Direct to home movie releases

[AVSLaurie]

AP news outlet is reporting that Universal Studios and AMC theaters are in a major battle because Universal released “Trolls World Tour” to on-demand, completely bypassing any movie theater ... and made a boatload of money in the process. The initial premise for doing this was based on the shuttering of theaters due to the COVID-19 crisis, but this might be a new trend for the studios, while threatening the very existence of large theater venues.
This is certainly good news for us as we are in the business of selling home theater equipment but, could it be the beginning of the end for AMC, Regal and other large venues? I am not such a fan of the monolithic arenas housing several hundred people at a time to view the latest and greatest movie release, someone is always using their phone, unwrapping that candy bar or talking during the viewing.  The loss of this would not bother me, but I would worry about the small independent theaters that might be hit hard by this new trend. Guess we will have to see where this part of the "new normal" take us.

[AVSMike]

I do not go to commercial theaters very much. Sometimes the wife and I would go, just for a date out of the house. It drives me crazy, when someone near us, gets their phone out. I usually glare at them and if that does not work, ask them to put their phone away. 

[David Vaughn]

I do not go to commercial theaters very much. Sometimes the wife and I would go, just for a date out of the house. It drives me crazy, when someone near us, gets their phone out. I usually glare at them and if that does not work, ask them to put their phone away.

I bring a squirt gun....they can't see where the water is coming from when the theater is blacked out

[AVSCraig]

AMC Theaters says it will no longer screen films made by Universal Pictures — a serious escalation of a dispute over the merits of releasing movies in theaters before allowing the public to watch them online.

AMC CEO Adam Aron announced the ban in a letter to Universal chairman Donna Langley on Tuesday, telling her that the decision was triggered by a quote NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell gave to the Wall Street Journal about the blockbuster digital success of "Trolls World Tour."

Pretty serious escalation. I don't particularly want to see movie theaters go out of business though, even though I don't go to them. 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/28/media/trolls-world-tour-universal-amc/index.html

[TRainH2O]

I don't go to commercial theaters mainly for the reasons mentioned. On top of that, it's a 40 mile drive to the closest one that's reasonably up to date as far as AV presentation goes. Add in the cost of tickets and snacks and you can see why I much prefer to stay home and watch it in my theater.

[David Vaughn]

I don't go to commercial theaters mainly for the reasons mentioned. On top of that, it's a 40 mile drive to the closest one that's reasonably up to date as far as AV presentation goes. Add in the cost of tickets and snacks and you can see why I much prefer to stay home and watch it in my theater.

Admit it Tracy...you hate people !

[Barry]

I go to movie theatres all the time. I really enjoyed seeing a huge screen and great sound. So I don’t go to the little theatres I go to the big ones. Coincidentally AMC just opened up a nice theatre 9/10 of a mile from my house! I was so excited that I was going to see a lot of new movies. I did see one, Star Wars, and then the theatre has Due to the current pandemic. So I haven’t seen the black widow, wonder woman and a host of other movies. Our reality though is that movie theatres have changed over the years. In my world truly have the movie theatres that existed 25 years ago are gone. And the smaller movies, meaning the ones without super heroes or spaceships, seem now to be made more for streaming them for theatres. When I was a kid we saw lots more movies in the theatresSuch as the miracle worker, and the bird man of Alcatraz. If those Movies were made today they would be on Netflix or Hulu. And more people would see them. Big stars do not hesitate anymore to go onto streaming services. The world has certainly changed.

[AVSCraig]

I go to movie theatres all the time. I really enjoyed seeing a huge screen and great sound. So I don’t go to the little theatres I go to the big ones. Coincidentally AMC just opened up a nice theatre 9/10 of a mile from my house! I was so excited that I was going to see a lot of new movies. I did see one, Star Wars, and then the theatre has Due to the current pandemic. So I haven’t seen the black widow, wonder woman and a host of other movies. Our reality though is that movie theatres have changed over the years. In my world truly have the movie theatres that existed 25 years ago are gone. And the smaller movies, meaning the ones without super heroes or spaceships, seem now to be made more for streaming them for theatres. When I was a kid we saw lots more movies in the theatresSuch as the miracle worker, and the bird man of Alcatraz. If those Movies were made today they would be on Netflix or Hulu. And more people would see them. Big stars do not hesitate anymore to go onto streaming services. The world has certainly changed.

Movies like " Ladybird ", " Little Women ", and other similar films, did fine in theaters. Plus, " Rocket Man ", " Bohemian Rhapsody ",  " A Star Is Born " or " Greatest Showman " certainly are a better experience for most people in a commercial theater. Most people have a 65" max TV and a sound bar. Not many have home theaters like we do. So I certainly hope theaters survive - for other folks, even if I don't go.  

[Paul Heroy]

I enjoy occasionally going to theaters for "blockbuster" type movies with some friends. It's a fun social experience, and even though people have oohed and aahed over my home theater setup I can rarely pull off having a group movie night with it. (Partly b/c it's not isolated from the house - it's a "living room" theater so my wife has to either be involved or sign off on a noisy 2-3 hours on the other side of the MBR wall. But I digress.) 

There's something to having a shared experience and losing theaters would be just one more loss in that area of modern life - I hope it doesn't come to this. 

[tripplej]

I only go to theaters for a huge blockbuster type of movie that has plenty of action and/or great cinematography. Otherwise, I watch everything at home.

Will not miss the theaters to be honest thou..

[AVSCraig]

I enjoy occasionally going to theaters for "blockbuster" type movies with some friends. It's a fun social experience, and even though people have oohed and aahed over my home theater setup I can rarely pull off having a group movie night with it. (Partly b/c it's not isolated from the house - it's a "living room" theater so my wife has to either be involved or sign off on a noisy 2-3 hours on the other side of the MBR wall. But I digress.)

There's something to having a shared experience and losing theaters would be just one more loss in that area of modern life - I hope it doesn't come to this.

Since I can seat 7 - 8 people in my theater, and it's in a room over the garage ( so it doesn't disturb the wife if she doesn't want to join us ), I frequently have friends that come watch blockbusters when I get it on 4K Blu-ray even if they saw it in the theater. And they always say it looks and sounds better in my theater. They better keep putting out movies on 4K disc - that's all I'll say.

[Paul Heroy]

As for crowds in commercial theaters... for me, unfortunately they are not as bad as my wife. At home she makes herself at home. Cell phone out, yelling at dog, talking over lines etc. I need one of those theater etiquette blurbs to roll before movies!

Everyone's got their own situation, obviously. Saw an article about recent polling showing that a big majority of movie goers prefer the theater. Of course that's maybe a skewed group of people who do go, while the demographic here is skewed with people having projection systems that most people don't have in their home.