Went to a movie theater for the first time in a long time last night

I haven't had the desire to go to a movie theater in a while since I'd rather watch at home, and my surround system was quite good, if I must say so myself.  
I went to see the spider-verse movie to act as a chaperon last night.  
I don't see myself going back, unless for the same reason, any time soon.  It was about $150 for 3 of us, with ramen after the flick.

For that $150:
I sat in VERY comfortable seats, much better than in the theater I built in my basement in Michigan. MUCH better. The floors were decidedly less clean lol
I didn't have my choice of people to watch with (not terrible but some people just don't know how to shut up)
I won't belabor the commercials before the movie as I could have walked around until the actual movie started (not the trailers, but commercials for insurance companies and local Ford dealers)
The movie itself wasn't great, but that's not the fault of the venue. I could have done without the agenda being pushed. Just tell me a story. That's it.
The image was, naturally, stunning. No home I'll ever be in can rival a big screen. For some movies, that's worth the price of admission right there.
The sound was big, LOUD, and harsh. Too loud to be honest. I will bring ear plugs next time, I value my hearing. The theater was very crisp and clear, but besides loud, it was harsh and shrill. The theater I built in Michigan had better sound. The sound that came from my Magnepan 5.1 setup was warmer and more natural, and with about 4,500 watts behind them, they'd go just as loud. I think the bass was better in the theater though. I had some boomyness I couldn't get rid of.

In short, it was NOT $150 well spent, but I don't regret going.  It was nice to spend time with family and friends. For a Saturday night it wasn't very full at all, especially for a new Marvel movie. You gotta wonder if theaters will fold and folks will just stream to VR headsets and get a more immersive experience. 

How did you arrive at $150 for three people ? That seems about double what I could envision even with very good Ramen.

Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) said:

How did you arrive at $150 for three people ? That seems about double what I could envision even with very good Ramen.

That was my first thought. Around here it's still less than $20 a person for tickets. Which is still a lot, but it ain't $50.

Plus, you never know who is standing on your lawn while you are away at the movies.

It's mainly the people that keep me away. For some reason they think audience participation is expected or think they're in a reaction video.

In reply to Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) :

I don't know exactly. I'll have to consult with Mrs. Boost. 

Been over 3 years and it was during a "break" in the COVID fiasco, so it was a very weird experience. Not had the urge to go back. In today's world where we need to continually cut back on the "wants" in order to afford the "needs", theaters  with $20 popcorn are an easy cut.

Liar liar. That's the last movie I saw in the theater. Well, first run theater anyway. 

There's an awesome small movie theater close to us. For 2 large drinks, 1 huge refillable popcorn that can be kettle corn too and 2 tickets it's a whole $21

There's an old theater near me that was built in 1928 - currently updated and a cheap date.  Organ rises from the floor and plays on the weekends.  Big screen and great sound - popcorn actually popped in front of you.  Tivoli Theater in Downers Grove, IL.  

Sometimes I look at the giant chandeliers and wonder if one came down who is going to get killed sitting below it.  

I don't care for the mega theater with little screens.  

I go to movies almost every week. Alone. I rarely spend more than $15, even with over priced popcorn. 

j_tso said:

It's mainly the people that keep me away. For some reason they think audience participation is expected or think they're in a reaction video.

Meh, it's not really like that anymore, I don't think.  With everything being available via streaming not that long after it leaves the theatre, pretty much everyone who pays money to go to the movies actually wants to be there for the experience, so they're pretty good about keeping quiet and dark.

In reply to Duke :

I agree. 

In reply to j_tso :

Same here. Movie theaters make my anxiety go up. I will never go see a movie that just came out during a busy time of day or at particular theaters.

We go on Tuesday $5 movie night, we also belong to some kind of club which gets us a large popcorn refill free - so it's not too spendy. For us the problem has been there really hasn't been anything we wanted to go see...... 

If I'm paying $150 at a movie theater there better be a bj or a handy involved. Preferably from a lady.

I haven't been in a theater is 15 years. I don't see that changing any time soon. The juice isn't worth the squeeze. 

For $250 more, you can get the highest membership at our local art house theater, which gets you as many movies you can see in a year plus free popcorn.  

