# reality check at the movies **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 26, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150 "2005-07-26T01:14:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LeeshaJoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@LeeshaJoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeeshaJoy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150/21 "2005-07-26T05:20:43Z")
> [@Hung Mung](#): > > I don’t mind some of the ads, but when ads run into trailers run into MORE trailers run into a trailer for the movie in the room next door, I get a little impatient. I have to go easy on my popcorn or it’ll be half gone by the time the movie starts. However, when I do that it’s half cold by the time the movie starts. > Movies at home where I can have a drink, make a sandwich, snuggle with my woman, have a smoke, and go pee at leisure without distractions (although in a college apartment there will always be distractions) are far, far superior. Why not wait until the trailers start and **then** go get your popcorn? (…she says, knowing that she can’t resist watching trailers even for movies she’d never pay money to see.) ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150/22 "2005-07-26T05:56:40Z")
IIRC, over here at least, the price of the movie ticket is predominantly what has to go back to the movie’s distributors/producers. The advertising (and exorbitant snacky food prices) is so the cinema itself can recoup the cost of showing the movie, renting the real estate, running the electricity etc, etc. Hence why, if ads were disposed of, the ticket price would skyrocket. Running that many projectors, with that much aircon and that many automatic lights, however many hours a day, seven days a week isn’t going to be cheap… ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150/23 "2005-07-26T09:38:21Z")
> [@catsix](#): > > At home you can have a smoke with that alcoholic beverage or three during a movie on your 84" 16:9 screen with the Dolby Digital 7.1 providing you optimal sound while your ass is parked in a comfortable soft leather La-Z-Boy with your favorite blanket over your lap and absolutely no cell phones, screaming kids, whiny teenagers, clueless fucksticks saying ‘WHAT DID HE SAY??’, sticky floors, people tripping over you to go to the bathroom, overpriced burnt popcorn with fake butter on it, and all of this will cost you an average of 95 cents a movie if you’re pretty efficient with your Netflix 3 at-a-time plan. Actually I do have the sticky floor. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150/24 "2005-07-26T10:18:43Z")
Even worse, some of those movies feature _no breasts at all!_ ---
**Author:** ![bluecanary](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bluecanary/32/3614_2.png) [@bluecanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluecanary)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150/25 "2005-07-26T10:47:44Z")
I really _like_ having the ads before the movie. I thinks of the ads (and the trailers for the upcoming features) as an integral part of the cinema-going experience, and the people who make the cinema ads tend to put a lot more effort into making them entertaining and interesting. Sometimes there’s more humour in the ads than there is in the film! Saying that, I can’t think of a product I’ve bought because it had such a good cinema ad. ---
**Author:** ![TommyTutone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@TommyTutone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TommyTutone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150/26 "2005-07-26T16:01:10Z")
> [@Sierra Indigo](#): > > IIRC, over here at least, the price of the movie ticket is predominantly what has to go back to the movie’s distributors/producers. The advertising (and exorbitant snacky food prices) is so the cinema itself can recoup the cost of showing the movie, renting the real estate, running the electricity etc, etc. Hence why, if ads were disposed of, the ticket price would skyrocket. Running that many projectors, with that much aircon and that many automatic lights, however many hours a day, seven days a week isn’t going to be cheap… You are absolutely right, but still, not my problem. If I’m going to drop $25 on two tickets, popcorn, and two drinks, I fully expect my experience to be ad-free. For $25, I can buy the movie, a bag of microwave corn, a couple bottles of pop, and still have $5-$10 towards creating a theater experience in my home. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150/27 "2005-07-26T16:34:12Z")
You can get beer at movie theaters here in Missouri. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150/28 "2005-07-26T16:48:26Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > You can get beer at movie theaters here in Missouri. :eek: Sweet, I’m movin’ there in three weeks! ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150/29 "2005-07-26T16:57:30Z")
Don’t know about you guys, but my local library system has a good selection of videotapes and a small collection of DVD’s. I can borrow five videotapes and two DVD’s for a week for free, provided I return thme on time.Granted, I don’t have a state-of-the-art home entertainment system, but I do have a 24" hooked up to my stereo, and it fills the bill quite nicely. My cost for a Friday evening’s entertainment: one bag of microwave popcorn and a liter bottle of Diet Coke. And I can watch them in my underwear if I want to. I don’t have to spend $15.00 to $20.00 amuse myself. And I won’t. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150/30 "2005-07-26T17:02:35Z")
