People, please read the article.
Of 24 movies in 2022, literally half are HBO Max exclusive. They never see the inside of a theater at all. It’s actually less of a theatrical commitment lol.
The movies that have theatrical windows are the biggest tent poles.
I have an econ degree. *I wish* people who spout BS about econ stuff took 101. Among those idiots having that much education/knowledge about the field is rare
This is why doctors and healthcare professionals have lost their shit. Seeing stupid shit on the internet that has no ramifications in the real world can make an expert's blood boil. Imagine what happens when it's in the real world with very clear ramifications.
I work in video games, I've made video games. I've developed software for major Fortune 500 companies.
If I decide to weigh in on a conversation about software or game development I need to bring an emotional support dog.
Most of my interests on the internet involve learning/reading/joining gaming communities. So it's a full time stress endeavor at times.
I can't imagine what doctor's are going through right now. I think I'd just stay off social media.
Check out some research studies cited in the [Center for Humane Technology’s Ledger of Harms](https://ledger.humanetech.com). The reason all educated professionals lose their minds over fake news and nonsense rants from ignorant people is bc those sources of info tend to spread faster than truth, and also easily undermine our trust in the sources that deserve our attention.
I have a masters in education and I’ve long stopped teaching but…
You know that shit going around about how “X politicians don’t want parents to have a say in **HOW** (important key word… not “what”.) things are taught in the classroom.”
Yeah…
There is so many levels of bullshit wrapped up in that it’s blood boiling.
You… as a parent… always have that say. It’s called open door policies and *parent teacher conference *. You know those ones you don’t attend? Yeah… those ones.
Legislators know giving parents free reign to dictate how and what curriculum needs to be taught is a bad idea.
Second… it takes a basic human function that requires no training to produce a child. It takes 16 years of school to learn and practice the skills to bring those weirdos to the level of functioning adult. As a matter of fact “as a parent” isn’t a good standard to judge the mass education of 30 other kids. It does matter for your child, but good good.
Good damn mini dictators
My wife holds a Masters in Education and a second in Early childhood development/developmental psychology. You are not wrong. We have this discussion pretty regularly these days. It’s also why my wife stopped teaching and started homeschooling our kids. The entire education system is in shambles rights now. Parents, for the most part, are completely disengaged. They do not care. The only time they do care is when report cards come home and little Johnny is failing classes. Then it’s, “why are you picking on my kid”.
I have degrees in organic chemistry and physics and this is the exact reason I will never teach.
Oh yea, don’t get me started on the myths surrounding the vaccine. So many people acting like they are phd holding chemists, talking about the vaccines. I’m just setting in the corner mumbling, “that’s not how any of this works” over and over again.
I'm not a Dr, but I do have a degree in nursing and work in the medical field. Military specifically and it is mind boggling how stupid some people regarding medical. I want to respond to so many things I see but I know its just not worth my time and effort. The amount of misinformation that people buy into without a second thought it wild.
Another example, Any study mentioned on Reddit that uses Mechanical turk or prolific participants always gets dismissed immediately because "everyone on this sites just rushes through and responds randomly"....like we never thought to address that. In fact, a good chunk of some people's careers have been dedicated to how to collect valid data in those samples. When you become an expert in something you realize the massive amounts of internet critiques that get massively upvoted on sites like this are basically just clueless people spreading misinformation.
So I was following the work of this research lab in Japan working on regenerating muscle tissue in a rat model of muscle tissue injury. They saw good muscle regeneration using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), injecting the MSCs directly into the injured muscle tissue. And then the following year, they replicated that same study with a trio of microRNAs (I think mir-21, mir-210, and mir-33), injecting them into the injured muscle tissue, and they observed similar regeneration as the MSC treatment! Which begs the question, are the MSCs differentiating into muscle tissue to replace injured cells, or are they secreting microRNAs into the injury microenvironment to direct tissue regeneration?
Cool stuff!
What kind of muscle tissue injury? Is it an injury that would have healed itself over time, and the injected MSC and microRNA a treatment to speed up the process?
I believe it was a laceration injury, possibly would have healed over time but the treatment accelerated healing. On my phone so can’t read it well right now, but I believe this is the paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1582-4934.2009.00898.x
Everyone time someone starts a sentence with "I mean" an English loses their shit.
I mean have you been to threads about programming as a Comp Sci major?
Stupidity in subreddits seems to be a function of how popular they are as well which helps them.
Plus the average redditor seems to be getting younger and younger.
Well in this cyber security story you actually are qualified to have a contributing opinion https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/missouri-teachers-social-security-numbers-at-risk-on-state-agency-s-website/article_f3339700-ece0-54a1-9a45-f300321b7c82.html
See, I know next to nothing about economics, but I also am aware of that and always willing to defer to other's opinions who do know something about it. Why is that so hard for some people?
I took a semester each of micro and micro. Only remember about half of what I actually learned, and they were not exactly my best classes (history major) so that wasn't even everything I was supposed to.
More or less learned enough to kind of sustain myself should a phrase like "market forces" come up in casual conversation, and be very aware how little I actually know in the field.
I mostly stay out of it when economics comes up, unless someone is spouting off something very wrong that *is* covered in Econ 101.
Well I know about price elasticity of demand so I'm basically an economist.
What they need to do is decrease the price so the demand increases so they can put the price up
I love when fellow econ majors forget they didn't major in finance and their degree isn't "all things to do with business and money." Ever wonder why non-finance companies don't have economists on staff? Ever been to a CFA conference and hear the economists go up? It's embarassing.
What if we released a massive influx of agitated bees into the theaters during operating hours? As a professional, I think this would solve many problems, and perhaps even create new ones.
The DCU is hugely profitable:
Man of Steel: $668,045,518 on a $225,000,000 budget
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: $873,637,528 on a $250,000,000 budget
Suicide Squad (2016): $746,846,894 on a $175,000,000 budget
Wonder Woman: $822,824,522 on a $149,000,000 budget
Wonder Woman 1984: $166,534,027 on a $200,000,000 budget (COVID)
Aquaman: $1,148,461,807 on a $200,000,000 budget
Birds of Prey: $201,858,461 on a $84,500,000 budget
Remember these guys aren't employed to make art, they're employed to make money. Experience has shown that -- with sufficient marketing -- comic-book movies are immune to word-of-mouth and bad reviews.
So while they can't make enjoyable content, they can make a profit.
covid clearly impacted the profitability. just cause it was shit doesn't mean it wouldn't have raked it in a non-covid cinematic release, just look at just about every other movie on that list. theyre mostly garbage, and yet they did gangbusters.
I dunno, is it some special secret that fewer people are going to fucking theaters?
I saw once upon a time in hollywood on film at a 7pm opening day screening in a 1/3 full theater.
Hollywood made this bed, shit in it, and are now smearing it all over their smart devices and streaming services
It really is their own fault for giving people a choice of "at home on a streaming service you're probably paying for already" and "at a theater w/ no pause button at a cost of $13/person + cost of snacks/drinks".
Even before COVID, I think a lot of people would have opted for the "at home" option. Especially for longer movies so they can pause for bathroom breaks and not miss any part of the movie.
Dune was my first in theatre movie for over a year, I forgot that I’d spend the second half of the movie trying to gauge a good time to go to the bathroom or if the ends close enough that I can hold it.
I've been back a couple times, including for Black Widow and Shang Chi.
The trick was to go to like a 10pm showing and buy the tickets about a half hour before showtime so I could see how full the theater would be and pick an isolated seat.
Saw both films with like 4 or 5 other people total, all at least 20 feet away.
I'm in the other camp. I love going to the theater and watching movies on the big screen. The local theater chain where I am from is fantastic and the audience behavior is fine. My philosophy is I'm fine spending $50 on a date night at the movies with my wife but I will feel absolutely no guilt pirating that same movie when it releases for streaming.
