Why cinemas can go to hell, and I will pirate [** MOD WARNING IN OP **]

Duggy747

krudler wrote: »

Between 1997 and 2005 Limerick only had one actual cinema, now we have three, there used to be quite a few and some of them were lovely, proper old style theatre cinemas. If I ever had the money I'd open a cinema with a small number of screens, art deco styled, catering for movie fans who are sick of the multiplex experience.

Up until a year or 2 ago, Co. Roscommon didn't have a cinema for about 20 years. We had to make do with ancient, dusty cinemas in Mayo or drive all the way to Carrick-On-Shannon / Athlone to get our fix.

As regards to Camrips, I don't know how people can watch them. Even Telesyncs, with a direct audio line in can't compare, especially if the movie has dark scenes in it then you're just staring at nothing.

I do enjoy the Club Orange "ladies and their bits" ad in the cinema, though, always pisses the GF off :pac:

podgemonster

Went on Friday night to an IMC Dun Laoghaire for TDKR. 2 Tickets €15.60 (gf got a student card ftw), couples combo €9, maltesers in tesco €1.50, free parking. 4 ushers on hand to show people to there seats.

All seats full before film started while 3 trailers and about 5 minutes of ads played. Love those club orange ads, genius! Everyone very well behaved. A lovely way to spend an evening.

puffishoes

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

I genuinely think it's one of the most harmful, hypocritical things a film fan can do.

I think part of the problem here is they're not really "fans"

for most people it's close to picking up womans own for an hour. If people had 0.1% of the interest in film as you show in your posts, the landscape of Irish cinema would be very different.

I think we have to keep this in mind for most it's just cheap throw away entertainment.

e_e

Deleted User wrote: »

I went to the Lighthouse to see TDKR

10.30 showing
16 euro for two student passes + booking fee (19 without student rate)
Bar open (Staropramen @ 4.50 - not bad)
Cinema absolutely stuffed
No ads at all
2/3 trailers
Most of the audience aged 25+

Why? Because it's a cinema. It doesn't have toy machines or slot machines. It's clean crisp and I would say the local scummers would walk up to cineworld. As long as The Lighthouse stays open and is reasonably priced, I won't go to another cinema if I can help it. It's so nice to be treated like an adult in a cinema.

This, 1000 times this.

More people in this thread should flag up the good experiences they've had instead of acting like spoiled children overreacting.

krudler

e_e wrote: »

This, 1000 times this.

More people in this thread should flag up the good experiences they've had instead of acting like spoiled children overreacting.

Showtime in Limerick for me then, genuinely can't praise them enough , tickets are €9 for adults, food is ok, 3D glasses are €1, you can keep them to bring again and there's no extra charge for 3D showings themselves so if I have to see something in 3D I'll go there.
The screens are all huge, digital and have 7.1 surround in all of them,even the adverts beforehand look stunning, and they play a cool dolby surround tech demo thingy beforehand (I'm a geek for that stuff) and a luxury screen with leather reclining seats which is €2 more a ticket. Have gone there since they opened a few months ago and the only technical hitch was Spiderman not starting for about 5 mins the screen just went dark, and someone came in to apologise so at least we weren't just left sitting there, minor issue really. They seem to take a harsh stance on messers as well, a friend was there when some teens were being a pain, one person went out to complain and they were all turfed out straight away, no warnings, the way it should be.

Its easy to have a fantastic cinema experience if you go at the right times i.e not on Sundays, daytime during the weekends when it'll be full of kids etc.

jaykhunter

Just personal experience but i'm finding the Savoy crowd much more behaved (ie perfect) than Cineworld and also the Vue (which i'd deem the worst). Obviously enough never heard a peep out of the Light House patrons.

d@rk l0rd

I don't think highlighting bad manners and behaviour in cinemas is overreacting like spoiled children. That sort of comment sounds like you haven't had a bad experience because if you have had you wouldn't say something so silly like that.
My worst experience was a cinema screen full of skangers throwing stuff at each other, shouting, using phones. Thankfully most of my experiences are fine but I don't think highlighting bad behaviour is overreacting like spoiled children.
I like reading both the good and bad experiences of cinema goers as it helps me decide which cinemas to go to and which to avoid.

