# How do you see movies these days? (poll) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 12, 2006, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457 "2006-08-12T16:24:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457/1 "2006-08-12T16:24:57Z")
If I leave out an option that you use, please include it in the breakdown and give an estimate in percentages of how you see movies. 1. at a theater for first-run showings 2. at a theater for reruns 3. premium cable channel (Showtime, HBO, Cinemax, etc.) 4. On Demand cable TV free movies 5. rental store (Blockbuster and others) 6. online rental source (Netflix and others) 7. Pay-per-view cable TV (including On Demand pay-for showings) 8. commercial channel TV (including AMC and the like) 9. free non-commercial TV channel (TCM, for example) In my case, its: 1. less than 5% 2. less than 1% 3. 10-20% 4. 30-40% 5. none (used to be 50% or so) 6. 20-30% 7. none (don’t believe I’ve ever used this option – even when traveling) 8. 5-10% 9. 20-30% (I know my percentages won’t add to 100%, but that’s as good a guess as I’m shooting for here.) If this is more an IMHO thing, by all means move it, please. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457/2 "2006-08-12T16:36:41Z")
Oh, yeah. Duh. I guess you can actually _buy_ DVD’s or VHS’s or some other way of owning the movie itself. We have a small collection, less than 20, and rarely buy a new one since we hardly ever rewatch them. Things have to be ultra-slow on cable for us to resort to watching the ones we own. However, I know folks who buy new DVD’s as soon as they come out and get over 75% of their movie viewing from that source. So please add 1. purchased (DVD or VHS oe whatever) My bad! ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457/3 "2006-08-12T18:09:19Z")
1. at a theater for first-run showings: **almost zero** 2. at a theater for reruns: **Zero** 3. premium cable channel (Showtime, HBO, Cinemax, etc.) **Zero** 4. On Demand cable TV free movies: 5 percent. **Usually something I’ve seen before.** 5. rental store (Blockbuster and others): **Zero** 6. online rental source (Netflix and others): **85%** 7. Pay-per-view cable TV (including On Demand pay-for showings): **Zero** 8. commercial channel TV (including AMC and the like) **5 percent. Usually something I’ve seen before. Sunday mornings are good for this.** 9. free non-commercial TV channel (TCM, for example): \*\*5 percent. But, it depends. TCM will have specials which will cause me to watch often at times. \*\* Movies I own. It depends. I’ve bought a lot of Christmas movies since they’re hard to rent during that time. I also have some tv shows on dvd as well as some el cheapo public domain movies collections. These tend to be for insomnia nights as well as during postal holidays when my netflix queue slows to a crawl. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457/4 "2006-08-12T18:29:18Z")
1. at a theater for first-run showings-less than 5% 2. at a theater for reruns–never 3. premium cable channel (Showtime, HBO, Cinemax, etc.)never 4. On Demand cable TV free movies never 5. rental store (Blockbuster and others) 95% 6. online rental source (Netflix and others) never 7. Pay-per-view cable TV (including On Demand pay-for showings) never 8. commercial channel TV (including AMC and the like)never 9. free non-commercial TV channel (TCM, for example)never A place I have gotten movies from in the past but don’t at present is the library. This is distinct from your choice 5, because the selection is different, and I never had to pay, unlike Blockbuster where I pay a few dollars for the chance to see a new movie of my choice (At present I see mostly movies that are on the new release wall at Blockbuster) ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457/5 "2006-08-12T21:48:16Z")
[ol][li]At a theater for first-run showings – 3%[/li][li]At a theater for reruns – 0%[/li][li]Premium cable channel (Showtime, HBO, Cinemax, etc.) – 0%[/li][li]On Demand cable TV free movies – 0%[/li][li]Rental store (Blockbuster and others) – 0%[/li][li]Online rental source (Netflix and others) – 85%[/li][li]Pay-per-view cable TV (including On Demand pay-for showings) – 0%[/li][li]Commercial channel TV (including AMC and the like) – 0%[/li][li]Free non-commercial TV channel (TCM, for example) – 2%[/li][li]Purchased (DVD or VHS or whatever) – 10%[/ol][/li]I think that about covers it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457/6 "2006-08-12T22:06:54Z")
