Paramount Wants Movies on Demand Two Weeks After They're In Theaters

[terry78]

Why is a bag of fruit snacks 3.85 at AMC? Why?!

 

[MadVillainy]

Why is a bag of fruit snacks 3.85 at AMC? Why?!

A bag of skittles is like $4 and you get about 1/2 of what you would get from a regular bag from 7 Eleven.


I get you need to make money, but I cant sanction that kind of price gauge

 

[Lencho01]

Nah Im in my 20s and I feel the same way.

But you know what I discovered? Sunday mornings (I would go Saturday if I didn't have work). Go to the first screening.
Rarely any kids and most of the time not crowded in general.

RIght after I graduated and I found a job, I would go during the middle of the week. Now that was freaking empty. Just old people looking to fall asleep.

This is what I pretty much do. I used to do it because it was cheaper. But, after going on a more packed night and time, I realized I really do enjoy watching films with little-to-no people in the theater.

 

[Wildcard]

^ I actually prefer seeing movies with packed crowds...so long as the crowd is a good one & there are little to no kids within it like when I saw TDK or F13th '09. I saw both on their respective opening weekend, the crowds were huge but great and nobody ruined the experience, it was all fun.

But I get why you guys feel that way, some people can be very taxing on your patience, which is worse when you just paid good money to see what you're watching.

I also agree about the concession stands...I haven't bought anything to eat at a theater in probably over a decade. I either eat before or after but I'm definitely not paying whatever they're charging for something that is ten times less at a regular store.

 

[Destructus86]

I would be fine with this option. I rarely go to the movies...it has to be something big like Jurassic Park or Star Wars...or some sci-fi epic. Or a superhero film.

 

[Goshdarn Batman]

^ I actually prefer seeing movies with packed crowds...so long as the crowd is a good one & there are little to no kids within it like when I saw TDK or F13th '09.

Do some people actually bring their kids with them when they watch movies like that?

 

[Destructus86]

Do some people actually bring their kids with them when they watch movies like that?

sadly yes.

 

[Goshdarn Batman]

sadly yes.

Weird.

"Don't cry! It's only a movie son. They didn't play tug o' war with that guys intestines for real, heh heh...kids, aren't they adorable?"

 

[terry78]

You really didn't expect kids to go to a Batman movie? They can make these flicks as dark and adult as they want, but there are still toys being sold in tandem.

 

[Goshdarn Batman]

You really didn't expect kids to go to a Batman movie? They can make these flicks as dark and adult as they want, but there are still toys being sold in tandem.

I don't expect parents to bring their six year olds.

 

[terry78]

Dude, those are like the one main ones that wanna go.

 

[Lencho01]

^ I actually prefer seeing movies with packed crowds...so long as the crowd is a good one & there are little to no kids within it like when I saw TDK or F13th '09. I saw both on their respective opening weekend, the crowds were huge but great and nobody ruined the experience, it was all fun.

But I get why you guys feel that way, some people can be very taxing on your patience, which is worse when you just paid good money to see what you're watching.

I also agree about the concession stands...I haven't bought anything to eat at a theater in probably over a decade. I either eat before or after but I'm definitely not paying whatever they're charging for something that is ten times less at a regular store.

It just depends. Some large crowd experience are fine, but others are not. With a smaller crowd, there's less of a chance to have any issues.

I pretty much never buy food or drink at the theater.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

When I went to the Ant-Man screening on Tuesday the theater I was at had a combo of 2 large sodas and a large popcorn all for the low low price of $20 :/

 

[terry78]

What a deal!

 

[PyroChamber]

Whenever you see a couple go into a movie that's obviously doing poorly and will have a small amount of audience members, you know why they're seeing it.

I thought that's what dollar theaters were for.

 

[hitmanyr2k]

Being a father now I love this idea and hope it catches on. My wife and I haven't found a babysitter we trust yet and we can't take a baby to the theater so we've been catching our movies via Amazon rentals the last year and now I'm starting to prefer it that way. I have a nice home theater set up so it's not like I'm missing too much. I'll get to the theater to see event movies like The Avengers and Star Wars but everything else can wait.

I used to love going to the theater. But now I can't stand the awful people, kids asking questions at full volume (WHERE'S IRON MAN????") while their question is being answered on screen, and horrible dim projection with the chance of the computer freezing or crashing. I was happy to just click play and watch The Interview on Netflix.

Maybe I'm an old man now.

I'm getting to the same state of mind. Going to the theater is a crap shoot now.

