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Movies Media Television

Do You Go Out to the Movies or Wait for the DVD? 154

Posted by Cliff from the discuss-your-spending-habits dept.
SpecialAgentXXX asks "After I see a movie, I usually end up buying the DVD to see the deleted and behind-the-scenes bonus material. So I not only pay for $20 the DVD, but also $24 for a pair of tickets, $8 for parking, and $12 for popcorn & drinks. But now that I have a home theater system, I've mostly stopped going to the movies and just wait half a year for the DVD. The only exception is watching a movie in DLP or the IMAX Experience like Harry Potter since those are better qualities than a DVD. Are more people doing this? The cost of going to the movies is now more than double that of a DVD!"
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Do You Go Out to the Movies or Wait for the DVD? More

Do You Go Out to the Movies or Wait for the DVD?

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  • I can't (Score:3, Funny)

    by LennyDotCom ( 26658 ) <Lenny@lenny.com> on Tuesday September 28, 2004 @04:43AM (#10371595) Homepage Journal
    I can't afford going to the movies or to buy a DVD
    You insensitive clod!
    • ...buy a home theatre, the amortised cost of which the delerious^Wmysterious SpecialAgentXXX evidently hasn't factored in.

    • Re:I can't (Score:3, Interesting)

      by svanstrom ( 734343 )
      "I can't afford going to the movies or to buy a DVD "

      That's why (the g|G)ods* invented P2P. ;-)

      I'm clearly above average when it comes to going to the movies, but hardly ever buy any DVDs; most DVDs that I do buy are usually of the "hey, I loved that movie XX number of years ago"-kind, which means that they are 10+ years old, and usually quite cheap.

      P2P... that evil thing which forces moviestars to either go broke or become politicians... well... here it happens to be legal to download[A] movies etc; an

  • Thinking of switching... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Tomahawk ( 1343 ) * on Tuesday September 28, 2004 @04:47AM (#10371612) Homepage
    I used to enjoy going to the cinema to see a movie, and certainly some of the really require a look in at the cinema - big screen, and all that.

    However, I do find that other people in the cinema are annoying. Generally there are:

    - people talking;
    - people eating stuff from noisy bags;
    - people slurping the last few drops of their drink;
    - kids kicking the back of the seat;
    - any number of other annoyances.

    It's getting more and more difficult to actually enjoy watching a film in a cinema these days. With the advent of high-quality DVDs and home theatre systems, I'm moving more and more towards waiting for the film to come out on DVD and watching it, in peace, at home.

    Here, a trip to the movies is a little cheaper that in the US. And DVDs are more expensive. But I think it's worth the extra money and waiting a big of time.

    Granted, some films have to be seen in the cinema. I'll be there the 'Return of the Sith'. Sorry, but even if it's a terrible film, I will have to see it.

    T.

    • Re:Thinking of switching... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by sgant ( 178166 ) on Tuesday September 28, 2004 @05:46AM (#10371827) Homepage Journal
      I don't find this at all in theaters...in fact, it's the opposite for me.

      Watching at the theater, the movie has your undivided attention. At HOME is where the movie experience falls short.

      I don't have a ton of money, so of course I don't have a home theater so I have to watch everything on a 27" TV...

      But watching a movie at home you have:

      -people talking openly: wife asking who is that, what happened there, did you hear what happened to so and so down the street...it's even worse when her family is over here to "watch a movie" which includes everything other than actually "watching the movie".

      -kids running in and out of the room with various things/problems

      -The ability to pause and go to the bathroom...now many people think this is an advantage, but it breaks up the movie experience and cuts into the flow of the story etc etc.

      -Phone calls in the middle of the movie.

      At a theater I get none of these things. Yes, there are other people there, but when the movie starts, we get so absorbed into the movie that I don't notice the guy slurping his drink, or really anyone talking. Has it happened in the past? Oh sure, you hear a cell phone go off or one or two people whispering/talking a little, but STILL it's not as distracting as all the things I mentioned above when watching a good movie.

      I also don't have a short attention span, so I'm not easily distracted by minute and harmless things.
      • What I love doing, when there are children over at my house and I'm trying to watch a movie, is yelling at the little bastards to take their horseplay outside.

        Yes, I am that guy. I will happily sit on my porch waving my fist at passing children and yelling nonsensical things for the rest of my life.
      • You and the grandparent make some good points. It seems there are just two groups of people with distinct needs. The industry favors the movie growing crowd at the moment out of tradition, but I think that will be changing in the near future. More movies (especially bad ones) are being released early on DVD. If the studios wait too long, the audience forgets about the movie and it seems like old news when finally released on DVD.