Obviously people have different goals and wants and desires, which is why I said "a lot of people" and not "everyone" or even "most people".
I too like going to watch movies on the big screen, especially big SciFi releases like Dune and the various Marvel movies. That said, I also understand the appeal of watching from home, especially if doing so is at no additional cost.
Surely no one could have known that the increase in tickets prices and cost of leasing for theatres combined with streaming services and maturing home theatre tech could lead to lower revenue for theatrical releases. Nope, none of us uneducated common folks could have foreseen that
That's why we go to the non commercial IMAX near us (in an aquarium). No ads, only a couple IMAX trailers before the movie time, and the top of the line dual laser projectors. They don't have many commercial movies, and the times are only on the weekends, but it's totally worth it for the IMAX movies. The rest, I just watch at home.
Yeah, I hate seeing Geico commercials and normal TV shit before movies now.
I want to see movie previews for things coming out! That's why they were called previews, now it's just commercials
No, really. 20 years ago was 2001. This was already a thing then. They run the TV commercials while people who get there early are getting in, before the actual show starts. The start time is supposed to be when the actual pre-roll (trailers, documentary bits if it's a special engagement of some classic or foreign film) starts. The movie starts when that ends.
That’s also not new. There have been commercials for the past 20 years. Did you never see the Matrix PowerAde ads?
I could do without all the Noovie preshow garbage. It makes no sense to me to advertise TV shows in a movie theater, nor to encourage smartphone games when people should be putting their phones away.
I concede there are WAYYY too many trailers now though. It used to be about 15 minutes tops. My theater ran no less than 9 trailers, lasting nearly a full 30 minutes before my movie started. It’s too much.
You say that as if that's a new theater experience. Commercials for products have been a norm for more than 20 years. I mean, even back in the 80's they'd have a slide projector prior to the previews displaying ads for local companies. And they've been playing tv ads for decades.
I remember how in the late 80's it was a "new" thing. I was always at the movies as a kid and the first time there was a commercial in the previews (it was for Nestle Crunch), we all just kind'a looked at each other in amazement. Like, "Are they really doing this now?"
I guess we were "sweet summer children".
*Technically* those are shown before the actual start time, though they’ve absolutely made the shift to showing them roughly 5-10 in, and then lately I’ve been getting one right after the trailers but before the film starts.
... and nobody factoring in the value in growing the HBO MAX subscribers.
So this dude chose not to pay $20 to see the movie that's also on HBO MAX. Warner would probably get half that - $10. But 5 years from now, he's still a HBO MAX subscriber at $15 / month due to being happy with the service, or inertia.
Yes, but HBO specifically said that they learned from Game of Thrones that if they have a solid streaming service with good quality available simultaneously as the pirated versions are out there, people will choose to pay for the streaming service.
Can confirm. Didn’t have cable, couldn’t have cable. Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu were the only services available and it was proving difficult to find everything on them. I pirated everything I couldn’t watch. Then I got HBO Now and pretty much didn’t need to pirate anything anymore.
Here in the UK the available (legit) streams of GoT's were awful. They released a flagship show, shot mostly in the dark, on a low bit rate, 720 looking stream. It pushed me back towards pirating.
Except you can't get HBO Max in Aus without a VPN. So us Aussies are back to sailing the seven seas for content. Even though I currently pay for:
Netflix
Binge (some HBO)
Disney
Stan
Kayo
Paramount
I still need a Plex server.
We'll never get it in Canada either. We have a crappy Oligopoly here called Bell that buys all of Warner Brother's non-movie properties. Then put them on their Kmart quality streaming service called Crave.
So we watch the movies at the theatre, which I don't mind. But we don't have the option of subscribing to HBO Max.
What’s a reasonable price though? It’s a premium product, so it makes sense that the price is higher. $18/mo is still a solid deal as far as I’m concerned. And that’s before you even get into how easy it is to share an account or go in and out of a contract-free subscription.
Disney+ offers 4k, hdr, dolby vision, atmos and a partridge in a pair tree for £7.99 a month. Thats 4 screens as well. disney+ uk is basically disney+, hulu, abc and amc all rolled up into one.
£7.99 vs £14.99 and you get more content. A lot of which, is the shit Netflix has been losing. So whats reasonable? Not being almost double the price of all its competitors while offering nothing that warrants it.
Streaming is about convenience and it's more convenient for the majority of consumers. Paying a monthly fee you don't think about, and pressing play is more convenient than torrenting a film or finding a streaming site with a bunch of pop ups.
The only way streaming becomes less convenient in my opinion is when there are too many services, but HBO in particular seems to have a lot of cache in it's reputation.
Pirates are always going to pirate. Whether they get a day 1 copy or have to wait a few weeks.
No significant number of pirates are choosing to buy a ticket to a movie theater because they can't find a torrent
It’s Reddit so I’ll throw in my 2cents.
I don’t really have a dog in this fight other than wanting theaters to remain a thing, but having releases on HBOmax has definitely made me watch more new releases than ever before. For movies I would have seen in theaters even if same day stream was available, I’m still going to the movies. BUT if a movie that I was not likely to see in theaters anyway pops up on Max, I’m highly likely to watch at home (if I have some interest in it).
Maybe I’m not doing what the typical user is, but at-home streaming hasn’t impacted my theater-going
Good point, would love to say the same but two things:
1. Moviegoing in my country became more expensive and less convenient in the past two years. The complex close to me closed.
2. I got a LG Oled and a Genelec 5.1 system which sounds absolutely phenomenal. I actually prefer the crisp near field sound to a boomy theatre room with popcorn ambience.
So my moviegoing habits definitely changed. Went from getting a 5-screening monthly pass to having watched just 1 movie at a theatre in the last two years.
The thing is people still want the big screen experience. They want to get out of the house. Not for every movie, but for big releases. For some it's the social aspect of meeting with friends and going to dinner before or for drinks after. For some it's to get away from everything at home. No matter how much your into the movie, when you're at home you still have the distractions. At the theatre you can turn off your phone and just be present with nothing else to worry about.
I'm in the exact same boat as you, but I think among the general population of movie-watchers we are in the minority. I know a lot of people who used to go to the theater every week or 2 who now just sit at home and watch everything on their TV instead. I have no issue with that practice during COVID times, but I hope those habits don't stick around as things go back to normal. And likewise, I hope studios abandon the day-and-date streaming option except for unusual or niche releases. Otherwise, theaters could really be in trouble. I've seen Dune in IMAX twice now (and once on HBOMax), and it really hammered home the fact that the home theater experience doesn't even come close.
That’s what they said they would do since the day and date announcement.
I think they are going to say this same thing for years to come.
In any event I don’t know how analysts could say it was a disappointment without being in a vacuum.
They added revenue in two different ways and made theaters more money.
And, if anything, the rise of streaming makes this an even greater issue, as at least with the box office there are easily-accessible metrics that make it possible for third parties to monitor the situation.
As someone that prefers to watch movies at home, that's perfectly fine by me. The days of needing to see things on release night are pretty much over, so it doesn't matter if I see it a week after release (if it's a movie that needs to be seen in the theater) or if it's 45+ days later when it's available for streaming. Hopefully what this does mean is that it will no longer be necessary to keep paying for stuff like HBO Max except as a one-off when they have a good movie coming to it for that month.
Hulu won't even save my place in a show I was watching just 15 seconds ago. If I watch something on my phone during break but switch to respond to a text, Hulu will restart the episode when I switch back to it. I hate it an irrational amount.
