Random Topic Generator: Is Our Love For Cinema Dwindling?

As a film fanatic and enjoys taking trips to the cinema to see the latest blockbuster, this question is definitely thought provoking. Now, I’m not going to try and emphasis and suggest that Cinema is dying, because that’s not true. Not entirely. What I’ve discovered is cinema isn’t helping itself as certain things change around them.

It’s often described as an experience when at the cinema, because it is exactly that. The massive screens, the loudness, being in amongst an audience; these three factors help engross you and keep you engaged throughout the movie. When you exit the screen, depending on the film you’ve just watched, your adrenaline is pumping, your emotionally wrecked, and or your smiling broadly. You can leave feeling bored, and wanting your money back, but it’s still an experience. It’s a place the entire family, or a place to escape to when you’re waiting outside in the freezing snow and you’ve just received a phone call saying that the person who’s supposed to pick you up won’t be for another couple of hours. Sometimes, a trip to the cinema had to be arranged a couple of days beforehand.

The cinema was also a place where you can try before you buy. If a film does well at the box office, then it’ll more than likely do well with the DVD sales, and vice versa. The majority of the profit is made at the cinema, but of course DVD sales and merchandise helps considerably, too. If the experience isn’t great, then they won’t want to re-watch and re-experience that at home. Cinema was, at one point, a make-or-break place for films.

Nowadays, it seems that people have started to turn their heads away from the cinema, and I wanted to find out why. Upon my research, I discovered there are two major factors. The first is obviously the cost, and the second is the gap between showing in the cinema and being released on DVD.

The price for a single adult cinema ticket has increased by a huge amount over recent years. I remember a ticket being £6.99. Nowadays, it’s £10.70. That’s an increase of £4. You may argue that it’s not that much considering if you look at the statistics, it’s a gradual increase instead of a sharp incline. It was £6 back in 2010. Seven years late, it’s hasn’t increased by £7. In my mind that’s a good defence, and, it is understandable that the price for a cinema ticket goes up in today’s society. From the cinema’s perspective, what they have to buy in from various sources, their cost goes up considerably as well, and so they have to accommodate the natural increases to make sure they can and always make a profit at the end of the month.

Many people have complained about the price of the snacks and drinks. For what you get, paying what many people consider extortionate prices is not worth it. It’s easier to pop into the local Poundland and grab two backs of sweets for a £1, and three cans of Coke for £1, and you’ve saved yourself at least £8. It’s completely your choice whether you want a snack or a drink whilst watching the film, but it’s understandable that people do want it because it enhances the experience. There are many people that are turning away because they are unwilling to pay for the snacks. I agree with the prices being too high, but that doesn’t deter me away from watching a film on the big screen. It would be nice to have something to drink whilst watching a film, so I do make sure I have something in my bag before entering, because paying £2.50 for a bottle of Oasis is way too much.

The second factor I mentioned is the gap between the cinema and DVD. A few years ago, if you wanted to watch something you were interested in, you had better make sure you do see it at the cinema, because if you miss it, you would have to wait months before being released on DVD. Nearly an entire year, maybe longer before you got the chance to see it for the first time. When a film was about to be released on DVD, it was a big moment – the chance to see it again and re-experience the thrills in the comfort of your own home.

Every passing year, the gap shrinks, and with online streaming sites such as Netflix and Amazon continuing to grow, the gap is shrinking faster than ever. Technology is growing more advanced, so converting it to DVD after showing it in the cinema doesn’t take that long compared to before. Baby Driver, the mega hit by Edgar Wright was released in June in the UK, and will be released on DVD in November this very year and October on Amazon Prime. Five months from cinema to DVD, and four months from cinema to an online streaming service. That seems like a long time, but if you were unfortunate to miss seeing the film at the cinema, then you will only have to wait five months before getting that chance, and it doesn’t take long before that time disappears. Soon you’ll be entering the local supermarket and see the DVD sitting on the shelves before you even know – or so it does seem with some films.

It’s not just because they can release the films sooner, it’s also because they want to in order to make more money. If a film is doing well at the cinema, it will remain there for many weeks to make sure that everyone gets a chance to see it. Once it’s left, the studio would want those people who want to see it again have that chance as quickly as possible, and with the opportunity to do that with today’s technology, then of course they will. This creates a paradox, because with the gap shrinking each year, and prices for a single adult ticket and snakes and drinks increasing, constantly putting people off – it’s actually cheaper to buy the film at the shops and online than it is for a single adult ticket and snakes and drinks – then the public will just say, “I’ll wait for it to come on DVD, it’ll be cheaper and won’t be long before now.”

Cinema isn’t dying. It’s still a massive part of a films life and still offers an experience like no other. However, it hasn’t helped itself over recent couple of years with everything rapidly changing and growing around it, cinema needs to adapt, too. It needs to change and rethink its strategy, otherwise we may see the day when cinemas are waiting hours for the next customer to walk in through the doors, whilst everyone else is waiting for the film to come online in the next month or so.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)