        I fall into the home theater crowd. I update my netflix queue as I hear a

    • - people talking; - people eating stuff from noisy bags; - people slurping the last few drops of their drink; - kids kicking the back of the seat; - any number of other annoyances.

      Also add: people moving around; couples making out; the odd idiot (or bunch of) who laughs in a high-pitched maniacal laugh in all the wrong places; cellphones ringing and people picking up and talking at leisure; the smartass who comments out loud and thinks he's witty; the guy in the next seat who has to explain *everything*

    • ... never ever happened before....
    • ...certainly some of the really require a look...

      Did you forget some, like, words in there somewhere?
    • I particularily enjoy paying $26 to watch a half dozen commercials before the previews.

      And the antipiracy ads even more so.

      Not.

      That's one of the reasons I stopped going to theaters for the most part.

  • I stay home and wait (Score:4, Insightful)

    by agent dero ( 680753 ) on Tuesday September 28, 2004 @04:48AM (#10371617) Homepage
    By waiting, most people will either say it's good or bad.

    Also there's been a loss in the "movie-going experience"

    I mean, commercials in the intro, those stupid "No Smoking" jingles, at home, I can just watch the movie

    • Re:I stay home and wait (Score:2, Insightful)

      by xylon ( 552609 )
      Except for the stupid Matrix sequal DVDs, which had you watching the unbelievably bad WB Movieworld commercial until you thought 'what the hell is this?', and scrambled for the remote. I mean seriously, it comes up when you hit 'Play Movie'!!

    • "No Smoking" jingles (Score:2, Interesting)

      by dpilot ( 134227 )
      For a while, the Cheap Seats theater in Burlington, VT had the *best* "courtesy leader" I've ever seen.

      "The blondes... FAKE!!!"
      "The (this)... FAKE!!!"
      "The (that)... FAKE!!!"

      Then they had a short, done with Barbie and Ken dolls about theater courtesy. The Barbie that was talking on her cell phone, disturbing other patrons, got a pair of jumper cables attached to her and shocked. (with special effects!!) The doll eating and throwing popcorn was sucked up into a shop-vac, etc.

      At the end, they're all loungin
  • if it's something i haven't been looking forward to but was recommended by friends or such i will tend to wait for the DVD release. but if i've been really excited for something (like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or Garden State) then i will make the effort to go and see it.

    i will tend to also go and see films that do not see a wide release (and subsequently a smaller distribution for the DVD release) in theatres - foreign films fit well into this catagory but films like Barbarian Invasions and

  • Depends a lot (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Jesrad ( 716567 ) on Tuesday September 28, 2004 @04:53AM (#10371646) Journal
    ... on how much DVDs cost where you live ! Here they are about 5 or 6 times the price of a ticket (30 euros compared to 5 or 6 euros at most cinemas). Can you say overpriced ? That's why my collection of DVDs can be counted on a single-digit.

    I still go to the movies, especially since they built that huge multiplex to replace the two smaller cinemas. The main difference is that I'm more demanding of the whole experience : I generally pick a morning session during work days of the second or third week after release, so that there are about 4 or 5 other spectators besides me in the room.

    Another advantage of reduced audience, in addition to the total silence during the movie, is that you can just go to the other spectators and discuss the movie with them afterwards.

    • Re:Depends a lot (Score:2, Informative)

      by katanan ( 764663 )
      yeah whenever i go to the theatre nowadays on weekends i generally prefer the matinees because of the smaller audience. less chance of annoying people sitting by you as well.

      the DVD issue is relevant, up here in Canada we have relatively cheap DVDs (tickets are from $8-13 and a DVD generally costs about $20-26 and about $50-60 for the high end ones like Criterion) so i often do prefer to own my favourites on DVD and also to rent new releases that I don't think i would want to own (rentals run about $3-
    • While I know that going to the movies is ungodly expensive some places, it's only $6 for a ticket to a regular showing where I am (student price, normal is $7.50), but that doesn't factor in the price of pop and popcorn, which are ungodly expensive. Many times I'll go to the movies after I've eaten dinner and just buy a pop, ending up with a total cost of about $10 per showing.
      • Are you saying that you can't sit for 2 hours without eating and/or drinking?

        I frequently (twice a week) go to the cinema, thanks to the great offer [ugccinemas.co.uk] by UGC Cinemas [ugccinemas.co.uk] in the UK, where you can pay a tenner a month and watch an unlimited (and that's really unlimited, not ISP-speak unlimited) number of showings. I don't think I've bought ANYTHING in the cinema in the last 6 months. I'm quite content to sit and watch a film without food or drink.

        • What I usually do is buy my drink and candy bar at a nearby gas station BEFORE going to the theatre. $2.50 total for drink and a snack. You can't even get a small soda for that in the theatre.