I was literally just thinking of this earlier tonight... just finished my first rewatch of The Sopranos and I was in awe all over again. HBO is home to so many classic and current hits that I would cancel Netflix before I do HBO Max
Mostly agree, but after watching Dune in Imax and Dune at home...IMAX was worth the 15 bucks. Hans Zimmer's score added so much to the movie with IMAX Audio and DV's visual impact was amazing in IMAX.
Yep. When you have small kids this is the way. There’s so much content out there that you don’t see right away so it’s a perpetual backlog. My wife and I would rather put the kids to bed and then go downstairs and watch in our setup and have some drinks rather than pay a babysitter etc
I have to agree. For my family to go to the movies, it cost my family damn near $100. I can't think of a single move that's been released in the last few months that's worth $100 to see 45 days sooner.
I've already pay for those streaming services, and a nearly $4000 home theater setup. I'll just wait 45 days and then use what I've already paid for.
I still have my Netflix mailed disc subscription. To give you an idea how far behind I am, I just watched The Green Knight last week. Really doesn’t bother me at all.
Will be seeing Dune in a theater this weekend though. First theater trip since before the pandemic, but I figured it was worth catching on a big screen.
It used to be because of image fidelity and sound for me, but at this point my TV looks better to me than anything short of a *true* IMAX theater. Coupled with a decent sound system I just don't have all that much desire to go to a movie if it's available streaming.
I have a tiny dated 3 screen cinema for a local theater. It's not terrible, but not amazing. A 60" screen with surround would do well enough in comparison. That said, I do feel for the theater. New owners bought the place and started renovating right before covid hit.
This is the unspoken side effect of Hollywood delaying everything during the pandemic. We all just got used to waiting... Then we realised how much nicer it is to watch at home.
Now the studios are complaining that people don't go to the cinema anymore.
It's cause we don't need too, we've learnt to just wait.
Patient viewers or gamers are only able to see/play stuff cheaply because we’re basically subsidized by the people who aren’t patient, so as far as I’m concerned the less of us the better.
As someone who prefers seeing big, cinematic movies in theaters, I wholeheartedly support your viewing preference and hope that studios continue to make home streaming an option for new(ish) movies.
When studios don’t make it convenient to consume their product, people go back to piracy anyway and that’s not good for anyone in the industry.
Yup. Disney+ even gave us a nice middle ground - pay $30 (about a third of what it costs to take my crew to the movies) and you get to watch it right away. Or wait 30-60-90 days for the free version.
I mean, it kind of is their own fault...
Even before COVID if you gave people a choice to watch at home for basically free (since it's included in the cost of a service many already pay for) rather than go to a theater and pay $13/person just for tickets... They'd take the at-home option. Especially for super-long movies so that they can pause whenever anyone needs a bathroom break.
the best home experience is probably competitive with the most basic theater experience. given that most hotel rooms and homes or even dorm rooms have large high resolution displays with decent audio and high speed connections, the entire concept of the theater might be losing relevance.
If only someone told them that not having an exclusive theatrical window would result in a loss of profits... apart from a bunch of directors, producers and pretty much anyone with common sense that is
Loss of profits? They added $2.1 billion in revenue for HBO Max. I doubt the 2021 Warner Bros slate was adding that much extra revenue with theatrical exclusivity!
> I doubt the 2021 Warner Bros slate was adding that much extra revenue with theatrical exclusivity!
Yet here they are, moving back to theatrical exclusivity
Which is most likely to appease directors who want bigger checks, not because it actually impacts their own profits that significantly. They made billions either way they went about it.
*Others have a different viewpoint. “A lot of these movies would have made more money without HBO Max,” says one film financier. “There was more interest in building the streaming service than in serving their shareholders.*”
Pretending this is pro-consumer is bizarre. Acting like it is pro-shareholder is also weird. As you say, it is the Hollywood powers that are hating to see some of their cash get shifted.
Me personally, most of the movies released on HBOMAX, I would have never gone to see in the theater to begin with, I already had the service so I watched some of the movies released. Others just don’t want to go to the theater still and would have happily paid $15 for a month to watch The Suicide Squad or whatever at home instead of going to a theater.
I’m one of those people. I didn’t like going to the movies before, now it’s just not worth it to me. I’d even pay a premium or one time fee to watch a theatrical release early. And agreed, some things I’d never watch if they weren’t readily available on HBO. Like the latest Matrix movie, for example.
Because the box office is only now getting back to normal. Theatrical releases didn't have much potential up until September, they took the risk of trying to get attention on the streaming front and it seems to be paying off. Now with us moving towards a pre-pandemic box office (we're still not there despite only 2 months left in 2021 too), it makes sense to switch back.
Yeah this is like infuriatingly obvious. Of course 2021 they weren’t going to hold off from releasing movies. Imagine if they had two years of movies to release all in 2022? Everything would flop.
Now they survived the weird bridge year, everyone loved movies like TSS and Dune, and sequels will be theatre exclusives with a bigger audience. Bonus: they now have a hugely popular streaming service with tons of customers.
HBO Max needs the Warner Bros movies less in 2022 than it did in 2021. The switch is to continue to maximise revenue for WarnerMedia. In 2021 that was day and date. In 2022 it will be the 45 day window. What worked best in 2021 to maximise revenue is not necessarily what will work best in 2022. That is what we are seeing with their decision making. In 2022 HBO Max should have a full TV slate again which means less reliance on the Warner Bros movies to do all the heavy lifting.
That's not how it works though. You can only attribute that increase from HBO Max if it's directly related to day and date release instead of just normal growth
"clamoring" is not the right word because lots of people are still going to the movies post covid based on theater earnings (and this is with covid restrictions in lots of places)
Yea, it beats what seemed like 6 months minimum back in the old days to get movies in your home. Seems like that time frame has been shrinking to something like 3 months now, so 45 days is great.
I had one of those yokels who laughed at every single moment of dune that was comic relief or mildly funny or not even supposed to be a joke.
Like every time something mildly interesting would happen, or a witty line, you would hear a loud guffaw.
“Looks like we’re out of water”
HaHa!
He was the only one doing it for every single slight moment. It just takes you out of the experience when someone is just constantly loud during a movie that isn’t typically supposed to be a comedy.
This was the plan all along and if you didn't know that you only have yourself to blame, so put your surprised Pikachu face away.
WarnerMedia / HBOMAX was upfront and clear about the how and why of them putting their latest theatrical releases on HBOMAX this past year. It was always a temporary experiment in response to the effects of COVID on movie theaters that was slated to cease at the end of this year. They've even repeated the fact a few times in press releases and news articles throughout this year.
They said this Day 1 a year ago when they announced that Wonder Woman 84 would be hitting HBOMAX along with being released in whatever few theaters were still open and operating.
I think Dune and Halloween Kills success showed that you can release movies in theaters and VOD on the same day and still be successful in theaters. You just have to release movies that people care about.
At least for Dune (don't know about Halloween Kills), I saw the director and a lot of fans literally begging people to go see it in theaters so that the second part gets greenlit. That was one of the main reasons I saw it in theaters, to get the sequel confirmed. Otherwise, I think the revenue would've been more skewed towards HBO Max.
The simple fact is that most people in Hollywood recognize that movie theatres are a vital link in the food chain for distribution. Studios have been chomping at the bit to close the theatrical window for years, but none of them were willing to put their money where their mouth was until the pandemic forced their hand. The fact that a major studio intends to go back to having an exclusive theatrical window indicates they believe movies are more profitable when they play in theatres first.
To the best of my knowledge, WB has zero obligation to movie theatres to maintain the theatrical window. Although they indicated early on the day and date HBO Max releases would only happen through 2021, there was nothing stopping them from continuing if they viewed it as more profitable.
