The big worry in Hollywood right now is one of theatre attendance. The Bigs are worried that people are eschewing the multiplex in favour of watching films at home on ever expanding screens. To some extent the home theatre market is encroaching on the box office dollar, but from the takings of the larger releases in the last couple of years it seems clear to me that the market is still there, it just needs to be coaxed back out again.
As someone who falls into this group I am definitely going to need to see change before I start handing over notes of real money for tickets again. I used to visit the cinema on a regular basis, but now I can't even remember what the last film I saw there was as it has been so long. There are a number of reasons I now favour simply waiting for Netflix, and I wonder how much of this resonates with other people, or whether I'm just a miserable, anti-social git:
Mobile Telecommunications - In spite of the little advertisements at the start of every film people still insist on chatting, text messaging and the occasional game of snake, casting a brilliant blueish-white light into the dark to acompany their own brand of noise pollution. Now, technology exists to effectively block the carrier signal to individual phones, and I believe this should be standard in all cinemas, (allowing emergency calls, of course). Once you enter into a theatre you are agreeing to be incommunicado for the duration of the screening, or have the option to move into the lobby to make a call. Sounds fair enough to me.
Seating - like it is where I come from, all seating for popular shows should be assigned. You can plan in advance and book, or choose from what is available when you reach the box office. I don't know why it's not all like that everywhere, but it should be! It would make everyone more relaxed when trying to find a good seat. Ushers should take groups to their seats to make things easier, and which has the secondary bonus for the cinema in that sneaks can't get away with seeing multiple shows on the cost on a single ticket.
People - with the lines blurring between home theatre and the cinema, it seems that people are bringing the same mentality to the movies with them as they would adopt at home. Most of the time this is fine, but not always. Maybe I'm just a prudey Brit but I don't like others pulling me out of the main attraction. For me, cinema is all about immersion, concentration and the experience. I can't imagine you all would disagree with me, but feel free to tell me otherwise.
The strength of going to the cinema is that when the audience is all invested in the film, laughing together, crying together; acting as a single entity, then it is one of the best experiences you can have. The trouble lies in its fragility - it doesn't take much to ruin the whole night for everyone. I would really like to see the resurgence in the popularity of the cinema as it is good for all concerned, and steps are being made to modernise it and make it distinct from viewing at home, but I worry that the root of the problem does not lie in the infrastructure, and more to do with a change in social climate.
So. There we are.
You can turn your phones on again now.