Fysh

e_e wrote: »

More people in this thread should flag up the good experiences they've had instead of acting like spoiled children overreacting.

I agree that highlighting good experiences is important in terms of retaining context, but I think it's pretty arrogant to dismiss people commenting on what sound like fairly frustrating cinema outings as "children overreacting". Vue have a pretty patchy rep in the UK for actually managing their cinemas (I've had mails from them where they've outright lied to me about the reason for merging food/concession sales with ticket sales at one of their busier cinemas, which had a substantial negative impact on queue lengths and waiting times, for example) and from what I've read here they're even worse back home. Given the price of cinema tickets, I think it is legitimate to get frustrated if there's antisocial behaviour going on and the cinema management do nothing to prevent it (and no, I don't think you should have to go out to the central foyer to get someone, there should be ushers checking on each screening hall regularly as part of the daily routine).

On the plus side, I'm very lucky to have a whole bunch of excellent cinemas to choose from - by living in Kilburn I'm basically up the road from the Tricycle, which I really can't praise enough. I've also got a decent Odeon nearby at Swiss Cottage, and then there are the Curzon cinemas in central London and the inimitable Prince Charles.

johnny_ultimate

The Prince Charles is a nice ol' cinema. Saw quite a few films there over a very short space of time as part of a festival (six films over 48 hours or so) and wouldn't have a bad thing to say about it. Also the screen downstairs has the most unusual but effective seating gradient I've ever seen

I'd like to see a cinema with that sort of distinctive character over here. Late night triple-bills, cult screenings, a constant flow of classic films, offbeat films alongside the blockbusters, extremely reasonable pricing for the centre of London etc... Something like the Prince Charles is decidedly lacking in Ireland: The Screen or Lighthouse are relatively close, but not on the same scale as the PC.

e_e

d@rk l0rd wrote: »

I don't think highlighting bad manners and behaviour in cinemas is overreacting like spoiled children. That sort of comment sounds like you haven't had a bad experience because if you have had you wouldn't say something so silly like that.

I've had several bad experiences but I've never arrogantly used them as an excuse to slam the entire moviegoing experience or justify illegally downloading. Sorry if it came across as insulting but I struggle to understand how the utterly illogical and misguided rant of the OP continues to get support, and I do find their viewpoints genuinely harmful.

krudler

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

The Prince Charles is a nice ol' cinema. Saw quite a few films there over a very short space of time as part of a festival (six films over 48 hours or so) and wouldn't have a bad thing to say about it. Also the screen downstairs has the most unusual but effective seating gradient I've ever seen

I'd like to see a cinema with that sort of distinctive character over here. Late night triple-bills, cult screenings, a constant flow of classic films, offbeat films alongside the blockbusters, extremely reasonable pricing for the centre of London etc... Something like the Prince Charles is decidedly lacking in Ireland: The Screen or Lighthouse are relatively close, but not on the same scale as the PC.

something styled like these and not just your standard dull room with seats in it multiplex look:

e_e

Fysh wrote: »

I agree that highlighting good experiences is important in terms of retaining context, but I think it's pretty arrogant to dismiss people commenting on what sound like fairly frustrating cinema outings as "children overreacting". Vue have a pretty patchy rep in the UK for actually managing their cinemas (I've had mails from them where they've outright lied to me about the reason for merging food/concession sales with ticket sales at one of their busier cinemas, which had a substantial negative impact on queue lengths and waiting times, for example) and from what I've read here they're even worse back home. Given the price of cinema tickets, I think it is legitimate to get frustrated if there's antisocial behaviour going on and the cinema management do nothing to prevent it (and no, I don't think you should have to go out to the central foyer to get someone, there should be ushers checking on each screening hall regularly as part of the daily routine).

Well let me just be completely clear in saying that I think people should complain and try to do something if their cinema isn't up to snuff, my post was a response to the people who were generalizing and misguidedly ranting against an entire industry when said things could simply being ignored by going to a different cinema. A cinema is like anywhere that offers a service, if you have a bad experience in one place you go to another next time and if more people did this the good cinemas would have a reason to continue offering a higher standard of quality.

