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Linquel
Registered: 03/22/06
Posts: 729
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 Monday, February 12 2007 @ 07:47 PM EST |
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[Quote by: daveac]
Is this another US - UK difference?
Do you pay more to see a film on the openning weekend?
Here in the UK the only reason not to go the first weekend is the the theatres might be packed or pre-booked - so I suppose with a 'bookingfee' the tickets could be dearer.
But normally the price stays the same except for some cimemas having cheaper 'day-time' tickets or maybe a mid-week price.
Cheers, daveac
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I know Taras and Mad4 have already pretty much accurately answered this, but I'll add a little more. As movie prices climbed and climbed (and as my patience for dealing with loud, obnoxious, and/or annoying people sank and sank) I've become more selective about what movies I'll actually spend my hard-earned money on. Most movies released aren't worth the $3 it costs to rent them, let alone $10-12 to see them in a theater. So I have to be pretty passionate about a movie to actually go and see it in a first-run theater. More often than not I'll wait and go to a second-run theater and pay $2-4 or wait a little longer and NetFlix it.
And to suffer through the mobs of idiot sheeple at the Googleplex on a weekend evening, I have to be really passionate about a movie. Granted, they're usually waiting to see Kicked in the Nuts 2 or something else I have no desire to see. But I really wanted Serenity to have a strong opening box-office showing so I went, and encouraged as many people as I could to go see it that first weekend, too.
Now, I still refuse to pay the crazy prices for food at a theater so that's where the big pockets come in. I can usually bring in a bottle of Pepsi and a bag of Combos for the cost of a regular soda.  |
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I'm going "Full Circle" and putting my avatar back to what it was when I first joined. :)
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mad4plaid
Registered: 02/02/06
Posts: 880
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| Monday, February 12 2007 @ 10:08 PM EST |
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Linquel is correct on the food issue: this is why I love winter - large coat, deep pockets. Of course, the being a woman thing comes in handy during the summer - big purse = cheaper refreshments.
Taras is also correct about the differences in movie costs of big city versus small city versus town. I've paid $12.50 to see a movie in NYC, $9.00 in Minneapolis, and $4.50 to see a first run film opening weekend where my sister lives in rural Missouri. It's all about what the market will allow (or what we are willing to let the market gouge us for).
It's rare that I go to the movies to see a hollywood "blockbuster" anymore: the last time I did was for "Eragon" and boy - did that piss me off that I paid for that crap. They get on dvd so fast, what's the point? I mainly go to the art houses to see the indie films and European/Asian flicks: stuff that I may never have the patience to wait for on dvd. |
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supremacy is relative
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tarashnat
Registered: 08/17/05
Posts: 3062
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| Tuesday, February 13 2007 @ 02:26 AM EST |
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In addition to what the market will allow, it is also what the theatre can get away with and still make a profit. What point is it if you can't get enough bodies in to pay the rent. And the rent in Manhattan ain't cheap. Whereas, a filmhouse in a smaller city or town can afford to sell tickets a bit cheaper because the rent isn't as crazy. |
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Daleks don't accept apologies! YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!
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merlin_mccarley
Registered: 07/30/06
Posts: 733
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| Tuesday, February 13 2007 @ 02:41 AM EST |
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Voulme is a key as well, I live in a "relatively" small town north of Dallas and for matinee prices $2 is about average with later pricing being $4. The key demographic for the Movie House (I refuse to call it Theater) is Teenagers. I did see Serenity on opening weekend in a Movie House, but with unconfortable seating and rude patrons it is not an expierence that I will repeat often. Needless to say I also bought the DVD when it was available, but I do hope that Hollyweird is starting to realize that their delivery system is dying.
Cheers,
Mike M. |
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I'm a Time Traveler, I point and laugh at archaeologist.
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Linquel
Registered: 03/22/06
Posts: 729
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| Tuesday, February 13 2007 @ 08:02 AM EST |
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| [Quote by: merlin_mccarley] Needless to say I also bought the DVD when it was available, but I do hope that Hollyweird is starting to realize that their delivery system is dying. |
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That's funny you should say that. A friend just emailed me this link about Pirate's Bay having a site devoted to Oscar torrents. In their "mission statement" they say...
"To all intellectual property landlords: we are aware that OscarTorrents might annoy you -- but contain your righteous indignation for a while, and think: we're only linking to torrents that already exist. Face it: your membrane has burst, and it wasn't us who burst it. Your precious bodily fluids are escaping.
You haven't beaten us, so why not join us? Think of a new business model that doesn't involve overpriced pieces of plastic and skanky cinemas hawking cheap carbohydrates while relying on $6/hr projectionists who can't keep a film in focus -- not to mention insulting your audiences by (to pick a few examples) surveilling us with nightvision glasses, searching bags, 30 minutes of commercials and bombarding us with ridiculous anti-piracy propaganda. Take a look at yourselves. Is it really any wonder we're winning?"
