It’ll be really interesting to see how commercial theaters ultimately transform with all the digital stuff out there. I don’t buy the view that home theaters will kill movie theaters. I see the former as more of a catalyst. Sort of like what happened decades ago with the advent of TV.
The big thing right now it’s doing is giving them a revenue stream other than Hollywood releases. Sure so far they aren’t terribly exciting but it’s a new thing and excitement costs money. If these cheap ones succeed they’ll get more money for bigger events. And actually U2 was a big event, I hate the band but they’re very popular.
The smart money is the Super Bowl. The NFL can be a pain to work with but if they can make the NFL happy that’s a serious cash cow.
And then of course there is the eventual possibility of ending prints. Prints are on the way out already, even non-satellite hooked up digital screens don’t get prints, but the satellite thing could be really hastening it. Film can are going to join filmstrip on the ash heap of history.