OMARS_COMING_

The joys of getting old!


Complaining about cinemas,remember when you were a child and you just went to the cinema and enjoyed it no matter what the experience?

These days things have to be perfect!

rednik

Good Experience.:)

I have used the Savoy for 40 years and will continue to do so. I am going to TDKR tomorrow afternoon with the family and at 6.70 each in screen 1 that to me is great value in the middle of Dublin City.

the_syco

Theboinkmaster wrote: »

- 3 trailers, all cartoons WTF

For a 12A film; what did you expect? Guts and violence?

Theboinkmaster wrote: »

- full of knackers

Blame the halting site down the road.

=-=

Was in Screen 4 at Vue for TDKR. No aircon, but luckily the sound was good, and not many people were talking. Dislike having to pay an extra euro for no scumbags an over 18's screening, but it meant I could watch the film better.

Deleted User wrote: »

I went to the Lighthouse

Meaning to go there myself. Will probably go watch "Ted" there.

Cruel Sun

Sanjuro wrote: »

At one point I lost my patience and futilely yelled 'GET ON WITH IT' into the darkness.

LOL

Fysh

Tangentially related to this thread - we've been talking about the presence of unskippable ads on DVDs as something that frustrates most of us (and which some view as a justification for pirating o_O). While I'm pretty firmly opposed to the OP's stance, I'm not 100% on the side of angels as, for example, I'm in the middle of extended project to rip all the household DVDs to my HTPC for ease of viewing - which under UK & Irish law alike is a no-no, albeit one that at least the UK looks set to address in the near future. I have also been bold on occasion where there was no legitimate way to watch something (as in, not available to buy, rent, or watch in the cinema anywhere in my country of residence at the time), though I strive to spend money on those films if and when they become available. A Film With Me In It is a particularly good example of this - I saw it at the Tricycle when it first came out, waited ages for the DVD, which was only released on R4 for ages, emailed the production company to ask about an R2 release and didn't even get a response, eventually sourced a Naughty Copy in frustration. Several years later they release an R2 DVD, and express surprise at the relative lack of demand, then drop the price. I paid about £5 for my copy, but I would have happily paid £10 several years back if the silly twunts had thought to put the bloody thing out on R2...

However, there are some good moves in the right direction of late - not just the arrival of Netflix in the UK & Ireland, but also the availability of things like Film4OnDemand and Curzon On Demand - I tried out Film 4 OD recently to catch The Awakening as I missed in the cinema when it was out last Christmas, and I have to say the experience was pretty good. Easy to get set up - the only issue I hit was not having Silverlight installed on the HTPC, which was easily remedied - and mostly reasonable prices. Plus they are sensible and offer you the chance to download for offline viewing at a later point, which I haven't tried but which is a good idea if it works as described.

This isn't really relevant to cinema, as such but it does relate to "the industry", at least enough to prove that any generalisation about "the entire industry" is likely to be wrong in at least some cases.

I'll be trying the Curzon On Demand service soon, as I've been very happy to see that a number of smaller independent/arthouse films I've wanted to see in the last year or so and missed are available to stream, and all at pretty decent prices.

johnny_ultimate

Still the best cinema I've ever been to. Shame it's 1000s of kilometres away. Interval cookies were bitchin' though. Would totally go to Cineworld more if I got homemade cookies.

Fysh

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Still the best cinema I've ever been to. Shame it's 1000s of kilometres away. Interval cookies were bitchin' though. Would totally go to Cineworld more if I got homemade cookies.

Where's that? It looks great

marienbad

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

As in a utopian society where all art is free, and the artists are rewarded appropriately for their contribution to society? That would be wonderful. I'd like to think everyone who downloads is a staunch advocate of borderless art and transmission, but I'm not exactly convinced having a read through this thread.

Personally, as someone starting off in the film industry (I do have a livelihood to worry about), a passionate cinephile, and an enthusiastic supporter of world and independent cinema, unfortunately that utopian ideal, while admirable, has little to no grounding in contemporary reality. Also I don't want to see the cinema as a concept disappear - perhaps not quite as militant as Germaine Greer when it comes to the ritual of the darkened theatre, but militant nonetheless Also as a poor student it's increasingly rare I'm able to pay top dollar, but having just watched my pristine Blu-Ray copies of Sansho Dayu / Gion Bayashi, rest assured it was worth every cent I pulled together for it.