 

[Thundarr]

Yeah but if your local theaters are like mine. You can sneak in a snack so easily.
Hell if youre a female it's really easy just put it in your purse.

It's a bad situation. People don't buy snacks at the theaters. Theaters need money so they jack up the concession prices, but then less people buy the concessions from before

This is exactly why the movie business is losing money, at least on the theatre release side of things. It's the same with their ticket sales. Sales are down, which equals fewer profits. Their solution, raise ticket prices. The results? Higher profits per ticket sold, but fewer tickets sold per year, adding up to fewer profits. Their solution? Raise the ticket prices again. The results? Same as before. Rinse and repeat.

Then on top of all that, they do the exact same thing with the concession sales. Concession sales are down causing a loss of revenue through that avenue. Their solution? Raise the prices on concession. The results? Profits per unit go up, but yearly profits go down due to fewer people buying concessions. Rinse and repeat.

If I were an executive at Cineplex Odeon, I would recommend that the company try lowering the concession prices on Cheap Night Tuesdays. So all ticket prices are $5.99, plus all concession items are half price. Do this for a year, in order to compare gross profits from Tuesdays with their other busiest days, Friday and Saturday. I can almost guarantee that the gross profits on Tuesdays will be much higher than either Friday or Saturday, perhaps even both days combined.

As Albert Einstein once said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result every time." What movie theatres do in order to try and increase revenue is the very definition of insane. Why do they think that they're actually smarter than Einstein?

As for Paramount's new gamble? It could help the movie industry survive the stupidity/insanity of the theatre executives (who are the ones truly at fault for the decline of the movie going experience). Or it could just blow up in their faces. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

America's Largest Theater Chain Hates the Plan To Speed Up Home Releases

Earlier this month Paramount announced that it would release two upcoming films on home video and streaming just 17 days after they’ve been in theaters. But Regal, the nation’s largest movie chain, isn’t interested in being part of its piracy-fighting experiment.

Regal Cinemas made it clear on an earnings call yesterday that it wouldn’t be participating in Paramount’s new release window shortening program. Despite the fact that Paramount is offering theater chains some incentives like a cut of the profits from iTunes and streaming revenues.

Two Paramount movies slated for October release, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension and Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, will be available to consumers digitally two weeks after they premiere in theaters. But with Regal out of the deal, you’ll have to catch those films at an AMC theater.

“The parameters of the current proposal, both economic and structural, simply do not make sense for us given the potential risks to the long term health of our business,” Regal CEO Amy Miles told the Wall Street Journal.

From Paramount’s point of view, the long-term success of an experiment like this hinges on buy-in from chains like Regal. Paramount had reportedly hoped to eventually try a two-week home release model for some of its biggest franchises like Star Trek and Mission Impossible. But that’s looking less likely without the country’s largest movie theater chain involved.

Only time will tell whether Paramount’s experiment will be a “success,” but it’s easy to see why major theater chains like Regal are skeptical. Fewer people are going to the movie theater, but the chains are making up for that by charging higher prices, especially for 3D and IMAX releases.

If the theaters allow a two-week window to become the norm and they take a cut of digital release profits, who’s to say that studios like Paramount won’t one day pull the profit-sharing rug from under them?

http://gizmodo.com/americas-largest-theater-chain-hates-the-plan-to-speed-1721321983

I don't think anyone is surprised by this

 

[Avenger]

Going to the theaters is terrible these days unless you go to a place like the Alamo Drafthouse, where they actually enforce their rules. I'd be cool with this. The only thing I'd miss is the massive difference in sound and picture quality. I've got a decent HDTV but it's not the same as seeing a movie up on the big screen.

 

[TX85]

I hate movie theaters now and only go for a few certain films a year, However an Alamo Drafthouse theater is opening soon in my city and so that could make decide to go more often again.

This sounds like a great plan though and so I sure would welcome it!

 

[NotSoLongAgo]

Maybe if the time was a month the chains wouldn't be bothered by it. At least in my local cinemark, most movies don't last longer than that. Gives plenty of time to sponge out the money and new movies would be in by that time. I know redbox would be very happy about this.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

A month def seems like the way to go

 

[Mr.T]

I think most are operating under the assumption these movies will run along the average price of movies we see on iTunes, On Demand, etc. I read about a similar plan from one of the other big movie makers and they were wanting to charge in the hundreds for immediate new movie availability for digital download. Paramount's plan isn't the same since theaters will still get releases first, but I'm still curious at the cost. In any case, I'm definitely ready for this.
I guess people can turn movie release night into your typical fight party PPV night....