"Its like theatre but for films, everyone buys a ticket and then you play a film on a really big screen and you watch it with a few friends and lots of strangers, we think we can get exclusives for a few months before they go to streaming"

Do you think anyone would be interested? Discuss.

* Smaller screens

* Comfier seats

* Higher quality snacks

* Plus beers, cocktails, small appertiser type meals (e.g. sliders or similar)

* Films known to have cinematic/spectacular appeal from any time rather than just the latest releases.

* 'The Room' playing once a month

I would absolutely pay current cinema prices, plus food + drink for an afternoon of comfort and films that I otherwise wouldn't see, in the atmosphere they were meant for. I guess it brings it closer to theatre in that sense as you tend to have a better idea of what you're seeing, whether people like it, whether you already like it and whether it's going to be worth your time/money.

Obviously the fact that so few other people were there is not great for the theatre, but it was a really enjoyable experience.

Not to mention it set up something of a feedback loop—I’d see trailers for upcoming films that I would then go back to see. I don’t really see ads for films at home, so even though cinemas reopened some time ago I hadn’t thought to go until recently (well, that and the fact that it’s probably a hot-bed for infection).

The cinemas in Singapore have both fold-down seats and recliners, and the premium halls with recliners cost 3x more.

What I'd love to see would be group-buys at local theaters, with the entire catalog of film at pre-negotiated prices.

The culture of cinema appreciation and improved experience that they’re fostering is such a significant improvement over the sterile feel of Regal or AMC-type cinemas that I will always favor The Drafthouse over them whenever I can.

They have my strongest recommendation.

There’s a lot of little touches that really make a difference. As you wait in the theater for the show to start they play purpose-made 30 minute pre-rolls that relate to the film you’re about to watch. These can include videos that flesh-out or explain the lore of the story you’re about to watch, funny Youtube clips of home-made skits based around the film’s IP, or bizarre film-nerd deep cuts that you would never see unless you know the type of person who collects them (Turkish Spiderman comes to mind).

All of this replaces the teeth-grindingly irritating commercial reels that play in most theaters while you wait. The kind with shitty purpose-made “Hollywood Insider” trivia clips, or “unscramble the celebrity name” quizzes. The difference that it makes to not have to endure these while you wait for the movie is significantly more enjoyable.

All of the theaters in CA/WA that I've been too in the last 5-10 years fit your description with the exception of the last two points (I avoid theaters without #4). There's nothing like a Pixar movie in theaters with a pitcher of Imperial Stout and surf-and-turf dinner.

For example Rerun the wire or the sopranos one episode a week

AirBnB for home cinemas would be awesome if it existed though!

It is about $3000 per rental.

https://www.redcarpethomecinema.com/

What major movie studio isn't connected to a streaming company? Sony owns or co-owns several. Universal has common ownership with Peacock. Disney obviously has Disney+, also Hulu. Warner is part of AT&T, so is tied to HBO Max by ownership. Paramount is tied to CBS All Access (soon to be rebranded as Paramount+). 20th Century is now a Disney brand. Lionsgate has Starz streaming. etc., etc., etc.

Calibrated TVs and home projectors have had better potential quality than movie theaters for a long time.

Seeing an awful film in a cinema is a hard experience to describe and/or replicate, for example.

I can make coffee or cook food at home, why would I go some place and pay to do the same thing in a crowd?

The reason is because these businesses are able to deliver a better product than most of us have access to at home. There is also a huge communal and social aspect to doing these together in public rather than alone or in very small groups at home.

Restaurants are more comparable, I suppose, but cooking a restaurant quality meal takes time, effort, and skill, turning on Netflix doesn't. You're right about the social aspects, though it's often a downside as much as an upside.

If Odeon or anyone can muster up the cash, which they probably can't, picking up the Picturehouse chain would be seriously marvellous.

Now it says "considering" and "temporarily".