The are so many issues and contradictions involved in this whole piracy business it is hard to know where to begin , so I will just through out some thoughts as they come to me .

-There has always been piracy of intellectual property. Hollywood is founded on this very notion when all the film makers upped and left for the west coast and not just for the sunshine but to escape the copyright enforcement agents of Edison. On top of all that the USA were the greatest pirates of the 19th century knocking off sheet music, operas etc and damn the copyright holder. No less an institution that The New York Metropolitan Opera were the first the break the copyright on Parsifal by Wagner and more or less threw down the gauntlet to come and get us if you can (or dare)

The only thing that has changed is the USA is now the main producer and cries foul - well too late kiddo.

- All the major media producers in films- music-books ( and probably games , but I don't know much about this area) really don't care about their customers and just see them as sheep to be fleeced. Numerous examples

A classical music cd used to cost anything uo to 50 pounds ( boxed opera set) and the average price would be around 20 to 25, and the money rolling in . Next along comes Naxos and no cd more that a fiver and next the classical music industry is in crisis . Crisis my arse - they just had to get real but alas it may be too late and they have nobody to blame but themselves.

Kindle is going to go the same way ,the book de jour 50 shades of grey is 10 pounds on kindle and 15 pounds paperback - how is that possible ?
No raw material,production ,storage,shipping costs and only a fiver in the difference ? The original notion was that the middle men ( and all those jobs) would be dispensed with and only the artist and the delivery mechanism would remain and books would 3 or 4 quid . How is that working out for you ? And we don't even have all those lost jobs - just the high prices.

I could give other examples- Itunes , why is it (last I looked) 99c us , 99cEuro and 99 p Uk for the same track ? That a 50% price spread ?

Why are they trying to limit the number of machines you can play a tune on ? I believe thay are trying the same with games and would like to eliminate the 2nd hand games market.

Why have all the different regions ?

We know why of course , to maximise profits at the expense of their customer base. When you behave like that expect no loyalty.

And now we come to the oft quoted argument that piracy is killing the movie industry - absolute rubbish . If anything is killing the movie industry it is the movie industry killing the movie industry . Profits for all the major movies are at an all time high. The latest Batman leaked online before release and it had no effect what so ever. Batman enjoyed the greatest opening week-end ever.

It is a just not correct to assume that a download represents a lost sale. The very people that download the most are the first in the queue for the movie release and go more than once to those movies .

As for independant cinema - outside of dublin and possibly Cork it is virtually impossible to see an independant or foreign film at its time of release, there are simply no screens available and never will be , the Hollwood mafia and their cinea chain mates have long ago seen to that.

That is what is killing diversity in cinema - if the artist has no forum he may as well have no art. Just endless remakes of batman spiderman and superman - a 10 year old's idea of heaven but hell to everyone else- but they do pack those cinemas . Who cares if some French auteur has to go with the begging bowl to his government or John Cassavetes spend his time acting to pay for the priviledge of inventing independant Us cinema

But true art will always find away and the pirate sites may turn out to be the best vehicle yet.

johnny_ultimate

Fysh wrote: »

Where's that? It looks great

Rural New Zealand :pac:

It's great though: the Paradiso in Wanaka. If anyone's ever round those neck of the woods, pop in! It's an experience. The locals have even made amateur ads to show before the film, which is a particularly nice touch.

Headshot

Iv had another negative cinema experience today. Person behind me kept hitting my seat

Its mostly people that ruin it for me. Be it on their phones, chatting, kicking seats going in and out of their seats

phasers

For a bit of balance, here's a positive cinema experience!

I went to see TDKR in IMC Tallaght yesterday afternoon
€7 tickets (also I noticed it's only €4.50 for the unemployed, great idea!)
Big comfy seats
Reasonably priced food (€4.80 for a large popcorn! I almost keeled over. Vue charge nearly double that!)
The usual crappy ads but they don't bother me (except that Jennifer Lopez one)
And most importantly, everyone shut the hell up when the film started.

