I have always said there is nothing like going to the movie theater. There is something wonderful about going to the cinema, joining a crowd of people to share in a viewing experience of a project that took thousands of people over months and months and months of time and took millions of dollars and loads of creative energy from hundreds of artists and professionals…. all so you can take your seat and sit back for 2 hours to enjoy. I love it. And with all due respects to home theater enthusiasts (of which I am a minor one myself), but NOTHING in any home can come close to the experience of watching a film in a theater. At least that’s my opinion.
It seems that the majority of teens believe that also… well… sort of.
Our friends over at Slashfilm give us this:
A new report from Morgan Stanley attempts to capture the media habits of a modern-day teenager. The findings conclude that teenagers are “very reluctant” to pay for music (80 percent download it illegally, most have never bought a CD) and the majority consider Newspapers and other print media as “irrelevant.” The good news (at least for Hollywood) is that despite the availability of movies on bit torrent sites, going to the movies is one of only a “few beneficiaries” teens consider worthy of payment (concerts and video games also appear on that list).
The bad news is that teenagers don’t really care which movie they see. According to the study, most teens look at movies as more of a social gathering/experience, and often don’t even choose the film until after they arrive at the movie theater.
So going to the theater is still considered one of the great social activities… they just don’t decide what to see until they get there.
Nothing in that report surprises me… I’m actually encouraged by it… and it backs up what myself and a lot of other people have been saying for a long time about movie piracy… people, even teens, much prefer to see a real movie on a real screen. Obviously there are exceptions.
This report is pretty much a surprise to no one in the history of anything.
Teenagers talk, A LOT. I can’t stand it when they’re incapable of shutting up or turning off their cell phones for even a minute.
What ever happened to ushers? Those guys who would kick you out of the theatre if you couldn’t shut up. Those were the days.
THAT’S what we need.
I found a great way to avoid tweenyboppers at the movies: I go to the earliest showtime. Specially for big movies. I went to the 9:30 am Sunday show for Transformers, and it was great!! No lines, no dumbass 13 year olds…and you will pay less!!
I agree..people love going to the movies regardless of whether any good movie is out..I have to admit I am a victim of this myself.
Hmmm … I guess when I was a teenager back in the 80s my group of friends and I were far more choosy. We went to the movies for a specific movie and for me personally, there are movies out there that I would never pay to see. But each generation and each individual is different.
I just love going to the theater to see movies, however with ticket prices going up all the time, I’m still very choosy about what I’m going to pay theater price to see.
And teens when you’re in a movie, please no excessive loud talking, or pulling out your phone as the light is a distraction for those of us who love the dark theater and definitely no twittering, etc. We’ve paid the ticket price; we shouldn’t have to deal with such nonsense.
I live in Australia, and I’ve had american friends describe how different the movie-going experience is here compared to there.
Australian theatres are quieter when the movie is on, teenagers usually shut up, nobody puts up with people talking (more than once I’ve heard people loudly and aggresively tell them to shut up or get the f- out of the theatre, and it always works), people are generally courteous to others.
Laughter during comedies is probably the only exception, and even during the kids movies the parents do a good job of getting their kids to not be too boisterous.
Must just be very different theatre-going attitude here.
Im 17 and I still think to myself “oh shit!” when I see a group of kids my age in a theater. Especially when I KNOW that they will bee obnoxious morons the entire movie!
I think it also adds to why the movies can sometimes be a hard thing to stomach; at least where I live…
I can’t tell you how many times I choose a theater time meticulously to avoid the “teen” crowds because generally, they are all obnoxious and disrespectful jerks that can’t keep their mouth shut for the running time of the film. I’ve even had theater visits where teens are running up and down the aisles screaming. Movie theaters have their pro(s) and con(s), but ultimately, these teens are 90% of my reasons in the “con” department.
Most teens also don’t give a shit if they completely ruin your movie viewing experience by being obnoxious loudmouthed little fuckheads while the film is playing. I’ve had to go and get the theater management because of teenagers talking, jumping from one row of seats to the row in front of it, or talking/texting on their cellphones during the last five films I’ve seen at the theater. Sadly, most of the time theater managers here won’t do crap about it and their solution is to just give you a free movie pass(which most of the time you can’t use on films that are new releases).
