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>“People really do want to go more often,” Lowe said. “They just don’t like the transaction.” It's true. I've been a avid movie goer since I was a young kid. I

>“People really do want to go more often,” Lowe said. “They just don’t like the transaction.” It's true. I've been a avid movie goer since I was a young kid. It's the whole experience. I love seeing new movies on big screens, I like the familiarity of movie theaters (pick any theater anywhere and you know exactly how the process will go start to finish), and I like having a reason to leave the house and "do something" without having to make an elaborate plan. The biggest hurdle preventing me from going multiple times per week is the cost of the ticket + concessions (its part of the experience!). I hope this works out in the long run, I just signed up and hope the price point will stick.

ansible 9y ago
The biggest hurdle preventing me from going multiple times per week is the cost of the ticket + concessions (its part of the experience!). We have a 2nd run movie theater near where I live. The cost of tickets is $2.50 USD, and the concessions are about the same as first-run theaters (maybe a bit less). The seats are nice, though not the full electric recliners that some theaters have nearby. So if I can wait to go see a movie (and I usually can) that's a much less expensive option. Even so, I end up going just a few times per year.
- te_chris 9y ago
  Electric recliners?! America never ceases to surprise me.
  - ceejayoz 9y ago
    They're quite nice. https://amc-theatres-res.cloudinary.com/image/upload/v1495720738/amc-cdn/general/img/AMC_Recliner_0961.png https://amc-theatres-res.cloudinary.com/image/upload/v149572... Electric so you can pick a specific level of recline, instead of just having a spring-loaded chair with only one option.
    - bmelton 9y ago
      Which is worth having, since I've learned the hard way that drinking a movie-large soda while fully reclined is a risky proposition.
  - 11thEarlOfMar 9y ago
    Yeah, it's a thing and it's totally great. La-z-boys, reserved seats, same price.
  - inetsee 9y ago
    Two of the big theaters where I live have installed the new electric recliner seats. They are not as comfortable as the seats they replaced. In fact, in one theater the new seats are so uncomfortable that we've stopped going to that theater altogether.
  - tyingq 9y ago
    With wait staff, food, alcohol, and table service too.
  - noonespecial 9y ago
    Just wait. Once self-driving systems arrive in earnest, we're going full Wall-E. It will all be delivered, thanks to medicare, (as the old lady rasps in the obnoxious Rascal commercial) "right to my door at no cost to me".
    - JoeAltmaier 9y ago
      In agriculture, self-driving has been around and deployed for a decade. John Deere has 80 million acres under automated cultivation, growing at an incredible rate yearly. Want to talk about self-driving, the ag sector is way ahead of the game.
      - rtkwe 9y ago
        The world and environment for a self driving tractor is so simple compared to any street in the world though. They can rely heavily on GPS for starters and the environment/fields are practically blank slates with no other vehicles to really contend with. It'd be surprising if they weren't ahead of the game considering all the advantages to navigating a wide open field with excellent GPS availability.
        LyndsySimon 9y ago
        Not quite - a failure in automation for a tractor is measured in inches. If you end up driving over crops instead of between them for a pass, the farmer is likely out thousands of dollars. On the highway, at least the obstacles are as big as cars and people. In a field, the obstacles can be a planted row that wasn't even sprouted above the ground yet.
        JoeAltmaier 9y ago