    • So I not only pay for $20 the DVD, but also $24 for a pair of tickets, $8 for parking, and $12 for popcorn & drinks.

      Okay, these prices are sortof freaking me out. I pay R33 (South African Rands) for an evening movie, that's around $5. With various club memberships that comes down to R15 / $2.50 for a second ticket, so $7 - $10 for a pair of tickets. A popcorn and coke (500ml - 750ml) will be around $3, and parking just $1.

      A new DVD release on the other hand is between R250 and R320, averaging out

      • Those prices suck... (Score:4, Interesting)

        by Pii ( 1955 ) <jedi AT lightsaber DOT org> on Tuesday September 28, 2004 @08:45AM (#10372929) Journal
        I'm not a fan of Walmart, but I go weekly to pick up whatever new DVD release I'm looking for. If you buy the DVD in its first week in stores, they can be had on sale for like $15.

        I've got a family of 4... To go to the theater with all of them means I'm out $30 just in the cost of tickets, and I'm restricted to family fare (My kids are 10 and 3). If I wanted to feed this bunch while there, it'd be easily another $20 - $30 (Just for some crappy snacks and drinks).

        Like many of the other posters, I simply can't stand what the moviegoing experience has become. I don't like the crowds, and like the man once said: "In any sufficiently large group of people, most of them will be idiots." No place is this more evident than at a theater.

        Home theater is where it's at.

    • Wow, DVDs are expensive where you live!

      I pay 6 Euros for the regular cinema, 7,50 for the English cinema, and DVD are 19 when they first come out and frequently I buy the bargain ones a 7~10 Euros. Still I rent more than I go to the cinema and buy when the director or actors are people I like or if the film was originally in some language not German or English.

      Sometimes I have trouble following the German dubbed films and typically at the rental place down the street "foreign" language films have the origi

  • beer (Score:3, Interesting)

    by hitchhacker ( 122525 ) on Tuesday September 28, 2004 @04:57AM (#10371660) Homepage

    Aside from the Alamo Draft House, movie theatres around here don't serve beer.
    At home you can have cheap beer... and pause the show for the ensuing bathroom breaks.

    that, and it's just plain weird going to the theatre on my own.

    -metric
  • I still love going to the Cinema - no matter how much I upgrade my home system its still not the same. Sure, you can be unlucky and get idiot talkers occasionally, but bad framing (my number one old complaint) has been almost completely eradicated since the studios' piracy worries have led to staff actually being present in the booth again.

    However, I've just recently become a Dad, and getting the opportunity to go out to the pictures is a rare and precious thing reserved for something really exciting. Even
  • Ok, sorry I forgot this was slashdot :)
    Personally I like going to the movies. I dont have a home theater system, but surely you cant compare it to the big screen. Around here we have theaters banning food and drink in certain rooms. So all you have to do is wait a couple of weeks for a movie to be shown in the special no-eating room.
    Some cult movies are best appreciated in the theaters. Watching Star Wars with a crowd of other fans gives you a feeling of community. I remember when Episode 2 premiered and ev
  • There must be a few of you.

    Cinemas suck, morons cant sit and watch anything quietly. Its worse if they are kids or the kind of idiots who think taking a really young child (i.e of wailing age) to the cinema is a good idea.

  • Travel (Score:3, Interesting)

    by TVC15 ( 518429 ) on Tuesday September 28, 2004 @05:01AM (#10371673)
    Movies are way too valuable a way to kill time during business travel to waste seeing in a movie theatre. Airports, planes, trains, and ferries are full of people watching DVDs on their laptops or personal DVD players to fill all that 'wasted time'.
    • I do that with TV shows. With a movie I kinda want to pay attention when I'm watching it. I find that hard to do when traveling (I hate traveling). So I watch TV shows that my MythTV machine recorded. I don't generally watch TV but there are some shows I like (History channel). They are unimportant enough to me that they are perfect when traveling. That way I don't waste time watching them at home when I should be doing something else.

  • It's missing (Score:3, Insightful)

    by SimianOverlord ( 727643 ) on Tuesday September 28, 2004 @05:07AM (#10371696) Homepage Journal
    Your cost estimate is missing the amount you presumably shelled out to build that state of the art home cinema experience. How much "savings" from cheaper DVDs are you really making when you add that in? Or, in other words, how many DVDs would you have to buy instead of cinema tickets to make up for the value of your huge TV / surround sound? My pulled-out-my-ass guess is >1000 at least.

    Of course I realise its nice to have a big TV and sound system for other reasons, but really...
    • I could probably go to the movies every week for 20 years for the price of my Home Theater, not counting price of the DVDs.
    • Cost breakdown:

      Movie: 13 CDN per ticket.
      26 for my wife and I.
      20 CDN for popcorn/drinks (the theatre doesn't allow food to be brought in).
      3 hours baby sitter - 20 - 25 CDN.

