Ciné Matters

Google

Sunday, January 02, 2005

Cinephiles of the World Unite!

When was the last time you went to the movies and actually saw the film when it was supposed to start? Look, watching a preview of two before a movie starts is one thing. The situation has gotten so bad, though, it's now at least 20 minutes before the movie I go to see actually appears on screen. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of paying nearly $11 for a movie and then having to sit through commercial after commercial even before you get to the half dozen previews (which if we're being technical are also commercials). To add injury to insult, the price of a movie ticket over the last 5 years has gone up an average of 29% while consumer prices over the same period have grown only 13%.

If you're mad as hell and aren't going to take it anymore, check out the web site of the Captive Motion Picture Audience Of America. They're trying to fight for your right to a pristine moviegoing experience.

posted by reelist at 6:33 AM

8 Comments:

  • My boyfriend and I usually just go in 15 minutes late and get seated right before the movie starts.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at January 2, 2005 4:05 PM  

  • I only like it if the commercial is movie related. Trailers and the like. But the things that have nothing to do with movies, I can do without completely.

    By Blogger 1 Blog Given, at January 2, 2005 4:16 PM  

  • We get there early and don't mind the trivia slides they show which also contain a lot of commercials. I don't even mind it too much if they still start the movie (or at least the trailers) at the show time.
    But I agree that ticket prices are so high they sdn't make me pay again w/ commercials.
    But the audience pays to see big dollar movies and they have to pay for those movies somehow.
    BTW, you might enjoy this site - it let's you pool movies/games/etc. w/ your friends/co-workers and coordinates lending: http://www.videoexchange.org
    Great blog!

    By Blogger BMan, at January 2, 2005 4:23 PM  

  • >My boyfriend and I usually just go in 15 minutes late and get seated right before the movie starts.<

    That's fine if you can get away with it. The problem is that most films in my area are so packed you're pretty much limited to the worst seats in the house if you try your tactic. Recent example...my buddy and I decided to see Ocean's 12 at the last minute the other night. We arrived 5 minutes after the scheduled showtime and were relegated to the front row.

    By Blogger reelist, at January 3, 2005 7:19 AM  

  • >But I agree that ticket prices are so high they sdn't make me pay again w/ commercials.
    But the audience pays to see big dollar movies and they have to pay for those movies somehow.<

    I agree that there's no such thing as a free lunch. The problem is that substantial revenue growth for the studios (and the resulting growth in film budgets) has come from the DVD market. Moreover, I'd have less of a problem with the pricing structure if there was an actual correlation between dollars spent of the film and the quality of the film itself.

    >BTW, you might enjoy this site - it let's you pool movies/games/etc. w/ your friends/co-workers and coordinates lending: http://www.videoexchange.org<

    Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check it out. I did a short piece on localized film/book exchanges a few weeks ago, but those sorts of things only work well with you've got a large number of people in a communal space - such as an apartment building or complex. The web based exchange facilitator could be a partial solution for those who don't have such a concentrated living or working arrangement.

    By Blogger reelist, at January 3, 2005 7:26 AM  

  • I agree with you that there are too many commericals, but this is helpful if you're always running late to the movies like I am. I also think that ticket prices are ridiculous though.

    By Blogger Steve Clancy, at January 3, 2005 11:48 AM  

  • Wow, $11? Does that come with free popcorn? I only pay $8!

    By Blogger spydrz, at January 4, 2005 7:49 AM  

  • >Wow, $11? Does that come with free popcorn? I only pay $8!<

    Actually, the price is $10.25. I took a bit of literary license. ;-)

    Your $8, is still nearly $2 above the national average of $6 and change.

    By Blogger reelist, at January 4, 2005 6:17 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home