Coriolanus
Banned
Norp. Piracy already happens regardless thanks to cam/foreign web rips. This is the AppleTunes method of facilitating access to curb piracy.
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Studios Flirt With Offering Movies Early in Home for $30
- Thread starter Oersted
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Norp. Piracy already happens regardless thanks to cam/foreign web rips. This is the AppleTunes method of facilitating access to curb piracy.
ThoseDeafMutes
Member
I'll go ahead and upgrade that to $60 for Australia, if not $100, but I'm interested in it conceptually. Cinemas are kind of terrible with a few exceptions here and there, and I think the eventual death of cinemas is inevitable. They were once totally necessary for the distribution of films, but that's no-longer true, and now they are primairly just expensive middlemen. I don't want overpriced snacks, I don't want to deal with large crowds of people, and I'm assuming the studios don't want the cinemas to take half their ticket price away either.
The real question mark is the economics of doing this. There's not going to be anything stopping really good quality cam setups from pirating movies day 1 to a level that would not be possible in most cinema scenarios. On average, movie pirates don't offer high quality versions of films until the blu-ray release except in scenarios where some kind of press screener got stolen or whatever. There's also nothing stopping people from organizing impromptu cinemas where they rent it once for $30, and screen it for 15 of their friends as long as they have the equipment.
I could see it working out, but they will need to think long and hard about how much to charge so it's viable for everyone. Sucks if you own a cinema though, I guess. The exception to the "I don't want to deal with cinemas" rule is when I feel like going all posh and doing some kind of gold-class thing. The luxury cinema is an experience that might stick around, but if the regular cinema experience dies for the most part (or is reduced to like 10% of the cinema count we have today) then prices will necessarily go up for that even higher.
What I think is going to happen in the mean time is that cinemas will threaten to boycott major films if studios begin doing this. Eventually there will be a middle ground struck whereby cinemas have true exclusivity for 7-14 days, then the "home distribution" service will kick in beyond this. This will still eat into cinema profitability, but less so than it might otherwise, and the slow death spiral of cinemas will take 15-20 years to run it's course.
The real question mark is the economics of doing this. There's not going to be anything stopping really good quality cam setups from pirating movies day 1 to a level that would not be possible in most cinema scenarios. On average, movie pirates don't offer high quality versions of films until the blu-ray release except in scenarios where some kind of press screener got stolen or whatever. There's also nothing stopping people from organizing impromptu cinemas where they rent it once for $30, and screen it for 15 of their friends as long as they have the equipment.
I could see it working out, but they will need to think long and hard about how much to charge so it's viable for everyone. Sucks if you own a cinema though, I guess. The exception to the "I don't want to deal with cinemas" rule is when I feel like going all posh and doing some kind of gold-class thing. The luxury cinema is an experience that might stick around, but if the regular cinema experience dies for the most part (or is reduced to like 10% of the cinema count we have today) then prices will necessarily go up for that even higher.
What I think is going to happen in the mean time is that cinemas will threaten to boycott major films if studios begin doing this. Eventually there will be a middle ground struck whereby cinemas have true exclusivity for 7-14 days, then the "home distribution" service will kick in beyond this. This will still eat into cinema profitability, but less so than it might otherwise, and the slow death spiral of cinemas will take 15-20 years to run it's course.
But isn't that stuff relatively limited? Seems like this would just bust the door wide open, two months before it usually happens.
immortald3ath
Member
That's not too bad since I always have my wife with me and tickets are about $12.50 each after tax around here. Sometimes my sister tags along so it's usually about $36-$40 for the 3 of us.
DontBeThatGuy
Member
It's not for me (closest theater is 10 minutes away, and cheap), but it's not particularly unreasonable either.
This is the cost for you, by yourself, with no expensive theatre food/drink.
bangbang i'm a timpani
Banned
id pay 30 bucks easily for stuff like big blockbusters on day 1. its so damn much to see a movie in nyc i'd probably profit.
TAJ
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Lol, people are already paying $5 to rent movies months later.
Screeners and existing (and far more expensive) early rentals are individually watermarked.
The studio will sue the shit out of you if your recording leaks.
The watermark and the million dollar fine they get on your ass.
DontBeThatGuy
Member
...Having standards?
As I mentioned in the other copy thread, no studio is going to offer people HD quality rips to stream on their Android box on or before their film's launch day. Watermarks aren't going to stop piracy.
A month out takes into consideration that people are already pirating crappy versions of most films by then. You pay $30 to skip 2-4 months of waiting for the home media release.
Allonym
There should be more tampons in gaming
I think $30 is reasonable. Tickets in NJ range from like $12-$16 depending on the theater you go to and the type of screening (standard, 3-D, IMAX, etc.) and often times, if it something that's hotly anticipated you have to be concerned with rude or loud people, obnoxious kids, or not being able to get a seat. I'd readily pay $30 for me and my girl to spend the night in the comfort of our home, eating what we choose, when we choose, using the bathroom without disturbing others or being disturbed and pausing when we choose. Freedom and convenience are worth the added expense for me.
You're paying for early access. That's why it's more expensive than most rentals. I too think it's too expensive, but it's certainly to $10 cheap.
I think big cinemas are inevitably going to die, but smaller independent ones will stay around for quite a while longer. As horrible as most cinema experiences are, there is something special about seeing something on a big screen with excellent sound. There certainly won't be a huge business model in the future built around that, as there is now.
Damn, I picked the wrong thread.