This is exactly what happens to me when im with most of my friends. I went to the movies recently, and while I wanted to see the Hangover, the rest of my friends wanted to see Year One. They all bought the tickets so the choose was see the crappy movie or be left with no plans. I eventually saw the Hangover but not with my friends. I have to say though that there were movies that we thought would be ok and they ended up being horrible so we had to talk and make fun of the movie just to get through it.
I agree, and what really annoys me is teens bot5hering other people at the theater, or talking on cell phones, or whatever. They just don’t seem to care what movie they go to and treat the experience like dirt. That has always annoyed me about my fellow age group.
The worst part is when I walk in i can TELL that in their heads the whole theater just said “FUCK! TEENAGER!”
Im tired of being generalized as a loud obnoxious textaholic in the movies just because everyone my age is
Ill admit to this though:
I DO sneak into movies, i movie hop
AND
I get the half empty popcorn things when the movie is done, throw the stale popcorn away and ask for a “re-fill”
Its genius.
But i never interrupt a movie, no one hates that more then me
This is not really a bad thing when you think about it. For every time a group of teens randomly decides to go see every Meet The Spartans/Eric Movie there’s a hundred more that will roll the dice on something like The Hangover.
Think about it.
By the way, once upon a time in what might seem like a galaxy far, far away, there was something called a
Drive-In.
Where teens of generations past didn’t always care what A list or B list film was playing, but they socialized 95 percent of the time.
ok if the movie is good i would /
Okay, John wasnt generalizing
Well he was, but he was right
Let me ask you this:
If you get to the movies early and the theater is 1/3 full, and then you see like 6 teenagers walk in, is this NOT the reaction in your head?
“FUCK!”
Lol I’ve done that
Every single time!
I’m usually at the movies to watch the movie, but I’m probably the only one…
Haha, I do that often. Really, it is a social gathering. When there’s a huge movie coming out, it’s different, but most of the times we go out just for going out, and watching a movie is a good part of it.
Then again, you don’t know a movie is crap until you see it. How is it teenagers’ fault?
I don’t know what John is talking about, really. Must be a demographic thing, not an age one. I’m about the same age rang e as John, yet, in my area, when I go to the movies…
Yes the teens do the text.
Yes the teens chit chat
Yes they goof around
Then the movie starts and they are respectful of others around them. In fact, I have noticed it is the people closer to my own age (30’s-40’s) who can’t turn off the cell phones during movies more often than any other age demographic.
I dont know,
In scary movies its always the little teenage girls that scream at the non scary parts
Go watch a horror movie on a friday night…they scream at the stupidest parts. Like the scene in which the girl opens the fridge to get a yogurt
Ive never in my life seen a 30 year old individual behave like this
Depends on the flavor of Yogurt, Hazmat
:)
Oh, don’t get me started on that. I really wonder what the heck’s going through their heads when they do that.
I think you need to be careful about generalising, but I think the vast majority of teenagers ruin the cinema experience. This study shows they don’t care about what they’re seeing, they generally talk, shout, comment and distract the rest of the audience and don’t even get me started on the amount of texting they get through. I don’t pay £15 for me and my girlfriend to see a film to spend more time trying to ignore the mob of teenagers who couldn’t care less about what was on screen. By all means come to the cinema, but leave the socialising for after the film! Just shut up, keep your thoughts to yourself and let the rest of us enjoy the movie!!!
if boys and girls want to kiss and make love at a kids movie i dont think thats the movie they should be seing.
I am Sorry John but I have to disagree with you, my home theater destroys any cinema, plus I can eat what I want, smoke what I want ect ect.. everytime I see a movie at the theater when I see it again at home at 1080P nothing can beat that image,its almost like I am seeing the movie for the first time, especially when alot of special effects are involved. the image in the theater is grainy compared to at home.I think its more the experience of going to a movie that you like compared to the quality right?
LOL! Oh my Goodness are u kidding?? haha…. uhm a friend of mine has a 1080p Beamer and its awesome his homecinema is really cool but DUDE have u EVER in ur live seen a movie in a digital theatre??? the resolution is a LOT a fuckin LOT higher than 1080p so pleeeeease shut the fuck up about going to the movies when u have nevern been to THE movies alright??? ur homecinema is shit compared to every digital Cinema.
owned!
