Movie Theater Attendance Declining - Victory for Home Theaters

It is no secret that movie theater attendance is declining. Where did the decline of a once dominating entertainment venue come from?



1) Social factors eroding theater environment (talking, cell phones, babies crying, etc.).
2) The increase in short term profitability (annoying commercials, no ushers, etc.).
3) Higher quality experience elsewhere (home theater projection screen systems).
4) Declining quality of mainstream movies.
5) Easily available alternative content (Netflix, Blockbuster,Amazon).
6) Rising ticket prices.
7) Cable and Satellite comprehensive programming with movies on demand.
8) Demographics: Aging babyboomers simply go out to movies less.

While content quality has indeed worsened over the years, it shouldn't be the main concern. As of late, there have been several movies which have been either well-reviewed, had good word-of-mouth or had incredible special effects perfectly suited to the big screen (Batman Returns).

So what else might be the source of declining attendance?

The adventure of heading to a cineplex is becoming a less and less pleasant form of entertainment. Consider the advertisements. A recent L.A.Times article -- Now playing: A glut of ads -- points out that even studio executives were stunned by 15 minutes of commercials theater goers had to endure after paying their 10 bucks:

"As head of production at New Line Cinema, Toby Emmerich is not your typical moviegoer. So when he wanted to see "War of the Worlds" the other night, his choice was between seeing the film in a theater with a tub of popcorn or watching it in a screening room at Jim Carrey's house, with a private chef handling the culinary options. Despite this seemingly loaded deck, Emmerich opted for a real theater.

"I love seeing a movie with a big crowd," he says. "But I had no idea how many obnoxious ads I'd have to endure — it really drove me crazy. After sitting through about 15 minutes of ads, I turned to my wife and said, 'Maybe we should've gone to Jim Carrey's house after all.' "

When DreamWorks marketing chief Terry Press took her young twins to see "Robots" this year, she said, "My own children turned to me and said, 'Mommy, there are too many commercials!' Now, when the lights go halfway down, I'm filled with dread. The whole uniqueness of the moviegoing experience is being eroded by all the endless ads."

So while the industry laments piracy, consider if you will why going to the theater has become so much less enjoyable than watching DVD films on your own big screen in the comfort of your home theater.

The theaters have adapted Radio's disasterous approach: Short term increases in profitability in exchange for alienating your core audience, who eventually seek out a more enjoyable substitute. Quite frankly, I'm astonished the film industry has (contractually) allowed theater owners to degrade their copyright protected product by diminishing the experience so dramatically.

The theater chains losses are Home Theater Projector and Screens gain. Is it any surprise that high quality home sound systems and large screen TV sales have gone through a ginormous growth spurt over the past 5 years? Even as the lowest common denominator productions falter, Netflix (and its rivals) allow home theater owners to enjoy DVD content.

Now that the HOME THEATER market is exploding in sales Cineplex owners should take notice. The in home experience of using a front projector and 100" fixed frame screen is the new standard for video entertainment.

Tribal Projection Screens