At the Movies

I love movies.  I always have and probably always will.  While I have always watched movies, the way I watch them has changed dramatically.

It used to be there were really just two ways to see a movie, catch it when it first ran in the theater or wait for it to be replayed on TV (if it wasn't too racy or violent) often years later.  My kids will never understand the importance of seeing a movie in the theater during its run, because you might never see it again if you didn't.  My kids, who are now adults, will never understand the way the annual broadcast of movies like The Wizard of Oz became an important community event.

These days, I am considered old fashioned because I still get movies delivered in little red envelopes.  In addition, I can stream movies any time I want on my TV, iPad or phone (does anyone REALLY watch a whole movie on their phone?)  I still go to the movie theater, but less than I used to.

When you think about it, the way movies are distributed has changed dramatically, but movie theaters, by and large, are still operating on the same model.  You wait in line to buy your ticket to the movie, wait in line again to by an obscenely large cup of soft drink and tub of popcorn, stumble into a theater that is already dark because they are showing advertisements, hope to find a seat that isn't broken or too sticky or trashed, hope that the person sitting next to you or behind you will remember they are in a theater and not their living room, and that the person on the other side of you will eventually let you share the arm rest.  And that's all before the previews.

Why would anyone continue to go to the theater when for the cost of two tickets and popcorn you can get unlimited movies for a month in the comfort of your home?  In the December issue of Fast Company, they profile several movie theater operators who are trying to answer that very question.

Their solutions are creative and diverse.  Some are looking to make going to the theater a more social experience.  They do this by locating theaters near where young professionals work, adding bars and creating reasons for people of like interests to gather at the theater before and after the film.  Others are doing it by increasing the luxury of the movie going experience with leather seats and food delivered to your seat or by improving the sound systems in the theater (George Lucas says audio is 50% of the theater experience).  One theater owner is offering monthly subscriptions that allow patrons to see one movie a day, and they are seeing their daytime and midweek business grow significantly.  Others are addressing the issue by looking at what is on the screen.  By offering smaller films targeted to specific demographic groups or other types of theater experiences such as live simulcasts of concerts, operas and sporting events, these theater operators are attracting new and more diverse crowds.

As Hamid Hashemi, Founder and CEO of iPic Entertainment says, "It used to be a year before movies made it to DVD.  Soon, you'll be able to see a movie on the big screen, iPad, iPhone, and TV on the same day, around the world.  It's the evolution of the business.  But that doesn't mean the theaters are going to go out of business.  They're just going to have to be more experimental.  This is just the start."

See you AT the movies!