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Rixx Javix's avatar
Rixx Javix

Attendance has been in decline for decades and recent changes in demographics and general audience behaviors (due to the pandemic, etc) are not going to be easy to curtail. Add to this history the fact that the industry itself has spent decades training their audience to "skip" the theater experience - for short release DvD/BluRay and then streaming access - and you have a recipe for disaster. Much of it self-inflicted.

The glory days of cinema as a mass audience experience are probably behind us. But that doesn't mean that the public experience is doomed. However, some serious concerns continue to haunt the industry - made all the worse by the recent Writer's Strike and the gap between the end of the pandemic and the return of regular blockbuster style content. The industry already adopted a "low and high" mentality, moving medium expectation products (like dramas, comedies, etc) into streaming and leaving the cinema for independents and blockbuster style films. But that move has failed to generate a return.

Films like Avatar, Dune, and potential upcoming blockbusters such as Deadpool/Wolverine have performed well in this environment. While other potential four quadrant films like Fall Guy and Furiosa have not fared well at all. And while the International market continues to prop-up many studio efforts, the long-term viability of failures only grows more and more dubious. Forcing many studios into consolidation or bankruptcy.

The only thing that can save the theater experience is the theater experience itself. And that means an increase in quality products worthy of that experience - an issue that sits squarely on the shoulders of the studios themselves. Increase the gap between theatrical and home release windows, don't shorten them. Work towards improving the theater experience itself, with potential smart phone bans and other measures. Continue to invest in technology to make the theater experience far superior to the ones in our homes. Stop promoting first weekend box-office returns as a measure of success and commit to longer-run releases. Eliminate in-theater advertising and return to trailer based front-ends, advertising should be limited to the pre-experience moments. (Some films only start 20-30 minutes past the start time, which is insane) Return to 90 minute average film lengths with Director's Cuts premiering on streaming later on.

There is much that can be done to improve the actual theater experience and return the cycle to a new level of normalcy. But the glory days of the theater experience are well behind us and the hubris and greed of the studios and the theater system themselves are to blame. Not the consumers.

Stella's avatar
Stella
Rixx Javix

What is interesting is that when you say 'the glory days of the theatre experience are well behind us' is that this is basically what big hollywood execs were saying when tv became a thing.. and everybody thought film in general was gonna be OVER.. but then over time cinema attendance increased again (yay!).

Do you think that a similar thing could happen in the future? or is there something different about this slump in cinema attendance that makes it particularly different

Rixx Javix's avatar
Rixx Javix
Stella

It can be challenging to predict the fall-out of some rather unusual circumstances after the pandemic/streaming/home-release/changing consumer habits/writer's strike events of the past few years. However, there can be no doubt as to the power of communal experience that is at the heart of the theatrical experience, and ultimately that power may once again be what saves cinema. Cinema met the challenge of the television revolution by focusing on bringing consumers experiences that they could not achieve at home - blockbusters, events, and spectacle (wider formats, panavision, dolby, etc).

It remains to be seen if something similar can happen again. The "habit" has been broken in many cases and getting people back into that habit won't be easy.

Banned user
Alex Sinclair's avatar
Alex SinclairMod

Thanks klobbersaurus68! For this bounty, we're looking for long-form entries, containing a minimum of 400 words. Feel free to edit your submission to add some more details!

Sinclair's avatar
Sinclair

Stop charging high prices for cinema tickets! I often see some movies that I want to see in the cinema, but for some reason the price they set always goes up every month, even though if I see that there is no change that is too noticeable when I last visited the cinema, some of the places I visited looked dirty, the officers were not friendly, and also some people who brought their children when watching movies and it was very noisy.  I complained several times, but the security officer only said that it was a normal thing, what is normal? We're watching a movie with an 18+ rating and they're bringing that noisy little kid? Besides that, I also feel objection to the price of food and drinks in the cinema, the price is much more expensive than a hotel and does not allow us to bring food and drinks from outside?