Ok...we're way off topic now. |
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I'm going "Full Circle" and putting my avatar back to what it was when I first joined. :)
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daveac
Registered: 04/12/06
Posts: 2636
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| Tuesday, February 13 2007 @ 08:33 AM EST |
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| [Quote by: Linquel] So I have to be pretty passionate about a movie to actually go and see it in a first-run theater. More often than not I'll wait and go to a second-run theater and pay $2-4 |
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I think this is what confused me - it doesn't take much ;-)
As far as I know there are no 'first run' 'second run' cinemas in the UK.
There are are now just about three different cinema 'groups' running multi-plexes with the odd old style single screen theatres left around the country.
Anyway for the big film buffs - that don't like the modern 'theatre experience' check out this thread on an AV Forum.
This chap (SandmanX) spent 70,000 dollars building a Home Theatre in his double garage! Included in the cost is 1000 films on DVD.
I should warn you the thread is 105 pages long with over 3100 posts - but ALL the detail is there and lots of pretty pictures.
Here's one to give you an idea of the quality of the build:-
EDIT - left out the main link!!!
here
Get saving fellas!! daveac
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daveac on blip.tv, TalkShoe, iTunes, LiveVideo, uStream, GE, Sci-Fi, DWO, DS & WTA, Dave C on WLP,
cooperda on AVF, dac100 on YouTube & PB, dac on Tiscali
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merlin_mccarley
Registered: 07/30/06
Posts: 733
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| Tuesday, February 13 2007 @ 08:34 AM EST |
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Off topic or not, a hearty round of applause to your friend and the arthour of the site.  I think the Oscars Jumped The Shark when best original song went to "It's Hard out there for a Pimp"  .
Cheers,
Mike M.
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I'm a Time Traveler, I point and laugh at archaeologist.
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daveac
Registered: 04/12/06
Posts: 2636
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| Tuesday, February 13 2007 @ 08:51 AM EST |
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[Quote by: daveac]
This chap (SandmanX) spent 70,000 dollars building a Home Theatre in his double garage! Included in the cost is 1000 films on DVD.
I should warn you the thread is 105 pages long with over 3100 posts - but ALL the detail is there and lots of pretty pictures.
Get saving fellas!! daveac
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OK - I'm feeling sorry for anyone trying to check the whole thread out - so if you just want to see the part of the thread with the pictures of the finished Theatre then here it is:- (post #2592)
here
Cheers, daveac |
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daveac on blip.tv, TalkShoe, iTunes, LiveVideo, uStream, GE, Sci-Fi, DWO, DS & WTA, Dave C on WLP,
cooperda on AVF, dac100 on YouTube & PB, dac on Tiscali
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DarthSkeptical
Registered: 03/11/06
Posts: 1129
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| Tuesday, February 13 2007 @ 03:27 PM EST |
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[Quote by: daveac] | [Quote by: Linquel] So I have to be pretty passionate about a movie to actually go and see it in a first-run theater. More often than not I'll wait and go to a second-run theater and pay $2-4 |
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I think this is what confused me - it doesn't take much ;-)
As far as I know there are no 'first run' 'second run' cinemas in the UK.
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| Dave, here are some other differences in the US/UK average theatre-going experience:
• UK cinemas still widely employee genuine theatre seating in that you can specify which particular seat you'd prefer. This is entirely uncommon (though not completely unheard of) in the US. In almost every case, buying tickets to a showing is no guarantee that you and your companion(s) will actually be able to sit together. For very popular opening nights you must therefore arrive early. This explains why the American queues to see Star Wars films, for example, have always prominently featured people people literally camping out for days. In the US, there's somewhat of a disconnect between having a ticket and having a seat.
• Some movie houses will oversell a showing. Because they've not assigned seats, they either miscount the number of seats available or they actively assume that people with tickets won't show. The staff that are nominally "ushers", too, are really more glorified cleaning crew. Most houses don't actually put a member of staff on the door to most of their theatres to actively check tickets and assist people to their seats. Thus, there's possibly some "unsold seating" going on, as well. It is therefore not an unknown experience to be holding a ticket for which there is no seat.
• The British thing of having "sweet and savory" popcorn options is generally not present in the US (though sweet popcorn has somewhat recently hit the home microwave market). Theatre popcorn is only savory. [In Hawaii only, popcorn is so widely topped with arare—or as it's known locally, mochi crunch—that every order is served on a deep, disposable tray so as to provide a way to mix the arare and popcorn together.]
• Obviously, with the predominance of the multiplex, there are almost no remaining movie houses which are "conversions" from live stage theatres. Thus, balcony and/or multi-level seating is rare, though not unheard of in larger, older cities.
