Do you see movies in the movie theater very often? What is the last movie you saw in a movie theater?

I used to love going to movie theaters and went regularly, but I’ve pretty much given up doing it because of the high ticket prices, ridiculously expensive refreshments, and most of all, rude audience members. I still go out occasionally, but now spend most my movie-watching time on my big-screen TV with Netflix, Amazon Prime and cable. Though I can’t see many of the popular movies when they first come off, this disadvantage is offset by my being able to find movie gems I missed.

Not often.
The last one was Jurassic World. It sucked.
Plus the english version was only available in 3D. I hate 3D, it makes everything look like toys.
And there are barely any movies that I would even be interested in pirating.
Let us have a look at what is currently being screened:
McFarland: nope
Camino de Santiago: nope
Cake: nope
Ted 2: : big fucking nope
Hot Pursuit: nope
Rico, Oskar und das Herzgebreche: nope
Spy: big fucking nope
Woman in Gold: nope
Child 44: nope
San Andreas: nope
Gus petit oiseau, grand voyage: nope
Ostwind 2: nope
Tinkerbell: nope
Paul Blart Mall Cop 2: big fucking nope
Shaun the Sheep: nope
A Little Chaos: nope
Insidious 3: big fucking nope
Tomorrowland: nope (I was interested in that one until I found out that it was written by Damon ‘Hackfraud’ Lindelof)
Honig im Kopf: nope

Maybe once or twice a year. Far too expensive.

Last movie I saw in theaters was Avengers: AOU a couple weeks ago. Before that, Guardians of the Galaxy, about a year ago.

Most get released for rental/download within months. I can easily wait and watch on my 60” TV.

The last movie seen in a theater was Philomena, which came out two years ago. It was a mid-week matinee with only a handful of people in the audience. We were the youngest ones there. The cost of tickets, popcorn and sodas were covered by accumulated grocery store bonus points.

@Pachy‘s reasons basically mirror ours. It’s much cheaper and more enjoyable to stay at home and utilize other sources to select a film from our long watchlist. @ragingloli hit upon another reason. There is rarely a film playing at a movie theater that holds any interest. If there is, we take @cookieman‘s approach and wait for it to come out in some other delivery method.

Not often. I only go to the cinema when someone invites me. Tickets are expensive and I go to the movie not only for the movie itself but also for the company of a friend. And I don’t have much choice at the cinema, not to mention the person going with me has to agree with my choice. These are some reasons why I don’t go to the movie often. I mostly watch movies at home.

The last time I went to the movie was at New Year’s Eve. I watched a local movie whose name is roughly translated as “Ghost Busting Contract”. It was a shitty movie about three flirting “ghost busters” going to a city to catch ghosts for some hot women. The plot was ridiculous and unbelievable. Sometimes the movie got offensive when the men flirted the women. It seemed that the hot women were the only things that kept people in the cinema. My friend and I both agreed that we wasted money for nothing.

I had this discussion recently with some friends. I seemed to be the only one who loves going to movies in the theater. I love the comfy seats, the total immersion effect of the dark room and the big screen. I probably average a once-a-month cinema event.

At our multiplex, the first matinee on any day is under $6 for everyone, same price any show on Tuesday. I either eat before I go, or bring my own snacks.

I don’t approach the experience with a critical eye. I will go to a movie as much for fun flash and silly antics as for important content. I don’t necessarily love every movie I see, but I don’t tend to judge as harshly as some.

It’s just fun.

Last movie was Jurassic World, I enjoyed it for exactly what it was, big budget silly fun.

I’m a big movie goer, I usually see 25–30 movies a year in theaters

My favorite movies of the past year and a half are:

Whiplash
Birdman
Ex Machina
The Babadook
The Skeleton Twins
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Still Alice
Wild
A Most Violent Year
I’ll See You In My Dreams
While We’re Young
Paddington
It Follows

Not very often, to go to a movie for just the 2 of us kills just about a hundred bucks,between gas,dinner(and that doesn’t have to be fancy)tickets a drink and a medium pop corn.
The last movie was Walley.

@rockfan: I saw Still Alice, too. I think that was the last movie I saw in a theater before last night’s Inside Out. Still Alice was pretty good. I read the book first so I wanted to see what the screen adaptation was. It was decent. I like Julianne Moore and Alec Baldwin.