And after I think more maturely, I think that watching with a streaming platform is much better than having to wait in line to buy a movie ticket (of course, a legal & paid streaming platform), I honestly think it's hard to "save" a movie theater today, just like any other business where profit is everything, but slow gratification must also be considered. If you really want to "save" them, you can do simpler things, for example lowering ticket prices and being more selective and conducting effective training for all officers on duty. In addition, it may also be possible to reduce food prices by at least 20%. Imagine 1 small 300gr popcorn bouquet pegged at $8? Popcorn is indeed the best snack when we watch movies, but not at the price

In addition to the things, I have mentioned earlier, sometimes there are some trending movies that are not even shown in theaters and instead are shown elsewhere, this is also a setback that I think is quite a setback that is quite thought by the public, do we remember when the cinema was one of the main places to watch the latest trending movies? They say that there is a lot of money to spend when bringing trending movies, but what do I think if cinemas bring these movies instead of being one of the good attractions and increasing sales? It should be so.

And yes, those are some of the many things that cinema businesses must improve, especially in my country. Starting from Cleanliness, Ticket prices, food and beverage prices, the staff on duty as well and many other things that I have not mentioned. I hope they can be "saved" because the cinema is a place that is not just for watching, but can be full of memories as well.

Horror and Cats's avatar
Horror and Cats

I don’t have 500 words for it, I have two.

Assigned Seating. Too much paranoia for being in a theater without being able to pick the most tactically advantageous seat lol

Lanah Tyra's avatar
Lanah Tyra
Horror and Cats

Is that still a thing in the US? It was like that in the UK when I moved here and I was absolutely shocked. Now you can select your seats here as well (mind you it won't stop someone to sit there when you arrive and if there is an argument and they don't move, cinema staff doesn't really help you solve it)

S
SpecialEffectLiam

*It's funny how the notification for this bounty finishes with "Check it out before it's too late" I know that about the bounty but it feels particularly apt for this one!

Video Subscriptions killed the Radio Cinema Star

So I'm sorry to say that I think it's gone beyond repair now, everything has it's time and sadly, everything's time is short! Cinema was a product of a generation and I'll be sad to see it go but I think it will. When I say go, it won't go away forever, like the radio it will still have a time and a place.

The only solution I can see to make it stay is to kill the subscriptions.. don't distribute films to them! At this stage, it may be too late. Netflix and Amazon make films on par with anything traditional hollywood and they arguably don't need it anymore. Home cinemas are so good these days that it wouldn't even be exciting to see someone's "TV Room" on cribs anymore. Most families have a 42" or bigger 4K TV and a Netflix subscription. Why would we pay (more than we already pay) to sit in a peeling leather seat with a sticky floor and risk some obnoxious movie goer having their phone on throughout or heaven forbid, talking?! When we can wait a little bit longer and watch it once people have told us whether or not it's good. Get rid of the subscriptions or it's dead as we know it.

I don't think it saves Cinema but please give us back physical special effects and ditch the CGI/VFX model. Nobody likes it, all you have to do is look at the quality drop from Lord of the Rings to The Hobbit. Go to Disney World, look at the animatronics there and tell me that you can make something look more realistic than a computer generated image.

Don't get it twisted, I love the cinema! But Hollywood seems to have become the sequel machine and/or the blockbuster factory. I think that's wrong, go back to the days of "Good Morning Vietnam" or "It's a Wonderful Life".. impactful stories that are told with craft rather than big explosions and car crashes.

Full disclosure - I have a two year old and a second on the way.. I dream of the days that my wife and I can have a date night at the cinema but I'd just fall asleep right now!

CelestialFlea's avatar
CelestialFlea

How to save the cinema? Seems like JA have opened a big old can of worms here so let’s talk about the elephant in the room here. Now this may or may not be obvious to some, especially those in Hollywood but how about making films people actually want? That would put butts on seats, good films like Maverick will ALWAYS do well and still break records.

So why aren’t films doing well? Well a big part of it, is that film-makers are spending so much time trying to appease the loud vocal minority trying to squirm into every beloved franchise and mark their territory that they forget about the core audience who made their franchises popular in the first place. They don’t honor source material and are outright abusive to fans who get upset that source material is retconned and disrespected, seemingly with prejudice. We’ve seen it time and time again, do they really think we’ll watch their crap when they disrespect us and the things we love like that? Basic common sense right?

People aren’t stupid and can see through it all, that is one of the main reasons the cinema isn’t doing so well, because we are being told “This film wasn’t made for us, so don’t watch it” so we don’t yet still get blamed when films bomb. It’s a trend that is destroying the box-office and losing film makers BILLIONS. It’s a case of “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you”

Obviously it’s not the only reason cinema attendance is declining, there is a very strong case to be made for a complete lack of originality and creativity in the film industry. Everything is a remake, or a reboot of a remake which evidently people just aren’t interested in seeing anymore. There’s so many amazing IP’s, especially from the games industry that they could be turning into films if they wanted to draw on existing lore and storylines but when they do, it seems it’s just to disrespect fans. 