The theater you go to probably has a shity projector. And you may have one nicer My Uncle had a better projector than my local theater but their are theaters that have better projectors unless you spent ten grand on yours. And I know the feeling of being able to do what you want is nice but I John is talking about more than just quality of sound and picture it is like a experience all in its own.
Alex thats just Rude dude.
as a teen myself this is VERY true. most of my friends invite me to movies and when i ask which one they say “we will decied when we get there”. most just go to them for a good place to make out and dont even watch. sadely im not one of them….i go for the movie…im pathetic haha
HAHA! I plan what movie ill watch and when like months before.
Its okay. Were all the same here. We all probably go through the same thing.
xD
This is so funny because my friends and I will go in groups of twenty or more sometimes and we always know what were seeing shit we know days before hand.
thanks hazmat. yeah i plan months ahead too. like transformers and watchmen. but most of my friends like stupid shit like the proposal. gah.
It’s sad that the majority of the population are such chumps. When i was a teenager (only a few years ago) we always knew what we were going to see, and made the effort on the basis of the film, and still do, travelling miles into London to be able to see independant and foreign films.
We just have to accept that a large percentage of ppl are a waste of space
And they paid money to find that out?
I still can’t figure out where you get the idea that teens would rather see a movie on the big screen.
I seem to remember in my teenage years that it usually wasn’t the MOVIE that I was interested in once the lights went down. Heck, if I wanted to see the movie, I’d be better off going by myself.
If you go to see films to get laid thats sad. I just do it before I go than go in the theater with that relaxing feeling you have after a good lay and enjoy the film.
I’ve learned that teenagers tend to go on Friday and Saturday nights. So I wait til Sunday night. It’s always worth the wait.
I was the same way and then started going to saturday or sunday mornings at amc, first it is only $6.00 for any movie before noon, second, and most important, there is next to no one there. Just don’t go to see any kids movies, unless it is the first showing.
It’s true that most kids nowadays don’t care for which movie they see, they just care to go to the theater; the bad thing is, as Vito so eloquently put it, that they don’t give a rat’s ass for other people. They treat going to the movies as going to the mall or a pub or any other social gathering place, when it isn’t so. You gather at the movie theater, decide which movie to see, then go together and WATCH the movie; you don’t sit around for an hour and a half (two hours and thirty two minutes if you’re watching Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ;)) and chat with your friends, thereby ruining the moviegoing experience to other people.
Makes me remember that news article a while back about that one guy who shoot someone in the movie theater for talking. And then there’s Shepherd Book’s quote concerning the special hell reserved for rapists and people who talk in the theater (which I can’t remember word for word right now).
It’s great they’re going to the movies. It just sucks that they’re going for the wrong reasons.
“If you take sexual advantage of her, you’re going to burn in a very special level of hell. A level they reserve for child molesters and people who talk at the theater.”
LOL thats funny I am watching Fire Fly all over again before I go to bed and I almost cry knowing it’s over.
I think its dumb to compare movies to cds. Like who is going to buy a cd when they don’t own a cd player? Movies have the experience of the theater and for the time being people are still using the actual bluray disc.
And if teens didn’t care what movies they saw movies like transformers wouldn’t make 300 plus million.
I fucking hate teenagers. They’ve ruined the moviegoing experience for me so damn much. They sit there and talk and text like they’re in their fucking living room. No respect or sense or intelligence. And I’m 18 for fuck’s sake.
Ditto
Its kinda sad that i enjoy going with my family more
My friends actually aren’t a problem, thankfully. They’re grown up. It’s everyone else. I also enjoy going with my family occasionally.
My friends and I are so loud up untill the film starts or if they have grate previews than we shut the fuck up.
I agree with this, my friends dont give a shit what theyll watch. Everytime a spoof movie comes out they MUST see it
And they always leave the theater like 20 minutes before the movie ends
I dont get it. Im like the only one of my friends that liked Burn After Reading, i was so fucking pissed at that. You have no idea.
They dont give a shit about movies, im like the only one that knows about movies in my group
It’s cuz you’re in the minority. Most people(especially teens) don’t like to contemplate the movies they take in too much.