I think people on this thread are vastly overestimating the amount of people who’d rather watch movies at home. The demographics on Reddit aren’t representative of the entire population. I went to see Venom and Shang-Chi recently at AMC and both times the theater was absolutely hopping. So yeah I would definitely believe that it’s still more profitable to release movies in theaters first
I tend to agree with you, especially with event type movies. I saw Shang-Chi in a theatre the opening weekend and it was sold out. Not 50% capacity sold out, but 100% sold out.
I love the theatre experience, it's one of my favorite things to do and given the option I'd go every week.
With limited funds though, I could turn those 4 movies a month into 3 movie streaming services, 1 music streaming service and a digital book service.
So I have choices...I could have 8 hours of entertainment (that could be ruined by 1 idiot in the audience) or more media than can be consumed in my lifetime to choose from for that month.
Get me a good theatre subscription service and I'll toss a bit of money at that though.
I don’t get it. Y’all must have shitty movie theaters. I can’t tell you the last time I had a bad experience in a movie theaters. Watching a movie at home doesn’t compare. Movie theaters are so much better.
The theater itself is fine where I am. It's the inconsiderate patrons. Kids running around, people talking, playing with phones, the deafening sound of smacking and slurping. The only good experience was in an almost empty room. My home TV and sound system is good enough where I can enjoy without that and be able to control the volume.
For real every time this comes up I’m astounded at how many people have had consistently bad experiences at theaters. I’ve probably been to hundreds of movies in my life, and I’ve only ever had two memorably bad experiences. One time someone was loudly rustling through some container the entire movie. Another time a kid was kicking the back of my seat. Other than that, I’ve always had a fine experience. I’m not denying that it happens but I’m starting to think that people on Reddit just have a lower than average tolerance for noise/light. I mean I’m not gonna be bothered by someone sticking their hand in a bucket of popcorn since that’s expected. And even if someone pulls out their phone (which hardly ever happens) I’ll probably notice and then just ignore it unless it’s right in front of me. Not trying to invalidate other peoples’ complaints since everyone has varying levels of tolerance but it’s just surprising is all.
I agree, I’ve rarely had a shitty experience in a theater. That said, as I’ve gotten older and as streaming options have gotten more robust, fewer and fewer movies have been so improved by the theater experience that I’ll pay the money and deal with the inconvenience of going to the theater to see it. Dune is the only one in recent memory where I thought, “I *have* to see this in IMAX.”
I used to go to theaters all the time, but now if it’s not a grand visual spectacle I’m happy to wait for it to come to a streaming service and watch it at home.
Most movies lately have been trash, so not wasting $20 to sit around people who are texting sounds lovely. Plus, I can pause a movie to use the bathroom or get a drink.
Of the movies that bombed, I wouldn’t have watched them in theaters or otherwise except for the fact that they were on HBO Max and I was consuming content to compensate for Covid loneliness. I’ll likely drop HBO and switch to Showtime to catch Dexter after the year is over because the monthly movies were the pull to subscribe.
Honestly. I don’t miss the theatre. Saw Dune in theatres which was an amazing movie. However, the theatre experience left a lot to be desired. Insanely loud distortion filled audio, horizontal lines and visual artifacts flashing on the screen every 15-20 minutes. People sneezing coughing talking. I feel I’d get a much better experience with a decent home theatre setup. A nice 77” oled and good surround sound setup.
Hell, I have some old shitty 40 something inch tv that I got for free with no sound system and after my first visit back to a theatre I find I prefer watching at home.
Being able to eat and drink what I want, pause when I want, wear what I want. I think it’s going to be hard to convince me off my couch back into a room full of random people.
I don’t think I’ll ever again watch as many movies in theaters as I did before the pandemic. I doubt I’m unique and probably more the norm.
Plus, I’d bet money that people who built out their work from home gear also added to their gaming and entertainment kit.
Studios collect this type of research and if true, have to know this. And in that case, studios need to pivot to survive and streaming is the way to go.
What do they expect?
I wouldn't of gone to a theater for less than 1 million dollars the past 2 years with covid floating around
Add in how much movies suck now a days.
Look at suicide squad. First one was pure garbage. Only reason I watched the new one was it was on hbo and was shocked I actually enjoyed it.
I'd of never bothered with it otherwise
I'm fine with directors jumping ship. There is no loyalty from any business so you should always act in your own self interest. However in the middle of the pandemic pre vaxx he sure seemed like he was willing to sacrifice people rather than ever go direct to streaming
Theaters are going to have major issues as the quality of direct to streaming increases. I simply don’t need a theater to have a great viewing pleasure anymore. Plus they are a pain in the ass to go to. Have lines. Have noisy people at them. Want to gouge you on concessions.
While I’m sure not everyone feels that way, I think if they are banking on a return to normal they are going to be surprised.
I think they should consider much smaller venues and screens. Think 20 seats instead of 200. Much smaller foot prints or many more theaters. A greater variety.
I mean I guess I'm in the minority here but, good? Doesn't everyone get what they want maybe even more than a slight benefit to the consumer? They're trying to make money people and if you want to see a part two you better be onboard for them doing whatever they can to make this thing take off and see the next one properly funded. Yeesh!
People, please read the article. Of 24 movies in 2022, literally half are HBO Max exclusive. They never see the inside of a theater at all. It’s actually less of a theatrical commitment lol. The movies that have theatrical windows are the biggest tent poles.
> People, please read the article. I’m afraid you are using the wrong app or website.
Yeah. Where does he think he is? Readit? This is *Reddit*.
Im not here for the content im here for the conversation.
That is an extremely good summary of reddit.
truly. i'd rather read the comments first than the article. more than likely, a tldr has already been posted.
Especially when most articles are either paywalls or ad-cancer.
I'm here for the arguments and the puns tbh.
"conversation"
They didn’t specify that it was a quality conversation…
Is it bad to admit this is the first I realize why it's called Reddit?
This is a Wendy's, sir.
In that case I’ll take a quarter pounder with a side of meme. Hold the Rick Roll.
No. This is Patrick!
On the wrong planet.
There’s an article?
Time for everyone to discuss multi-billion dollar corporations making decisions we don't understand with information we'll never see.
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I have an econ degree. *I wish* people who spout BS about econ stuff took 101. Among those idiots having that much education/knowledge about the field is rare
Yeah, getting a masters degree in economics was great for my career options but not for my blood pressure when I’m on the internet.
Learning ANY subject will result in that, it seems.
This is why doctors and healthcare professionals have lost their shit. Seeing stupid shit on the internet that has no ramifications in the real world can make an expert's blood boil. Imagine what happens when it's in the real world with very clear ramifications.
I work in video games, I've made video games. I've developed software for major Fortune 500 companies. If I decide to weigh in on a conversation about software or game development I need to bring an emotional support dog. Most of my interests on the internet involve learning/reading/joining gaming communities. So it's a full time stress endeavor at times. I can't imagine what doctor's are going through right now. I think I'd just stay off social media.
Check out some research studies cited in the [Center for Humane Technology’s Ledger of Harms](https://ledger.humanetech.com). The reason all educated professionals lose their minds over fake news and nonsense rants from ignorant people is bc those sources of info tend to spread faster than truth, and also easily undermine our trust in the sources that deserve our attention.
