Cinemas are seducing movie-lovers with gourmet food and booze

The New York Post ^ | September 8, 2017 | Gregory E. Miller

[2ndDivisionVet]

All the Raisinets in the world aren’t enough to sugarcoat this fact: In recent months, the Hollywood box office has been a disaster. In terms of attendance, Tinseltown just wrapped up its worst summer at the box office in nearly a quarter-century.

That means theaters now have to fight harder than ever to get butts in seats. “For a very long time, movie theaters were not overly focused on pleasing the consumer,” says Eric Handler, a media analyst at MKM Partners.

But in recent years, he says, theater owners have wised up to a novel idea: making the theater experience enjoyable beyond the screen.

First it was comfier seats, and now it’s all about tossing aside the stale popcorn for mouthwatering gourmet options. “Movie theaters are really stepping up to distinguish themselves from each other,” says Daniel Loria, editorial director of BoxOffice Media. “Every theater is building its identity.”

New boutique-style venues are offering everything from dine-in table service to full bars. That competition’s a good thing, says Loria, and it hints at a sustainable future. “So many theaters wouldn’t be opening if there were heavy clouds in the forecast,” he says....

[Nifster]

I have seen movies at the local Movie Tavern. Movie is only twelve. Food is very good and reasonably priced. Chairs are very comfortable. No kids seem to be there.

I like em. I don’t see
Every movie there but it’s fun on a sunday afternoon

[a fool in paradise]

>>News production has been democratized, so may movie production. It’s already started on a smaller scale through tiny YouTube productions and even series. If tiny independents can attain (at least close to) professional production values, the sky’s the limit.

It’s getting there. Kung Fury was crowdsourced and then released free to Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PwtSA1aKG4

Robert Downey Sr. challenged a filmmaker who asked him where the new underground is to shift from shooting interviews to making movies. The technology is there. In your phone and in your laptop. The distribution channel is there online (and you can set a pay-per-view option on Youtube).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZnVfKmuqk0

[bgill]

I haven’t been to a movie since 2011 and haven’t bought so much as an over priced box of popcorn there since... well, probably 20 years.

[acoulterfan]

Bed bugs love the dark:

http://www.sternenvironmental.com/blog/2017/06/15/bed-bug-problems-are-surfacing-at-movie-theatres/

[Yaelle]

But you still can’t pause it to take a call or go to the bathroom. Sorry.

[Yaelle]

You could have summed it up with your one bingo sentence. Hollywood hates us. Why support them much?

(Though I find myself in some kid movie a few times a year.)

[jonrick46]

At our local theater, a medium popcorn is $7.20 and a medium soft drink is $4.85. That’s $12.05 for the cheap eats. Add state and local sales tax, and that is $13.13. The adult ticket prices are $11.50 and with the added tax, $12.54. The total price for one adult is $24.59! Hells bells! I have to add shots (and added cost) of my own bourbon to my pop to soften the sticker shock!

A better course of action: a dinner at our neighborhood
McGrath’s Fish House:

6 oz Steak & Coconut Prawns = $19.99

Entrées Include Sourdough Bread, Choice of Garden Salad or Coleslaw and your Choice of: Red Potatoes, Penne Pasta, Rice Pilaf, Sea Salt Fries, Cottage Cheese, Sliced Tomatoes or Baked Potato (after 4:30 p.m.).

Enjoy one of the choices in place of a garden salad:
Clam Chowder or Fishermen’s Stew $0.59

The cost: $19.99 + 1.78 state and local taxes = $21.77
Add 15% tip, $3.26 and that’s $25.03! Then, go home and watch a movie on Netflix which cost $10 a month for HD streaming.

[Grampa Dave]

I have amazon prime and with $5 a month I get a load of Brit mysteries from Acorn, any one of which is more engaging than these overblown comic book movies.

BOL! Sure beats the Aug/Sept reruns of crap, we didn't want to watch when it was new.

We pay $5 per month for the CBS app and can watch any show ever aired by CBS. One of our teenage grand kids od's on The Big Bang Theory and the various NCIS shows. Give him a couple of bags of microwave popcorn and a pitcher of Sun tea, and he is set for the afternoon or evening.

We donate 5$/month for PBS and get a great selection of their shows including new episodes on old favorites and most of the Master piece shows on a limited time but for free. We pay a small amount per month for Prime's concert series.

After the SF Giants end their miserable season, we may dc our Sling & paying extra to get ABC for my wife to watch the Kelly and ? show. It has turned out be a parade of follywooders and the NY stage actors.

The only movie so far this year that we were interested in has been Dunkirk. We will pay a few bucks to Prime to watch it when it leaves the theaters.

We haven't watched an NFL game since the Colon mess.

We stopped watching fake news on ABCNNBCBS decades ago, Faux news last January and the local Faux this January.

I use the conservative internet sites and Free Republic for my news.

Looking forward to basically Amazon Prime with a cafeteria approach to a few channels. Even Sling has a lot of bs channels we never watch and pay for.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/7391927-181/pennsylvania-police-terrified-by-red

Pennsylvania police ‘terrified’ by red ‘It’ balloons tied to sewer grates.

With an estimated $51 million on Friday (including $13.5 million from Thursday night previews) WB and New Line’s release of It has already smashed records and will continue to do so throughout the weekend as it heads to a $100+ million opening.

New Line Cinema’s horror thriller “IT,” is based on the hugely popular Stephen King novel of the same name, which has been terrifying readers for decades. When children begin to disappear in the town of Derry, Maine, a group of young kids are faced with their biggest fears when they square off against an evil clown named Pennywise, whose history of murder and violence dates back centuries.

[bgill]

Or stay home in your comfy jammies with the dog curled at your feet and watch something for pennies.

[jonrick46]

I could imagine the fire codes would be amended with the pocket lining that Hollywood would give officials. Hollywood would maintain that until the secondary effects of pot smoke have been scientifically proven, the fire codes for smoking pot are unconstitutional. The Left uses the constitution for their own benefit. Expect the pot head clowns to be throwing food in the theater.

[IronJack]

Maybe they should try showing movies people want to watch instead of trying to gild a turd.

[Architect of Avalon]

I’m betting that sites like Amazon will start showing currently-in-theaters movies, at a premium price, within a year.

[eyeamok]

If Americans don’t go to the Movies regularly, Hollywood and all the deranged Jesters will not have enough money to finally Destroy this Country and everything it Stands for.

So go see a movie.

[Bigg Red]

In terms of attendance, Tinseltown just wrapped up its worst summer at the box office in nearly a quarter-century.

***
That makes me smile....

[Deplorable American1776]

I would need the booze to get through the crap Hollywood is producing...but I could spend nearly $20 for a family meal at home and a DVD of a good movie...

[Secret Agent Man]

Not with the crap hollyweird is churning out.

[Moonmad27]

I have Roku with Netflix, Britbox, Amazon Prime, Acorn and more. But a film at the Alamo Drafthouse is an EVENT worth paying for.

[Ciexyz]

I’ve had Amazon Prime for five years now. Got it to watch content on my Kindle Fire tablet. Price went up from $66 a year to $99 plus tax, and it will prob go up again for next year. But it’s the only subscription service I pay for and I use it every day. I also watch You Tube.

[oldasrocks]

Next they will be offering bacon sandwiches and Happy Endings.