What happened to originality? Hollywood NEEDS original new franchises, It NEEDS to allow and encourage more creativity,  it NEEDS to bring in fresh new talent to drive that creativity, it NEEDS more success stories like Maverick if it’s going to survive at the box office and the sad thing is, it’s really not hard.

As others have mentioned, ticket prices also play a big role in the decline alone with the cost of living. With many people working two, even three jobs just to live comfortably a trip to the cinema is a luxury many can’t afford. Not to mention the horrendous cost of food there and the fact many don’t even allow you to bring in food anymore to force you to buy from them, it adds an extra 30-50% onto the cost of going. If a film is probably going to suck, how is that an incentive to get people back to the cinema? Not that it’s gonna stop me smuggling in snacks when I do go mind you.

Lastly, the concept of the cinema has barely changed since it’s inception. Big screen, big speakers and some seats.It’s been unchanged for decades. I think the cinema itself needs to innovate to entice people back, especially in the age of the home cinema when people can watch the latest releases in the comfort of their own home with premium consumer equipment. Why would you go to a noisy, crowded cinema full of people rustling, shuffling, coughing and elbow bumping? The cinema needs to give people an incentive, make good movies, respect the audience, innovate and give us new experiences that we can’t get at home.

I know this was a little bit ranty and perhaps long winded, but I think it covers a lot of the bases and echoes general sentiment.

T
Toyah

I think to save the cinema we need to pack the eats out with some really good movies we had Harry Potter and people couldn’t wait to go back and watch the next one I think the movie industry has lost its touch also abit more security on people being able to stream and buy early while the movies in the cinema .

Alex Sinclair's avatar
Alex SinclairMod
Toyah

Thanks for entering, Toyah! For this bounty, we're looking for 400-word answers. Please feel free to hit the 'edit' button and add some more details to your submission if you'd like to be in the running for a prize

Stella's avatar
Stella

this is simple in my eyes....

MORE FILMS OTHER THAN MARVEL/DISNEY/PIXAR FILMS PLEASE I BEG

Over time, Disney has been DOMINATING cinemas more and more with frankly, predatory practices (buying up more slots and kicking off other films even being shown). This is because Disney has such power in the film industry and also it's kinda a safe bet that people are going to come and see a Marvel film (they aren't my thing personally, but the fandom around them is undeniable).

These films obviously have their place but where is the diversity in the films available at many cinemas? We say that people aren't interested in cinemas anymore but I think that is completely not true. In my local cinema (which does tickets for five pounds if you are under 24!) they screen arthouse foreign cinema, A24 horror films and 'film bro' re-screenings and it is the busiest cinema i have EVER been in. It shows that people still have the appetite to go to the cinema, they just need some choice. This will also support other film companies OTHER than Disney and reduce the power they can assert over cinemas as well. I think also by having more films available, people will become more interested in films in general.

There is also a point to be made (as other people have said) about streaming services. I think by highlighted lesser known cinema we can combat this aswell. If cinemas can assert themselves as providers of good film (Netflix films often miss the mark here..) then they could be filling a gap that people do feel. This is what I like with the streaming service Mubi actually - on one tier of their membership they give u a cinema ticket for a mubi release every week! Also, a lot of people discuss the choice paralysis streaming services offer and cinemas could fill a niche here by having some sort of 'film of the week' (mubi does this daily where u can just let them chose a 'film of the day' for you).

i understand the appeal of making cinema releases more of a 'spectacle', like with Barbie and other films. This does bring more people to the cinema which is a good thing (I think the fact that so many people went to the cinema for Barbenheimer showed that the appetite for good films in cinemas is still there), but I think there could be some unintended consequences here. Firstly, it is harder for smaller film companies/directors to create such a spectacle. Secondly, for the cinema to be such an experience, psychologically, potential consumers could end up going less because they are 'holding out' for the most SPECTACULAR cinema experience and see going to the cinema as some 'big event' - not a part of their regular routine or something.

I think cinemas can and should be saved <3 Maybe more independent chains could make it a better experience for everyone involved ^-^ Film makers, the cinemas AND the consumer yay!!!

