The right movie, at the right theater, is an experience unto itself. My home entertainment center can't compete with the half a million dollar setup at the bad-ass Dolby Atmos, digital projector, luxury recliner, with wait staff, theater for a movie like Dune 2. I definitely prefer the theater for those types of movies. But whatever random romcom that just came out? Yes, I'd much rather watch it at home. It's pretty neat that they serve alcohol at the theater now too. We used to have to sneak that in when I was still a drinker. I don't drink anymore, but I'm sure those who do really appreciate that upgrade in experience.
Can confirm, we drove 3 hours to watch Dune 2 on IMAX and it was a blast. It's a good movie no matter where you watch it but on the big screen it becomes a religious experience.
for me the alcohol is useless because i cant pause the movie to go piss😂 i had to suffer through thor 4 (before u say anything i enjoyed the movie, just had to pee for 2/3rds of it)
That's a good point. We would take Yukon Jack back in the day and mix it with our sodas. That gets you good and drunk without needing as many bathroom breaks.
yeah what i had was the largest glass of beer they would allow. the bartender said thor would be proud 😂 but it made me have to pee. at least it was one of the shorter mcu movies
The only theater experience that's worth it is when the entire audience is pumped to be there. When I saw The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy the audience was filled with hoopy froods who all had their towels. They laughed at the right parts, and burst into applause when the Heart of Gold turned into Douglas Adam's head at the end.
Harry Potter movies were good for this, too. All the kids there in their robes and wands and buzzing with excitement. But most movies do not have that sort of vibe, and it's not worth the money to see it in a theater with people who clearly would rather be on their phone. Like the time I saw a Star Trek movie and some idiot kept laughing at Chekov's accent, even in dramatic scenes.
There was a Warren Theater within reasonable driving distance that used to have a wait stuff and serve full meals, like good restaurant quality plus cocktails. They stopped during the pandemic and last I knew they never started again.
After that, meh. We have a theater closer to home that we'll go to sometimes if there's a discount night or something we just can't wait for. Otherwise we wait.
And I honestly can't tell if it's because I'm getting older and less interested or just more cynical towards wasting money like that when I know 100% I'll be able to watch it later for no additional cost. But I'm being it's a little of both.
I do the same with video games anymore. I still love to play a lot when I can but I absolutely cannot justify buying a game new for full price despite seeing all my friends playing it without me. (With the exceedingly rare exception)