One less reason to go out to the movies
There have always been two multiplexes within easy driving distance of my house: the AMC Mercado 20 and the Century Cinema 16. The latter used to be much more pleasant. The pre-movie ads were still images with no soundtrack, the crowd tended to be a bit older and less rambunctious, and they kept the number of previews within reason.
Sadly, that seems to not be the case any more. Just went and saw “Cloverfield” and discovered that the Century 16 is now the Cinemark 16, apparently bought out by another company. I assume that’s why we were treated to nonstop obnoxious pre-movie ads (now with harder-to-tune-out video and soundtracks), a full 25 minutes of previews and other ads after the scheduled start of the show, and an increased ticket price that is more for two people without drinks or popcorn than we pay for an entire month’s worth of Netflix service. The crowd is still less annoying but that’s it.
Sorry, Cinemark, you just crossed the line and I won’t be planning any more trips back to your theater. You forgot that the audience isn’t there to make you money — you are there to serve the audience. I can sit in my nice comfortable home theater (which, granted, is pretty high up on the fancy scale of home theaters) and watch whatever movie I want, whenever I want, in high definition in most cases these days, and my girlfriend and I always get the best seats in the house.
If ticket sales are plummeting, they deserve to be, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with piracy, though I’m sure the industry will trot that old trope out in a futile, misdirected effort to force their customers back in the door.