From Cleaner Bathrooms to Fewer Trailers, 5 Movie Theater Owners on Ways to Bring Audiences Back to Cinemas

If they kicked people out for being obnoxious or being on their phones maybe the theatre would be a better time
- Yeah, that's my main reason for not going to the cinema. I like the atmosphere and I can afford it, but why would I spend so much money just to have the experience spoiled by a bunch of brats jumping around and being annoying.

My wife and I went to go see Princess Mononoke in IMAX this past weekend. 2 tickets, popcorn and 2 drinks was almost $75. If you want butts in seats again, this is what you address. Not stupid gimmicks. It was a great experience but at that price, we're done going to the theater for the next few years. Hope their profit was worth it..
- I considered seeing Mickey 17 at the cinema near my house. Newer build but nothing fancy. $28aud for a single adult. There seemed to be some cinema club options for cheaper tickets but I didn't want to dance through some bullshit marketing signup process so I gave up on the whole idea. Had it been $10 no bullshit I'd be there once a week. Had it been $15, I'd've gone to Mickey 17 a few weeks ago.
  
  oof sounds like palace cinemas.
- This is precisely the issue. Ticket prices.

So long as my local theater has reserved seating, I'll continue to show up 20 minutes late, skip all the actual TV commercials, and be just in time for the movie.
Maybe they should start with "what do audiences want" versus "how can we make more money"?

It's been 2 or more years since i went to a movie theater. Even then it was at most twice a year if that before. Movie theaters suck, too many commercials, too dirty, too expensive food, and the annoyance of audiences. At home i have a big projector, more comfortable movie chairs, and cheaper food i prepare, and no annoying audience members. What's in it for me to return? The movies coming out these days are pretty boring, why not just stay home, watch movies there? Like the drive-in theater, this venue perhaps has seen it's day and time to move on.
- If nobody is watching at the big screen then less movies are made for the big screen, which drives more people away from the big screen. It's a self-fullfilling cycle.
  
  Most movies aren’t made for the big screen anymore anyway. The studios own the streaming channels, and that’s where the money is. Marvel movies are designed to stay in the theater for a few weeks, but the rest are destined for a shorter release window so they can go straight to streaming.

How about reasonable prices on snacks? Why is a 12oz can of soda $10? They're literally just $1 from the vending machine next door. Ticket prices are pretty reasonable (though, on the rare occasion I go out, I almost always go to the cheaper matinee showings in the early afternoons), but the food prices are fucked.

Only one of the interviewees said location. That would be key for me. If the theater was close by and integrated integrated into daily life, I'd probably go a lot more often. Instead, all of the theaters are way out on the edge of town, often in some grotty commercial area where the land is cheap enough for the obligatory huge parking lot. It's a commitment to get there, as in, you intend to go to a movie and only to a movie, because there's nothing else to do nearby. No dinner and a movie, no random matinee as a break from the office grind, no movie followed by hanging out with friends at the bar across the street. I might as well watch at home.

It's waaaaaay too expensive and almost all of them use staff that's uninterested and try to do the minimal amount of work.
- minimal pay, minimal effort. I don't blame the staff.

Bring back sodding intermissions for long films. Especially if want any hope of selling me snacks, which is your entire profit margin. No one wants to pay to watch some 3-hour bladder buster Vs watching it on streaming in comfort.

Glad someone's trying something, but I don't think I'm ever going to be back in the theatres. My local theatre plays a solid half an hour of trailers before each movie.