Depends on the year but it would be close to 50-50 for at the theatre first run showings and rental with it leaning more towards rental. Call it 60-40 I guess. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457/7 "2006-08-12T22:21:48Z")
1. online rental source (Netflix and others) - 50% 2. Pay-per-view cable TV (including On Demand pay-for showings) - 10% 3. free non-commercial TV channel (TCM, for example) - 35% Other: Purchased or gift DVDs - 5% ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457/8 "2006-08-12T22:51:46Z")
1 - first run theater - 5% 6 - Netflix - 94% I don’t know when that happened, but the last time I was at the theater it was the independent one for _The White Countess_, before that I saw _Batman Begins_, and before that _The Corpse Bride_, and that takes me back to last Halloween. ---
**Author:** ![Campion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@Campion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Campion)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457/9 "2006-08-12T22:56:21Z")
[ol][li]At a theater for first-run showings – 21.92%[/li][li]At a theater for reruns – 0%[/li][li]Premium cable channel (Showtime, HBO, Cinemax, etc.) – 3.09%[/li][li]On Demand cable TV free movies – 0%[/li][li]Rental store (Blockbuster and others) – 12.37%[/li][li]Online rental source (Netflix and others) – 0%[/li][li]Pay-per-view cable TV (including On Demand pay-for showings) – 0%[/li][li]Commercial channel TV (including AMC and the like) – 1.03%[/li][li]Free non-commercial TV channel (TCM, for example) – 0%[/li]Purchased (including borrowed from other people’s collections) – 61.59%[/ol] ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457/10 "2006-08-13T00:15:40Z")
If we are allowed to acknowledge that it exists, I would add bit-torrenting to the list. Not that I would ever download a movie, but I hear lot’s of people do. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457/11 "2006-08-13T00:46:09Z")
[QUOTE=Campion] [ol][li]At a theater for first-run showings – 21.92%[/li][li]Premium cable channel (Showtime, HBO, Cinemax, etc.) – 3.09%[/li][li]Rental store (Blockbuster and others) – 12.37%[/li][li]Commercial channel TV (including AMC and the like) – 1.03%[/li][li]Purchased (including borrowed from other people’s collections) – 61.59%[/ol][/li][/QUOTE] Okay. Somebody keeps a list. 🙂 My son has done this since he was about 9 years old. Title, date, how long he stood in line, who he went with, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457/12 "2006-08-13T00:51:19Z")
Last time I went to a theatre to see a movie, 'twas Batman Begins. I biy a lot of classics (about 400 DVDs), but my greatest source is that which cannot be mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457/13 "2006-08-13T01:14:19Z")
It’s been over two years since I last saw a movie on DVD, or on TV in any form. I only watch current movies in first-run showings. My local theatre also shows lots of classics. I saw _Gone with the Wind_ today. I saw it for the first time about eight years ago, but the experience is quite different with a crowd of southerners. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457/14 "2006-08-13T04:20:28Z")
1. at a theater for first-run showings - **5%** 2. online rental source (Netflix and others) - **40%** 3. commercial channel TV (including AMC and the like) - **5%** 4. free non-commercial TV channel (TCM, for example) - **25%** 5. purchased DVDs - **25%** I only go to theaters for five or six movies a year that I feel I must see as soon as they are released. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457/15 "2006-08-13T07:05:10Z")
