The halls of the Outpost once more echo to the sound of… well, arguments! The Great Debate returns to challenge our Outposters with an important cinematic or televisual conundrum of our time.
Do you have an idea for a debate? A topic you would like to put to Outposters? Then ping it over to us at [email protected] and be the one who starts the fight.
Today’s debate topic occurred to me when looking at the disqus lately. People talk about watching movies on streaming, the joy of being on your couch with a beer, maybe a pizza just delivered, as you watch a movie and just be entertained. Or even don’t be entertained, it doesn’t really matter as you probably paid very little to watch the movie.
More and more movies now seem like great movies to check out at home.
This set me thinking… exactly what does it take these days to get me off the couch and out to the movie theater? The answer is that it has to be a “big” movie. A “luxury” big-screen movie, almost. Dune Part Two, I will go and see on the big screen. The latest standard Marvel offering…? Not so much anymore.
A new Avengers team-up with a decent ensemble, then we might be talking again. The last Equalizer movie was tailor-made for home viewing. The upcoming Superman movie? Probably one for the big screen.
In short, it has to be a massive motion picture and big screen experience event to drag my carcass off the couch these days. Otherwise, I will wait for streaming. So this led me to think about the question to put to Outposters:
Is cinema now a luxury item?
Just like you can drink wine every day, but you need a special excuse to drink champagne, does it take a “luxury” movie to motivate you to go, and spend the money for a special experience rather than the every day? As box office receipts fall and more movies struggle at theaters, is it because the whole experience is undermined by itself now?
Sound off below! Maybe Hollywood will learn something from some free audience research here.
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