Kane Carnifex's avatar
Kane Carnifex

A Cinema is showing movies.
There is no control on the movie quality.
Yes, they could show old school stuff.

On this side there is not much which a cinema could do more.

BUT Customer Service is the key.

We finally got  a Cinema in Bad Homburg.
A City which states “Champanger Air and Tradition”

Snacks are the cheap shit like Twix,Snickers and M&M´s stuff you get in the supermarket. The price in the cinema is like pralines or even more.
You want numbers

They are selling 150gr for 4,99 which equals 29€/per kg.
The actual supermarket price is around 10 bucks per kg.
This is not a high quality product and heavy overpriced.

For reference: We have local pralines which start around 69,99€ per kg.
Local, Saisonal, would support the locals.

Wanna look what the also offer

Wann do a price guess?

Technical:

They build a new cinema but we didn't got an IMAX or better.
Like at least one could be a flagship showroom.

There is no reason to go to the cinema if I can´t experience top notch HiFi and visuals?!

Conclusion

I don't get how it is so complicated to prepare fresh food.
Why do they stick to the American Sugar Dream?
My suggestion is with good quality snacks and drinks and a reasonable pricing you will have 70% covered. The rest is a mix of the best technical equipment and a good choice of movies to show. From old to new, from every genre a little bit.

But then again there is nothing to improve if people are fine with what they got. You need to move to feel the chains!

Under the line...


I don´t care anymore. I bring my own food, own drinks,
Is it allowed? No, but i am happy to complain about their food until they get it right.
Because in Germany i have the right to complain so they can at least try to fix it.

If you deliever shit, i will pull the German and make you regret it.
You don´t lie into my face unharmed.

I am a customer, my money is your fuel to drive you business.
We aren't a cash cow which you can milk for nothing.

If you don't agree with me, you are part of the problem as well.

~400 Words for broken world... take it or leave it.


Coca Cola 2 Liter 10 Bucks, you get 2 Liter for like 2 bucks.
This is increase of 500%

You wann see how bad it is really?
They over Champange... to their food.

This on so many levels wrong....

What the hell is "Brown Rum"?

There are roughly 19 diffrent types of Rum.
With 100 of diffrent producers... and they unable to name which one is in it?!

If you think is fresh orange juice, or any fresh juice... hahah no.
Its concentrated juice... no organic at all.

Gaypengwing's avatar
Gaypengwing

I love the cinema myself, especially in the days where a movie can be spoiled so easily by heading on to tiktok or instagram.

Planning out the day of getting to the cinema, getting photos, finding the posters, sitting down with all the snacks you can’t get at home (tango ice blast) and forgetting about life, your phone or any stresses for about two hours is nearly perfect for me. I love making little vlogs about the day (although that could just be my content creator brain) so that I can have a memory of the day.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8PE9faM5yr

Sadly, my main issues are difficult to solve other than being stricter with people being on their phones/not switching them off or talking throughout the movie.

In terms of amplifying the experience, people love novelty so movies just need to lean in to it. New flavours of drinks or snacks that tie in to the movie such as the Banana tango ice blast for despicable me, themed cocktails which is quite popular at Soho house cinemas. Cardboard cut outs to take pictures with are always fun to me and midnight screenings for the most enthusiastic of fans, especially for moments like the doctor who finale or the new marvel movie coming out.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8neH-loTWX

Make it so that it’s not just a few hours in a day but the thing that you have planned the day around 🙌 There is a reason that Barbenheimer was trending/popular for so long because it was a day that people could really get behind, dress up for and experience with others who were just as enthusiastic. Even if I don’t cosplay or do a themed outfit for going to see a new movie, I’ll always try to find my DC shirt for the new movie and it’s just little things like that that help to make it more of an experience.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9dPFo6Mx7f

Obviously making the next Barbenheimer can’t be forced and needs to come about organically but days of going from one movie to another aren’t unheard of. Many cinemas do Edgar Wright movie days where they make their way through his filmography in marathon form or there are different screens for different genres that you can switch between through the day. If this came to the more well known cinemas and were marketed better, I know that far more people would be heading to the cinema for a day out to celebrate their favourite series of films or director.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs5-zQ9IH7w

Alex Sinclair's avatar
Alex SinclairMod
Gaypengwing

Excellent bounty entry! Thank you!

Gaypengwing's avatar
Gaypengwing
Alex Sinclair

Awh, thank you so much!!!

