The common thread is that the corporations in the supply chain between you and the creators of the content really don't care much about the experience you have in the theater. They care about maximizing profit. We need to link, in their minds, their bad decision making and reduced profits. That is the only way any changes will be made.
Of course, for my part, the movie going experience is horrible for additional reasons: commercials, talking patrons, and crying babies. I've seen one movie in the last 6 months and there was a crying baby and and a talking child in the theater. Had I not traveled 40 minutes to see the movie, I'd have asked for my money back immediately.
You'd think with the panic the film industry is in they'd be falling over themselves trying to please the moviegoer. Instead we see them trying to treat you as a captive audience and squeeze more revenue out of your eyeballs.
They forget who actually holds the money in every transaction: the customer, and few transactions are as thoroughly optional as movie tickets.
I'm sure the talking and disrespect in the movie theater is a symptom of the problem. People no longer respect the theater because it's stopped respecting them, and in the process lost its own self-respect.
> Instead we see them trying to treat you as a captive audience and squeeze more revenue out of your eyeballs.
I'm going to blame this on B-school theory, particularly Michael Porter. What Porter did is take economic theory about the undesirable behaviour of monopolists and turn it around. "You should screw your customers and suppliers in this fashion!"
And in the short term, it absolutely works. In the long term you disgust the people who put you there -- your customers -- and most industries are not natural monopolies.
It's interesting in Australia it seemed when pirated films first started appearing they did effect audience numbers. It turned around though and people went back to theatres for the better experience, all they have done though is jacked up the price and added more ads/ previews.
Of course, for my part, the movie going experience is horrible for additional reasons: commercials, talking patrons, and crying babies. I've seen one movie in the last 6 months and there was a crying baby and and a talking child in the theater. Had I not traveled 40 minutes to see the movie, I'd have asked for my money back immediately.