7. Cinema Attendance Will Be Lower Than Ever, But Piracy Wont Necessarily Be The Reason
I hate going to Multiplexes, and I always have. They may have improved business, but to me they damage a cinemagoing experience. Because the people who work there just dont care. People, unfortunately many around my age, pay to sit in a cinema and text on their phones, and talk and laugh and ruin it for everyone else. It really makes you want to go home and watch the damn film uninterrupted on your laptop or TV. Stereoscopic 3D and premiere seating (dont get me started) just arent enough to drag families away from their homes, and quite rightly. I admire the audience tolerance policies of IMAX and Drafthouse theatres, as well as small, local, independent theatres that may show arthouse as well as mainstream fare. Most people who work there and attend their cinemas are passionate about film, so they are not tolerant of people talking during the film, or using their phones, taking away from the experience for everyone else. Sadly, I know this wont transfer to multiplex chains. I dont have Netflix, I dont really watch films that are on TV, I dont stream films on an ipad, or a console. I watch DVDs of films I cant see in the cinema, but that is it. I forget the study, but I read one this year showing that internet piracy, while damaging, is not making as much of a dent in the industry as we had been led to believe. So whilst I feel it is totally unacceptable, it is neither that nor sites like LoveFilm or NetFlix (which Im not really a big fan of, but am not necessarily against) that will drive down cinema attendance and have studios scrabbling for more extra-cost gimmicks or vaguely recognisable brands, its that the whole experience of a trip to the cinema doesnt seem to be as worth as much as it once was.