The movie was great. However, going to the movie theater reminded me why it's been years since I went.
People talking, turning on their phones that flashes your eyes, hearing people eat popcorn, people coming late, etc. Just a terrible experience.
https://www.dexerto.com/tv-movies/netflix-backlash-casual-vi...
I had been a Netflix subscriber since the days of DVDs by mail and finally cancelled last month. It’s not worth +$20/mo for casual viewing. And they have a bad track record of cancelling shows I actually liked and promoting hallmark quality programs instead.
I don’t think much needs to be said about movie theaters. When most shows are remakes, sequels, superhero movies or other franchises, it’s all so tired.
So sure, movie theaters might be dead, but they share a grave with Netflix.
It costs us (family of 4) nearly $100 to go the movies. And that’s not even counting a meal (only snacks)
Or, we can spend $20 buying the movie (or $4 renting it), watch it on 4K OLED on our couches, pause whenever we want, etc, and have a nice dinner for less.
Also recently saw and really enjoyed Strange Darling and Flow on the big screen.
But yeah, I’m not gonna pay to watch the average mediocre new movie at the questionable regal/AMC and pay like $40 for refreshments. But I’ll totally go out to see any movie (new or old) which are great experiences and benefit from a huge screen and fantastic audio system.
Theaters have over-indexed on quantity over quality. There are loads of locations with poor projection quality and shitty sound, dozens of screens, and lots of crap movies coming out. Why would people show up for that when they can stream something better at home on a potentially nicer TV?
So yeah, the industry will change a lot, but it probably won’t die.
I also think a lot of people have a better experience at the movies. The movie gets watched straight through. It isn't abandoned, stopped to get snacks, or text, or take a phone call. If someone keeps falling asleep, you don't rewind 10 times. If the movie starts out too slow or subtle, you keep going instead of scrolling to find another movie. etc.
Also watched Nosferatu at ghe IMAX during its opening weekend. Was concerned when I saw the many groups of teenagers clearly going out on a "fright night". But I had no reason to fear, could hear a pin drop during the silent scenes.
So while I highly appreciate that audiences here are well-behaved, I'm not sure that alone is the cause. Because I do feel like the rooms are less filled here too.
So sure, movie theaters might be dead, but they share a grave with Netflix.
Saw The Abyss[1] at the big screen recently, and that too held up very well in terms of special effects, despite being 35 years old and breaking CGI ground when it was released.
Oh, and if you want more popcorn, that's another 30 cents.
And you can pause it if you want to use your own private restroom.
And if it's a terrible movie you don't feel guilty if you leave the theater.
Also you can drink beer while watching a movie, if you're into that kinda thing.
Also you don't have to deal with teens on phones texting each other about how good or bad the movie is, or trying to take calls in the middle of the theater.
Or parents with screaming children that didn't want to afford a babysitter.
Or ...
Or ...
There was a time when movies were revered -- back when motion pictures came out, and it was a shared social experience, and people actually cared about it. People dressed up. There were ushers in uniforms.
~20 years ago when I saw one of the matrix sequels in a theater in Chicago, the popcorn was no longer freshly popped. It was stored in plastic trash bags, and then opened and poured out into the popcorn machines. It tasted like the bags it was stored in.
If you are in the theatre, no one is going to talk to you about the movie, or comment on it for no reason, etc.
I still regret pausing Lost Highway (like 25 years ago) so we could go out and smoke a cigarette. It completely broke the spell and the movie just wasn't the same from then on.
I kinda got those remarks from Coppola and Tarantino that I found of "old man yelling at cloud" category before.
The big global business behind it surely is dead - for non-blockbuster genres - but I can't imagine the culture behind it going for a long time. It's the societal standard to enjoy this genre, and a tradition the streaming industry builds upon and uses, there is nothing else. The above flicks had minimal budget in terms of Hollywood. Cinema is here to stay.
Yeah, I watch all films I consider worth seeing in the theater frankly. I rarely have nightmarishly disruptive movie going experiences. Any disruptions are minuscule compared to the infinite attention distractions at home or on any viewing portal connected to the internet.
And sometimes I go specifically for the rowdy crowd experience. For example, watching Grand Theft Hamlet with a appreciative (and somewhat drunk) rowdy crowd in the theater was fucking fantastic. Ironically, someone in Riot Games, the company that decided to stream Arcane on Netflix, also knew this very well when they rented movie theaters across the world and had screening events ahead of official Netflix release dates for episodes from the the latest Arcane season -- for an audience mostly composed of ballistic League of Legend cosplaying gen Zs and alphas.
Everyone can work out at home, you can fit a basic workout setup even in a New York apartment.
People still go to the gym, why?
It's about mindset. When you're working out at home, you're at home. There's laundry and the dishes and now you're doing pushups and see the dust bunnies under the sofa.
But when you're at the gym you literally can't do anything except work out.
The same goes for watching movies at home vs the cinema.
When I "Go to the movies", I go see those kind of movies that require me to focus. I'm mentally unable to start browsing HN on my phone while I'm at a location specifically for watching movies. Mickey 17 was the latest one I saw.
But when I watch at home, I can pause, browse on my phone. Go grab more snacks and let the movie run. It's for different kinds of movies - the kind Netflix uses. Their playbook literally says that people on screen have to say what they're doing so people on their phones or in the kitchen can keep up.
To be fair, Hollywood has always had this kind of problem -- just watch a few Mystery Science Theater 3000s to see how bad things can get -- or 1994's "Ed Wood" from Tim Burton. Both of which still romanticize the industry in their own way.
There will never, ever, be anything like seeing the original Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, or Ghostbusters (peak Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ivan Reitman) in the crowded theater filled with anticipating viewers ever again. Laughing as part of a crowd feels better than laughing alone.
Maybe we're too fragmented as society to enjoy all the same movie that we used to. I don't think this is true, because we all still like Ghostbusters, more or less. I think Hollywood has targeted markets, rather than trying to sell a movie to the masses.
And in 2024 they best thing Hollywood could do is reboot a 1980's TV Show "The Fall Guy". Geesh.
The service has become increasingly poor and the prices climb. This is the phase of Netflix’s lifecycle where all the value is being extracted from the customers and given to the shareholders.
They hiked us up to $25/mo only to nag me every time I launched it that I can’t let my brother use one of the four device entitlements that I am paying for.
Top dollar hostility for second run movies, cancelled series, and AI driven true crime slop.
"Amazon’s New Movie Strategy Starts With Theaters: The streaming giant is planning to release at least 14 movies a year in theaters around the country, rivaling other major studios."
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/01/business/media/amazon-mov...