Great cinema experience, I'll definitely be going more often!


I'd barely get a ticket in Vue for what I paid for a ticket and large popcorn in Tallaght. The clientele seemed a bit better than Vue as well, but that may have been down to the time of day.

Thwip!

Headshot wrote: »

Iv had another negative cinema experience today. Person behind me kept hitting my seat

Its mostly people that ruin it for me. Be it on their phones, chatting, kicking seats going in and out of their seats

Why not just turn around and roar in his face "OOH BABY YEAH KEEP DOING THAT, ITS TURNING ME ON"

G-Money

One option is that the film companies could release films to watch online or via PPV at the same time as in the cinema. This could be done via something like Netflix or Sky Box Office. That way you can pay to see it via Netflix or PPV in your home, or go to the cinema to see it. If you don't have access to some sort of legal online streaming or Sky, then just go see it in the cinema.

My own theory about illegal downloading is that a large percentage will continue to do it until/unless they are given access to the content they want, when they want. That's just the way society has gone, people want stuff on demand now and the infrastructure is pretty much at the point where it can deliver that. Of course there will always be a percentage who will download illegally regardless, but that's to be expected.

One example is that I almost always buy stuff from iTunes now where I wouldn't have done so before. If it's available and priced reasonably, I don't have much qualms about buying these things online. It's when they're not available, often for what seems like stupid reasons, that I look elsewhere.

phasers

phasers wrote: »

For a bit of balance, here's a positive cinema experience!

I went to see TDKR in IMC Tallaght yesterday afternoon
€7 tickets (also I noticed it's only €4.50 for the unemployed, great idea!)
Big comfy seats
Reasonably priced food (€4.80 for a large popcorn! I almost keeled over. Vue charge nearly double that!)
The usual crappy ads but they don't bother me (except that Jennifer Lopez one)
And most importantly, everyone shut the hell up when the film started.

Great cinema experience, I'll definitely be going more often!


I'd barely get a ticket in Vue for what I paid for a ticket and large popcorn in Tallaght. The clientele seemed a bit better than Vue as well, but that may have been down to the time of day.

In Dundalk it's 3.80 in the daytime if you're on the dole. Excellent idea because it's 6 quid for the large popcorn and drink so the whole lot comes in under a tenner and feels like you're not getting rip off and they get their income from the popcorn.

speedboatchase

G-Money wrote: »

One option is that the film companies could release films to watch online or via PPV at the same time as in the cinema. This could be done via something like Netflix or Sky Box Office. That way you can pay to see it via Netflix or PPV in your home, or go to the cinema to see it. If you don't have access to some sort of legal online streaming or Sky, then just go see it in the cinema.

My own theory about illegal downloading is that a large percentage will continue to do it until/unless they are given access to the content they want, when they want. That's just the way society has gone, people want stuff on demand now and the infrastructure is pretty much at the point where it can deliver that. Of course there will always be a percentage who will download illegally regardless, but that's to be expected.

One example is that I almost always buy stuff from iTunes now where I wouldn't have done so before. If it's available and priced reasonably, I don't have much qualms about buying these things online. It's when they're not available, often for what seems like stupid reasons, that I look elsewhere.

This has came close to happening on a few occasions with big budget releases but the problem is that cinema chains threaten to boycott the film completely and not screen if it the studios do so. Also the costs they seem to want to charge are crazy.

Have a read of this - the Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller comedy was meant to be released on PPV for $60 (!) three weeks after its cinema release but the National Association of Theater Owners in the US threatened a boycott. It'll probably happen eventually.

http://www.screened.com/news/how-tower-heist-could-have-changed-the-way-you-watch-movies-but-wont/3014/

Arcee

www.volta.ie is the only legal site I've found in Ireland where you can see PPV films at the same time as they're in the cinema. It's not all films but they had Knuckle, Route Irish and Into The Abyss at the same time as the cinema release and they have one coming up tomorrow - a new Irish film called Silence. Good if you're into indie/arthouse/Irish film rather than blockbusters.

Discostuy

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Rural New Zealand :pac:

It's great though: the Paradiso in Wanaka. If anyone's ever round those neck of the woods, pop in! It's an experience. The locals have even made amateur ads to show before the film, which is a particularly nice touch.