> [@Waverly](#): > > This isn’t much of an improvement. Most DVD rentals show trailers and other rubbish while somehow disabling the menu and fast forward commands. Now that takes brass balls, and must have the support of the hardware manufacturers. Now _that_ pisses me off. Especially if I’ve purchased the damn DVD and I cannot navigate around as I see fit. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150/31 "2005-07-26T17:04:23Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Wrong way. It amounts to $6.56 US, which is cheaper than I’ve seen down here in years! 😃 Well, after 6PM anyway. > [@Homebrew](#): > > You can get beer at movie theaters here in Missouri. There’s a cinema & drafthouse here, too. New Orleans had a movie theater that replaced its concession stand with a daquiri bar. Didn’t keep them from going out of business, though. ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150/32 "2005-07-26T17:06:31Z")
> [@mza662](#): > > I’d rather ads before the movie than the unashamed ads IN movies 😛 oh snap ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150/33 "2005-07-26T17:22:34Z")
All the circuits report that they get very few complaints about ads. They got some when the practice started but it has dropped off dramatically. Maybe people don’t think their complaints will be heard. Maybe most people like them. If you don’t like the ads, tell them. A few years ago, I would get a DVD that had previews that I had to watch. Now all of them allow me to hit the menu button to go past them. But go to a football game and look at all the ads all around. How much did you pay to get in there? Or watch a baseball game at home on your tv. Sure there are comercial breaks, but there is a changing sign behind the batter. I think the selling of ads is now the biggest sector of our economy. A sector that must grow and grow. You sell ads. People buy the stuff. The people who made the stuff buy more ads. It is the great circle of life and it must not be messed with! ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150/34 "2005-07-26T17:26:20Z")
The only movies I’ve been to lately were at the drive-in. I won’t give up my drive-ins until they refuse me admittance. The only concession we buy is the hugemongous tub of popcorn for $3. Everything else we bring with us from home. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150/35 "2005-07-26T17:48:49Z")
I’m with whoever it was who said they didn’t mind movie trailers but didn’t like the Nike/Toyota/Pepsi ads. But then, I only go to the movies two or three times a year anyway. It’s hard for me to justify $9 to see a movie, when I spend about twice that a month for my Netflix membership and get to see at least 20 movies a month that way. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150/36 "2005-07-26T17:52:26Z")
> [@Lord Ashtar](#): > > I’m with whoever it was who said they didn’t mind movie trailers but didn’t like the Nike/Toyota/Pepsi ads. But then, I only go to the movies two or three times a year anyway. It’s hard for me to justify $9 to see a movie, when I spend about twice that a month for my Netflix membership and get to see at least 20 movies a month that way. I’m with you, too. If I see those freaking Fantanas one more time, I’m going to track them down and strangle all four of them. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150/37 "2005-07-26T18:00:24Z")
> [@Rufus Xavier](#): > > Not quite double, but at The Arclight Cinema in Los Angeles, the tickets cost from $9.75 on up to about $14, and what you get is a comfortable, reserved seat in a large stadium-seating style theater with great sound and absolutely no commercials at all. They also have the showing on Friday night where you can take your alcoholic drinks into the show…and there won’t be any kids. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150/38 "2005-07-26T18:01:51Z")
> [@catsix](#): > > At home you can have a smoke with that alcoholic beverage or three during a movie on your 84" 16:9 screen with the Dolby Digital 7.1 providing you optimal sound while your ass is parked in a comfortable soft leather La-Z-Boy … and all of this will cost you an average of 95 cents a movie if you’re pretty efficient with your Netflix 3 at-a-time plan. You’re describing a rather sizable capital investment up front, though I’ll admit such a system would rapidly pay for itself in saved ticket purchases. As for me, I’m a member of a sci-fi club and friends with a guy who works at a radio station. I get most of my tickets for free. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150/39 "2005-07-26T18:14:41Z")
> [@Waverly](#): > > This isn’t much of an improvement. Most DVD rentals show trailers and other rubbish while somehow disabling the menu and fast forward commands. Now that takes brass balls, and must have the support of the hardware manufacturers. Yep. That’s built into the DVD standard. A DVD author (the one who creates the DVD’s menus) can selectively disable most user controls, such as the fast-forward or menu buttons, for any specific segment of video. I don’t do that, because doing that would be evil. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150/40 "2005-07-26T18:17:14Z")
I realised something was wrong when I went to the movies a couple of years ago, asked for a medium Pepsi and a medium popcorn, handed the cashier a ten-dollar bill, and got a quarter in change. :eek: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reality-check-at-the-movies/314150.md?page=3)