And while they are an art house, they have gotten all of the Marvel movies, as the studio likes it when theaters are totally full- so small theaters are a good thing.  We saw the new Star Wars movies as well as the recent Bond movie there.

I have no interest in the Marvel universe, nor the horrid Fast & Furious franchise. So it's pretty easy not to go to the movies these days.

In reply to ddavidv :

Some of the Marvel Universe is pretty fun to watch, but some of it sucks. None of it's worth the price of admission to find out which category it falls into.  

Toyman! said:

 The juice isn't worth the squeeze. 

Yes.

So few movies are worth watching, and while I don't particularly enjoy the experience, the number of ads completely ruins any interest I may have had in going. I'm not paying good money to watch ads. If you're going to subject me to that, and your ludicrous concession pricing, you have to let me in for free. And I still probably wouldn't go.

My wife does the $something-a-month program with Cinemark.  I don't remember the cost, but my recollection is that it's less than the price of a ticket and it buys you one ticket a month and they'll accumulate if you don't use them.  Unfortunately, we just don't have the time to go to movies like we used to, but when we do, it isn't too spendy because of that.  If we sit in the upstairs section where they'll serve you dinner at your seat, we might spend $100 total for the two of us if we both get a drink from the bar and order full dinner.

Most of the movies we wind up seeing are basically "okay".  Not great, not horrible, but just entertaining enough.  There are a few we've gone to seen that were just awful and I couldn't wait to leave.  But every once in a while we see a movie that turns out to be far better than we had any right to expect.  Of the hundreds of movies we've seen, I could probably count those experiences without having to take off my shoes.  That experience of being blown away by a movie like that is so awesome that it makes the gamble worth it.

I don't remember the last time I was at a movie theater. More than that, I can only think of two, maybe three movies I would have willingly paid to see since the turn of the century, and they never got theatrical releases. Bandwidth and hard drive space are cheaper than ever, but there's not even anything work pirating anymore. 

ddavidv said:

I have no interest in the Marvel universe, nor the horrid Fast & Furious franchise. So it's pretty easy not to go to the movies these days.

I don't get this. There are hundreds and hundreds of movies that come out every year. Of which, maybe 2 or 3 are Marvel or F&F. Throw in DC and other superhero stuff, and you're still at less than 10. There are still a TON of movies that don't fit those genres.

I guess I'm contrary by saying: I really enjoy going to the movie theater. It's a special event.

Yeah, I'm selective about the movies I go see. Most movies are not worth seeing in the theater. Fortunately there are people who review movies and will share their impressions on if a movie is worth seeing or not.

The trick with movie reviews is not to look at Rotten Tomatoes aggregate scores or anything like that. But instead to find a couple of reviewers - ideally whose tastes are reflective of your own, or at least who you understand what they like and why, so that their reviews will give you a sense of how much *you* will enjoy a movie. For me, those are a couple YouTube channels: Chris Stuckman and Jeremy Jahns.

So yeah... yesterday I saw 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' in the theater. It made me very happy. I've seen it tons of times on small screen, but many scenes felt like seeing it for the first time on the big screen. We splurged on overpriced snacks and alcoholic beverages. Came to a total of $60 for two of us.

Plenty of movies I've seen in theater relatively recently that were well worth the theater experience: Dune, The Northman, John Wick 4. Many other movies over the years that I'm glad I first saw them in theaters. Heck, there have been a fair number of movies that I've really enjoyed seeing in theaters that were terrible movies where I would not have enjoyed them on a small screen, but were hilarious to watch in the theater because they were bad. To see that level of absurdity elevated to grand spectacle.

Theatrical film is a unique artform. Watching a truly theatrical movie in the theater is as integral to the proper experience as listening to a symphony orchestra in a concert hall. As someone who values that experience and that artform, it saddens me how much its dying out as more people just want to stream movies at home.

Reading people complain that movies are stupid, and theaters are stupid, and watching movies in theaters is stupid - hits me the same way as a non-car enthusiast complaining that sports cars are stupid, and manual transmissions are stupid, and manual transmission sportscars are stupid.