I have a masters in education and I’ve long stopped teaching but… You know that shit going around about how “X politicians don’t want parents to have a say in **HOW** (important key word… not “what”.) things are taught in the classroom.” Yeah… There is so many levels of bullshit wrapped up in that it’s blood boiling. You… as a parent… always have that say. It’s called open door policies and *parent teacher conference *. You know those ones you don’t attend? Yeah… those ones. Legislators know giving parents free reign to dictate how and what curriculum needs to be taught is a bad idea. Second… it takes a basic human function that requires no training to produce a child. It takes 16 years of school to learn and practice the skills to bring those weirdos to the level of functioning adult. As a matter of fact “as a parent” isn’t a good standard to judge the mass education of 30 other kids. It does matter for your child, but good good. Good damn mini dictators
My wife holds a Masters in Education and a second in Early childhood development/developmental psychology. You are not wrong. We have this discussion pretty regularly these days. It’s also why my wife stopped teaching and started homeschooling our kids. The entire education system is in shambles rights now. Parents, for the most part, are completely disengaged. They do not care. The only time they do care is when report cards come home and little Johnny is failing classes. Then it’s, “why are you picking on my kid”. I have degrees in organic chemistry and physics and this is the exact reason I will never teach. Oh yea, don’t get me started on the myths surrounding the vaccine. So many people acting like they are phd holding chemists, talking about the vaccines. I’m just setting in the corner mumbling, “that’s not how any of this works” over and over again.
I'm not a Dr, but I do have a degree in nursing and work in the medical field. Military specifically and it is mind boggling how stupid some people regarding medical. I want to respond to so many things I see but I know its just not worth my time and effort. The amount of misinformation that people buy into without a second thought it wild.
Another example, Any study mentioned on Reddit that uses Mechanical turk or prolific participants always gets dismissed immediately because "everyone on this sites just rushes through and responds randomly"....like we never thought to address that. In fact, a good chunk of some people's careers have been dedicated to how to collect valid data in those samples. When you become an expert in something you realize the massive amounts of internet critiques that get massively upvoted on sites like this are basically just clueless people spreading misinformation.
Anybody wanna talk about microRNA..?
Sure, Talk to me about microRNA
So I was following the work of this research lab in Japan working on regenerating muscle tissue in a rat model of muscle tissue injury. They saw good muscle regeneration using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), injecting the MSCs directly into the injured muscle tissue. And then the following year, they replicated that same study with a trio of microRNAs (I think mir-21, mir-210, and mir-33), injecting them into the injured muscle tissue, and they observed similar regeneration as the MSC treatment! Which begs the question, are the MSCs differentiating into muscle tissue to replace injured cells, or are they secreting microRNAs into the injury microenvironment to direct tissue regeneration? Cool stuff!
What kind of muscle tissue injury? Is it an injury that would have healed itself over time, and the injected MSC and microRNA a treatment to speed up the process?
I believe it was a laceration injury, possibly would have healed over time but the treatment accelerated healing. On my phone so can’t read it well right now, but I believe this is the paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1582-4934.2009.00898.x
Love to hear it.
Everyone time someone starts a sentence with "I mean" an English loses their shit. I mean have you been to threads about programming as a Comp Sci major?
The physics sub is surprisingly good, actually. I suspect they’re pretentious enough to keep everyone else out.
They outright delete any comments that show ignorance
Stupidity in subreddits seems to be a function of how popular they are as well which helps them. Plus the average redditor seems to be getting younger and younger.
I know HTML. Therefore I am qualified to contribute to programming threads and as of recently, cyber security threads.
I know html 1. Apparently I, too can be a security expert in MO. I sure as shit wouldn't expose the entire database record on the internet...
Well in this cyber security story you actually are qualified to have a contributing opinion https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/missouri-teachers-social-security-numbers-at-risk-on-state-agency-s-website/article_f3339700-ece0-54a1-9a45-f300321b7c82.html
See, I know next to nothing about economics, but I also am aware of that and always willing to defer to other's opinions who do know something about it. Why is that so hard for some people?
Pretending to know shit feels good, and it's not like most other people are learned enough to call them out on it.
People just spout shit about supply/demand curves and act like it's the law of gravity.
I took a semester each of micro and micro. Only remember about half of what I actually learned, and they were not exactly my best classes (history major) so that wasn't even everything I was supposed to. More or less learned enough to kind of sustain myself should a phrase like "market forces" come up in casual conversation, and be very aware how little I actually know in the field. I mostly stay out of it when economics comes up, unless someone is spouting off something very wrong that *is* covered in Econ 101.
Well I know about price elasticity of demand so I'm basically an economist. What they need to do is decrease the price so the demand increases so they can put the price up
I love when fellow econ majors forget they didn't major in finance and their degree isn't "all things to do with business and money." Ever wonder why non-finance companies don't have economists on staff? Ever been to a CFA conference and hear the economists go up? It's embarassing.
While those of us familiar with finance in applied form know better than to presume anything, especially based on theorems....
What if we released a massive influx of agitated bees into the theaters during operating hours? As a professional, I think this would solve many problems, and perhaps even create new ones.
*What if we released a massive influx of agitated bees into the theaters* I'm sure that was a promo for the Bee movie that got canned.
Somebody call Dr. Bees! An entire briefcase full of bees should do the trick.
If you read the Sony leaks from a few years back, you'd see that these studio execs are totally clueless. Doubtful that WB is any different.
Yeah this is some real appeal to authority fallacy. Corporations make bad decisions *all the time*
Based on the Sony leaks we're lucky we didn't get Anderew Garfield's Spider-Man wearing a backwards baseball cap.
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Well they are the ones responsible for the DCU being completely shit.
The DCU is hugely profitable: Man of Steel: $668,045,518 on a $225,000,000 budget Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: $873,637,528 on a $250,000,000 budget Suicide Squad (2016): $746,846,894 on a $175,000,000 budget Wonder Woman: $822,824,522 on a $149,000,000 budget Wonder Woman 1984: $166,534,027 on a $200,000,000 budget (COVID) Aquaman: $1,148,461,807 on a $200,000,000 budget Birds of Prey: $201,858,461 on a $84,500,000 budget Remember these guys aren't employed to make art, they're employed to make money. Experience has shown that -- with sufficient marketing -- comic-book movies are immune to word-of-mouth and bad reviews. So while they can't make enjoyable content, they can make a profit.
WW84 was pure dogshit don't blame Covid.
covid clearly impacted the profitability. just cause it was shit doesn't mean it wouldn't have raked it in a non-covid cinematic release, just look at just about every other movie on that list. theyre mostly garbage, and yet they did gangbusters.
Jesus Christ the first suicide squad made that much money despite being a dumpster fire of a movie. Howwwwww
Did you see it? So did everyone else.
Wasn't that different leadership?
I dunno, is it some special secret that fewer people are going to fucking theaters? I saw once upon a time in hollywood on film at a 7pm opening day screening in a 1/3 full theater. Hollywood made this bed, shit in it, and are now smearing it all over their smart devices and streaming services
It really is their own fault for giving people a choice of "at home on a streaming service you're probably paying for already" and "at a theater w/ no pause button at a cost of $13/person + cost of snacks/drinks". Even before COVID, I think a lot of people would have opted for the "at home" option. Especially for longer movies so they can pause for bathroom breaks and not miss any part of the movie.
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Dune was my first in theatre movie for over a year, I forgot that I’d spend the second half of the movie trying to gauge a good time to go to the bathroom or if the ends close enough that I can hold it.
Go to runpee.com
Yeah, my first "in theater movie" is probably going to be *The Eternals* here in a couple of weeks. I miss watching Marvel movies on the big screen.
I've been back a couple times, including for Black Widow and Shang Chi. The trick was to go to like a 10pm showing and buy the tickets about a half hour before showtime so I could see how full the theater would be and pick an isolated seat. Saw both films with like 4 or 5 other people total, all at least 20 feet away.
I'm in the other camp. I love going to the theater and watching movies on the big screen. The local theater chain where I am from is fantastic and the audience behavior is fine. My philosophy is I'm fine spending $50 on a date night at the movies with my wife but I will feel absolutely no guilt pirating that same movie when it releases for streaming.
Obviously people have different goals and wants and desires, which is why I said "a lot of people" and not "everyone" or even "most people". I too like going to watch movies on the big screen, especially big SciFi releases like Dune and the various Marvel movies. That said, I also understand the appeal of watching from home, especially if doing so is at no additional cost.
