DVDs vs. Movie Theaters
I'm one of those people who buys tons and tons of movies.....and lately I've been really surprised at how cheap they are getting. Amazon.com is where I get all my movies from and over the past month I've purchased Star Trek, Harry Potter 6, Inglorious Basterds, and The Hangover all on bluray for less than $20/e and some of the new dvds are even cheaper like Terminator 4, HP 6, and Julie and Julia are only $10. What I'm wondering is if dvd's and bluray stay at this low price what are the odds that people will continue to go to the theater at $10 a ticket. I mean if you can purchase one of the biggest movies of the year like Harry Potter on dvd for $10 would you still want to pay $10 to watch it once in theaters? I know that even though I don't want to I still go because I can't wait the 4-5 months it takes for the movie to come out on dvd but what about big families....who who be willing to pay $40 to $50 to watch a movie once vs. paying $10 to own it on dvd or $15-20 to own the bluray.
Five out of the past six years fewer tickets are sold at the box office and I think this trend will continue if the price at the theaters keep going up and the prices for dvds continue to go down. Especially now that more and more people get bigger tvs and better sound systems I think the theaters will continue to take a hit. Offcouse a large number of people will continue to go to theaters for all the big movies like a Harry Potter or a Transformers but I think people will wait for the smaller movies on dvd rather than paying the same price to see it just once.
Let me know which side of the fence you are on this topic. 
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Be careful Lost, there are lots of new options for buying movies in the near future including buying them In SD memory card format. Instead of a mechanical drive you just plug he card into a slot on your computer/tv. Its one of the reason the costs are dropping.
Also with the popularity of Netflix and streaming video it may not be long before you can subscribe to streaming HD. The 4g network of Sprint and Verizon Wireless and Fios may allow for easy access to inexpensive HD movies as well so cable companies and DVD companies may take it in the shorts. I can already download great HD on the Droid phone from Youtube. It wont be long so dont build too big a library yet.
Good Hunting, Craig, your Movie Maniac friend :)
"Don't build too big a library"
Unfortunately it is way too late for that. When Amazon sends my copy of Inglorious Basterds and HP6 I will have 1600 and that doesn't even include any tv shows. I think I could gotten a really cheap car for all the money I've spend on dvds. Maybe a Hundai or a Kia.
I understand, i had a huge vhs library before the switch to dvd, but now I have netflix :)
I understand, i had a huge vhs library before the switch to dvd, but now I have netflix :)
I use netflix also but only for things I know that I want to watch only once like foreign movies or certain tv shows. Look me up on netflix I think my screen name on there is skc087
I use the public library. I know that sounds so antiquated, but it saves me a boat load of money. I rarely buy because I rarely watch something more than once and then in the summer I take a month and get netflix and catch up on the movies the library doesnt typically carry like horror movies.
EET, I use the library too. Currently I've been renting The Wire, which is an amazing series, on DVD and it's free. Also, the libraries are usually quick in ordering new movies. I never buy movies and I've been going to the theater less and less. Though I did just go this weekend to see The Blind Side, which was very enjoyable. I watch more TV shows than I do movies.
This week from the library I rented Angels and Demons, the Ugly Truth, Not Forgotten, Terminator Salvation, Night at the Museum and Pelham. I think thats a pretty good selection of new movies and it didnt cost me a dime :
I've got Netflix and I don't know how I ever lived without it!! I love that I can watch some of the stuff on my computer now. That's how I'm watching all eps of Keeping Up Appearances.
Honestly, if I had the money and the space I would have a huge movie collection - though probably not as large as yours Lost (1600?!!! That's awesome, lol!!) As it is, I have a pretty weak collection. I try to look for previously used DVDs. Sometimes you find pretty good deals. I found a new copy of Boomtown: Season 1 for 4.99 at my supermarket.
Anyway...the question. I love the movie theater experience, but it's so expensive and my schedule is crazy, so DVDs are just more convenient. I only go to the movies just a few times a year. And even then, sometimes it's just if a little arthouse theater is showing an old movie.
I went to Dallas over the summer and they had a art house theater there and it was fantastic. They had Pulp Fiction playing when I was there. I wish they had one like that here in Atlanta. I would love to see older classic on a large screen. I purchased Boomtown Season 1 for $10 a long time ago but haven't watched it yet.....any good? A lot of tv series are getting cheap at Sams. I was there on Monday and they had Season 1 of Friends for only $10 and Seasons 1-3 of 24 for $10 each. Unfortunately I purchased the entire series of Friends and most of the seasons of 24 when they were like $20-30 each.
Yeah Lost, I really like seeing older movies in the theater. I've seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Touch of Evil, A Shot in the Dark (the BEST Pink Panther movie, imo), Night of the Hunter at the local theater. And of course, I take a lot of film classes and they'll show movies on a big screen there - though it's not as big as the screens at the multiplexes. I remember seeing Pulp Fiction when it first came out. I LOVED it! I went to see it twice at the theater, which is pretty rare for me. Those are some good prices for the Friends DVDs! I haven't watched Boomtown yet. I never saw it when it was on the air, but i heard it was good.
Oh another thing about the DVD vs. Theater debate, with DVDs you get all those extras. I really like listening to commentaries. So am I really going to spend $10 to go see a movie in the theater, or am I going to just wait and rent it (or buy it) later on DVD and get all those extras too?
I think you're right Lost, a lot of people are always going to go to the theater for the Big Event movies no matter what. I'm not really a blockbuster movie kind of person, but there are times when I want to have that experience. Like when I saw the trailer to Drag Me to Hell, I knew I had to see it as soon as it came out.
Daisy
I didn't start listning to the commentary tracks until just recently. I kinda ran out of movie that I was interested in so I started watching the one I had already seen many times except this time I listened to the commentaries. I've already gone through Fight Club, King Kong, Terminator 3, Bounre Supremacy, Slumdog Millionaire, 28 Days Later, Panic Room, and Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
I also love extras. I watched Transformers 2 in theaters over the summer and hated it. But when the dvd came out I looked through the extras and started to appreciate the movie because a lot of work went in to it by a lot of people.
I wish they would put the Lord of the Rings back in theaters because I saw them on dvd becuase I thought I would not be interested in them.
My suggestion: Go to the same movie theater as much as you can...try going to the same showing every time and chatting with the people there. It will get you privileges you never imagined. I also suggest that you focus on matinees and check if the theatre has specials for frequent moviegoers. My own theater chain (the one I go to not own, lol) gives specials every week and has booklets of inexpensive tickets. There are films that must be seen in the theater, like the upcoming Avatar. Try these and hopefully save some money, make some good friends and see some really good films.
I go to Regal and last year I purchased a 50 pack of tickets at $6/e and it was $300. I think it was a pretty good deal because I still have about 15 tickets left and they never expire. The only flaw is that you cannot use the tickets for movies that are brand new and they have to be atleast two weeks old.....but there is a way around that.
This past year I think I went to about 20 movies and thats the same amount I went to the previous year but I don't think I will be going to 20 movies in 2010. I know I will see the big ones but I think I will skip some movies like the ones I saw this year like (Surrogates, Extract, Informant, and International).
Right now the only movies I am looking forward to in 2010 are....
District B13 Ultimatum
Inception
Iron Man 2
Robin Hood
Salt
Shutter Island
Toy Story 3