      Total for a movie session: 70 CDN.

      42" projection TV: 1300 CDN
      surround sound: 250 CDN.
      Total 1550. DVD rental: 5 dollars. We save 60 - 65 on NOT going to the theatre.

      Payback time: ~30 movie trips, which means between 1 and 2 years.

      If we BUY the DVDs: saving is 40 for not going. Payback is ~40 movie trips, or 2-3 years.

      Given that we int

    • How much "savings" from cheaper DVDs are you really making when you add that in?

      Speaking as someone who has a home theatre, and who doesn't go to the theatres much anymore, let me try and address what you said ...

      I bought the home theatre anyway. I already have it. I didn't initially buy it as a cost savings, I bought it because I really wanted it and I had no competing places to spend the money on (ie. no kids, no wife).

      Now that I have it, I find there are only a very few movies I make a point of see

    • "Or, in other words, how many DVDs would you have to buy instead of cinema tickets to make up for the value of your huge TV / surround sound? My pulled-out-my-ass guess is >1000 at least."

      You forget: Watch each one twice and it's only 500. Watch each one with four friends / family members and it's only 100. Get the DVDs on sale and it's only 60-70. And that doesn't even consider what you're saving in overpriced soft drinks and popcorn.

      My point is that, with DVDs, your cost doesn't scale with the au

  • Neither (Score:5, Funny)

    by DrSkwid ( 118965 ) on Tuesday September 28, 2004 @05:08AM (#10371700) Journal
    I watch it on region free DVD before it comes to the cinema

  • ... until the DVD files are available on DC++.

    but that usually happens before the movies come out. so no, i dont wait. i stay home AND see the movie :)

  • If you could choose the kind of people
    you say the movie with, & maybe had a
    chance to discuss / debate the flick -
    afterwards... that might justify pay-
    ing $ at the cinema...

    - a bit like a classical music concert

    I mean... who says we all have to stay
    just while the film's running... let's
    build little communities around films,
    at least for the newly rising doco's
    that may (hopefully) be changing how
    people think about war, etc.

    My 2.2 cents (includes 10% Aussie GST)

  • YMMV (Score:1, Informative)

    by david_420 ( 589817 )
    It depends on your situation, I guess. I happen to be single (like a lot of folks here, I gather) and live in a smaller city. Going to see a movie is usually a cost of $5-7 for me.

  • I don't go to movies anymore (Score:3, Interesting)

    by roady ( 30728 ) on Tuesday September 28, 2004 @05:48AM (#10371834)
    Because I have a nice home theater, and because the quality is even better than many of the cheap theaters near my place.

    I am also happy not to have to deal with kids talking during the movies. However, I kinda miss the "social experience" of going to the movies.

    • And I forgot to say that most movie theaters were I live only play dubbed movies. Not many play original versions. So DVD is the only way to have an enjoyable experience.
    • However, I kinda miss the "social experience" of going to the movies.
      Yeah, I know what you mean. That whole "cute high school girls sitting around you in every direction" thing really makes going to the movies worth it! Too bad we can't get that with the home theater.

  • Depends (Score:2)

    by tsa ( 15680 )
    It's fun to go to the movies with some friends. Besides, some movies you just have to see in the cinema because the screen is so much bigger there.
  • I despise trailers with all my heart, and if it weren't for the social inconvenience, I never again would watch a new release in a theatre, ever, no matter what, just because I want nothing to have to do with the awful trailers Hollywood shoves down my throat these days. Don't get me wrong -- a trailer is a WONDERFUL one-, two-, or three-minute reduction of a film I otherwise couldn't so much as sit through. But as for films in which I have an actual interest...

    Every film that's part of my intellectual f
    • Get to the cinema 10 or 15 minutes after the advertised time.

      Duh!
    • I wouldn't mind the trailers, per se, but the last movie I saw was AvP, and it had been a year and a half since the previous time I'd gone into a theater. 3 things stuck out at me:

      1. The 'downloading movies is a crime' signs all over the theater. WTF? I just spent $7.50 to get into the movie, and you're preaching at us not to steal. Right.....and this was an afternoon matinee.

      2. 22 minutes of trailers. !!!!!!!!!!!!! That is just flat out insane. Without excuse. Commericals commercials and more commercials. There's absolutely no excuse for it.

      3. I made the mistake of not eating luch before I went. No big deal, just grab popcorn and a soda. I know it'll hurt, but I haven't been in a while....go up, toss a $5 bill on the counter, and place my order. They bring back the soda and popcorn, then tell me that I'm $3 short.