I was there for the opening weekend of Peter Jacksons King Kong. We were walking past one day and some lady nabbed us and persuaded us to buy tickets for the opening night.
We didn't know what to expect but it turned out to be one of the best cinema experiences ever.

They had the film a week before the world opening due to the PJ/NZ connection.

We'd a whole sofa to ourselves and they served wine and wild salmon finger food before it

The half time interval was tonnes of home baked nibbles. It was a bizarre experience at the time but looking back it was one of the highlights of our trip.

Antar Bolaeisk

phasers wrote: »

€7 tickets (also I noticed it's only €4.50 for the unemployed, great idea!)

Slight derailment here but why do you think it's a great idea? Fair enough not all who are unemployed are so by choice but certainly quite a few 'round here have never worked a day in their life.

Why should they get cheaper tickets then me simply because I work and they do not. Surely if they're short of cash they've better things to be spending the money on anyway.

Besides, I've helped pay for their cheaper ticket as well as paying for my own

/rant

Fysh

Antar Bolaeisk wrote: »

Slight derailment here but why do you think it's a great idea? Fair enough not all who are unemployed are so by choice but certainly quite a few 'round here have never worked a day in their life.

Why should they get cheaper tickets then me simply because I work and they do not. Surely if they're short of cash they've better things to be spending the money on anyway.

Besides, I've helped pay for their cheaper ticket as well as paying for my own

/rant

Well, the logic is presumably that rather than being judgemental of people who are out of work, offering cheaper ticket prices to those who are at an economic disadvantage means that they can stay in the habit of going to the cinema on a regular basis. So that part of the audience gets a good deal (they can still afford some entertainment even with a tighter budget) and the cinema gets a good deal (changing economic circumstances don't automatically lose them income). I would imagine that they might get some sort of council/government subsidy for offering discounted rates to those on benefits, too.

As for "shouldn't they be spending that money on something else?", there's a growing amount of research showing that even minor expenditure on small luxuries (something as simple as a trip to the cinema, or a couple of drinks, or eating out/getting takeaway) have a substantial positive impact on quality of life. Between that and the scarcity of jobs currently in effect due to the terrible economy, it's a dangerous thing to go assuming that anyone on the dole is automatically a lazy bastard Living Off Of Your Hard-Earned Tax. Don't let that stop you from doing an Ayn Rand though.

johnny_ultimate

There's something about this website and attitudes towards unemployment, although admittedly it doesn't rear its head around this particular forum all too regularly.

Discount for unemployed people is a win-win situation. It attracts people into the cinema at times that are otherwise extremely quiet (one of the last times I attended a suburban cinema in the middle of the day, I was the only person in the screening). For the plethora of the people who are genuinely, unavoidably out of work, it is a brief escape from the disheartening, repetitive nature of unemployment. Here's to the cinemas who offer such discounts.

johnny_ultimate

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

There's something about this website and attitudes towards unemployment, although admittedly it doesn't rear its head around this particular forum all too regularly.

Discount for unemployed people is a win-win situation. It attracts people into the cinema at times that are otherwise extremely quiet (one of the last times I attended a suburban cinema in the middle of the day, I was the only person in the screening). For the plethora of the people who are genuinely, unavoidably out of work, it is a brief escape from the disheartening, repetitive nature of unemployment. Here's to the cinemas who offer such discounts.

Just one thing I don't understand, if the cinemas only keep a set percentage of the ticket charge why don't they lower prices massively for everyone. If they cut the average ticket price from 9 to 5 and are keeping 5-10% of the ticket price they only 20-40c per ticket. If just 1 in 20 of the extra people who went bought popcorn and a drink they'd cover the loss from ticket revenue.

don ramo

G-Money wrote: »

One option is that the film companies could release films to watch online or via PPV at the same time as in the cinema. This could be done via something like Netflix or Sky Box Office. That way you can pay to see it via Netflix or PPV in your home, or go to the cinema to see it. If you don't have access to some sort of legal online streaming or Sky, then just go see it in the cinema.

