something. I can do without queueing for a £10 ticket (each), queueing for overpriced popcorn and drinks, queueing to get in and sitting in a litter-filled cinema with dodgy sound, listening to whichever moron either speaks during the film or uses his phone.
Plus, at home I can pause to go for a slash
Stelios had the right idea with the Easycinema, it's a shame it was driven out of business.
Other than that, I just wait for it to come on DVD or something. I can do without queueing for a £10 ticket (each), queueing for overpriced popcorn and drinks, queueing to get in and sitting in a litter-filled cinema with dodgy sound, listening to whichever moron either speaks during the film or uses his phone.
Plus, at home I can pause to go for a slash
Stelios had the right idea with the Easycinema, it's a shame it was driven out of business.
I didn't know Stelios tried EasyCinema?! What happened to that?!
It's an interesting move going to Pay-TV very quickly.
It could go one of two ways; cinemas could become very expensive and a massive luxury (in which case their whole approach would need to change) or they could become mega cheap, mega available to the masses and offer far better value than they do today. Again, their whole approach would need to change.
Others above have said - cinemas now are surprisingly expensive and so we only go if there's something we particularly want to see - Avatar, or Toy Story 3 coming up, but otherwise we won't say "let's spend £20 to go and watch something we don't particularly want to".
It's an interesting move going to Pay-TV very quickly.
It could go one of two ways; cinemas could become very expensive and a massive luxury (in which case their whole approach would need to change) or they could become mega cheap, mega available to the masses and offer far better value than they do today. Again, their whole approach would need to change.
Others above have said - cinemas now are surprisingly expensive and so we only go if there's something we particularly want to see - Avatar, or Toy Story 3 coming up, but otherwise we won't say "let's spend £20 to go and watch something we don't particularly want to".
Can't even remember going to the cinema for years. Always catch up on movies when I'm flying and for free. Why do people insist on buying food at the cinema? If most stop doing this, they would stop selling all of the junk and it would improve the places no end. I really don't see the need to eat anything when watching a movie (be it on TV/DVD, plane or anywhere). Eat before or after.
TonyHetherington said:
I didn't know Stelios tried EasyCinema?! What happened to that?!
Stelios opened the first Easycinema in M.K a few years back, taking over an old-ish cinema that had stood there for years.It was the usual Easy-formula, applied to a cinema.
You bought a ticket online, the earlier you bought or the older the film, the cheaper it was.
You then scanned that ticket through the barrier on entry to the screen. Less staff checking tickets and the like meant less cost.
There was also no popcorn or anything - you wanted food, you brought your own.
It was a good idea and some of the prices were very cheap.
However, the big distributors saw it as a threat to the established cinemas and made it very difficult, nigh on impossible, for him to get the latest releases. This meant he was reduced to offering films that had been released a few weeks previously (if he was lucky) and meant small audience numbers.
As a result, despite Stelios fighting the film distributors in the courts, Easycinema folded a little while back.
Like I say, a shame, as he had the right idea to make cinema cheaper and cut out the crap that's not required.
Can only be a good thing, they're nearly as far behind the times as the music industry in my opinion.
I can never be bothered with the cinema for various reasons. I hate the noisy eating of food, people chuntering away during the film, sitting in uncomfortable seats even if you pay 18 quid for the good ones at our local Imax, the queues, the chavs, the fact it's miles away, not being able to control the volume and the fact that Imax seem to think volume equates to sound quality, yadda yadda yadda. Once in a while it used to be a nice treat, now it's something that just strikes me as far more effort than it's worth. I'd rather watch it on my big screen at home, with my entertainment system and a few mates around. The only films I recall enjoying at the cinema in recent years have been the last 2 James Bond movies, and The Dark Knight - even then I wasn't that bothered, I just thought they were great movies.
Movies on demand is the future for me. I'm not averse to using torrent sites for stuff that's not available yet or doesn't feature on itunes, if it's good I'll buy a proper copy when it is available (I never professed to being moral!). If it's available I'm happy to pay for it, and if it lets me do it from the comfort of my own home, on my terms, even better!
If cinemas can't compete I couldn't care less, the entertainment industry is dynamic and we live in a digital age. I don't see it happening, there still seems to be a lot of avid film-goers, perhaps they'll just have to offer a bit more in return or something to fill the rows up. I'll be perfectly happy sat in my entertainment room watching what I want, when I feel like it.
I can never be bothered with the cinema for various reasons. I hate the noisy eating of food, people chuntering away during the film, sitting in uncomfortable seats even if you pay 18 quid for the good ones at our local Imax, the queues, the chavs, the fact it's miles away, not being able to control the volume and the fact that Imax seem to think volume equates to sound quality, yadda yadda yadda. Once in a while it used to be a nice treat, now it's something that just strikes me as far more effort than it's worth. I'd rather watch it on my big screen at home, with my entertainment system and a few mates around. The only films I recall enjoying at the cinema in recent years have been the last 2 James Bond movies, and The Dark Knight - even then I wasn't that bothered, I just thought they were great movies.