@canidmajor
Exactly how it should be done. I can’t say stand the movie naysayer club who thinks every movie sucks. Rarely do I see a movie and think it sucks. I almost always enjoy them and find some value in it.

@jca
I love the theater (especially when it’s mostly empty). Last thing I saw was “Home” with the kids. It was great. Yes, the snacks are overpriced, and the tickets aren’t cheap – but it’s a fun day for me and my boys..worth every penny I would have otherwise wasted on something else.

and that is why michael bay makes millions. standardless audiences.

I agree, @Apparently_Im_The_Grumpy_One. I don’t usually see movies at the homes of friends, because I find the chatting and people getting up all the time, in and out of the kitchen or bathroom, to be distracting. If I really want to see and get into a movie, I’ll see it home by myself.

@ragingloli
And that is why you are probably not a enjoyable movie companion

Ah, but @ragingloli, so very very very many of us have no desire to equal your standards of hate. Most of us have a good sense of how to prioritize our likes and dislikes. What a dreary and fraught life one would have if everything had to be some kind of high-brow meaningful. Enjoy your ivory tower, I’ll enjoy the rest of the world.

@Apparently_Im_The_Grumpy_One
wrong again.
i will sit through a movie without comment or sneer.
but i will rip the film a new arsehole afterwards.

@canidmajor
it does not have to be high brow or meaningful.
i enjoyed the marvel movies, and mad max.
they are by no means high brow or overly artistic.
but they are good movies with good scripts.
trash like jurassic world is an insult to good film making.

@ragingloli
It’s nothing personal. I just know I wouldn’t enjoy talking about a film (before, during, or after) with someone who rips arseholes. Hopefully those who haven’t seen the movies you’re talking about can stay out of earshot. Who likes to be excited about something only to have someone shoot it down before they get to experience it?

You vetoed twenty movies in your first post for crying out loud. I’ll make an appointment with Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman for you.

(disclaimer: This is all said with an air of jest)

@Apparently_Im_The_Grumpy_One
just to clarify, the ‘nopes’ are the movies i have no interest in seeing. they might not be bad.
the ‘big fucking nopes’ are the ones that i am fairly certain are going to be shit.

@ragingloli What movies have you loved in the past few years?

Well, I loved Mad Max Fury Road, ‘Birdman’, ‘Nightcrawler’, also ‘Snowpiercer’, ‘Grand Budapest Hotel’, ‘Her’, ‘Django Unchained’, ‘Dredd’, ‘Hot Fuzz’.
Also ‘Interstellar’, ‘X-Men DofP’, all the Marvel movies,‘Skyfall’, Nolan’s Batman movies, ‘Paul’, and ‘Hot Fuzz’ were all pretty good, too.

I am on my way to Jurassic World in about 10 minutes

Lol, they’re making Mall Cop 2? Ugh. The first one was terrible.

I barely see movies in theatres. Last one I saw was the second hobbit movie. Also fuck 3D.

Probably only about 3 or 4 times a year max. I think the last film I saw at the cinema was Paddington way back in December!

Once or twice a year. I have no problem with the prices, but the local cinema is kinda shitty (though last time I was in there they did seem to be making some much needed improvements) and doesn’t often run anything I’m interested in. Last thing I went to see there was Godzilla (the recent American reboot).

Up until a couple years ago I rarely went but I have become quite the movie queen the last 2 years or so.
I go, on average, twice a month. I just saw the new “Jurassic World” last Sunday, very entertaining, “San Andreas” the week before and the new Avengers movie before that and am waiting to see the thriller ” The Gift” coming out soon.

I’d say I go about ten times a year. The last movie I saw was “The Imitation Game”, I think. I enjoyed that one immensely. I also liked “Still Alice”, “Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Paddington”. I did not like “Love, Rosie” at all, even though I read and liked the book.

I am currently looking forward to the minion movie.

Usually, the only movies I bother watch in the theater are ones that really NEED to be seen in the theater. Like Avatar was this amazing visual adventure and it was one heck of an experience to see in the theater. But the story itself was kind of ..meh.. Seeing it on a small screen at home only, I probably would have forgotten ever watching it. It was meant to be seen in the theaters. There are other examples of movies I could give with better plots and acting, but this one sticks out of my head. I loved watching it in the theater, but there is no point for me ever watching it again at home. As much as I love Star Wars: a New Hope, I can’t really get all excited about watching it at home, unless I’m watching the one with the commentary included.