I don't know about you guys, but at least 50% of the reason I watch a movie in the theater is because I want that theater experience. I don't care how good your home system is, unless you live in a theater, I'm always going to prefer that giant screen and ridiculous sound.
I don't know about you guys, but at least 50% of the reason I watch a movie in the theater is because I want that theater experience. I don't care how good your home system is, unless you live in a theater, I'm always going to prefer that giant screen and ridiculous sound.
JHoNNy1OoO
Member
The date needs to be pushed up for me to consider forking over $30.
ElBoxyBrown
Banned
If you go to the movies by yourself $30 is a bad deal.
jstevenson
Sailor Stevenson
I used to think I wouldn't do this...
but now I would.
I've got a 65" OLED, Atmos sound. If I can sit on my couch with my drinks / food, my dog, the pause button, the bathroom? Yeah. Kong, Get Out, Beauty and the Beast, John Wick 2, all of those I would watch for 30 bucks at home.
but now I would.
I've got a 65" OLED, Atmos sound. If I can sit on my couch with my drinks / food, my dog, the pause button, the bathroom? Yeah. Kong, Get Out, Beauty and the Beast, John Wick 2, all of those I would watch for 30 bucks at home.
ThoseDeafMutes
Member
Drive-in cinemas still exist today in some places. I don't think regular cinemas would decline as hard as that, there would definitely still be a place for boutique cinemas, especially in major cities. The Cinema would need to exist at least for people who couldn't afford or didn't have the room for a good setup (but still wanted that experience as you say). People even with those setups might still want to cash up for the experience of seeing a major movie on opening night with champagne and individual service as some people already do these days. But even a 20-30% decline in traffic for cinemas would be pretty devastating for the industry.
Mushroomer25
Member
Theaters will never bite. Unless studios put a movie on this program so massive that theaters MUST have it, the chains will just boycott it & tank the film. Happened with the last Paranormal Activity, and it'll happen again if anyone tries again at that scale.
WickedLaharl
Member
so much forever alone itt
If you have a family or friends to split the cost and a good A/V setup thirty is a steal.
If you have a family or friends to split the cost and a good A/V setup thirty is a steal.
DontBeThatGuy
Member
It would either have to be a family thing or invite a few friends over and everyone chips in situation to make much sense. I can hit up a matinee for $5.50 at the nearest theater. (limited choices though, gotta travel a little further for more screens)
$30 would be doable I think. Two tickets for me for a Cinemark XD showing comes out to around $27. It's more if it's a XD 3D showing. The only time I get tickets cheap is if it's a early bird showing. A plain normal showing that is non-3D is a few dollar more around $10. Generally no matter why for two people I'm still in the $20s. This is not even factoring in food or cost of gas as it's a 40 mile round trip and I'm usually not going to the movies if I have to go to stores so the trip to the movies is always a special trip.
The theater experience is fun for some movies but for many of them I don't really care. We have nice TVs in the house and a few sound bars and seats at home would be significantly more comfortable then theater seats. The food will also be a LOT better at home as well. I'd be done for this. The time between release and being available for the home has to be shorter though. Same day would be ideal.
The theater experience is fun for some movies but for many of them I don't really care. We have nice TVs in the house and a few sound bars and seats at home would be significantly more comfortable then theater seats. The food will also be a LOT better at home as well. I'd be done for this. The time between release and being available for the home has to be shorter though. Same day would be ideal.
Coded anti-piracy
I imagine convenient home screening will only be a reality when the studios have a high level of confidence in their piracy prevention measures. Difficult to hide when every home gets a uniquely coded stream.
They have been working on this for years and refining the technology to be scalable.
brianjones
Member
I actually like getting out of the house and going to the movies
At home there's a million distractions
At home there's a million distractions
itwasTuesday
He wasn't alone.
I feel like this has been a yearly announcement since the year 2000.
Coriolanus
Banned
in the case of staggered releases? Yarp. Which is why i suspect they'll initially use that thing only for films that enjoyed simultaneous worldwide releases. No risk of losing a whole market to piracy then.
Ziltoidia 9
Member
Release day AND at home.
andythinkpad
Member
I am sure the Kodi users are very happy to hear it.
PaulExcellent
Member
Dude, yes. I would easily pay that by myself no prob.
digita1alchemy
Member
We have two young children, no family nearby and haven't settled on a regular babysitter yet. I need this in my life. Even if we did have a babysitter, this would likely end up being cheaper.
Caddywompus
Member
You don't even own the digital movie after $30?
Might as well enjoy the theater experience for that "deal"
Might as well enjoy the theater experience for that "deal"
Karsticles
Member
As someone with a toddler, I think this idea is incredible.
TAJ
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
They're charging that much for 4K digital copies months after release.
That's like saying "How dare they charge $25 for a Blu-ray?" just because it will be $7.99 five or six months later.
Ziltoidia 9
Member
Also, 17 day (for example) minimum is where it loses me. Only reason I'd rather watch most movies at home is so I don't have to worry about crowd, getting a seat, getting parking, etc. But 17 days after release, most movies you aren't going to have to worry about that stuff with.
Chezzymann
Member
Not a fan of this, i dont want theaters to die cause they have way better sound and picture quality than anything i have at home. And I usually only see movies with 2-3 other people so it wouldn't really be much cheaper. Oh well, if the people don't care and want to watch it in the comfort of their home, it is what it is.
Gordon Shumway
Banned
Ok..then this option is not for you.
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