Sometimes, there is no escape better than the one given to you at the movie theatre. There's a huge screen, surround sound, dim lighting, and everyone is discouraged from using their phones. What better way could you disconnect in today's society?
Perhaps being disconnected is the problem. Is this really what people want?
Nowadays, people can watch any movie they want at their fingertips. Between On-Demand cable services and other paid services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, you can find almost any movie you want. While this is convenient for rainy days and movie nights, these streaming services are making it harder to get people out of their living rooms and into movie theaters.
Are people too comfortable in their own homes, or do people not value the price of seeing a movie in theaters anymore? With services like MoviePass and the fact that most theatres offer a discount night, there is barely an excuse to be turned away by the high prices (for the ticket, that is- concessions are a different story). There are a lot of people who opt to illegally stream movies on pirated sites rather than visit their local movie theater. Not only does this hurt the film industry, but it has a negative impact on the audience. Movies are meant to be watched on a large screen free of distractions, not on a laptop while simultaneously writing a paper. Movies are an art and should be treated as such.
Is it that theaters need to adapt to survive? They've already incorporated reclining chairs, dine-in theaters, not to mention that a large number of films are released in 3D? Do we need to touch, feel, smell, and taste it too? If it is prices that are turning people away, making the theater more immersive will not help the cause, for it will only make it more expensive. Maybe the classic dinner and a movie date night are dying to. If people aren't going to the movies anymore, what are they doing?