      WHAT. $5 not only won't cover popcorn and a soda anymore, but THE PRICE OF THE TICKET WON'T EITHER. That's right, popcorn and soda now cost more than seeing the movie itself. Of course it's summertime, so I can't get away with wearing my coat [scottevest.com] and bringing in whatever I want...it's just wrong.

      The theater is basically a scam to make you a captive audience for commercials and overpriced goods. Sad that's it has degraded so far. :(
  • I go to a theater to see movies beacuse it's a social event - you interact with other people in a way. The social experience obviously depends on the theater, and movie that you go to. I generally try to see movies where people tend to be film buffs, for lack of a beter phrase.

    People in the audience may get an oblique joke that the writer/director has made, which you might not necessarilly catch, and so on.

    I saw American Psycho with a friend at a local 12-plex in a theater where nearly everyone did not

  • My Take (Score:3, Interesting)

    by polyp2000 ( 444682 ) on Tuesday September 28, 2004 @06:32AM (#10372016) Homepage Journal
    I go to the movies to see films that are well reviewed or are about material that just doesnt translate well to the smaller screen.

    I buy DVD's of memorable films or stuff I collect (eg sci-fi).

    I download films that I probably wont get to see or have had mediocre reviews but whose content appeals to me. I make a point of not downloading stuff I just "have" to see at the pictures.

  • For non-US folks, DVD imports are the way to go... (Score:4, Informative)

    by rklrkl ( 554527 ) on Tuesday September 28, 2004 @06:34AM (#10372030) Homepage
    Of course, if you don't live in the US, you'll find that many US movies can take months and months to air in your country's cinemas. A recent example was the Jennifer Garner vehicle "13 Going On 30" - the Region 1 DVD was actually out a few days before the UK cinema release and also came with a load of deleted scenes and extras (including Jennifer in some lingerie, but let's not dwell on that too long...).

    Add to this the free international postage many Region 1 DVD sites have (I used DVD Soon [dvdsoon.com] on this occasion) and it's a total no-brainer - Region 1 DVDs are the way to go for UK folks.

  • I don't have a 30-foot screen at home, or massive surround sound speakers.

    I wish I did, but until I can afford that I'm going to stick to going to the cinema.
  • For you, Maybe, I don't know of any theaters in Pittsburgh that I'd have to pay for parking at. If it's really $8, take a bus, it's cheaper (here at least). Secnod, Ticket Prices here are still around $9. I can Imagine that there are places that you would need to pay for parking in, maybe a theater inside a city, but I find it hard to belive $12 tickets, I can get the premium tickets with the leather seats and stuff for $12 at loews. Third, I always have someone with me with a big purse, and we just bring o
    • So I not only pay for $20 the DVD, but also $24 for a pair of tickets, $8 for parking, and $12 for popcorn & drinks.

      Here in suburbia, parking is free. Tickets are $8.50 after 6:00pm. A 'medium' popcorn and drink are $4/5.00

      Why buy the DVD? They're $1 to rent at Hollywood Video, you get them for 5 days, and it'll end up being shown on some movie channel on cable for the next 20 years. Besides, you can always eye a copy of it at a friends, and then just 'borrow' it.

  • Dollar Theatre (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Apreche ( 239272 ) on Tuesday September 28, 2004 @07:00AM (#10372158) Homepage Journal
    You can't beat the dollar theatre. During the week at night its a dollar. Weekend nights I think are like 2.50 or 2. I'm not sure. But the best is the 50 cent weekday matinee.

    As for annoyances, I don't get too many in the theatres around here, even when its crowded. And when I get them, they don't bother me. I think they actually improve the movie experience somewhat. Sitting with a bunch of strangers is the way movies are meant to be watched, it definitely adds something.

    The problem is that there are so few movies worth seeing even in the dollar theatre. I guess I'll see episode 3 for 50 cents. Other than that, I can't think of a movie I'm dying to see. It's pretty sad. All the movies I want to see I can rent at video barn where they have the HK imports and every Kung Fu movie ever.
  • movies or dvd ?

    i usually can't wait so long so i do bittorrent on suprnova or torrentreactor and look for a high quality rip or get it from irc ...

    if i could afford it and wouldn't live in a country that thinks 500$ a month is a normal salary , i'd probably go for dvd-s unless i'm chasing a girl.

  • I lean toward the DVD, but if it's an "important" movie, (obviously, a subjective decision) I'll probably view both. My biggest complaint is that the Theatrical Cut is often different from the DVD Cut. This has always bugged be since seeing the Theatrical Cut of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Star Wars" and only being able to get the "Special Editions" on DVD. And with things like the "Politcally Correct Cut" of ET, the Theatrical Cut is often desired because it is often truely unique.
  • My wife and I almost never go out to theaters anymore, With tickets running $8 or higher per person, it's cheaper for us to wait and buy the DVD than to go see a film in a theater. Between the DVD clubs and buying used DVD's from a couple local rental shops, we're averaging less than $11 per DVD, and we have quite a few.

