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Want to know why movie theaters are dying?

Apologies for the step off topic for a bit. I went to the movies last night for the second or third time this year, and I really remembered why I don’t see things at the movie theater anymore.

Gina and I went and saw the Matrix last night. While I don’t think it was as bad as all the critics said, there were definitely some areas that could have been cut or edited differently to make the movie much better.

My favorite part of the entire ‘experience’ was the full 30 minutes of commercials before the movie. They opened with a poignant bit by a stuntman who is getting screwed by people downloading movies from the net, which was met with outright laughter when someone shouted “Hey buddy, we all paid $10 to hear this!”

Last night I paid $20, plus another fiver for a couple of bottles of water, and $8 to park for the privilege of sitting in a theater, listening to the mental giants behind me talk during the movie about how they didn’t get either of the first two Matrix movies. As a free bonus, I got to watch a full half hours worth of ads, including several ads that are regularly on TV, ads for a videogame I played six months ago, and the ad telling paying customers that stealing is wrong.

To contrast, in a few months, I’ll be able to buy the DVD. To me, DVD is increasingly looking like the way to watch movies. The DVD of the Matrix Revolutions will debut at $15, five bucks less than I paid for our tickets alone last night. For that $15, I’ll be able to watch the movie as much as I want. Ads will be completely optional, and I won’t have to pay $5 for a bottle of water.

So, what we have are two conflicting goals with the movie studios and the movie theaters. The theaters are trying to make a buck any way they can. Up until a year or so ago, they were the only way the public can see movies when they’re initially available. They really took advantage of that stranglehold, jacking up ticket prices and gouging for cokes and popcorn. Now, people can download movies from peer-to-peer filesharing apps frequently before they’re even available in theaters.

It says something about your pricing and customer service when a normal consumer would rather spend two or three days futzing around with Kazaa to download a low-quality version of your movie that they’ll watch on a tiny laptop screen instead of just tromping down to their neighborhood theater, isn’t it?

The goal of the movie industry is to make money by making movies. The movie studios understand how this works, they provide a good product at a fair price, and we (the consumers) will pay for it. To me, $15 or even $20 seems to be an extremely fair price for a few hours of high quality video and sound, some extra stuff on the disk (commentaries and extra documentaries are quite entertaining) and no more hassle.

I don’t have to wait in line to watch a DVD at home. I don’t pay exorbitant prices for popcorn and Coke. Most of all, I’m not hassled.

Return of the King is coming out next month you say? I’ll just wait for the DVD.