We also loved going before Covid. Alamo drafthouse could get $100 from us easy with tickets food and booze for a family of 4. Now I take a kid and maybe his friend to Santikos and it's $70 no "real" food or booze. Just tickets and popcorn and drink. We would have gone more this summer but I've been out of a job and don't want to spend that money. I also hate having to get up and get an adult beverage myself so now that's money the theatre doesn't get.

I have a season pass at Alamo Drafthouse, and I can't remember the last time I saw a movie after opening weekend with more than 50% occupancy. The only times the theater fills up are on opening weekends or the special screenings like Seven Samurai (super small theater) or Clerks (regular-sized)

who wants to pay a fortune for shtty content

Prices will go down soon.

The movie execs will just fire everyone, press an AI button and out will pop a movie. Agentic AI will install them in movie theaters and production companies will make a killing with all those wasteful human costs out of the way.

Profit!

Even the movie-goers will be AI robots paying in crypto and NFTs.

Detmersdislocatedshoulder said:

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who wants to pay a fortune for shtty content

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I was going to say LHN viewers, but ultimately there were never any of those

TV - I used to love Married with Children in the 90s. Then Frasier until the 00s. And Everybody Loves Raymond.

Now?

Nothing.

Squadron7 said:

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I blame:
1) Woke
2) Super Hero Fatigue
3) Unnecessary Re-boot Fatigue
4) Social Media Driven Celebrity Fatigue in General
5) Prices
6) Better Home Theatre

"Multiplexes in the United States and Canada had their worst summer since 1981 [ ... when the U.S. had 100 million fewer people] after adjusting for inflation and excluding the Covid pandemic years." pic.twitter.com/yevkLPqdJj

— Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) September 3, 2025

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There's very little reason to go. Movies transition to streaming services within just a few weeks/months instead of having to wait a year plus for the VHS/DVD to come out.

Rapier108 said:

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Only seen one movie in the theater since 2019 and that was Oppenheimer.

Would have gone to seen Top Gun: Maverick, but stuff kept getting in the way and never got around to it.

Don't care to see Marvel movies anymore. As others have said, superhero fatigue is very real. Add in all of the woke crap and sub-par storylines, it just isn't worth my time or money. End Game was the last one for me.

Looking at IMDB's list of upcoming movies, there is one movie I might go see, Nuremberg. Will wait to see about The Odyssey and Zero AD since both have potential for being really good.

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Same.

It was so freaking loud I was ready to walk out.

Affordable 4k large displays and surround sound set ups along with the "pause n' piss" functionality has fully eliminated the need to go to an actual theater.

I bought the F1 movie in UHD for $20. That would have been one ticket at the theater.

"Better Home Theatre" is definitely a big part of it. Why go to a cinema to watch the latest movie when you can wait for it to be released on an online streaming service? It's cheaper, more convenient, and you can pause the movie for a bathroom break.

Logos Stick said:

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Girl Boss!

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Yep. I got booed off the Entertainment Board for my critique of girl boss. I fully admit I liked it though.

Case it point. Furiosa absolutely bombed. Just crash and burn. And the thing is, it's really a great movie IMO with a great cast.

It bombed because of girl boss fatigue. Plain and simple. The target audience, young to middle age males, was just fatigued by girl boss and panned it.

As I told the E board, I'm right about this and you know it.

We went to the movies some this summer.

Don't miss seeing "Weapons". It was actually damn good and completely original. Very scary! No woke crap either.

BusterAg said:

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Urban Ag said:

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Did the economy still suck that bad in 81? I can't believe it was a down year for movies.

Raiders of the Lost Ark
Stripes
Body Heat
Clash of the Titans
The Road Warrior
Escape for New York
American Werewolf in London
Fox and the Hound
Excalibur


Hollywood couldn't dream of a lineup like that in the last two decades

---

Are the comparisons real prices (inflation adjusted)? Lots of inflation in 1980 and 1981.

Also, do your numbers include concessions / food / alcohol? The price of popcorn and sodas at the movie theatre has way, way outpaced inflation, and food and booze are relatively new to the industry.

I would be interested in a count of the number of tickets purchased over time as a comparison to revenue. Would be pretty interesting, but pretty sure the movie industry doesn't want you to see it.

---

I wasn't comparing prices, inflation, food/drink or any of that.

I'm talking about the product on the screen. Growing up there was pretty much always a movie out we wanted to see, or coming soon. Same for my parents.

Now we don't give a sh**. I cobbled that list together in 30 seconds after a quick search. That is a hell of a line up IMO. Yet now, we can't seem to find anything we want to see. Sucks.

Kids will watch a movie on a 6" screen with earbuds.

I think we've seen 3 movies as a family in the past 2.5 years.

Jurassic Park
Minecraft
Gaurdians 3

Each one for a family of 4 was north of $100.

