-> Confirmed (1): DVD Kill Cinemas - Celluloid Or Digital

[S8 Booster]

as mentioned some time ago dvds are on their way to kill the ordinary cinemas - at least up here in northern europe and there is no doubt that the rest of the (conservative) world will follow.

for reasons the number of cinema visitors drops at a rate no "revolution" in celluloid can make up for. the drop over the recent year is approx 1 out of 6.

fabolous home cinema systems offer much better terms for viewing what you want - when you want - at a quality only your wallet will limit.

new films are released on dvd very quickly after the premiere.
new films will be shot digital - shit in - shit out - no problem.
"hot" dvd prices are down to approx 1.5 cimena fee.
within short full dvd quality films are quickly downloadable from internet at low fees ala itunes n´ more for music.

my guess is that the hesitation in the release of the full digital format cinemas is due to the all dropping rate of cinema visitors - no use of new tech that no one wants to spend their money on?

qualified sources also predicts a trend allready in the kettle: new features will only be released on dvds or downloadable as digital files in the future - and why not?

so, die cinema - die ;-)

(execept for those "narrow" cinemas showing only old bw celluloid then)

my twinola gigantic du-nots.

[Andreas Wideroe]

Actually that's not the trend here in Kristiansand. Number of visitors to the Cinemas are again increasing and last year was the second best EVER.

However, when they start projecting DVDs in Cinemas I will stay home.

[S8 Booster]

sure, individual variations will occur but it is a trend confirmed by the industry here recently and as allways scandinavia is the first to adopt new techs and alternatives when avail. i think s8 died here first as well due to the trashmatic alternative vhs. hard to belive but we know the fazit

the drop here - despite having the most modern cinema in this country - probably with the best digital sound system as well - is formidable.

[jean]

Well, I've heard that automobiles are doomed and the world's oil reserves are draining fast.

Video should have ended that silly habit of going to a theatre 20 years ago, and TV made cinemas an anachronism in the 50s.

Problem is, people are stubborn and cling to old habits. Like lemmings they rush to theatres to see movies that will be broadcasted on tv a year later.

However, if they start projecting DVDs, I could imagine that some will decide to stay at home at last, and tune in to jackass or something like that.

[danpuddick]

Although nothing like it was before TV, cinema admissions in the UK have been steadily increasing since the early 80s http://www.bfi.org.uk/filmtvinfo/stats/ ... sions.html.

I think you make the mistake booster of presming that people always want to do what is most practical and cost efficient. Not trying to sterotype, but after living in Sweden I can see Scandinavian people being more attracted to home cinema due to their own nature.

As an aside, Uk football match attendance has increased steadily sice the early 80s depite it being relatively more expensive a to attend and the fact that many matches are avilable live on TV - I just think it shows that people won't always take the most practical alternative.

[christoph]

pretty good article on the topic:
http://slate.msn.com/id/2123286/

and very interestng chart:
http://www.edwardjayepstein.com/US205MPA.htm

personally i think the movie is still important for "advertising" the DVD, generating all the talk etc.
also, movie theatres alwas were important for the young folks, where else can you sit next to your beloved one for 2 hours in the dark? ;)
like 80% of the movie visits are by ppl under 30years.
++ christoph ++

[ccortez]

Problem is, people are stubborn and cling to old habits. Like lemmings they rush to theatres to see movies that will be broadcasted on tv a year later.

Do none of us believe that there is a difference between a social event -- seeing a movie with a large group of others, especially strangers -- and an isolated one, watching alone at home?

Doesn't the social element still affect the experience?

Does context count?

If the answer to any of the above is "yes", should filmmakers begin making films differently that are to be watched alone rather than in groups?

[ccortez]

BTW, for all of you who believe DVD sales are just going up-up-up, you must not follow Dreamworks stock. ;)

I got a great deal on some shares of LGF when group think made it made guilty-by-association with DWA, which is/was run by monkeys; LGF is structured very differently, with much diversity in its plans regarding distribution of digital media.

My $.02 that I'm trying to turn into $2.00,
c.

[christoph]

BTW, for all of you who believe DVD sales are just going up-up-up, you must not follow Dreamworks stock. ;)

i take it you havent checked out the link i posted above?

