The future of cinemas

[platinumsage]

Twats with rustling food on their phones, can’t pause it if you need a piss, so loud you need to wear ear plugs...it’s not just the price. Meanwhile the alternative of a 56 inch HDR telly with surround sound is a lot more appealing than a 21 inch CRT playing SD DVDs was.

 

[ska invita]

Cineworld to exit bankruptcy in July

The cinema business has operated as normal despite entering bankruptcy in September.

news.sky.com

Full list of Empire Cinema closures as firm enters administration

The financial hit of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation and the cost of living crisis have been blamed for the cinema closures.

news.sky.com

Cinemas seem to be dying a death... Can't see much chance of a turnaround down the line

The end is nigh?

 

[Orang Utan]

Cineworld to exit bankruptcy in July

The cinema business has operated as normal despite entering bankruptcy in September.

news.sky.com

Full list of Empire Cinema closures as firm enters administration

The financial hit of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation and the cost of living crisis have been blamed for the cinema closures.

news.sky.com

Cinemas seem to be dying a death... Can't see much chance of a turnaround down the line

The end is nigh?

Not at all. My local independent has just re-opened after an extensive refurbishment and is doing a cracking trade.
Multiplexes may be a dying trade, but I wouldn’t bet on it yet. People used to say vinyl was dead.

 

[ska invita]

Not at all. My local independent has just re-opened after an extensive refurbishment and is doing a cracking trade.
Multiplexes may be a dying trade, but I wouldn’t bet on it yet. People used to say vinyl was dead.

it is "dead" though - a minority interest from its majority peak



and as you say some will survive but the majority look doomed. Everyman is doing well supposedly but thats an upmarket model

Hot honey halloumi helps usher Everyman back into profit

Upmarket cinema chain says its proposition feels as relevant as ever as it continues to open new sites

www.theguardian.com

eta: just out of curiosity had a look and its £18 a ticket at "everyman" to see mission impossible!

 

[pbsmooth]

Yes probably quite similar. From mass market with little alternative to a niche due to lots of competing options.

 

[Orang Utan]

it is "dead" though - a minority interest from its majority peak
View attachment 383069


and as you say some will survive but the majority look doomed. Everyman is doing well supposedly but thats an upmarket model

Hot honey halloumi helps usher Everyman back into profit

Upmarket cinema chain says its proposition feels as relevant as ever as it continues to open new sites

www.theguardian.com

eta: just out of curiosity had a look and its £18 a ticket at "everyman" to see mission impossible!

Up here it’s only £7 a ticket at Vue or the two independents we have. But if go to one in an out of town shopping place, it’s similar to London’s prices.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

I'm seeing a move toward IMAX formats for regular films. If you can provide a better experience than in your home, people will continue going to theaters. If you provide a worse experience with noisy people, kicking the back of your seat, while scrolling on their phone, then people will stream at home.

 

[Orang Utan]

I'm seeing a move toward IMAX formats for regular films. If you can provide a better experience than in your home, people will continue going to theaters.

Or offer a more tailored experience for more niche interests. It’s how record stores survive too

 

[bcuster]

My nephew (late 30's) has worked in a movie theater for his entire career. He was laid off when COVID struck, then as COVID faded (2 years later) was rehired, but demoted.
He has been laid off again, now with littler hope of a re-hire.
Frankly, I think he'd've needed to deeply examine a complete re-tooling of his employability.

 

[pesh]

Not at all. My local independent has just re-opened after an extensive refurbishment and is doing a cracking trade.
Multiplexes may be a dying trade, but I wouldn’t bet on it yet. People used to say vinyl was dead.

It’s dead AF.
Niche indie cinemas will always have a small customer base to support them to a degree, as will overpriced ‘immersive cinema experiences’ like Secret Cinema but the days of the multiplex are over.
Also vinyl is dead.

 

[Maltin]

Cineworld to exit bankruptcy in July

The cinema business has operated as normal despite entering bankruptcy in September.

news.sky.com

Full list of Empire Cinema closures as firm enters administration

The financial hit of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation and the cost of living crisis have been blamed for the cinema closures.

news.sky.com

Cinemas seem to be dying a death... Can't see much chance of a turnaround down the line

The end is nigh?

That first report is of Cineworld coming out of bankruptcy rather than dying. Possibly similar might happen to Empire.

 

[Orang Utan]

It’s dead AF.
Niche indie cinemas will always have a small customer base to support them to a degree, as will overpriced ‘immersive cinema experiences’ like Secret Cinema but the days of the multiplex are over.
Also vinyl is dead.

And yet people are still buying records and going to the cinema

 

[Throbbing Angel]

And yet people are still buying records and going to the cinema

In what numbers, though. That's the question isn't it?


Local Vue is a fiver for a normal film ticket.
Soulless experience but better seating.

Local indie is £6.50 unless you're a friend, in which case you get a quid off. Under 18, students, OAPs all get discounts too.
Worse seating but usually better films imho. Plus better coffee and a proper bar.

But I don't go anywhere near enough to make my money back that way. It's more about supporting them.

There's a Reel cinema down the road but nobody uses that.

Ultimately cinema is in decline unless you're prepared to pay through the nose to help keep them afloat.

 

[ska invita]

That first report is of Cineworld coming out of bankruptcy rather than dying. Possibly similar might happen to Empire.

yes i did see that, however bankruptcy is still bankruptcy...still a few years to go i imagine, but prognosis doesnt look good

 

[pesh]

And yet people are still buying records and going to the cinema

People are still buying VHS tapes

 

[Orang Utan]

People are still buying VHS tapes

Not new ones

 

[T & P]

I think the multiplex business model must surely be doomed at any rate. I would bet on a return to single large screen cinemas, and sadly I fear cheap cinema tickets might be an endangered species.