I have always loved going to movies at the theater. When I was in junior high and high school, I probably went weekly when there was anything remotely worth seeing. That waned a bit through A&M (although I worked at the old Schulman 6 theater for a couple of years, so saw movies nightly then) and into the beginning years of my career, but with my kids, we were regular theater goers.

I've noticed that after Covid, I just don't have as much desire to go unless it's a big movie from a known director, ala Christopher Nolan or the dude that did the Dune movies. I got fatigued just looking at all the releases planned for the summer of 27 that was posted on the eboard yesterday (Superman, Batman, Avengers, animated Spider-Man, Frozen sequel, Passion of the Christ sequel, among many others). I'm sure I'll see the first three of those, I'll pass on the Frozen sequel since my youngest is now grown, but the rest will be via streaming.

What I do still really enjoying doing is going to the Alamo Drafthouse for an old movie. Last Friday I saw Jaws for only the second time on a theater screen. It was still just as awesome as it has always been. I already told the wife we will be going to a theater in 2027 for the 50th anniversary re-release of Star Wars. But after this past summer, I am finding it increasingly more difficult to get excited about any of these upcoming "new" projects. I saw F1, Superman, F4, Jurassic World Rebirth, and Ballerina. That would have been just another week in the Summer of 81 for me.

It is too expensive
Movies suck
Actors suck, talent level has dropped a ton
Current trend is to do a live action of a play or older movie. Hollywood lost its originality
All the Marvel and DC movies are the same for the common person
Companies make more money with mini-series than movies

Think AI will be the nail in the coffin. Enter an idea or a book into your computer and AI will generate a movie.

On the flip side I have gotten popcorn from the theatre around me several times, not sure what is different compared to a place like AMC but it is a lot better than I can make.

Everyone is watching kpop demon hunter on repeat. Duh.

Rapier108 said:

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Don't care to see Marvel movies anymore. As others have said, superhero fatigue is very real. Add in all of the woke crap and sub-par storylines, it just isn't worth my time or money. End Game was the last one for me.

---

I have said many times that Disney just didn't understand their audience. The Gen X dad was a major factor in the success of the MCU. I don't give a rip about super heroes or comic books but on a lazy Sunday afternoon I saw maybe 30 minutes of Iron Man and told myself, sh**, this is actually pretty darn good. Then I took my son and his friend to the Avengers. It was great. After that the whole family saw them in the theatre. Not everyone MCU but a majority of them.

Then Tony Stark died and so did my interest. Gaying it up pushed it further away.

I think the culprit is ease of access to better quality home equipment, big screen 4K TVs are cheap these days, affordability of just waiting a few weeks at most to stream at home and not have to pay out a small fortune for concessions, and the convenience factor.

If I can pay $20 to stream a first run movie within a couple of weeks after release, and the whole family can view in the comfort of home, with our own snacks, the ability to pause when needed, and not have to go deal with high-priced concessions, sticky floors, dirty seating, and traveling to the theater to deal with lines and sometimes rude folks, what is the incentive to go to the theatre? Going to the movies used to be an experience, but now not so much. These days my girl and I only occasionally watch a movie in the theatre if it's showing at a place with plush seats and we can get dinner and booze served to us as we watch.

If there isn't some value added to going to the theatre, what incentive is there to dole out more cash for something that is less appealing than simply watching the show at home? If the cineplex wants to bounce back, they need to up their game and make the experience worth the cost of admission.

P.U.T.U said:

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It is too expensive
Movies suck
Actors suck, talent level has dropped a ton
Current trend is to do a live action of a play or older movie. Hollywood lost its originality
All the Marvel and DC movies are the same for the common person
Companies make more money with mini-series than movies

Think AI will be the nail in the coffin. Enter an idea or a book into your computer and AI will generate a movie.

On the flip side I have gotten popcorn from the theatre around me several times, not sure what is different compared to a place like AMC but it is a lot better than I can make.

---

I won't see AI movies. Just forget it. To me that's like fat free cheese or sex with a condom. Why even bother.

P.U.T.U said:

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Companies make more money with mini-series than movies

---

I would love to see the numbers on this. It feels like way more people talk about streaming shows that movies these days.

Impossible. I've been informed by a Hollywood insider that everything is going very well and that Hollywood is back!!!

Hollywood hates America and has nothing in common with normal Americans.

agdoc2001 said:

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Impossible. I've been informed by a Hollywood insider that everything is going very well and that Hollywood is back!!!

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I would think the studios are making less but it isn't as bad as the box office would indicate because they make a lot more money on streaming rights and straight to streaming movies like Happy Gilmore 2 than they did 10+ years ago when the down trend started.

My adult children don't go because they would rather watch TikToc and YouTube videos or stream on Netflix. Neither one has been to a movie in years where when I was that age, it was at least once a month.