• As cinemas age in the US, they are usually displaced by new, bigger multiplexes. But the cinema left behind is still a perfectly good place to see a movie. Thus, these older houses will tend to go out to pasture as "dollar theatres", where first run movies come to die cheaply. Thus the release cycle in the US is generally that they'll spend two weeks at the most technologically advanced screens at the best theatre in a locality. The biggest movies will often take up more than one screen for at least the first week of release. Then they'll spend an additional two or so weeks off the absolute best screens in a house (that is, the ones that are fully equipped with THX/digital/whatever-the-latest-tech-is). Over that first month, they'll go from multiple showings on multiple screens until eventually they end up with maybe four daily showings on a single screen. Then, the multi-plex cuts the film altogether. At this point, the movie jumps to (at least one) local dollar theatre, where it'll last for up to a month longer. So, typically, if a big film debuts in May, it'll probably be entirely out of a local market by late July or August, by which time the DVD release is, in many cases, just around the corner.
• Unless times have changed radically, the British do have discounts at cinemas, but the whole thing's done differently. In some cases, particular cinemas (like the Prince Charles in London) will be posh enough, or integrated into the community enough, to offer a kind of "club" or "membership" for regular patrons. Members, who pay an annual support fee, will get deeply discounted tickets. In other cases, there's a kind of "happy hour" going on. Somewhat similar to matinée prices, there are whole days which are considered "slow", and thus cinema management will discount tickets across all showings to encourage traffic. I'm not sure how widespread this still is, but I definitely remember Tuesday being a good day to catch a first-run flick in Bristol in the 90s. (Oddly, now that I'm back in the US, Tuesday still retains movie significance, as it's DVD release day.) |
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"I think of myself as ambitious in casting terms, and I know that Bonnie [Langford] has the potential to make the part totally unirritating . . ." — JNT, 1986
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mad4plaid
Registered: 02/02/06
Posts: 880
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| Wednesday, February 14 2007 @ 04:32 PM EST |
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| Darth -- nice explanation. |
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supremacy is relative
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daveac
Registered: 04/12/06
Posts: 2636
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| Wednesday, February 14 2007 @ 06:18 PM EST |
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| [Quote by: mad4plaid] Darth -- nice explanation. |
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Thanks from me as well.
One thing that seems to be common - is the problem of our film-goers. A the last movie I went to 'Casino Royale' a large group of young kids - 20+ were chucked out for all their antics.
Cheers, daveac |
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daveac on blip.tv, TalkShoe, iTunes, LiveVideo, uStream, GE, Sci-Fi, DWO, DS & WTA, Dave C on WLP,
cooperda on AVF, dac100 on YouTube & PB, dac on Tiscali
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tarashnat
Registered: 08/17/05
Posts: 3062
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| Wednesday, February 14 2007 @ 06:53 PM EST |
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[Quote by: daveac] One thing that seems to be common - is the problem of our film-goers. A the last movie I went to 'Casino Royale' a large group of young kids - 20+ were chucked out for all their antics.
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Happy-snappy ASBOs with hoodies and ringtones? |
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Daleks don't accept apologies! YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!
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merlin_mccarley
Registered: 07/30/06
Posts: 733
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| Wednesday, February 14 2007 @ 07:45 PM EST |
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[Quote by: tarashnat] [Quote by: daveac] One thing that seems to be common - is the problem of our film-goers. A the last movie I went to 'Casino Royale' a large group of young kids - 20+ were chucked out for all their antics.
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Happy-snappy ASBOs with hoodies and ringtones? |
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Oops, I believe the term is Happy Slapping (rather like the homeless beatings you see on the news here).  |
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I'm a Time Traveler, I point and laugh at archaeologist.
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tarashnat
Registered: 08/17/05
Posts: 3062
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| Wednesday, February 14 2007 @ 08:04 PM EST |
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snappy, as in snapping photos of their antics on the cell phone... |
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Daleks don't accept apologies! YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!
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Palms
Registered: 07/01/06
Posts: 83
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| Sunday, February 18 2007 @ 12:18 AM EST |
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Next to (the new)Battlestar Galactica and (all) Doctor Who, Firefly is my favourite sc-fi type series. I'd have to say though, it's much more like a space western, which is one of the things that appealed to me. J Whedon did a fantastic job writing these stories and assembling a fantastic cast.
I would love it if we could ever get another series. Someone needs to convince HBO to do it and BSG, since apparently it loses tons of money with every season. I think these would be naturals for the network, as they are/were well-written, challenging much like HBO's own programming (Deadwood, Six Feet Under, Big Love). Their programming is one of the only reasons we have digital cable (the other being classic Doctor Who nightly on BBC Kids Canada). |
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