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In this age of streaming services, do you think going to the cinemas will soon be a thing of the past?

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I don't think so.

I use streaming services, but it doesn't even come close to replacing the experience of watching a movie in a cinema.

12 ( +13 / -1 )

I think that it might IN THE FUTURE. For sure, in our generation, there are more people like my good friend Bintaro who love the cinema and will go than lazy slobs like me who are netflix couch potatoes, but the question is how many in the future who grew up streaming will be willing to go all the way to the cinema? Will their numbers be enough to keep the industry going? that is the real question.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

No. I only make it to a theater 2 or 3 times a year, but most of my college students go at least once a month. While Netflix and chill is nice and all, dates for the foreseeable future will still require venturing outside.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yes and No. Yes because the movie "experience" is ruined by people who can't stop talking or ruining the plot. And No because of too much vested control in Netflix and Disney that will require an outlet for independent films

2 ( +4 / -2 )

In some countries including the UK cinema numbers have actually increased. Going out to the cinema is an event, You can go for a meal etc. Slobbing out is not.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I remember they said books would be a thing of the past....

I see absolutely no sign of it.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Maybe even in Virtual Reality

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Especially in Japan people prefer being inside their own homes and with almost obsession. Home and work and nothing in between. Internet, social media and live streaming suits the way they like to live.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

No, at least I hope not. I still watch some movies at the cinema. I will bring my kids as well. Just wish the ticket prices were not that expensive.

But as Lostrune above said, maybe VR will be a bridge that gives people the cinema experience at home but personally I prefer to go out.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I guess it depends on where one lives. In Japan, at least for foreigners, yes, streaming movies is already replacing going to the cinema as Japan doesn't bring in any movies from abroad, but box office ones. Hardly any good edgy movies ever make it here anymore.

As for the US, I don't see it replacing actually going to the cinema any time soon, but may one day as the movie-going experience is not what it once was. Too many now lack cinema etiquette

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

The number of people going to cinemas has been declining for decades since the the introduction of the VCR. The drive-in theater is long extinct. The multiplex cinema in my home town actually closed down last week. I don't think cinemas will die out completely, but many are struggling and I'm sure a few more will close. However, I'm not sure if it is because of the movie streaming services. It's more likely due to the continuing trend of DVD's being released earlier and earlier after the movie has played at the cinema.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

No, but I think cinema may have to evolve one way or another. 3d is a nice gimmick but I don’t see the current incarnation of it lasting.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

yeah, I'll never get a 4k tv that will fit on my wall that is as good as a theater. It's better than it was but there's still only one way for the best movies.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I don't think it's streaming video that will kill movie theaters. If anything, it will be VR. That said, I think people like to go out for an event, and even if VR becomes the standard, I could see people still going out for that.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Not sure what I'm missing here. Most people commenting are pro movie theaters and that's okay, but putting up with people talking, kids screaming, phone's going off, filthy seats (warning don't turn on a light and look at the seat you're about to sit in) watching at home is so much more convenient especially with Blu-ray or 4K. FYI: I used to work at a theater while going to college and believe me you don't want to know what goes on at the did counter..... I would warn you don't order popcorn or the food. And no, I was not a participant in that mess.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I doesn't understand the yoof of today. Many complain about having to accept a dimmer future than their parents' generation and yet they are happy to listen to music through buds rather than a stereo system and watch television shows or movies on a smartphone.

Nothing will replace watching a movie, particularly one with lots of CGI and special effects, on the big screen.

ReeseDec. 12  11:40 pm JST . . . but putting up with people talking, kids screaming, phone's going off, filthy seats (warning don't turn on a light and look at the seat you're about to sit in)

What hellhole of a theater do you go to? Obviously none that I've ever been to in Japan and none that I go to in the U.S.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Nah, you simply can't beat the communal experience of going to see a film on the big screen.

Blade Runner 2049 and Dunkirk were examples of the brilliance of the soundscapes used in the movies. You cannot really replicate that, no matter how fancy your home system happens to be.

Still, audience participation is a little muted here - but that's preferable to a bunch of eejits playing with their phones and yapping all the way through, as experienced elsewhere.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yes and no. I think we'll see a move, as we already are, from the big screen back to the "TV" (streamed). However, the movie-going experience, as a whole, will continue to exist in a niche market, and a diminished capacity. Nothing beats going to a movie -- it is the only real place you can forget about the world outside for a couple of hours (so long as you put down your phone).

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Eh to, if people were Ethyl and me, Hollywood would be bankrupt. We have a very low tolerance for non excellent movies. Very few excellent movies since about the 1950s, a few after then...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

that recently comes from Hollywood

Then don't watch anything that comes out of Hollywood. There are plenty of non-Hollywood films to choose from.

I prefer the Cinema for quality movies, however those are becoming rare and rare.

No, they're not.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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