I love going to the movies; it's the one thing I miss doing since my daughter was born. My wife and I used to literally go to the movies every week. Sometimes twice a week. Sometimes twice in one day (my favorite 'double feature' was The Simpsons Movie followed by Rescue Dawn. They're fairly different genres). We kept count one year of how many movies we saw in the theater. That number came out to 48. Then we estimated the amount of money we probably spent going to the theater forty eight times. I forgot that number. I'm kind of glad I did.
But since out daughter was born last year we've only gone a handful of times. Twice we went to the drive-in, but I didn't really like that. It wasn't the same. But we had planned for not going out and we took action. We already had a decent sized flat screen, a blu-ray player and a Netflix subscription (with streaming!). Our seating was lacking, so we bought a new couch. I shopped around and got a mid-level Sony surround system on sale. So I was ready. And it's worked out well enough, but I still miss going to the theater.
I'm not sure why though. Logically, going to the theater holds no real advantage over staying at home. I guess you don't see the movies right away (well, I'm sure if I was a more nefarious person who believed in stealing things I could), but with the quick turn around to blu-ray I only have to wait a handful of months (quick side note: I remember when I was younger it took about a year for movies to come to video. Kids today have it super easy....End quick note). So besides seeing the movie sooner, you can't point to anything and say "This is why you should go to the theater!"
First off, staying home is so much cheaper than going to the theater that it's almost laughable. Tickets, popcorn, a drink and babysitter payment equals close to (if not over) $60 for a first run movie. Monthly Netflix subscription, microwaved popcorn, a bottle of Coke (or maybe a more adult beverage if I have a bottle handy), and no babysitter is much less expensive. So financially it makes little sense to go out.
Secondly, the people at theaters are awful. Not just the kids who work there, but the actual 'adult' audience. If it's not the conversation, it's the playing on the cell phone. Or it's the constantly getting up. Or the Mystery Science Theater-style comments. Or any number of annoying things. At home there are only two people and one dog that can distract me. And if that happens I can pause, rewind and re-watch. I doubt the sixteen year old running the projector is going to play back that last part for me because the guy behind me is asking his BFF what they're doing later. So enjoyment wise it makes little sense to got out.
And thirdly, it's not like the theaters around Indianapolis are amazing. Unless you're in one of the 'Digital Theaters' (of which one theater has one and the other has two) the sound isn't super great and the picture isn't either. I've re-watched some movies on my set up at home (which isn't high end) and both picture and sound are superior. Even the IMAX screen at the theater down the street is just a big screen with the word 'IMAX' slapped on the door. Oh, but they'll charge me as if that screen is curved. So quality wise it makes more sense to stay at home.
And yet, I love going to the movie theater. There is absolutely no reason for me to, but I do. Other people, who are much smarter than I am, like to point out that humans are social by nature, and sitting in the theater sharing an 'experience' with other people is what we enjoy. I have to disagree with that. For starters, I'm not that 'social' of a person. Secondly, I'm only sharing a basic 'experience' with these people, and that experience is that we're in the same theater. Film, like all art, is subjective. So we all experience it differently. Take the movie Starship Troopers: when I'm watching it I see a satire; a comedy. The guy next to me might see it as the most INSANE action movie ever! Can it be both? Sure, but we're not having a shared experience. We're having separate experiences while siting in the same place.
My wife told me she enjoys going to the theater because for her, there are no distractions. She can turn her phone off (well, at least she did before the baby was born and we left her with a sitter because you never know when the sitter could call) and just sit back and watch a movie. I guess I can see that. As long as the guy in front of me takes his stupid hat off.
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