1. at a theater for first-run showings = 5% 2. commercial channel TV = 5% 3. purchased (DVD or VHS or whatever) = 90% ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457/16 "2006-08-13T07:14:43Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] If I leave out an option that you use, please include it in the breakdown and give an estimate in percentages of how you see movies. 1. at a theater for first-run showings - **85%** 2. at a theater for reruns - **3%** 3. premium cable channel (Showtime, HBO, Cinemax, etc.) - **0%** 4. On Demand cable TV free movies - **0%** 5. rental store (Blockbuster and others) - **0%** 6. online rental source (Netflix and others) - **0%** 7. Pay-per-view cable TV (including On Demand pay-for showings) - **0%** 8. commercial channel TV (including AMC and the like) - **0%** 9. free non-commercial TV channel (TCM, for example) - **2%** (TCM only) 10. DVDs owned - **10%** [/QUOTE] We see well over 100 movies in the theater every year. We don’t have to, since we own over 1300 DVDs and have a home theater setup (with a 4’x7’ screen), but we LIKE going to the theater. Some years I subscribe to the Independent Film Channel and the Sundance Channel, but not for the past couple of years. ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457/17 "2006-08-13T07:35:52Z")
1. At a theater for first-run showings – **15%** 2. At a theater for reruns – **0%** 3. Premium cable channel (Showtime, HBO, Cinemax, etc.) – **1% (only because I just discovered I have Cinemax for some inexplicable reason)** 4. On Demand cable TV free movies – **0% (I subscribe to the most minimal cable possible, which is why #3 is so perplexing)** 5. Rental store (Blockbuster and others) – **0%** 6. Online rental source (Netflix and others) – **30%** 7. Pay-per-view cable TV (including On Demand pay-for showings) – **0%** 8. Commercial channel TV (including AMC and the like) – **4%** 9. Free non-commercial TV channel (TCM, for example) – **0%** 2. Purchased (DVD or VHS or whatever) – **50%** This reflects my habit of popping in a favorite DVD while I’m cleaning the apartment, cooking, doing SDMB or email, or drifting off to sleep. I have movies on a lot, but I might not be “sitting down to watch” the movies specifically. ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457/18 "2006-08-13T07:40:39Z")
You forgot 1. On airplanes 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457/19 "2006-08-13T09:00:11Z")
[ol][li]At a theater for first-run showings – 1 to 3 a year.[/li][li]At a theater for reruns – 0[/li][li]Premium cable channel (Showtime, HBO, Cinemax, etc.) – 0[/li][li]On Demand cable TV free movies – 0[/li][li]Rental store (Blockbuster and others) – 0[/li][li]Online rental source (Netflix and others) – 0[/li][li]Pay-per-view cable TV (including On Demand pay-for showings) – 0[/li][li]Commercial channel TV (including AMC and the like) – 0[/li][li]Free non-commercial TV channel (TCM, for example) – 1 to 3 a year[/li][li]Purchased (DVD or VHS or whatever) – At most 10 a year[/li][li]On airplanes – 0[/ol][/li] I don’t know why but I burned out on movies about 4 years ago. Used to love film festivals and heading on out to this place called the movie museum but now … bupkiss. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457/20 "2006-08-13T09:44:33Z")
1. at a theater for first-run showings Only for blockbuster, must-see-on-big-screen, special effects films. 1. at a theater for reruns Used to be one where I used to live. It closed…which is probably good as sound was horrible as well as the cleanliness of the theater. 1. premium cable channel (Showtime, HBO, Cinemax, etc.) Most films I watch are on pay cable television. I have a nice plasma television with good surround sound, so that is the best way to see them. Plus, I don’t mind waiting to see most films (exceptions: see answer number one.) 1. On Demand cable TV free movies Same as above…will rarely pay to see a film if it is not on HBO or Starz! for free. 1. rental store (Blockbuster and others) Used to go there a lot, but have stopped going…no time and still lots of films on pay cable I haven’t seen yet. 1. online rental source (Netflix and others) Nope. 2. Pay-per-view cable TV (including On Demand pay-for showings) Seldom…five times a year, tops. 3. commercial channel TV (including AMC and the like) Never. 4. free non-commercial TV channel (TCM, for example) I love TCM and watch lots of great old films there. With there were more channels like that!! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-see-movies-these-days-poll/368457.md?page=2)