But most movies I enjoy, I like for the story and the performance. I don’t really need to feel physically immersed or surrounded by the scenery to enjoy it. It’s fun as heck to go see anything you love on the big screen, but with the outrageous price of tickets these days I almost exclusively go in for the immersion into a whole different world feeling.

I will say that now our kid is 4, we go to the movies more often. We want her to get that movie theater experience we loved as kids. I also find that she has a much easier time paying attention when there is a giant screen in front of her and huge speakers forcing her to listen. We saw “Inside Out” yesterday and she totally loved it. If we saw it at home, she would have likely wandered off and never came back during the first “boring” part that took place in the real world outside Riley’s head. She needs to be soaked and saturated into a movie or anything else longer than a 10 minute Pocoyo short.

While the movie experience really helps, my daughter stay on track, we still try to reserve it for the stuff that we as adults would greatly enjoy as well. Movies are way too expensive for our family to splurge on something that may be mediocre. I found some theaters that are playing some hokey kids cartoon movies for 1$ during the summer. I might take her to those, but otherwise, I’m pretty careful in choosing which movies are worth blowing big bucks to see.

Rarely. Most movies are not worth the money. I will go see a big blockbuster once or twice a year. I saw Jurassic World and I’ll go see the last Hunger Games movie when it comes out. Otherwise, I watch on my TV.

I firmly believe TV is producing better entertainment than the movies are at this point in time.

@tinyfaery I guess it’s a taste thing. Personally I think movies like Gone Girl, Nightcrawler, Prisoners, The Master, Lincoln, All is Lost, Ex Machina, Gravity, Birdman, and Whiplash are amazing on the big screen.

In the last month or so? Avengers: Age of Ultron (hated it), Mad Max: Fury Road (loved it) and Jurassic World (really, really hated it).
In April, I saw Ex Machina in the theaters, and that is probably the best movie I have seen in years.

I like to but I’m too poor. It’s been probably 3 years.

It’s too expensive, but I do it anyway, fairly frequently (about once or twice per month). I’d do it a lot more if it were cheaper – which is part of why I say it’s too expensive. In my utopia, rent control would make it affordable for there to be lots of cheap movie theaters.

It’s a different experience than watching at home, and I like that experience.

The most recent one I saw was the new Mad Max, about two weeks ago.

Oh, and this is in spite of agreeing with @ragindoll about how most new movies tend to be things I don’t want to see. I think Hollywood has become horribly unimaginative and over-sensationalist, with not enough good intelligent writing, directing and acting. But there are still some I do enjoy.

I haven’t even seen a movie theater in years. Not many where I travel. Not much interested in the new stuff of late unless I read rave reviews from friends and people here on Fluther—otherwise I’d never hear of most of the new good films I’ve seen lately. Zombies, Vampires, witches, ghouls, exorcisms, blood thirsty insane aliens… Jesus, please. And hyped-out “comedies” like The Interview.

In my recent convalescence I’m searching for little jewels from the past. I love Noir, but they made a lot of crap Noir. So I go with a director or an actor of Noir films, research them, then either buy them on the net, or if they are unavailabel, pull them off with a torrent. Recently It’s been Robert Ryan. What a spooky son of a bitch. A really bad Bad Guy. Most of his obscure stuff has been unavailable for years—including his Westerns, which were great. Movies I’ve never seen before.

Last night I found this little gem Noir and never even heard of it before:

The House of Bamboo, 1955 (Noir)
Planted in a Tokyo crime syndicate, a U.S. Army Investigator attempts to probe the coinciding death of a fellow Army official.
Director: Samuel Fuller
Writers: Harry Kleiner, Samuel Fuller (additional dialogue)
Stars: Robert Ryan, Robert Stack, Shirley Yamaguchi

I don’ need no stinkin’ theaters.

Last one I saw was Her. It was in a single screen place that served food and drinks during the movie. It was painful. While digital, the quality was shit. The last movie I had seen in a theater before that was Finding Nemo in the early 2000’s. I thought digital would fix why I hated watching movies in theaters. Not even close.