Banned user
Alex Sinclair's avatar
Alex SinclairMod

Thanks Paul! We're looking for 400 word answers for this one. Is there anything else you could add?

Paul's avatar
Paul
Alex Sinclair

Oh sorry, I wrote it late last night and forgot to check the rules.

I will add to it.

Paul's avatar
Paul

I can't come up with a longer answer so I'll just do this as a reply.

In all honesty I dont think it can be saved, not in a way that leaves cinema how we know...knew it.

There are some industries that we can forgive a price increase following the pandemic and the energy crisis, public transport and resturants for example, we may not like it, but we understand.

Cinema however have tried to compensate in the same way, by charging more for tickets and food but this cost does not come with an improved experience, in some instances its worse due to staffing cuts. At least in a resturant you get nice food, an atmosphere and conversation where as for the same or higher price you can get a soggy hotdog, sticky floors and a loud child....

Adding to this is how easily accessible films are from home now and how much cheaper (and better) a take away meal can be just creates an unwinnable senario for cinema.

The best bet for cinema companies is to use the film licences for release day streaming and maybe include a dominos voucher.

Sturmer's avatar
Sturmer

How to Save the Cinema

As many have pointed out, the decline in cinema attendance over recent years can be attributed to several factors: the pandemic, shifts in behavior and priorities, early DVD/Blu-ray releases, and, of course, the rise of streaming services. These elements combined offer plenty of entertainment options without the need to leave home.

Challenges Facing Cinemas

If delve deeper, additional difficulties become visible.

High ticket prices and the need to physically go to the cinema are significant deterrents. Watching a movie on Netflix takes just 30 seconds to press the power button on the remote and jumping on the couch. In contrast, a trip to the cinema easily adds 2-3 extra hours for preparations like showering, dressing up, makeup, travel, getting tickets, walking to the hall, and sitting through ads.

Over the past two months, I've been using an exclusive offer with a 50% discount on daily sessions and have been taking my son. We're creating a small family habit, but there are only three shows currently running that I can watch with a child. This highlights another issue: absence of content variety.

A Different Perspective

Interestingly, there are more classic theatres than movie theatres, and tickets are much more expensive and often sold out well in advance, some sold for shows in November. This suggests that theatres have shifted their focus to selling an experience rather than just the stage content. And demand is quite high!

For certain groups of people, attending the theatre is an opportunity to meet others, showcase themselves, and have an exclusive experience together. This approach is something movie theatres could learn from.

Solutions for Cinemas

To save cinemas, they need to think in this direction and explore what they could offer beyond just showing movies.

  1. Cinemas should aim to provide an exclusive experience similar to what theatres offer. This could involve offering themed events, meet-and-greets with filmmakers or actors, and interactive elements that enhance the movie-going experience.

  2. Lowering ticket prices. If tickets were reduced from 9.99 to 3, it might attract more people. Currently, many sessions only have 4-12 attendees. Lower prices could lead to higher overall attendance and revenue.

  3. Run themed marathons or cons, classic movie sessions, and networking events weekly. This would create a habit for people to attend not just to re-watch a favorite film but to meet other fans, make new connections, and share their passion. Cinemas could also host festivals a few times a year, like anime-cosplay events. Modern cinemas have multiple rooms for shows and spacious hallways perfect for creating a marketplace for selling merchandise, hosting cosplay photoshoots, and signing autographs.

Adapting to Modern Trends

Ultimately, for cinemas to survive, they need to adapt to the new ways content is produced and consumed. This might mean embracing technology, offering unique experiences, and making strategic changes to pricing and programming. By doing so, cinemas can transform into dynamic social hubs that offer more than just a place to watch movies - they can become destinations for co-op community, culture, and entertainment.

 

Lanah Tyra's avatar
Lanah Tyra

I think it is a complex problem, and maybe we should experiment by fixing a few and see how that helps, rather then the whole.

Accessibility and pricing

It's not just the ticket price, it's also the addition costs of parking (unless the mall offers free parking for the audience) or public transport. Many local, smaller cinemas have closed down, so people spend time and money to get to a cinema. With public transport being unreliable, I have to think twice if I want to make the journey to the cinema, or wait until the movie becomes available from other sources.

Timings are also not the best, even though some films will have multiple showings a day, they might be when people are still at work or they finish too late.

I wouldn't mind the current prices for the cinema, if there was one more local to me, where I can just walk to. I doesn't even have to be a big fancy one, just you know like the old school one screen cinemas. They were fine in our childhood, why are they not fine now?