their trying to stop pirating not give it an boost, if you done that the films digital copyright would be removed within seconds and it would be circling the WWW within an hour of release on PPV, they would loose hundreds of millions of dollars,

most studios resist even printing a digital copy for as long as possible, oscar season sees a lot of pirating as the judges leak the films online when they receive them on disk, cant remember who but a big time critic got accused of doing it back in February apparently the studio puts some kind of fingerprint on each copy they give out and it turned out his copy was the one circulating online,

johnny_ultimate

Deleted User wrote: »

Just one thing I don't understand, if the cinemas only keep a set percentage of the ticket charge why don't they lower prices massively for everyone. If they cut the average ticket price from 9 to 5 and are keeping 5-10% of the ticket price they only 20-40c per ticket. If just 1 in 20 of the extra people who went bought popcorn and a drink they'd cover the loss from ticket revenue.

Because they rightly assume that 'adults' with a higher disposable income are able to pay in-and-around a tenner for tickets, whereas people with lower income - students, unemployed, OAPs, children - are not in that position. Rather than lose their business entirely, they charge concession rates. It may not seem fair to those in the higher brackets, but it most certainly is fair and good business practice. Theatres do the same.

marienbad

speedboatchase wrote: »

This has came close to happening on a few occasions with big budget releases but the problem is that cinema chains threaten to boycott the film completely and not screen if it the studios do so. Also the costs they seem to want to charge are crazy.

Have a read of this - the Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller comedy was meant to be released on PPV for $60 (!) three weeks after its cinema release but the National Association of Theater Owners in the US threatened a boycott. It'll probably happen eventually.

http://www.screened.com/news/how-tower-heist-could-have-changed-the-way-you-watch-movies-but-wont/3014/

And people wonder why pirating is thriving ! The vested interests have always bitterly opposed any change and held back invention and inovation and they have no problem using restrictive and monopolistic practices to get their way.

That and bending the lawmakers to their point of view to such an extent that they are making a mockery of the law - $225,000 fines for downloading a movie - have they any sense of proportion at all - no wonder people don't give a ****e about them - would you steal a car , would you steal a handbag ? No I would'nt- but then when you ''sell'' me a product and it only works in one region or will only play on one machine and I have to listen to the same amount of crap evertime i watch it I might conside taking the other route just to simplify my life.

Change is here - get used to it or go under- like the blacksmith, the bookbinder, the telephone exchange lady, the dodo.

Antar Bolaeisk

Deleted User wrote: »

Just one thing I don't understand, if the cinemas only keep a set percentage of the ticket charge why don't they lower prices massively for everyone. If they cut the average ticket price from 9 to 5 and are keeping 5-10% of the ticket price they only 20-40c per ticket. If just 1 in 20 of the extra people who went bought popcorn and a drink they'd cover the loss from ticket revenue.

They'd soon find themselves unable to show any films. The distributors want a return on investment and if a particular cinema doesn't provide that then they stop sending films out to that cinema.

The breakdown is approximately 35:65 for ticket:product revenue so it's not like it's an inconsequential amount.

Also, from what I saw, people going to the cheaper shows actually spent less than those going to the more expensive shows and were more inclined to carry crap in with them.

Kolido

Antar Bolaeisk wrote: »

Slight derailment here but why do you think it's a great idea? Fair enough not all who are unemployed are so by choice but certainly quite a few 'round here have never worked a day in their life.

Why should they get cheaper tickets then me simply because I work and they do not. Surely if they're short of cash they've better things to be spending the money on anyway.

Besides, I've helped pay for their cheaper ticket as well as paying for my own

/rant

Just out of interest, what do you have to bring with you to prove your unemployed?

G-Money

speedboatchase wrote: »

This has came close to happening on a few occasions with big budget releases but the problem is that cinema chains threaten to boycott the film completely and not screen if it the studios do so. Also the costs they seem to want to charge are crazy.

Have a read of this - the Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller comedy was meant to be released on PPV for $60 (!) three weeks after its cinema release but the National Association of Theater Owners in the US threatened a boycott. It'll probably happen eventually.

http://www.screened.com/news/how-tower-heist-could-have-changed-the-way-you-watch-movies-but-wont/3014/

Aren't the cinema's shooting themselves in the foot then? If they refuse to show the film then they will definitely lose money.

krudler

Kolido wrote: »

Just out of interest, what do you have to bring with you to prove your unemployed?

bag of cans obviously.

