Would You Pay $50 To Watch New Cinema Releases In Your Home?
The guy that brought you Napster wants to make it happen.
Given the cost and compromises one has to make going to the movies these days (marked-up prices; rude staff; issues with projection), the thought of sitting at home to watch the latest blockbuster probably feels like an appealing alternate.
It's also an alternate that Sean Parker, founder of Napster and the egotistical douche that Justin Timberlake played in David Fincher's The Social Network, is trying to make a reality; a service which could transform your living room into a mini multiplex.
Dubbed "The Screening Room," Parker's concept - which is still in the early stages of development - has already been praised by major industry honchos like Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Ron Howard (which means it must be okay!), and would essentially allow cinema fans to screen whatever the movie chains are screening on the day that they hit theatres, thus eliminating the annoying need to actually venture outside.
The one catch? You'd have to pay $50 (£35) to watch each flick.
As you probably guessed, cinema chains aren't happy about the whole scenario; they've claimed that a service like The Screening Room will negatively impact the business (though many industry professionals have implied that it wouldn't). In order to appease the cinema chains, Parker mentioned that the service intends to include two free cinema tickets with every purchase, a move they say will inspire folk to head to their nearest theatre and - presumably - spend all their cash on popcorn and drinks. Which seems kind of weird, when you think about it, given that those willing to get on board with The Screening Room in the first place would be using the service so they don't have to go to the theatre.
Oh, and there's another catch: the initial hardware is purported to cost something in the region of $150 to install, a relatively hefty price tag which could very well succeed in putting a lot of people off of using it (especially when they've already got to pay $50 per movie, which isn't exactly cheap in this day and age).
There's clearly a market for The Screening Room, however, because it doesn't take a genius to see that audiences have become largely disillusioned with movie theatres in recent years. They're expensive places to visit, and - giving the rise of Netflix and other video-on-demand services - there are less reasons to bother. Throw in the notion that the chains are usually packed out with people talking and texting and intent on ruining the experience for everyone else and you're left wondering: "What's the point?"
As a movie lover, I feel compelled to watch new releases within the walls of an actual cinema and can't imagine paying $50 to see a movie when I'm already in possession of an Unlimited screening card for my local chain (which costs a whole lot less and is well worth the price if you see more than 3 movies a month). There's something intoxicating about watching a film in the dark, in spite of the sticky floors and non-plussed staff. Though the studios are giving us less and less of a reason to actually leave our homes (where are all the proper films these days?), I still can't picture sitting down to a major release like Captain America: Civil War in my living room. It just feels wrong.
Where I do see The Screening Room working, however, is as a means for families to catch the latest blockbuster without having to remortgage their entire homes. A trip to the movies can easily set a family of four back $100, should they opt for extras like popcorn and drinks, and The Screening Room - in principal - could save them a lot of money in the long run.
For your average movie-goer, though, $50 does seem a little steep. Split that four ways and share the costs with a friend and maybe it'd be a worthwhile venture now and again - but what's the likelihood that you'll be able to find four people to do that with everytime you want to see a new film? Pretty slim, I'd say. If the price was lowered somewhat, perhaps I'd consider using the service from time to time, but it still seems unlikely when there are other services on offer.
How do you feel about something like The Screening Room? Is there a future for this kind of thing, or do those costs frighten both you and your bank balance? Would you be enticed to use it if it wasn't quite so expensive, maybe? Or are you just sick and tired at the way that movie theatres have gone these days and would be happy to pay anything to avoid them at all costs?