People

This seems to be a growing trend lately everywhere, that people don't know how to behave in public. Last few times I've been to the cinema, people were constantly chatting, kicking my seat, kids been let in to screenings for mature audiences, people on their phones constantly and especially in the dark setting a glowing white screen is very disturbing, let alone when the phone rings and someone actually picks it up and holds a full conversation! Staff doesn't care about it all because they are underpaid. Which is not an excuse, I was underpaid too, still did my job to my best.

Honestly if people can't behave, I would introduce lockers which you must use and have to leave your phone there. And "but I'm waiting an important call, but what if my kids at home need me? etc" is not an excuse. Why are you going to the cinema then if you can't enjoy the experience fully? We didn't have mobile phones or mobile internet back in the days and we got along just fine... Surely we can do without them for a couple of hours.

Facilities

Most cinemas are dirt and full of rubbish because once again people can't keep their surroundings clean and staff doesn't care or doesn't have time between the screening to clean up the mess. Since cinemas have so many screens now, there shouldn't be back to back screenings, give time for cleaning as well.

What else does a cinema offer? Nothing really. Overpriced drinks and junk food. Nothing special about it really, and if I really wanted to have snacks during the movie, I would rather bring my own bottle of water and a pack of crisps.

Most cinemas still have some very small and uncomfortable seats, why would someone go there when their sofa in the living room is more comfortable? We would need more cinemas which have reclining seats, maybe wider rows and tables where you can put your food and drink comfortably, or those big sofas some expensive theatres have.

What if the cinema shop would sell merchandise related to the movies? Posters, books, T-shirts, mugs, all the stuff you can buy at places like Forbidden Planet. You can buy merchandise at a concert venue or theatre, why can't we do the same in the cinema? Again it would provide another income source for the movie makers and the venue as well, and making these items more accessible for fans.

Special screenings

I'm not even sure if this is a thing anymore, but I used to go to midnight premiers which were great atmosphere and a fan gathering really. In London often actors attended these too. Last time I've been to the cinema, it was for Gundam Seed Freedom, which only had one weekend screenings in the UK. It was in Japanese with subtitles, and probably due to that plus having a very niche audience it was a much better experience than being among the usual cinema audience.

There used to be marathons like when the latest part of The Hunger Games came out, there was a special screening which included the previous movies as well, and then you could watch the new one. Since we have so many relating movies now like the Marvel MCU, this could be a thing again.

What's going on with the 3D and Imax screenings? There was a huge hype around them for a while, but now there seem to be less and less of them.

Or could also be special screenings for different audience types, like family friendly screenings where it's not a problem if kids are running around and chatting, but then have some "quiet" screenings as well, where there is no noise of munching on food, no phones, no kids, no loudly talking adults.

Content and advertisements

Lots of movies these days are remakes. While some of them can be good, as they give an old classic a refreshed look, others just seem to be trying to live from the prestige of the original while don't really provide anything new. We need more fresh, unique ideas. Less money spent on shiny effects and more effort put into telling a story.

I love the trailers before the movies, that used to be my source of what to watch next. But I absolutely hate all the adverts and there seems to be more and more. Last time there was 40! minutes of adverts and trailers before the movie started. I try to go later, but then have to fumble around in the dark looking for my seat, because some cinemas didn't even bother to upgrade their lighting to display a row number visibly on the stairs as you go up. How should I know on the spot if they start counting their rows from the bottom or the top and which side the seat numbering starts?

Alternative screening

Before covid at least in London they used to show theatre plays or concert recordings in the cinema as well, which gave you a chance to see something you have missed or couldn't attend because of the location being far away. I haven't really seen them doing these anymore, which is a shame, because they were a very good use of the space.

Banned user
Shovel's avatar
Shovel

This is a very interesting one because I don’t think cinemas themselves are actually that crazily priced now that you look at it with how much things just cost these days, especially with the cost-of-living crisis that were in. I have meerkat movies so on a Tuesday and Wednesday, I get two for one tickets.

There are those who favour a certain cinema over another and we are super lucky in the U.K. we have a mad variety of where we can go.

Vue, is my local cinema and all the theatres have got reclining chairs so I love going to that cinema because of the comfort.

Odeon has a much better food selection.

Everyman cinema, which is a bit on the higher end of pricing, prioritises comfort and easiness when you go to watch a movie.