Squadron7 said:

---

I blame:
1) Woke
2) Super Hero Fatigue
3) Unnecessary Re-boot Fatigue
4) Social Media Driven Celebrity Fatigue in General
5) Prices
6) Better Home Theatre

"Multiplexes in the United States and Canada had their worst summer since 1981 [ ... when the U.S. had 100 million fewer people] after adjusting for inflation and excluding the Covid pandemic years." pic.twitter.com/yevkLPqdJj

— Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) September 3, 2025

---

I agree completely with your list. I would just put woke at the bottom, because Hollywood was already in a decline. Woke just happened to come around at that time. What's happening now would've happened without woke.

I still like going to the Movies. It's fun to grab some popcorn and a soft drink and watch a fun movie.

But movies used to be cheap entertainment. Not anymore....for a family of four, you're going to drop $100...just getting tickets and a drink. Heck, it's $60-70 just to get in the door on a Saturday night ($12-15 per ticket, plus fees/taxes).

I would still pay it, if it was a movie I really wanted to see. But these days, you can just wait 2 weeks, and one of the streaming services will be showing it. So why waste the money?

I think the streaming services are killing them more than anything. If they had to wait 3 months, like VHS/DVD rental days, theaters would be in more demand.

Urban Ag said:

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Did the economy still suck that bad in 81? I can't believe it was a down year for movies.

Raiders of the Lost Ark
Stripes
Body Heat
Clash of the Titans
The Road Warrior
Escape for New York
American Werewolf in London
Fox and the Hound
Excalibur


Hollywood couldn't dream of a lineup like that in the last two decades

---

Reagan had just taken office in 81. We were still in Carter's malaise economy. It would be a few years before the recovery began.

To your earlier points, they just aren't making original fun movies anymore. It's all reboots, superheroes or artsy fartsy stuff trying to "make people think". Boring.

It was a very weak summer for movies on top of all of the other reasons given. I thought the new Superman movie was just ok.

Streaming killed DVD sales. Studios counted on that revenue as kind of a second opening weekend. Trying to max out revenue at the theaters with movies they hope are a sure thing. Can't gamble with artsy or edgy films they hope will turn into a box office hit or take off as a DVD favorite.

I'm completely unmotivated to go share space with strangers when the product is Hollywood garbage at the current price level.

I'll pay more to go sit with more strangers at a live event though. A game could be thrown or a concert may be lip syched, but the brain will not detect those as easily as engineered propaganda like movies bake in these days.

Hollywood has lost touch with Americans. It's a dying medium that will be relegated to niche entertainment. Movie theaters will be the Kodak of the entertainment world at some point.

Well I guess I forgot that Reagan didn't take office until January 1981. Probably because I was distracted at seven years old by all the awesome movies we had to see

I think I saw two movies this summer in the theater.

1) The 35th anniversary showing of the original TMNT movie. Took my kids. There were 3 other people total in the theater.

2) The KPop Demon Hunters sing-along. The movie had been out for two months on Netflix but there was not a single empty seat in the theater. And that was the only showing of like 20 that I could find 6 seats together.

Turns out if you make an attractive animated movie with no wokeness, an original story, and a good soundtrack, you can still pack a theater with families. Who knew?

Surprised 1980 was pretty low too.

Caddyshack
Urban Cowboy
Empire Strikes Back
Airplane!
The Blues Brothers
9 to 5

Urban Ag said:

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BusterAg said:

---

Urban Ag said:

---

Did the economy still suck that bad in 81? I can't believe it was a down year for movies.

Raiders of the Lost Ark
Stripes
Body Heat
Clash of the Titans
The Road Warrior
Escape for New York
American Werewolf in London
Fox and the Hound
Excalibur


Hollywood couldn't dream of a lineup like that in the last two decades

---

Are the comparisons real prices (inflation adjusted)? Lots of inflation in 1980 and 1981.

Also, do your numbers include concessions / food / alcohol? The price of popcorn and sodas at the movie theatre has way, way outpaced inflation, and food and booze are relatively new to the industry.

I would be interested in a count of the number of tickets purchased over time as a comparison to revenue. Would be pretty interesting, but pretty sure the movie industry doesn't want you to see it.

---

I wasn't comparing prices, inflation, food/drink or any of that.

I'm talking about the product on the screen. Growing up there was pretty much always a movie out we wanted to see, or coming soon. Same for my parents.

Now we don't give a sh**. I cobbled that list together in 30 seconds after a quick search. That is a hell of a line up IMO. Yet now, we can't seem to find anything we want to see. Sucks.

---

I'll be honest. I went to see Dune and Dune 2 in the theatres, twice each. Once on opening weekend, and once with my daughter who is also a Frank Herbert fan. I also went to see The Boy and the Heron on opening weekend with my daughters.

That is it since COVID. I was planning on seeing Life of Chuck at the theatre because I love both the author (King) and the lead (Hiddleston), but didn't get a chance due to my girls' busy schedules.