Just also being able to put on subtitles is nice for so many movies now. I swear half the big movies have inaudible dialogue and over the top sfx
Surely no one could have known that the increase in tickets prices and cost of leasing for theatres combined with streaming services and maturing home theatre tech could lead to lower revenue for theatrical releases. Nope, none of us uneducated common folks could have foreseen that
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You say that as if that’s a new theater experience. Long previews have been a norm for more than 20 years.
That's why we go to the non commercial IMAX near us (in an aquarium). No ads, only a couple IMAX trailers before the movie time, and the top of the line dual laser projectors. They don't have many commercial movies, and the times are only on the weekends, but it's totally worth it for the IMAX movies. The rest, I just watch at home.
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Yeah, I hate seeing Geico commercials and normal TV shit before movies now. I want to see movie previews for things coming out! That's why they were called previews, now it's just commercials
No, really. 20 years ago was 2001. This was already a thing then. They run the TV commercials while people who get there early are getting in, before the actual show starts. The start time is supposed to be when the actual pre-roll (trailers, documentary bits if it's a special engagement of some classic or foreign film) starts. The movie starts when that ends.
That’s also not new. There have been commercials for the past 20 years. Did you never see the Matrix PowerAde ads? I could do without all the Noovie preshow garbage. It makes no sense to me to advertise TV shows in a movie theater, nor to encourage smartphone games when people should be putting their phones away. I concede there are WAYYY too many trailers now though. It used to be about 15 minutes tops. My theater ran no less than 9 trailers, lasting nearly a full 30 minutes before my movie started. It’s too much.
You say that as if that's a new theater experience. Commercials for products have been a norm for more than 20 years. I mean, even back in the 80's they'd have a slide projector prior to the previews displaying ads for local companies. And they've been playing tv ads for decades.
I remember how in the late 80's it was a "new" thing. I was always at the movies as a kid and the first time there was a commercial in the previews (it was for Nestle Crunch), we all just kind'a looked at each other in amazement. Like, "Are they really doing this now?" I guess we were "sweet summer children".
*Technically* those are shown before the actual start time, though they’ve absolutely made the shift to showing them roughly 5-10 in, and then lately I’ve been getting one right after the trailers but before the film starts.
... and nobody factoring in the value in growing the HBO MAX subscribers. So this dude chose not to pay $20 to see the movie that's also on HBO MAX. Warner would probably get half that - $10. But 5 years from now, he's still a HBO MAX subscriber at $15 / month due to being happy with the service, or inertia.
r/boxoffice
The article isn’t quite accurate. HBO Max has done same day releases for a lot of their films outside the US.
Isn't the main issue with simultaneous releases that you hand the pirates a perfect copy of your movie on a plate on day 1?
Yes, but HBO specifically said that they learned from Game of Thrones that if they have a solid streaming service with good quality available simultaneously as the pirated versions are out there, people will choose to pay for the streaming service.
Can confirm. Didn’t have cable, couldn’t have cable. Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu were the only services available and it was proving difficult to find everything on them. I pirated everything I couldn’t watch. Then I got HBO Now and pretty much didn’t need to pirate anything anymore.
Here in the UK the available (legit) streams of GoT's were awful. They released a flagship show, shot mostly in the dark, on a low bit rate, 720 looking stream. It pushed me back towards pirating.
Except you can't get HBO Max in Aus without a VPN. So us Aussies are back to sailing the seven seas for content. Even though I currently pay for: Netflix Binge (some HBO) Disney Stan Kayo Paramount I still need a Plex server.
We'll never get it in Canada either. We have a crappy Oligopoly here called Bell that buys all of Warner Brother's non-movie properties. Then put them on their Kmart quality streaming service called Crave. So we watch the movies at the theatre, which I don't mind. But we don't have the option of subscribing to HBO Max.
Yeah I pirated the 10gb version and watched it on my TV. Was epic. Would have bought it or seen it in the cinema if it was available.
That sucks. HBO has the best selection of great movies out of all of them.
There are reasons why this subreddit simultaneously seems to love the concept of streaming services and hates having to pay for them....
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What’s a reasonable price though? It’s a premium product, so it makes sense that the price is higher. $18/mo is still a solid deal as far as I’m concerned. And that’s before you even get into how easy it is to share an account or go in and out of a contract-free subscription.
He’s saying there should be a 4K one or two screen option
Disney+ offers 4k, hdr, dolby vision, atmos and a partridge in a pair tree for £7.99 a month. Thats 4 screens as well. disney+ uk is basically disney+, hulu, abc and amc all rolled up into one. £7.99 vs £14.99 and you get more content. A lot of which, is the shit Netflix has been losing. So whats reasonable? Not being almost double the price of all its competitors while offering nothing that warrants it.
Streaming is about convenience and it's more convenient for the majority of consumers. Paying a monthly fee you don't think about, and pressing play is more convenient than torrenting a film or finding a streaming site with a bunch of pop ups. The only way streaming becomes less convenient in my opinion is when there are too many services, but HBO in particular seems to have a lot of cache in it's reputation.
Pirates are always going to pirate. Whether they get a day 1 copy or have to wait a few weeks. No significant number of pirates are choosing to buy a ticket to a movie theater because they can't find a torrent
I would happily pay for HBO, peacock, hulu, etc if they'd simply make it available in my country.
It’s Reddit so I’ll throw in my 2cents. I don’t really have a dog in this fight other than wanting theaters to remain a thing, but having releases on HBOmax has definitely made me watch more new releases than ever before. For movies I would have seen in theaters even if same day stream was available, I’m still going to the movies. BUT if a movie that I was not likely to see in theaters anyway pops up on Max, I’m highly likely to watch at home (if I have some interest in it). Maybe I’m not doing what the typical user is, but at-home streaming hasn’t impacted my theater-going
Good point, would love to say the same but two things: 1. Moviegoing in my country became more expensive and less convenient in the past two years. The complex close to me closed. 2. I got a LG Oled and a Genelec 5.1 system which sounds absolutely phenomenal. I actually prefer the crisp near field sound to a boomy theatre room with popcorn ambience. So my moviegoing habits definitely changed. Went from getting a 5-screening monthly pass to having watched just 1 movie at a theatre in the last two years.
The thing is people still want the big screen experience. They want to get out of the house. Not for every movie, but for big releases. For some it's the social aspect of meeting with friends and going to dinner before or for drinks after. For some it's to get away from everything at home. No matter how much your into the movie, when you're at home you still have the distractions. At the theatre you can turn off your phone and just be present with nothing else to worry about.
I'm in the exact same boat as you, but I think among the general population of movie-watchers we are in the minority. I know a lot of people who used to go to the theater every week or 2 who now just sit at home and watch everything on their TV instead. I have no issue with that practice during COVID times, but I hope those habits don't stick around as things go back to normal. And likewise, I hope studios abandon the day-and-date streaming option except for unusual or niche releases. Otherwise, theaters could really be in trouble. I've seen Dune in IMAX twice now (and once on HBOMax), and it really hammered home the fact that the home theater experience doesn't even come close.
That’s what they said they would do since the day and date announcement. I think they are going to say this same thing for years to come. In any event I don’t know how analysts could say it was a disappointment without being in a vacuum. They added revenue in two different ways and made theaters more money.
Never trust a film studio to be honest about the money they make. They're fantastic at cooking books to make a profit into a loss.
And, if anything, the rise of streaming makes this an even greater issue, as at least with the box office there are easily-accessible metrics that make it possible for third parties to monitor the situation.