DVD sales are nearly 4 times as high as the revenue from theatre release. add TV channel to that and you'll see that financially the theater is a very small part indeed
++ christoph ++

ps: note that while theatre revenue did indead grow, DVD sales grew nearly 8 times as much. also note that vhs is about to die.

[Old Uncle Barry]

As a worker in the cinema trade,I can assure all that serious advanced talks are taking place with the view to issuing the DVD simultaneousley with the cinema release.......................Watch that screen!!

[danpuddick]

You can eat dinner out or you can get a take away. The take away is more practical - often cheaper, yet people still go to restaurants. The CD usually sounds better than a live gig but 100s of concerts go on each night. It's cheaper to drink at home than in the pub.

If everyone is miserable and thinks that the cinema experience should come down to what is most practical and costs efficient rather than what is most fun then DVD or whatever will kill video, but luckily I don't think most people are.

[BigBeaner]

Personally I think this is just the cycle of the industry. The once young renegades are now older men that became a part of the system that they wanted to avoid. Soon a new group will come and it all begins anew again. Just look through the history of film and you'll realize this.

Another realization is that, 4 out of the 5 top ranked movies in America can techinically be argued as "remakes" or really just generally rehashed ideas. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Four was a comic anda Roger Corman movie, The Island was The Clonus Horror, and The Bad News Bear is just another remake. Only the Wedding Crashers is the original story out of the top 5.

Isn't this sad? It only motivates me more.

[steve hyde]

as mentioned some time ago dvds are on their way to kill the ordinary cinemas - at least up here in northern europe and there is no doubt that the rest of the (conservative) world will follow.

for reasons the number of cinema visitors drops at a rate no "revolution" in celluloid can make up for. the drop over the recent year is approx 1 out of 6.

fabolous home cinema systems offer much better terms for viewing what you want - when you want - at a quality only your wallet will limit.

new films are released on dvd very quickly after the premiere.
new films will be shot digital - shit in - shit out - no problem.
"hot" dvd prices are down to approx 1.5 cimena fee.
within short full dvd quality films are quickly downloadable from internet at low fees ala itunes n´ more for music.

my guess is that the hesitation in the release of the full digital format cinemas is due to the all dropping rate of cinema visitors - no use of new tech that no one wants to spend their money on?

qualified sources also predicts a trend allready in the kettle: new features will only be released on dvds or downloadable as digital files in the future - and why not?

so, die cinema - die ;-)

(execept for those "narrow" cinemas showing only old bw celluloid then)

my twinola gigantic du-nots.

What do you mean by *death of cinema*? DVD gives cinema a place to live not a place to die.

New venues? bring them on....

Steve

[Alex]

BTW, for all of you who believe DVD sales are just going up-up-up, you must not follow Dreamworks stock. ;)

c.

Dreamworks had forecast additional quarters of decent sales for Shrek, and instead the DVD, after flying high for quite a while, just flatlined.

The reason is the new wave of DVD's is getting bigger and bigger, so shelf life for older titles is decreasing. Eventually, DVD's may be "rotated" in and out. So after Shrek's phenomemal sales period, the tailing off of sales never happened, insteasd Shrek just shriveled up.

Eventually, Shrek will come back out when a new Shrek is released, and so on.

I'm not convinced that Movie theatres are supposed to keep increasing sales year after year or be considered in "decline". The fact that Movie theatres attendances is stable, AND DVD sales are exploding, is ultimately a good thing for the movie industry and frankly, has very little to do with how the film is made.

I just don't see a connection between the increase in DVD sales and how a film is made. Distributors still prefer film origination UNLESS the filmmaker has already made and sold an digital shot film original. Its just safer that way.

[supermag400_inventor]

Digital is changing the world by leaps and bounds. The only way to save the Cinema is for them to make it cheaper to go. If the price were only a few dollars instead of it's present rape, everyone would think of it as a nice night out.

It's the fault of the greedy cinema complex conglomerates and the distributors. If the movies were cheaper than DVD's the trend would reverse itself.

Bring back the old sunday dollar movies!