Sad Professor

G-Money wrote: »

Aren't the cinema's shooting themselves in the foot then? If they refuse to show the film then they will definitely lose money.

Yeah, but so would the studios, who take most of the early ticket sales.

CL7

I had my first bad experience in years at the cinema last night. Two lads in their teens/early twenties on my left were texting (or on the internet, not sure) all night. Every 5-10 mins one of their phones would light up. It was very distracting. I would have told them to stop or complained them but I wasn't sure if I had a right to.

e_e

That's why I never go to a multiplex on a Saturday night.

CL7

e_e wrote: »

That's why I never go to a multiplex on a Saturday night.

I usually go to late night shows on a Saturday and mostly avoid kids/teens. Only 2 bad experiences in 28 years or so going to the cinema can't complain too much.

d@rk l0rd

CL7 wrote: »

I had my first bad experience in years at the cinema last night. Two lads in their teens/early twenties on my left were texting (or on the internet, not sure) all night. Every 5-10 mins one of their phones would light up. It was very distracting. I would have told them to stop or complained them but I wasn't sure if I had a right to.

Of course you have the right to tell them to stop and complain if someone is spoiling your enjoyment of the movie. Unfortunately cinemas no longer ask people to switch off their phones or put up an ad before the movie reminding people to do so.
You have to be a right moron to be using a phone in a cinema, unfortunately there are a lot of morons around. :rolleyes:

Mickeroo

CL7 wrote: »

I had my first bad experience in years at the cinema last night. Two lads in their teens/early twenties on my left were texting (or on the internet, not sure) all night. Every 5-10 mins one of their phones would light up. It was very distracting. I would have told them to stop or complained them but I wasn't sure if I had a right to.

You would have had every right to. One of my local cinemas has signs up encouraging people to contact the staff if there's any messing around or excessive use of phones.

Bullseye1

Why don't they just ban phones on the basis they are recording devices.

filmbuffboy

One of the things that annoy me the most about the two cinemas we have here in Galway city is that they both do not allow men to bring in backpacks with them into the cinema.

fair enough....

but ive been to the cinema plenty of times with girls, ill be told ill have to leave my backpack in behind the ticket desk, while the girl (usually with a huge handbag, loaded to the brim with crap she doesnt need, and usually has goodies for the film hidden away in it too) is allowed to bring her bag in.

I pointed this out before, and the only response I got was 'you need to leave your backpack behind the ticket desk'

double standards much?

d@rk l0rd

Bullseye1 wrote: »

Why don't they just ban phones on the basis they are recording devices.

How do you enforce it though? Searching people airport style as they arrive at the cinema?
I would love to see signal jammers used but unfortunately as they are illegal that's not possible.
I think cinemas really need to be far more strict, first of all have ushers in each screening enforcing this. Again unlikely as most cinemas have even gotten rid of their box office staff!
Cinemas need to also play an ad before each movie reminding people not to use phones. Vue and Odeon/UCI stopped these ads ages ago. They should remind people of the benefits and joys of switching off from the outside world. They're already showing up to 30 minutes of ads/trailers before each movie, so why not one of these? Some people just don't think at all before reaching for that phone.
Cinemas aren't doing enough to stamp out bad behaviour. :rolleyes:

Thwip!

d@rk l0rd wrote: »

How do you enforce it though? Searching people airport style as they arrive at the cinema?
I would love to see signal jammers used but unfortunately as they are illegal that's not possible.
I think cinemas really need to be far more strict, first of all have ushers in each screening enforcing this. Again unlikely as most cinemas have even gotten rid of their box office staff!
Cinemas need to also play an ad before each movie reminding people not to use phones. Vue and Odeon/UCI stopped these ads ages ago. They should remind people of the benefits and joys of switching off from the outside world. They're already showing up to 30 minutes of ads/trailers before each movie, so why not one of these? Some people just don't think at all before reaching for that phone.
Cinemas aren't doing enough to stamp out bad behaviour. :rolleyes:

Omniplex still do