During Her the masking was off, the bulb wasn’t focused properly, the lens (cinemascope) was off a few degrees, and the aperture plate was incorrectly filed resulting in fuzzy edges. I only made it about 30 minutes before walking out and waiting in my sisters car.

I was a projectionist for 3+ years before digital. The guy that trained me warned that I would never be able to watch a movie in a theater again. He said I would start watching the film and not the movie. He was so very right.

Not often. Probably about 3 times a year. We never eat in the theatre. Maybe one time in 30 (so that would be maybe twice in my 22 year marriage) we have bought a drink. The food prices are crazy, no way I’m spending my money on that. It’s just over two hours, I don’t have to eat during that time. I’d rather eat a real meal before or after.

I would make an exception for the fancy theaters that serve real food or a special date that has the luxury seating and meals, but even that would be a really rare event for me.

We normally go to the cinema every week or two. However this year we’ve barely visited the cinema. The last film we saw was Kingsman in February. I couldn’t believe it when I went and checked. There just haven’t been any films we’ve wanted to see.

We tend to go to one of two cinema chains. One has cheaper tickets but the seating is nice. The other has a cinema club and you earn points every time you buy a ticket. I’ve got enough points for a number of free tickets.

We usually buy a coffee and an ice cream to take in with us.

No wonder I’ve had cinema withdrawal symptoms! I can’t believe we haven’t been to the cinema since February.

@Earthbound_Misfit You’re in Australia, correct? It it acceptable to take food and drinks not purchased at the cinema with you? Here in the US, it’s typically against policy.

They don’t like it, but as long as you’re not obvious, they don’t enforce it. You couldn’t take hot food in but if you bought lollies in a store outside the cinema, they wouldn’t stop you.

I sometimes buy ice cream elsewhere and take that in. They sell coffee in the cinema so I usually just buy the coffee there.

Where I live, they don’t care if you take in outside food or drink, at least they didn’t in the theater I was in the past two nights. I bought a bag of popcorn from Trader Joe’s ($2), and a six pack of diet tangerine soda and brought in three cans (not sure what the six pack was). I am not willing to pay $6 for popcorn and $4 for soda or whatever the prices are. That’s crazy.

@jca We have gone down this path before. Since you are the OP of this question and based upon the latest response, it is worthy of bringing it up again.

If there is a sign on the entrance door to a cinema that states, “Outside food/drinks prohibited” or any variation, then it is a policy of that establishment. Ethically, one either chooses to purchase what is on sale at exorbitant prices or forego as @JLeslie does. Otherwise, it is a rationalization.

Movie theatres today make little money on ticket sales. This was confirmed when I tracked down a VP of a movie theater chain in the US who was willing to speak about it. A cinema’s cut in profits from movie ticket sales is minimal. The profits come from concession sales. This alone keeps them in business for paying the bills, including updating equipment and paying salaries to those who are dedicated to providing a positive experience, as well as being thankful for having a job that allows them to pay the bills.

What concerns me the most is not your rationionalization that this is acceptable, but that you are exposing a young child to it. If your daughter is old enough to read, how will you respond when questioned about the sign on the front door of a cinema that states outside food is not allowed?

When I was a kid, there was no sneaking involved in bringing in food from the outside. I remember going to the theater with my babysitter and her 4 kids. She dragged in a freakin’ trash bag full of popcorn. She carried it on her back like Santa Claus carries his bag of toys.

When I worked in the theaters, we allowed outside food in. The only rule was that the food shouldn’t bother other patrons who might be able to smell it. So you’d get told to throw away that big slice of pizza or tuna sandwich, but just about anything else was fair game.

Even if you did buy concessions in the theater, they weren’t as overpriced as they are now. You also had the option to buy much smaller and affordable options. You could get a very small bag of popcorn for a dollar. Our largest size was 3 bucks and you could get one free refill if you were really starving. Now the smallest size available at the theaters is the same size as our giant behemoth size of the early 90s. And there’s no free refill (not that you’d need one, but for the price…7 or 8 bucks for the “tiny” size.. You know.)

I really miss those days. I miss when theaters weren’t forced to gouge you the way they do now. Of course when I worked in the theater, the chain I worked in was one of the largest national movie theaters. Now it’s long been out of business. Maybe letting moms bringing in garbage bags full of popcorn wasn’t a wise move.