Hmm

Even in a pre-coronavirus parallel universe, it was a move that looked hugely risky for a company carrying a mountain of debt after its £2.7bn purchase of Regal Cinemas in the US just a year earlier.

Greidinger, it is fair to say, has not been shy about using leverage to expand. The takeover of Regal left it with debts of £2.3bn and £2.8bn of lease commitments. Yet here he was proposing to take on another £1.7bn of loans so it could gatecrash the Canadian market.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/cineworld-takeover-cineplex...

I tried to get it to be exactly like the movie cinemas I grew up in right before the multiplex and megaplex trend took off.

I've always loved movie theatres. I've always wanted to own several real ones, but even though it's what my heart wants, my brain always wins. The economics are tough, the barrier to entry is high, and Cineplex is a ruthless cutthroat competitor.

I was a big fan of Famous Players but always found Cineplex (Canada) to be an extraction business which runs its locations into the ground. That's exactly what they've done to Famous Players.

Landmark Cinemas (Kinepolis) is our second biggest chain, but small compared to Cineplex. They have a young CEO and corporate team and they seem to be giving Cineplex a run for their money.

I won't shed a tear if Cineplex falters and needs to be broken up or shed locations. I'm just hoping that it lowers the barrier to entry so some young entrepreneurs can take a stab innovating in this industry and moving it forward.

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/16613

https://planetradio.co.uk/borders/local/news/jurors-at-the-m...

https://www.societyofeditors.org/soe_news/uk-trials-conducte...

[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-52813604

Whether they can pay their operational debt (rent, utilities & property taxes mostly, since they won't be paying employees or suppliers) would depend on their cash balance. Eight months into this, and their cash has got to be running pretty low.

[0] I for one will not. I wasn't happy with the megaplex movie-going experience anyway, and there isn't an Alamo Drafthouse in Charlotte.

IMO this is a major social shift, not a temporary distraction from business as usual.

You don’t get the all-day money making you do with a cinema (though plenty of daytime screenings are very empty) but you can serve booze and proper food, so there’s a middle ground of profit to be had, I suppose.

This isn't snark - it's literally the new normal in many sectors.

It would be different if they could resell the property, but in a market where no one is buying, it's a different story.

So now many towns and cities will have no nearby cinema.

But TBH cinema has become a bit of an ordeal. It's such a weird experience - simultaneously sterile and massively overhyped in almost every possible way.

I'd started enjoying theatre more because that has a real magic - possibly because clever physical stage effects and real people acting in front of you engage the imagination in a way a projection can't.

But that's not any more likely to survive this than cinemas are. Although low budget theatre productions are more likely to restart more quickly because they only really need a large empty room, some lighting, and some props.

Maybe its time to lower the curtain on the old theatre model of media.

The theatre experience never held a lot of allure for me in the first place and while it definitely improved with the transition to stadium seating and digital projectors the home experience has improved exponentially in both the quality of viewing experience and the ease of obtaining content.

https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/#tab=year

Oh that's right - the debt black hole that everyone must find ways to keep feeding, lest they be devoured themselves. Wouldn't it be nice if our economy allowed businesses to graciously survive a shutdown?

I've lived in multiple cities where the movie theater wasn't just about watching movies. The racial makeup of my area is overwhelmingly white, but when I go to movies easily half the people in the theater are people of color. It's a constructive way for teenagers and younger people to spend their time and hang out, particularly if they come from poorer neighborhoods with limited options, or they have many siblings at home and they need a reprieve.

With the theaters, schools and other obvious young-person activities closed, petty crime where I live is way up, mostly being committed by young people of color. I can't say I'm surprised - without constructive things to do the young people will still find amusement. Young affluent teenagers have video games and entire basements to play them in. Poorer kids don't have those options.

Personally, I wish there'd be less glee over this and other closures. I was never a fan of the term "privilege" - but rich white tech people really do need a lesson in empathy.

in other words, it's no time to die.

(ducks)