    While it would nice if we had a larger screen to watch a movie on, our 25" TV works well enough for now, and we have a decent sound system. It's nice to be able to kick back and relax and j
  • For my wife and I, it all depends on the movie. Some movies are worth seeing on the big screen (IE: Sky Captain) wheras most can wait til the DVD comes out (IE: Punisher). Up to last year, it was cheaper/same price to buy a DVD (25$ average in Canada) compared to 2 theater tickets (12.50-13.50 depending on the theater). Now most chains (at least in my region) have dropped their prices down to the 9.50$-10$, so without food (never had to pay for parking) it ends up being almost the same price.

    One good thi

  • er...VHS..:D (Score:1, Troll)

    by hswerdfe ( 569925 )
    hey wow some of us don't have a DVD player

    I personally have a VHS VCR and a 13inch mono TV from 1980.
    and I don't have the kind of money required to goto the movies...
    you need to get some prospective dude.

    Genoside in Darfur
    http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNe w s/1096222386043_58/?hub=World/ [www.ctv.ca]

    disparity between the rich and poor
    http://www.detnews.com/2002/census/0212/19/a06-583 123.htm/ [detnews.com]

    sigh....sorry about that

    END RANT
  • $20 the DVD, but also $24 for a pair of tickets, $8 for parking, and $12 for popcorn & drinks

    Wow. That's gotta suck. I spend:
    2 tickets @ 6 = 12
    +
    1 large combo @6=6
    =
    $18

    And most movies aren't worth renting, much less buying, the DVD for. I've seen about a dozen movies this year. The only ones I'm interested in the DVD for are Sky Captain and maybe Riddick.
    • I agree.

      The expensive tickets for me are £5.80, cheaper at around £4. The more expensive one is more convenient for me.

      I don't tend to eat when I go to the cinema, but if I do say maybe £4-5 for popcorn & drinks.

      This works out as US$7.25 at the cheapest or ~US$18 at the most expensive.

      I too only buy DVDs rarely.

      Cheers,

      Roger
  • After I see a movie, I usually end up buying the DVD to see the deleted and behind-the-scenes bonus material

    You like every movie you see so much that you need to own the DVD? Can't you rent it once from blockbuster to see "The Making of Rocky V" and "Home Alone 3: Director's Commentary version"?

    So I not only pay for $20 the DVD, but also $24 for a pair of tickets,

    You pay twelve bucks for a movie ticket? Does the matre 'd come and pour your soda refills from a lead crystal caraffe?

    Lots of movie theatr
  • If the movie is based on special FX, explosions or cinematography I go to a nice theater w/ fancy screen, comfortable seats and good sound. Anything from Shrek to Bourne Identity to Hero (-- great movie) I will shell out the $10+/head to go. Other than that, I will wait for the DVD (and download the rip I almost never bother w/ cam versions anymore).

    The movie going experience is especially good in certain films. I try to go close to opening night on the big films. The vibe is much more interested. I
  • I almost never watch a movie over again. The theatre is much much cheaper. My typical movie experience consists of:

    Tickets: $5 x 2 = $10
    Beer: $3.50 x 2 = $7
    Food: $5 x 2 = $10

    Of course, the number of beers goes up depending on how bad the movie is.. but that's the great thing about the Draft House [alamodrafthouse.com], no matter how bad a movie is, you can order enough beer to make it better :-)
  • "The cost of going to the movies is now more than double that of a DVD!"

    I wouldn't be so sure. Let's see:

    Tickets: $24
    Parking: $8 (is parking really that expensive in the US? Or are you driving a semi truck?)
    Food: $12
    Total: $44 or $22 per person

    DVD: $20
    Food: $5
    Home Theater: $4699, I picked a few from the page you linked to (Yamaha surround: $999, 51" Zenith LCD: $3,700)

    You have to consider the cost of equipment, because otherwise you could buy the whole theater and claim it costs you nothing to watch a
    • Keep in mind that home theater can be used for much more than just DVD's, so only part of the cost can be attributed to replacing the movies. You also are paying for the convenience of watching a movie anytime you want in the comfort of your own home, where you can play mystery science theater, make out with your significant other, drink beer, or hell even screw during the movie if it's not very good.
      Just the beer and the screw makes it worth the money imho. :)
  • That's all I have to say.

    Really. You can keep scrolling now.
  • I definitely don't go out to the movies. I think the last movie I saw in the theaters was The Chronicles of Riddick last June. Not a huge fan of the theaters, way too expensive (even as a student). If a movie costs $6.50, and I can wait and get the DVD for $8.99, I'm more than willing to pay slightly more to see all the deleted scenes and making-of stuff that comes on the DVD.