When I was little we bought candy at the corner store and brought that into the theater with us. I don’t have a problem with people doing that.

I once saw a CEO of one of the big cinema chains on TV and she said they don’t prevent people from bringing in their own food or drink. I don’t remember which company it was. I think the masses believe it’s always a no-no and they have to sneak it in if they bring it in at all. I guess some theaters have signs forbidding it.

If I owned a cinema I personally wouldn’t be happy with someone bringing in an ice cream cone, too easy to make a mess I think? Ice cream in a cup would be fine. Although, I guess many things sold in the theatre can create a sticky mess.

I think my problem with the theaters is what I complain about all the time, instead of making a reasonable profit on the food they sell, they gouge you. They could probably make a few dollars off of me if the price was fair, but since it isn’t they get nothing out of my pocket.

I would be curious to see if they really only break-even on ticket prices, or if it’s just that they make the bulk of their profit on concession stand sales.

@JLeslie , no they seriously enforce it now. My husband got told he had to pitch out his styrofoam cup half filled with soda. I assumed it was a myth too. When I worked in the theaters it WAS a myth. But not anymore. It’s serious business.

The same thing happens at outdoor concerts these days. It used to be no big deal to pack a picnic and eat it on the grass behind the seats. Now they actually search your bags and confiscate your water bottles.

Times they are a changin’

@Pied_Pfeffer: I don’t always claim to be righteous or morally just. I try to live in a practical way as a single mother. Given the choice between not attending the movies in a theater or attending and being practical about it, I try to make it work for us.

When I walked into the theater with a brown paper Trader Joe’s bag, if they enforced their policy I would gladly comply, as I imagine I’d have to.

As far as my daughter seeing, if she asked I would tell her the truth.

I always carry a bottle of water in my purse and have never had it confiscated. I out it in the drink holder on the arm rest of my seat.
I also do not eat or buy food at the concession, ridiculous prices and I don;t need to eat or wish to have to get up and go to the bathroom in the middle of the show. I sip on a bit of water if I am thirsty or have a dry cough from allergies mostly.

@keobooks Thank you. The cost of snacks at the concession stand were higher than the local shops, but still within budget of my teenage allowance of less than one US dollar a week, supplemented by odd-jobs in the neighborhood, like babysitting. At that age, if I wanted to spend money on movies, it was my choice, but I had to earn it.

@JLeslie If there is a sign on entrance door that says, “Outside food and drinks prohibited”, then it is a rule established by the ownership. There is a logical reason behind it. We the customers aren’t always privy to it.

@jca I don’t claim to be morally just either. I have by-passed rules more than once for a variety of rationalizations at the time. The difference between us seems to be that I later feel guilty for it due to the negative impact that it may inflict on others, be it a loved one who learns the value of morals from actions or others, like the employees of that cinema.

Here is one blog that gives a researched breakdown of where the cost of a movie ticket goes. Economics of the Movie Theater – Where The Money Goes and Why it Costs Us So Much.

The author of the article has a point. In order to stop the madness of the expense of attending a movie in a theater today, it has to start with those who own the cinema chains. They are the ones who can band together and take back control of ticket costs instead of passively sitting by and increasing the concession prices in order to offset costs. That is proving to be a failure on several grounds.

Cinema employees that turn a blind eye when customers smuggle in food and drinks that aren’t purchased on-site are those that not only have no desire to be the theater police unless someone else complains, but they wouldn’t be willing to shell out the money charged at the establishment where they work.

@Pied_Pfeffer Like I said, some theaters have a policy of no outside food and drink. If they have a sign posted that’s their policy.

So they can gouge you.

No one is inspecting purses from what I’ve seen. If someone wants to bring in a sleeve of Neccos, or a bag of M&M I don’t see the big deal.

@keobooks Concert venues and stadiums went in the direction of the airlines that liquids can be bombs.

I think it’s worthy of a new question. Maybe I’ll ask it. It can be an interesting discussion.

Asked here today: http://www.fluther.com/181937/if-a-movie-theater-or-other-venue-has-a-policy-of/

@jca Thank you. It is worthy of a separate discussion. I’ve already given it a GQ and await the results before chiming in.

@ragingloli I just got out of seeing Jurassic World, I didn’t think it was too bad, I’d give it a 6.5/10. Extremely predictable, but still entertaining.