        Further, they have other more complex constraints. "Swath control" means continuously adjusting the implement when crossing over already-treated ground (modulating spray nozzles etc to avoid double-treating). Also there are many obstacles in a field -waterways, the occasional tree or post, fences etc. All has to be mapped and accounted for.
  - dceddia 9y ago
    Yep. Most of the theaters near me have gone to this model. I say "model" because it's not just the cushy electric reclining seats: it is also reserved seats. When you buy your ticket, you have to choose a seat, just like a concert. There are some advantages to this: you can show up 30 seconds before showtime and you know you will have a seat. You can wait in line at the concession stand without fear of having to sit in the front row. (arguably very good for the movie theater, too) But there are unfortunate side effects: you can't just show up 30 minutes early to a new release and be pretty sure to get a good seat. "Let's go see a movie tonight" isn't really an option when every good seat is already reserved 2 days in advance for the more popular ones. You're basically forced into buying the tickets online, which means paying the inevitable convenience fee. And like others have said, the seats aren't that comfortable. They remind me of airplane seats, where the headrest sticks out too far and makes it impossible to lean backward comfortably.
  - brianwawok 9y ago
    There has to be a reason to go to the theater, right? Most of us have 60-70 inch TVs, comfy couches, free snacks, surround sound. If you can't at least MATCH what I have at home, why am I paying $20-$30 to drive to someplace to watch a movie?
- intopieces 9y ago
  The rise of digital cinema has made second run theaters a real value. I worked at a second run theater in high school and the prints we got where often very worn and drew lots of complaints. Now they are just on hard drives.
jeffmould 9y ago
Completely agree. I used to live in Florida and we had a drive-in movie theater about a mile from my house. Although it didn't have the "comforts" of an indoor movie theater, the biggest selling point was they showed two new release movies for the much less than the price of a regular ticket. The concession prices were fairly priced, but even better was you could arrive early, bring a cooler, set-up a small grill and make your own food. For sound, you tuned your radio to a channel and could listen in your car. The place was always packed. I found myself going to the movies much more. I moved from there 10 years ago and can count on one hand the number of movies I have seen in a theater. Cost definitely plays a key role in my decision to not go. http://www.silvermoondrivein.com/ http://www.silvermoondrivein.com/
nstoeu98nts 9y ago
> The biggest hurdle preventing me from going multiple times per week is the cost of the ticket + concessions For me, the biggest hurdle is that the nearest theatre is one of the ones that shows absolutely awful ads for 30 minutes straight before the trailers. They have some company that produces an Entertainment Tonight-like show where they talk about upcoming films (possibly relevant, but not usually), and mostly show ads for video games, Coca Cola, and cars. They're super loud, super repetitive, and super annoying. The theater is otherwise nice, but the ads are so obnoxious that I go out of my way to avoid it. Some shows you can get assigned seats, which makes showing up at the last minute feasible, but for some reason, not all of their screenings allow that.
Sohcahtoa82 9y ago
> “People really do want to go more often,” Lowe said. “They just don’t like the transaction.” The transaction would be fine if the website would fuck right off with their fees. It's bullshit to sell a ticket for $11, but then tack on a $3 "convenience" fee. Also, the Costcos around me sell tickets to Cinetopia, a local theater chain that does reserved seating so you don't have to get to theater early to get a nice seat, but the tickets can't be used for online purchases.