    Just gotta wait and watch for Fry's to have sales and you can get 6 or 7 DVD's for $45 or $50. Plus, there's a ton better older mo
  • Lately, I have been just plain lazy and missed some of the good movies at the theater (like Spider-man 2). And I'm too lazy to return a rental. So on that rare occasion that I do get motivated I buy what I want to see on DVD. If I get to the store the week the movie comes out I can pick it up for about $15. And if I don't like the movie I can sell it at work for around $12

    I also hate to miss any part of a movie, so the pause button works a lot better at home, compared to the theater.
  • The primary targets for Movie Theaters:

    1. Kids in the dating age 18+
    2. Adults out on the town, before they have kids.
    3. Under 30 but above 18+ and typically male (Blockbuster Action and Sci-Fi Horror Flicks).
    4. Adults with young children (Disney, Pixar, etc.)
    5. Young teenagers 12-17, they'll see anything to get out of the house and suck face in the dark.

    The remainder are the one's buying/renting DVD's or doing pay per view (cable/satellite). Then there is the less then 1% who pirate over the Internet and
  • I have an 8 week old baby girl you insensitive clod. We're lucky to see a DVD. Hell, we're lucky to see 5 hours of sleep. However we do enjoy pizza, beer and a movie at baby night [picturepubpizza.com] at the Parkway Theater [picturepubpizza.com] in Oakland.

  • cheat the MPAA ... legally! (Score:4, Informative)

    by Yonder Way ( 603108 ) on Tuesday September 28, 2004 @09:41AM (#10373431)
    I go to maybe one or two movies a year. And they better be damn good movies. The last one I went to in a theater, I think, was Shrek 2 and only because my daughter bugged the hell out of me. Before that it was Hulk.

    I don't rent movies. I don't do pay per views. I wait. I am patient. I wait for Blockbuster to finish quenching the surge of demand for a new movie, and then I buy it when it hits the "Pre-Viewed" rack. Even then I wait until they run the "2 for $20" sale. That's when I stock up. I walk out once or twice a month with an armload of DVD's.

    Sooner or later I'll purge the collection and recoup some of those costs via eBay. For now, though, it's kinda cool knowing that I legally own over 400 DVD's and not a cent of my money has gone to the MPAA.

    • Re:cheat the MPAA ... legally! (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Sorry, but from an economic, if not an accounting, viewpoint, your money still goes to the MPAA. Perhaps the easiest way to understand it is this: By buying a used DVD, you are taking a used DVD off the shelf that someone else might have bought, forcing them to buy the original instead. A less intuitive but more accurate visualization is the understanding that by supporting a market for used DVDs, you push the asking price for brand-new DVDs up past what their price point would otherwise be.

      • Perhaps not (Score:3, Insightful)

        by sbszine ( 633428 )
        By buying a used DVD, you are taking a used DVD off the shelf that someone else might have bought, forcing them to buy the original instead.

        This assumes that the same people who trawl through ex-rental bargain bins are happy to pay full price for a new copy. I imagine that this isn't the case for most of the '2 for $x' crowd. Also, a 1/4 price DVD is more likely to be an impulse purchase than a full price copy. I just impulse bought a copy of The Thirteenth Floor for AUD$7 -- it's a fun movie but I would
    • And they better be damn good movies. The last one I went to in a theater, I think, was Shrek 2 and only because my daughter bugged the hell out of me. Before that it was Hulk.
      Umm, I thought your were talking about "damn good movies". Hulk?
    • How is the quality on those DVDs from Blockbuster? I have rented so many scratched until they were unwatchable DVDs from Blockbuster that I am afraid to even consider buying the Pre-viewed ones.

  • I'm done with movie theatres. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by venomkid ( 624425 ) on Tuesday September 28, 2004 @09:44AM (#10373462)
    1) Sound

    Most of these theatres are run by people with no real AV calibration experience as far as I can tell. They EQ the bass up too high, the mids too low, and the highs are shrill. This is one of the reasons I couldn't enjoy Matrix Revolutions; the low mid of the punches was turned into an oatmeal slap by the horribly configured audio system. And this was on Sony DTS. Much of the time there is also some kind of buzz in the background. This is why I had trouble watching X Men 2 and a few others.

    2) Video

    Lots of times the video ends up looking flat and desaturated. I'm not sure if this is badly maintained projectors or what. It's often off center and obvious when switching reels. I long for digital video.

    3) Audience

    I hate them. Loud, obnoxious asshats chatting on cell phones and commenting aloud on the movie. Kids brought to the WRONG movies, so they're asking questions or crying. The lip smacking of the teenage couple making out behind me. Rednecks with their laser pointers and minimum wage ushers who won't do anything about it. No thanks.

