Would you rather watch a new movie at home, or in the theater? It’s a tough question with many variables. But in a recent survey commissioned by Variety, it seems like the majority of people wouldn’t want to pay $25 to watch a new movie at home instead of in a theater.
64% of respondents said $25 was too expensive, while another 13% claimed to prefer the theater experience. 9% were on board at $25, while another $13 were on the fence.
When Variety hiked the price point up to a ridiculous $50, the numbers shifted further away from paying. 78% said that $50 was too expensive, and 11% preferred the experience at the theater. Just 5% of respondents were comfortable paying $50, and 6% weren’t sure.
There was no demographic information available with the survey, and that’s a shame, because it would really help break these numbers down a little more. I would feel comfortable saying that single people wouldn’t want to pay to stay at home, while parents with children would be absolutely willing to stay at home, given that once you pay for multiple tickets and snacks, you’re likely well over that $25 barometer. Plus, you don’t have to get the kids ready to go out.
Pros and cons exist on both sides of the argument. You can (theoretically, at least – who even knows what this would look like in practice) pause and rewind the movie at home in case you get distracted. You also wouldn’t need to pay for snacks or drinks, and could just consume what you had on hand at home. You also wouldn’t have to worry about the possibility of crowds, sold out shows, or showings at times that aren’t convenient for you.
As far as not paying…if you’re going alone, $25 is more than you would spend on a ticket and any desired refreshments. You would also get out of the home for a little bit in case you’re dealing with cabin fever. And then there’s the matter of the actual audio/visual experience – if you don’t have an elaborate home theater setup at home, wouldn’t you want to go to the theater to get that experience?
Variety’s survey also featured a question about why people don’t go to the theater as much as they did in the past, and the top two responses were, unsurprisingly, related to price and convenience. 31% of respondents felt that movies were too expensive, and 24% felt that it was more convenient to stay at home and watch a movie. 18% of people claimed the overall quality of movies had gone down (which I wouldn’t argue with), 11% claimed there were better options available on streaming services, and 15% said their patterns hadn’t changed at all. But that 15% isn’t good news for the studios – it means that 85% of respondents were going to theaters less for one reason or another.
What will end up happening to the possibilities to same day VOD? I think some studios could experiment with more limited or lower budget releases – for example, Star Wars probably won’t be available to you at home on release day. If the early returns are promising, you could see it expanded into larger budget, more broadly released films. And if that ends up happening, I wouldn’t be shocked if you start to see even more movie theater locations closing up shop.
[Variety]