ansible 9y ago

The biggest hurdle preventing me from going multiple times per week is the cost of the ticket + concessions (its part of the experience!). We have a 2nd run movie theater near where I live. The cost of tickets is $2.50 USD, and the concessions are about the same as first-run theaters (maybe a bit less). The seats are nice, though not the full electric recliners that some theaters have nearby. So if I can wait to go see a movie (and I usually can) that's a much less expensive option. Even so, I end up going just a few times per year.

te_chris 9y ago
Electric recliners?! America never ceases to surprise me.
- ceejayoz 9y ago
  They're quite nice. https://amc-theatres-res.cloudinary.com/image/upload/v1495720738/amc-cdn/general/img/AMC_Recliner_0961.png https://amc-theatres-res.cloudinary.com/image/upload/v149572... Electric so you can pick a specific level of recline, instead of just having a spring-loaded chair with only one option.
  - bmelton 9y ago
    Which is worth having, since I've learned the hard way that drinking a movie-large soda while fully reclined is a risky proposition.
- 11thEarlOfMar 9y ago
  Yeah, it's a thing and it's totally great. La-z-boys, reserved seats, same price.
- inetsee 9y ago
  Two of the big theaters where I live have installed the new electric recliner seats. They are not as comfortable as the seats they replaced. In fact, in one theater the new seats are so uncomfortable that we've stopped going to that theater altogether.
- tyingq 9y ago
  With wait staff, food, alcohol, and table service too.
- noonespecial 9y ago
  Just wait. Once self-driving systems arrive in earnest, we're going full Wall-E. It will all be delivered, thanks to medicare, (as the old lady rasps in the obnoxious Rascal commercial) "right to my door at no cost to me".
  - JoeAltmaier 9y ago
    In agriculture, self-driving has been around and deployed for a decade. John Deere has 80 million acres under automated cultivation, growing at an incredible rate yearly. Want to talk about self-driving, the ag sector is way ahead of the game.
    - rtkwe 9y ago
      The world and environment for a self driving tractor is so simple compared to any street in the world though. They can rely heavily on GPS for starters and the environment/fields are practically blank slates with no other vehicles to really contend with. It'd be surprising if they weren't ahead of the game considering all the advantages to navigating a wide open field with excellent GPS availability.
      - LyndsySimon 9y ago
        Not quite - a failure in automation for a tractor is measured in inches. If you end up driving over crops instead of between them for a pass, the farmer is likely out thousands of dollars. On the highway, at least the obstacles are as big as cars and people. In a field, the obstacles can be a planted row that wasn't even sprouted above the ground yet.
        JoeAltmaier 9y ago
        Further, they have other more complex constraints. "Swath control" means continuously adjusting the implement when crossing over already-treated ground (modulating spray nozzles etc to avoid double-treating). Also there are many obstacles in a field -waterways, the occasional tree or post, fences etc. All has to be mapped and accounted for.
- dceddia 9y ago
  Yep. Most of the theaters near me have gone to this model. I say "model" because it's not just the cushy electric reclining seats: it is also reserved seats. When you buy your ticket, you have to choose a seat, just like a concert. There are some advantages to this: you can show up 30 seconds before showtime and you know you will have a seat. You can wait in line at the concession stand without fear of having to sit in the front row. (arguably very good for the movie theater, too) But there are unfortunate side effects: you can't just show up 30 minutes early to a new release and be pretty sure to get a good seat. "Let's go see a movie tonight" isn't really an option when every good seat is already reserved 2 days in advance for the more popular ones. You're basically forced into buying the tickets online, which means paying the inevitable convenience fee. And like others have said, the seats aren't that comfortable. They remind me of airplane seats, where the headrest sticks out too far and makes it impossible to lean backward comfortably.
- brianwawok 9y ago
  There has to be a reason to go to the theater, right? Most of us have 60-70 inch TVs, comfy couches, free snacks, surround sound. If you can't at least MATCH what I have at home, why am I paying $20-$30 to drive to someplace to watch a movie?
intopieces 9y ago
The rise of digital cinema has made second run theaters a real value. I worked at a second run theater in high school and the prints we got where often very worn and drew lots of complaints. Now they are just on hard drives.

jeffmould 9y ago

Completely agree. I used to live in Florida and we had a drive-in movie theater about a mile from my house. Although it didn't have the "comforts" of an indoor movie theater, the biggest selling point was they showed two new release movies for the much less than the price of a regular ticket. The concession prices were fairly priced, but even better was you could arrive early, bring a cooler, set-up a small grill and make your own food. For sound, you tuned your radio to a channel and could listen in your car. The place was always packed. I found myself going to the movies much more. I moved from there 10 years ago and can count on one hand the number of movies I have seen in a theater. Cost definitely plays a key role in my decision to not go. http://www.silvermoondrivein.com/ http://www.silvermoondrivein.com/

nstoeu98nts 9y ago

> The biggest hurdle preventing me from going multiple times per week is the cost of the ticket + concessions For me, the biggest hurdle is that the nearest theatre is one of the ones that shows absolutely awful ads for 30 minutes straight before the trailers. They have some company that produces an Entertainment Tonight-like show where they talk about upcoming films (possibly relevant, but not usually), and mostly show ads for video games, Coca Cola, and cars. They're super loud, super repetitive, and super annoying. The theater is otherwise nice, but the ads are so obnoxious that I go out of my way to avoid it. Some shows you can get assigned seats, which makes showing up at the last minute feasible, but for some reason, not all of their screenings allow that.

Sohcahtoa82 9y ago

> “People really do want to go more often,” Lowe said. “They just don’t like the transaction.” The transaction would be fine if the website would fuck right off with their fees. It's bullshit to sell a ticket for $11, but then tack on a $3 "convenience" fee. Also, the Costcos around me sell tickets to Cinetopia, a local theater chain that does reserved seating so you don't have to get to theater early to get a nice seat, but the tickets can't be used for online purchases.