    You'd think for nearly (or over in some cases) $10 a ticket, they could have someone come in and set this stuff straight.

    I don't have a huge home theatre system but watching it on my ordinary 36" TV with my Wharfedales and my Onkyo receiver is a better movie experience by far than going to any of the theatres near me.

  • DVD (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Alrescha ( 50745 ) on Tuesday September 28, 2004 @09:54AM (#10373589)
    I used to go to movies. Not a lot, but I did go. When "Fellowship of the Ring" came out, I went.

    The experience was pretty awful. From the house lights not going down on time and the light from the left-open doors shining on the screen to the sticky floor and talking/sneezing/coughing.

    I watched, and muttered those now immortal words "I can do better than this at home"

    A year later I had a DLP projector under the couch (852x480) and a 100" screen at the living room wall. It lives up to my claim - I've never even looked at a movie theater since.

    My costs for the first couple of years works out to be $3-4/per hour of viewing. Cheaper than a movie theater and a lot more rewarding.

    A.
  • Well, the MPAA blames us of pirating, why NOT do it.

    We're all considered guilty anyways.

    Im doing my share.
  • 1. What movie it is and how badly I want to see it in the theater. I usually go for the movies I really want to see.

    2. I always go with someone instead of by myself.

    3. If I have time.

    There are a lot of movies that I want to see, but there is lack of free time.
  • Probably 25%/75% movies/DVD for me.

    If it's a movie I REALLY want to see, or one that the theater is especially suited to, I go out to see it.

    Otherwise I just Netflix it.

    Note: Matinee prices and student discounts are your friend. Parking $0, tickets $6 each, snacks hidden in large pockets, and I live in central New Jersey, where things in general are NOT cheap... Movie prices are far lower in less populated areas. Also, AAA used to (and I think still does) have discounted movie ticket vouchers for mem
  • Cost of movies is double the DVD? OK, I know I'm a cheapskate, but even I wouldn't make that claim.

    2 movie tickets: $10 ( I only go to matinees: smaller crowds, lower prices. Last movie I went to was a year ago and it was $4.50 each)
    Parking: $0 -- don't go to movies in the city. When I lived in the city, I just went to movies in the closest suburb: they all have free parking there
    Snacks: $2 (maybe a blue ICee. all other snacks I take in myself from home. Candy bars fit in your pocket, and I have snuck a la
    • Hell, one time back when I was in high school a friend of mine and I wore really baggy pants and we each snuck in all the snacks we could carry and a 2 liter bottle of coke - in our pockets. Of course, times were different, then, too (this was about 15 years ago)...
  • Of course, that means there are very few movies I can even consider buying - which is great news for my wallet.
  • I would like to go see movies in the theater, but all the movies I want to see just aren't appropriate for a 4 year old. So, I tell myself I'll wait till they come out on DVD (I've got a 40" HDTV, after all), but usually forget.

  • A clean, well made, properly projected and calibrated 35mm film blows away any DVD.

    Most movie theaters, however, don't show clean, well made, properly projected and calibrated 35mm films.

    Considering that the time from theater to DVD is three to five months at this point, I waits and buys.

  • I live in Tucson. We don't pay for parking at the movies. We usually don't get popcorn, but if we do it's not $8. Tickets are still under $10 - in fact, if you go in the afternoon, it's $5.

    Also, by not buying a $20k home theatre system, I have saved enough money to go to 200 movies, which is about as many as I'm likely to see in the next dozen years, plus all that space that would be wasted is free for useful things like my wife's marimba and my computer.
  • ..of a major online DVD retailer. I never really understood those clients of ours (a huge percentage) who liked to be $100-200 in DVDs per week.

    I much prefer the theater, and with services like Netflix and Blockbuster's new no-late policy, it's easy to get these movies and watch them on your own terms.

    What I really noticed of those customers of ours who bought a lot of DVDs per week was that they were all really mainstream releases. Foreign, eclectic, cult or otherwise wouldn't have puzzled me so much, bu
  • Sometimes you just have to get out of the house.
  • So I don't go to the cinema. Who wants to gamble that you get the theatre with a bunch of kids who hoot and holler or a crying baby? When I want to watch a movie I don't want any interruptions.

    Last movie I saw in the cinema was Article 99.
  • Every movie theatre I've been to has free parking.

    Only morons spend 12 bucks on popcorn and drinks.
    The theater gets like %1200 profit on that.

    Sneak in your food n' drink, I do it almost everytime. The staff is too busy looking for people with digicams anyways :)

    Also is it easier to get all your friends to come to your place, or all of them to go out to a movie theatre? I find most people just like to "go out" instead of going to someones house.

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