Cineworld has the novelty of going to see a film in 4D.

So in the UK, we are quite spoiled with the variety of cinemas we can attend, so that then takes me back to the original question, how can we save cinema?

And I think the answer could vary, but I absolutely don’t think that the problem is with the cinemas itself based off all the different examples that I have presented. The Cost is normal pricing in line with the cost of living, and almost doesn’t feel like the cinema is such a luxury anymore because of how cheap it is. I once viewed going to the cinema as a special event but now I don’t.

I think it comes back to the actual films themselves. Just films in general just haven’t been as good as they once were, I think the pandemic really impacted the way we see films, and all the hype that comes around a new release just isn’t a strong as it was. Previously, pre-pandemic you would see movie stars doing interviews, appearing on late night talk shows and doing so much press before hand to build up hype on the film and we’re just not really seeing the same level so it’s hard to almost get it excited for it.

I will say that I think recently, I’ve seen more of a spike with the promotional side of it, more notably with the Barbie film with the new Deadpool/Wolverine film.

Another think is the ease of being able to sit at home and rent a film that’s in the cinemas probably to 3 or two months after it’s come out. why would people go to the cinema when they can just watch it in the comfort of their own home?.

The quality of films aren’t the same either - not really seeing anything anymore. Constantly seeing remakes, sequels and prequals, it can get quite tiring. It almost as if it’s affecting cinema in a negative way because why do we want to go and see another remake?

And don’t get me wrong some remakes are amazing, I loved the new hunger games recently, but people are bored and they want to see originality.

Marvel absolutely dominated cinema at one point, but they completely exhausted their audiences with the amount of content they released on Disney+, so all the TV shows and movies, it was a lot to follow as a fan so some people just dropped out of it. It’s nice to see that they are rebuilding the hype with this new Deadpool/wolverine film, but it took a lot of work for them to get there.

I honestly don’t think that there is much more cinemas can really do - you can see that they are really trying to build it back up by releasing limited edition Merch and popcorn buckets which you can only get at the cinema, but even with that, we are seeing people come to the cinema, purchase the merchandise and leave without even watching the film.

So I don’t really know what else Cinemas can do. I think it’s the films themselves. The whole idea of films and Hollywood needs to be looked at, bring back some originality, stop with the constant remakes, reunions, prequels and sequels. Rebuild the foundation of a good film. I think this is essential to rebuilding the infrastructure of what everyone once loved about the cinema.

Makster's avatar
Makster
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-IGmIhMcQP

It is up to you to save cinema!

AirGaram's avatar
AirGaram

Saving the cinema :

Well, to me the cinema’s been declining for a while even though I, myself rarely go there. And with the sudden arrival of the pandemic a few years ago and with the rise of many streaming services, the cinema has been kind of meaningless. Some ideas that came to mind would be to adjust what they show on screen alongside strategic ticket planning.

Movies

So, I would propose a more diverse range of films being shown, like documentaries, independent movies, and many foreign films which would probably attract many audiences that have different tastes and interests, thus providing a little something for everyone.

You know, I think that should a movie be popular enough and hasn’t been in screening for a very long time, they could replay them since those types of movies could potentially attract many audiences that seek the nostalgic experience. Those old movies could also appeal to multiple generations, those that seek the nostalgia by revisiting their favourite old films and those that would only know about said film through hearsay and want to experience them.

Tickets

To me the pricing and structure of cinema tickets are some crucial aspects that can significantly impact attendance and overall popularity. And maybe they could add a system similar to concerts? Where the tickets themselves would change depending on the popularity of the film, the current hype, the time of day, and how long has it been since the movie first came out in the cinema (?). Lower prices during off-peak times can attract audiences with low budget, while premium pricings for peak times can maximize revenue.

As an addition maybe during specific day of the week the cinema could offer discounts, though highly unlikely I think. They could also add discounts for family or for seniors, so that they can encourage families to visit more often.

Others

Some cinemas could also organize some themed nights, retrospectives of classic films, or marathons of popular franchises can create unique experiences that could entice people. Those events could also do live broadcasts of sport events, gaming tournaments, and other productions since they could draw in many different kinds of people and turning cinemas into multi-purpose entertainment hubs.

By doing these events in the cinema, they could also advertise these events by collaborating with radio stations, merchandises, or maybe specific refreshments. They could promote them using social media, the local news, and maybe a community board.

That is all.

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