Premium experience single screen venues, like the Everyman chain, will probably fare better but that will price out a significant chunk of the population. It might become a bit like going to the theatre- expensive occasional treat.

Dirt cheap large venues could probably work, but perhaps not showing brand new releases as those might cost too much to make it worth.

 

[Orang Utan]

I would love it if the death of the multiplex killed off the blockbuster, so only lower budget non-franchise films with new ideas rather than tired old legacies ended up getting made. Not sure if that could happen, mind.

 

[Orang Utan]

I do think the big screen will last in some way though. Nothing beats seeing a film on a big screen with proper sound in a cinema with an audience made up of people who are mostly strangers to each other.

 

[Elpenor]

I’ve not been since before covid. When I did it was usually with a free ticket via Vitality but the tickets were about £5 otherwise.

These days I’m not so keen. I don’t really like most of what comes out to the multiplexes. There is an interesting arts centre in Teignmouth and also one in Ashburton, which are both a short drive away, but I’ve not been yet. What I should do is find a village cinema club like the one my dad runs in his village, think that would be a bit more fun and also social.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

it is "dead" though - a minority interest from its majority peak
View attachment 383069


and as you say some will survive but the majority look doomed. Everyman is doing well supposedly but thats an upmarket model

Hot honey halloumi helps usher Everyman back into profit

Upmarket cinema chain says its proposition feels as relevant as ever as it continues to open new sites

www.theguardian.com

eta: just out of curiosity had a look and its £18 a ticket at "everyman" to see mission impossible!

I went to the Everyman in Manchester after work so ordered a pizza as they serve food too. It was tiny. Expensive for what it was.

I usually go to the Vue or Odeon multiplexes as they're more convenient for transport links and cheaper. Or the arthouse cinema that's round the corner-ish from where I live, well, 10-15 minute walk.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

I’ve not been since before covid. When I did it was usually with a free ticket via Vitality but the tickets were about £5 otherwise.

These days I’m not so keen. I don’t really like most of what comes out to the multiplexes. There is an interesting arts centre in Teignmouth and also one in Ashburton, which are both a short drive away, but I’ve not been yet. What I should do is find a village cinema club like the one my dad runs in his village, think that would be a bit more fun and also social.

I go to the arts theater in the city when I can. Their movie selection is entirely different, and you can get a cup of tea instead of soda for $.75 cents. Popcorn is a dollar. If you want to improve the theater experience, lower the price of popcorn.

 

[furluxor]

I think cinemas would have a bright future if their owners weren't such idiots.

I've stopped going to local cinemas because:

• At the very cheapest (on Mondays), it's £8.20 per ticket. This is just about okay but I recall being shocked at the price of popcorn. I mean people, I know what popcorn costs and I expect a reasonable markup, don't make me feel like a mug.
• They have also on occasion run out of popcorn altogether. ??
• I can put up with the above, but I'm not paying to be shown 35 minutes of ads. With each one I get more and more furious, and now I'm never returning.
• Some allow hot food, or hot food delivered to your seat. That's just plain wrong. The only food smells and sounds should be of popcorn and drinks with a straw.

They're taking a leaf out of the book of railway management: try and squeeze maximum ££ out of each customer, leaving most seats empty. I guess cinema owners have no interest in running cinemas, expect them to tank and are trying to get what they can before it happens. What they should be doing is filling the seats (with lower pricing if that's what it takes) and giving people a feeling that they're doing something arty/cultural & supporting a worthy local business. Cinema has a magic, and to the younger generation it comes via their various 'aesthetics' on social media. You make them feel like they're in Mulholland Drive or Apartment Zero, they will pay for that. Now it's about the romance and not about the blockbusters.

 

[Elpenor]

I’ve not been since before covid. When I did it was usually with a free ticket via Vitality but the tickets were about £5 otherwise.

These days I’m not so keen. I don’t really like most of what comes out to the multiplexes. There is an interesting arts centre in Teignmouth and also one in Ashburton, which are both a short drive away, but I’ve not been yet. What I should do is find a village cinema club like the one my dad runs in his village, think that would be a bit more fun and also social.

I’ve found a couple of cinema clubs a few miles away. Think I’ll give them a go

 

[DotCommunist]

If there is smoking in the film, I should be allowed to smoke. Otherwise its taunting me.

 

[skyscraper101]

I'd still go to the cinema if they had decent films these days. Last film I saw which was actually worth the big screen experience was Top Gun. They should make better films instead of endless franchises and and superhero shite.

 

[ska invita]

I'd still go to the cinema if they had decent films these days. Last film I saw which was actually worth the big screen experience was Top Gun. They should make better films instead of endless franchises and and superhero shite.

I take your point but Top Gun was a remake of some 80s trash!

 

[ska invita]

Hollywood now supposedly avoids making films that used to be certificate 18 as it cuts out too much teen audience... catering for everyone has led to a general common denominator sludge in films with a sizeable budget

 

[Orang Utan]

Unpopular opinion: it would damage profits, but popcorn should be banned in cinemas as should any other food that makes noise to eat or unwrap.
IIRC the BFI bans all food and drink except water.
You go to the cinema to watch films not eat ffs

 

[Orang Utan]

Hollywood now supposedly avoids making films that used to be certificate 18 as it cuts out too much teen audience... catering for everyone has led to a general common denominator sludge in films with a sizeable budget

The latest Indiana Jones has bombed, probably cos the only people interested in seeing it are middle-aged men. And many of them know how to torrent.