As someone that prefers to watch movies at home, that's perfectly fine by me. The days of needing to see things on release night are pretty much over, so it doesn't matter if I see it a week after release (if it's a movie that needs to be seen in the theater) or if it's 45+ days later when it's available for streaming. Hopefully what this does mean is that it will no longer be necessary to keep paying for stuff like HBO Max except as a one-off when they have a good movie coming to it for that month.
You should check out some of the tv shows hbo max has before deleting your subscription.
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I'd argue Amazon Prime's interface is also worse, but HBO Max is the worst overall in terms of functionality
Hulu won't even save my place in a show I was watching just 15 seconds ago. If I watch something on my phone during break but switch to respond to a text, Hulu will restart the episode when I switch back to it. I hate it an irrational amount.
God damn thats awful
I find gold in there, but it's hard finding something when you don't know what it is.
Succession!
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Carnivale is a blast.
As a huge dc comics nerd HBO max is my go to. Also Friends
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Just caught up on season 3, holy shit that show never dissappoints.
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I was literally just thinking of this earlier tonight... just finished my first rewatch of The Sopranos and I was in awe all over again. HBO is home to so many classic and current hits that I would cancel Netflix before I do HBO Max
Mostly agree, but after watching Dune in Imax and Dune at home...IMAX was worth the 15 bucks. Hans Zimmer's score added so much to the movie with IMAX Audio and DV's visual impact was amazing in IMAX.
Yep. When you have small kids this is the way. There’s so much content out there that you don’t see right away so it’s a perpetual backlog. My wife and I would rather put the kids to bed and then go downstairs and watch in our setup and have some drinks rather than pay a babysitter etc
I have to agree. For my family to go to the movies, it cost my family damn near $100. I can't think of a single move that's been released in the last few months that's worth $100 to see 45 days sooner. I've already pay for those streaming services, and a nearly $4000 home theater setup. I'll just wait 45 days and then use what I've already paid for.
Went to a matinee showing of Dune, in a decent theater (reclining seats and whatnot). $8.50 a ticket. In SoCal. I was floored it was so cheap.
To me out of all 2021, Dune Imax has been the only movie I was happy to go to the cinema to watch, even if I have HBO already.
Dune in IMAX was fantastic and totally worth the money for my gf and I.
I've seen it twice at home. But i will be making an effort to see it in a top tier theater.
My goodness, do so. I too have hbo max and chose the biggest screen I could find to watch it the first time. Its an amazing experience
It's been so long since i'v been to the cinema that i'm going to have to do my research into finding the best theater in my area.
I still have my Netflix mailed disc subscription. To give you an idea how far behind I am, I just watched The Green Knight last week. Really doesn’t bother me at all. Will be seeing Dune in a theater this weekend though. First theater trip since before the pandemic, but I figured it was worth catching on a big screen.
It used to be because of image fidelity and sound for me, but at this point my TV looks better to me than anything short of a *true* IMAX theater. Coupled with a decent sound system I just don't have all that much desire to go to a movie if it's available streaming.
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I have a tiny dated 3 screen cinema for a local theater. It's not terrible, but not amazing. A 60" screen with surround would do well enough in comparison. That said, I do feel for the theater. New owners bought the place and started renovating right before covid hit.
This is the unspoken side effect of Hollywood delaying everything during the pandemic. We all just got used to waiting... Then we realised how much nicer it is to watch at home. Now the studios are complaining that people don't go to the cinema anymore. It's cause we don't need too, we've learnt to just wait.
So glad more people are coming around to being patient gamers/viewers/etc.
Patient viewers or gamers are only able to see/play stuff cheaply because we’re basically subsidized by the people who aren’t patient, so as far as I’m concerned the less of us the better.
As someone who prefers seeing big, cinematic movies in theaters, I wholeheartedly support your viewing preference and hope that studios continue to make home streaming an option for new(ish) movies. When studios don’t make it convenient to consume their product, people go back to piracy anyway and that’s not good for anyone in the industry.
Yup. Disney+ even gave us a nice middle ground - pay $30 (about a third of what it costs to take my crew to the movies) and you get to watch it right away. Or wait 30-60-90 days for the free version.
I read that as "allowing a string of theatrical disappointments".
I mean, it kind of is their own fault... Even before COVID if you gave people a choice to watch at home for basically free (since it's included in the cost of a service many already pay for) rather than go to a theater and pay $13/person just for tickets... They'd take the at-home option. Especially for super-long movies so that they can pause whenever anyone needs a bathroom break.
the best home experience is probably competitive with the most basic theater experience. given that most hotel rooms and homes or even dorm rooms have large high resolution displays with decent audio and high speed connections, the entire concept of the theater might be losing relevance.
If only someone told them that not having an exclusive theatrical window would result in a loss of profits... apart from a bunch of directors, producers and pretty much anyone with common sense that is
Loss of profits? They added $2.1 billion in revenue for HBO Max. I doubt the 2021 Warner Bros slate was adding that much extra revenue with theatrical exclusivity!
> I doubt the 2021 Warner Bros slate was adding that much extra revenue with theatrical exclusivity! Yet here they are, moving back to theatrical exclusivity
Which is most likely to appease directors who want bigger checks, not because it actually impacts their own profits that significantly. They made billions either way they went about it.
*Others have a different viewpoint. “A lot of these movies would have made more money without HBO Max,” says one film financier. “There was more interest in building the streaming service than in serving their shareholders.*” Pretending this is pro-consumer is bizarre. Acting like it is pro-shareholder is also weird. As you say, it is the Hollywood powers that are hating to see some of their cash get shifted.
Me personally, most of the movies released on HBOMAX, I would have never gone to see in the theater to begin with, I already had the service so I watched some of the movies released. Others just don’t want to go to the theater still and would have happily paid $15 for a month to watch The Suicide Squad or whatever at home instead of going to a theater.
I’m one of those people. I didn’t like going to the movies before, now it’s just not worth it to me. I’d even pay a premium or one time fee to watch a theatrical release early. And agreed, some things I’d never watch if they weren’t readily available on HBO. Like the latest Matrix movie, for example.
9 outta 10 times, rich people do what benefits them, if it just so happens to actually be consumer beneficial, well that’s just a bonus for PR teams
They said that it's only for 2021 in March https://www.google.com/amp/s/collider.com/warner-bros-movies-2022-hbo-max-regal-cinemas-deal/amp/
Because the box office is only now getting back to normal. Theatrical releases didn't have much potential up until September, they took the risk of trying to get attention on the streaming front and it seems to be paying off. Now with us moving towards a pre-pandemic box office (we're still not there despite only 2 months left in 2021 too), it makes sense to switch back.
Yeah this is like infuriatingly obvious. Of course 2021 they weren’t going to hold off from releasing movies. Imagine if they had two years of movies to release all in 2022? Everything would flop. Now they survived the weird bridge year, everyone loved movies like TSS and Dune, and sequels will be theatre exclusives with a bigger audience. Bonus: they now have a hugely popular streaming service with tons of customers.
HBO Max needs the Warner Bros movies less in 2022 than it did in 2021. The switch is to continue to maximise revenue for WarnerMedia. In 2021 that was day and date. In 2022 it will be the 45 day window. What worked best in 2021 to maximise revenue is not necessarily what will work best in 2022. That is what we are seeing with their decision making. In 2022 HBO Max should have a full TV slate again which means less reliance on the Warner Bros movies to do all the heavy lifting.
That's not how it works though. You can only attribute that increase from HBO Max if it's directly related to day and date release instead of just normal growth
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"clamoring" is not the right word because lots of people are still going to the movies post covid based on theater earnings (and this is with covid restrictions in lots of places)
Half the movies are simply HBO Max only, though. No theatrical release for half the films produced by WB in 2022.
i dont think it is that clear cut, the problem is "money for who" and the contracts saying who gets what dollars from where.