Movies on demand is the future for me. I'm not averse to using torrent sites for stuff that's not available yet or doesn't feature on itunes, if it's good I'll buy a proper copy when it is available (I never professed to being moral!). If it's available I'm happy to pay for it, and if it lets me do it from the comfort of my own home, on my terms, even better!
If cinemas can't compete I couldn't care less, the entertainment industry is dynamic and we live in a digital age. I don't see it happening, there still seems to be a lot of avid film-goers, perhaps they'll just have to offer a bit more in return or something to fill the rows up. I'll be perfectly happy sat in my entertainment room watching what I want, when I feel like it.
Agree with all the comments about the value for money we get for watching a film at the local cinema; chavs fooking about, mobiles on, people eating, dirty floors covered in popcorn and wrappers (due to lazy people), people talking and the little bd sat behind kicking my seat - all this removes the joy of what the cinema should be.
Sadly for myself and LadyHayles, we enjoy our movies and like to watch the latest release at the flicks and have a day out. To get around this we have both got "Vue Unlimited" cards and take a couple of cans of coke in with us, this works out to be a cheap day out and quiet often we will do 4 films in a day and have a movie marathon with a meal at a 2 for 1 deal thrown in somewhere inbetween. We don't care if the film is pants as it works out to be free and we have seen some gems that we wouldn't have normally watched.
We do have the 50" HD home cinema with 5.1 surround and the movie collection that excedes 550 films, but I also refuse to pay >£5 for a DVD. I will go to Blockbuster, rent and rip, then buy the film 12months later from amazon for £4.99 or Tesco for £3!
But people do still pay the £7.40 for a film! and a further £6 for a hotdog or a 'tray of nachos' (obviously Doritos), pure madness if you ask me.
d sat behind kicking my seat - all this removes the joy of what the cinema should be.Sadly for myself and LadyHayles, we enjoy our movies and like to watch the latest release at the flicks and have a day out. To get around this we have both got "Vue Unlimited" cards and take a couple of cans of coke in with us, this works out to be a cheap day out and quiet often we will do 4 films in a day and have a movie marathon with a meal at a 2 for 1 deal thrown in somewhere inbetween. We don't care if the film is pants as it works out to be free and we have seen some gems that we wouldn't have normally watched.
We do have the 50" HD home cinema with 5.1 surround and the movie collection that excedes 550 films, but I also refuse to pay >£5 for a DVD. I will go to Blockbuster, rent and rip, then buy the film 12months later from amazon for £4.99 or Tesco for £3!
But people do still pay the £7.40 for a film! and a further £6 for a hotdog or a 'tray of nachos' (obviously Doritos), pure madness if you ask me.
The thing is I would pay for a good night at the flicks IF it was a pleasant experience. Often it simply isn't as good as it should be.
I know that London has some truly upmarket "film club" style cinemas that offer the sort of thing I'd want but, sadly, there isn't the demand for such things nationally it would appear. Our local chain cinema does offer "Adult" screenings of some movies - but this doesn't equate.
I know that London has some truly upmarket "film club" style cinemas that offer the sort of thing I'd want but, sadly, there isn't the demand for such things nationally it would appear. Our local chain cinema does offer "Adult" screenings of some movies - but this doesn't equate.
I like watching films at the cinema - I'm really crap at doing it at home as it's too easy to get distracted, at the cinema you sit down to watch a film, that's the only thing to do and it makes the film so much better.
Whilst I do own a decent sound system, my budget or house hasn't expanded to fit a dirty great big telly with an equally big price. Nothing beats seeing a film on a decent projection screen(I just wish most cinemas spent time getting the projection right so that people and cars don't look everso slighty too tall and narrow...why is that?)
Whilst I do own a decent sound system, my budget or house hasn't expanded to fit a dirty great big telly with an equally big price. Nothing beats seeing a film on a decent projection screen(I just wish most cinemas spent time getting the projection right so that people and cars don't look everso slighty too tall and narrow...why is that?)
In the past (circa 2000 - 2003) I would often go and see a couple of films a week but these days I restrict it to "special" films and those that I really don't want to wait for. I've had far too many disappointing experiences in terms of projection/sound quality, dheads making noise etc to consider ~ £8 good value for most films now.
heads making noise etc to consider ~ £8 good value for most films now.I hate the cinema, it seems to be a place where students with long hair and lots of plastic bangles gather who won't shut the fk up throughout the whole film or a place where middle class women drop off scores of 14 year old girls who scream during the whole thing.
You inevitably sit next to someone with a bad cough or BO or the bloke who needs a piss every 8 minutes.
No thanks, I'll sit at home on my massive sofa in front of my massive TV with the film pumping through my massive speakers
k up throughout the whole film or a place where middle class women drop off scores of 14 year old girls who scream during the whole thing.You inevitably sit next to someone with a bad cough or BO or the bloke who needs a piss every 8 minutes.
No thanks, I'll sit at home on my massive sofa in front of my massive TV with the film pumping through my massive speakers
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