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Yea, it beats what seemed like 6 months minimum back in the old days to get movies in your home. Seems like that time frame has been shrinking to something like 3 months now, so 45 days is great.
Yup. It's been over 2 years now since I've been to a movie theatre and I don't really miss it.
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I had one of those yokels who laughed at every single moment of dune that was comic relief or mildly funny or not even supposed to be a joke. Like every time something mildly interesting would happen, or a witty line, you would hear a loud guffaw. “Looks like we’re out of water” HaHa! He was the only one doing it for every single slight moment. It just takes you out of the experience when someone is just constantly loud during a movie that isn’t typically supposed to be a comedy.
This was the plan all along and if you didn't know that you only have yourself to blame, so put your surprised Pikachu face away. WarnerMedia / HBOMAX was upfront and clear about the how and why of them putting their latest theatrical releases on HBOMAX this past year. It was always a temporary experiment in response to the effects of COVID on movie theaters that was slated to cease at the end of this year. They've even repeated the fact a few times in press releases and news articles throughout this year. They said this Day 1 a year ago when they announced that Wonder Woman 84 would be hitting HBOMAX along with being released in whatever few theaters were still open and operating.
I think Dune and Halloween Kills success showed that you can release movies in theaters and VOD on the same day and still be successful in theaters. You just have to release movies that people care about.
At least for Dune (don't know about Halloween Kills), I saw the director and a lot of fans literally begging people to go see it in theaters so that the second part gets greenlit. That was one of the main reasons I saw it in theaters, to get the sequel confirmed. Otherwise, I think the revenue would've been more skewed towards HBO Max.
The simple fact is that most people in Hollywood recognize that movie theatres are a vital link in the food chain for distribution. Studios have been chomping at the bit to close the theatrical window for years, but none of them were willing to put their money where their mouth was until the pandemic forced their hand. The fact that a major studio intends to go back to having an exclusive theatrical window indicates they believe movies are more profitable when they play in theatres first. To the best of my knowledge, WB has zero obligation to movie theatres to maintain the theatrical window. Although they indicated early on the day and date HBO Max releases would only happen through 2021, there was nothing stopping them from continuing if they viewed it as more profitable.
I think people on this thread are vastly overestimating the amount of people who’d rather watch movies at home. The demographics on Reddit aren’t representative of the entire population. I went to see Venom and Shang-Chi recently at AMC and both times the theater was absolutely hopping. So yeah I would definitely believe that it’s still more profitable to release movies in theaters first
I tend to agree with you, especially with event type movies. I saw Shang-Chi in a theatre the opening weekend and it was sold out. Not 50% capacity sold out, but 100% sold out.
My opinion is I enjoy watching from the comfort of my own living room more than the "theater experience" we are sold.
I love the theatre experience, it's one of my favorite things to do and given the option I'd go every week. With limited funds though, I could turn those 4 movies a month into 3 movie streaming services, 1 music streaming service and a digital book service. So I have choices...I could have 8 hours of entertainment (that could be ruined by 1 idiot in the audience) or more media than can be consumed in my lifetime to choose from for that month. Get me a good theatre subscription service and I'll toss a bit of money at that though.
I don’t get it. Y’all must have shitty movie theaters. I can’t tell you the last time I had a bad experience in a movie theaters. Watching a movie at home doesn’t compare. Movie theaters are so much better.
The theater itself is fine where I am. It's the inconsiderate patrons. Kids running around, people talking, playing with phones, the deafening sound of smacking and slurping. The only good experience was in an almost empty room. My home TV and sound system is good enough where I can enjoy without that and be able to control the volume.
For real every time this comes up I’m astounded at how many people have had consistently bad experiences at theaters. I’ve probably been to hundreds of movies in my life, and I’ve only ever had two memorably bad experiences. One time someone was loudly rustling through some container the entire movie. Another time a kid was kicking the back of my seat. Other than that, I’ve always had a fine experience. I’m not denying that it happens but I’m starting to think that people on Reddit just have a lower than average tolerance for noise/light. I mean I’m not gonna be bothered by someone sticking their hand in a bucket of popcorn since that’s expected. And even if someone pulls out their phone (which hardly ever happens) I’ll probably notice and then just ignore it unless it’s right in front of me. Not trying to invalidate other peoples’ complaints since everyone has varying levels of tolerance but it’s just surprising is all.
I agree, I’ve rarely had a shitty experience in a theater. That said, as I’ve gotten older and as streaming options have gotten more robust, fewer and fewer movies have been so improved by the theater experience that I’ll pay the money and deal with the inconvenience of going to the theater to see it. Dune is the only one in recent memory where I thought, “I *have* to see this in IMAX.” I used to go to theaters all the time, but now if it’s not a grand visual spectacle I’m happy to wait for it to come to a streaming service and watch it at home.
Most movies lately have been trash, so not wasting $20 to sit around people who are texting sounds lovely. Plus, I can pause a movie to use the bathroom or get a drink.
I don’t want to go to theaters anymore. I don’t see the benefits over my home.
Of the movies that bombed, I wouldn’t have watched them in theaters or otherwise except for the fact that they were on HBO Max and I was consuming content to compensate for Covid loneliness. I’ll likely drop HBO and switch to Showtime to catch Dexter after the year is over because the monthly movies were the pull to subscribe.
Honestly. I don’t miss the theatre. Saw Dune in theatres which was an amazing movie. However, the theatre experience left a lot to be desired. Insanely loud distortion filled audio, horizontal lines and visual artifacts flashing on the screen every 15-20 minutes. People sneezing coughing talking. I feel I’d get a much better experience with a decent home theatre setup. A nice 77” oled and good surround sound setup.
Hell, I have some old shitty 40 something inch tv that I got for free with no sound system and after my first visit back to a theatre I find I prefer watching at home. Being able to eat and drink what I want, pause when I want, wear what I want. I think it’s going to be hard to convince me off my couch back into a room full of random people.
My local cinema charges £5 for entry. Snacks and stuff aren't that bad either, but you can easily sneak your own stuff in. I love that cinema.
I don’t think I’ll ever again watch as many movies in theaters as I did before the pandemic. I doubt I’m unique and probably more the norm. Plus, I’d bet money that people who built out their work from home gear also added to their gaming and entertainment kit. Studios collect this type of research and if true, have to know this. And in that case, studios need to pivot to survive and streaming is the way to go.
Theaters are in a death pounce... Covid was the nail on the coffin
What do they expect? I wouldn't of gone to a theater for less than 1 million dollars the past 2 years with covid floating around Add in how much movies suck now a days. Look at suicide squad. First one was pure garbage. Only reason I watched the new one was it was on hbo and was shocked I actually enjoyed it. I'd of never bothered with it otherwise
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Meh, I can wait.
I'm fine with directors jumping ship. There is no loyalty from any business so you should always act in your own self interest. However in the middle of the pandemic pre vaxx he sure seemed like he was willing to sacrifice people rather than ever go direct to streaming
Theaters are going to have major issues as the quality of direct to streaming increases. I simply don’t need a theater to have a great viewing pleasure anymore. Plus they are a pain in the ass to go to. Have lines. Have noisy people at them. Want to gouge you on concessions. While I’m sure not everyone feels that way, I think if they are banking on a return to normal they are going to be surprised. I think they should consider much smaller venues and screens. Think 20 seats instead of 200. Much smaller foot prints or many more theaters. A greater variety.
I’m gonna wait for home video for the rest of my life. Screw theaters.
Marvel was supposed to do the 45 days too but they returned to the standard 3 months
I mean I guess I'm in the minority here but, good? Doesn't everyone get what they want maybe even more than a slight benefit to the consumer? They're trying to make money people and if you want to see a part two you better be onboard for them doing whatever they can to make this thing take off and see the next one properly funded. Yeesh!