Jul 08 2005
How Empire Theatres Lost My Business
A night at the movies used to mean going to a theatre, but these days it’s more like going to a carnival. Walk in to an Empire Theatres multiplex and try to have a conversation with the person next to you without having to yell into their ear. Chances are the sound from all the video games, the clack-clack of the air hockey table, and the mounted televisions blaring out movie trailers, on top of the clamour from the crowd who are forced to speak over all this noise, will make it impossible. And that’s just the front door.
When you finally make it into the theatre, if you’re smart enough to come early for a good seat, you can have the level of your entertainment experience “enhanced” by being forced to watch something called the “Digital Pre-Show” (which I talked about in a previous post). It’s a cheaply produced version of something like Entertainment Tonight, jam packed with regular television commercials to further enhance your level of entertainment. After 20 minutes of that, the lights go down and another commercial plays, and another, and another, and then a handful of movie trailers, and then, after at least 20 minutes of this stuff, the movie finally begins.
I sent an email to Empire Theatres to see what they had to say about all this. Here’s their response:
- Dear Philip: [How hard is it to spell Phillip with 2 Ls?] Thank you for using our email service, your comments are very important to us.Our Digital Pre-Show enables us to project high-quality digital presentations and enhance the level of entertainment we offer to our patrons prior to the beginning of each feature film. [Their "high-quality digital presentation" consists of a regular video playback blown up to the size of the movie screen so that every pixel in the image is about the size of a grapefruit.]
We can now offer the latest news on what is happening in the movie business, all kinds of behind-the-scenes stories such as the making of your favourite movie, movie star interviews which are exclusive to patrons of Empire Theatres, special movie features, movie trivia and much more. [Translation: 20-minutes of mind-numbing advertisements.]
This same technology and equipment will also enable us the potential to expand our pay-per-view events such as WWE, sporting events and concerts in appropriate markets, or offer corporations the ability to rent our theatres for product launches, educational programs, seminars and expanded meeting rental capabilities.
The 20 Minute pre-show atmosphere, with lights fully up and sound slightly lower, allows our patrons to enjoy pre-show entertainment while being able to settle in and chat with their fellow movie-goers before the “Feature Presentation!” [By "slightly lower" they mean loud.] [The Manager] is aware of your experience as well and your concern regarding the volume and I can assure you that this will be rectified. [Too little too late.]
Thank You
I feel like I’m talking to the wall here. Their response sounds mostly like an advertisement for the “Digital Pre-Show.” (Deep sigh.)
It’s unpleasant enough having to walk through a lobby which is essentially a video arcade and a fast-food joint all rolled into one, but being forced to sit through 40 minutes of advertisements before the movie starts is enough to turn off even the most die-hard movie fan — it is not an enhancement of the entertainment experience. More and more people these days prefer to wait for the DVD than visit a multiplex like Empire Theatres, and who can blame them?
1st Update (July 12): I’m not the first to complain about this crap. Check out www.captiveaudience.org.
2nd Update (from Oct. 17/05 comments): I have gone to Empire Theatres since this post was written, but I’d say maybe a third as often as I used to — for all the reasons I mentioned. Walking into an Empire Theatres multiplex is still like walking into a carnival. It’s loud and abrasive and not a fun place for anyone old enough to know that there was once something better.
However, I did eventually go back to the theatre where I was first exposed to the horror of the “Digital Pre-Show,” and the volume actually was low enough that I could have a conversation with the person next to me without having to yell. When I have gone to Empire Theatres, I usually timed it so I didn’t have to sit through the “The Digital Pre-Show” (regardless of the volume, I came to see a movie, not advertisements). On the few occasions I arrived early, the volume of the “Digital Pre-Show” wasn’t loud. So I’ll give them that.
But that’s about all I give them. I timed the trailers in the last movie I saw: 16 minutes. If I actually sat through a full “Digital Pre-Show,” that’s still 36 minutes of advertisements I could happily live without. As for the argument that criticism of the “Digital Pre-Show,” the trailers, and the carnival atmosphere at Empire Theatres is invalid, that if the movie is good than the experience should be good — well, you’re wrong, and you missed the whole point: “A night at the movies used to mean going to a theatre, but these days it’s more like going to a carnival.” I paid to see a movie, and to experience a movie, not all that other crap.
I don’t think Empire Theatres wants my business, and who can blame them? People like me thinking a movie theatre is the best place to go to enjoy a movie. That’s just naive.
3rd Update (from Nov. 27/05 comments): Home theatre is clearly over-taking the regular moving-going experience, anyway. Here’s what James Berardinelli had to say in his November 7th, 2005 “ReelThoughts”:
Home theater is fast overtaking the “theatrical experience” as the way to watch a film. It doesn’t matter that the screen isn’t as big and the picture isn’t as pristine. The advantages add up: no screaming kids, no annoying talkers, no cell phone issues, no nearby customers with b.o., no one kicking the back of your chair, no missing two mintues of the movie for a bathroom break… Need I go on?
And the multiplexes are about to lose one of their few remaining selling points. HD is on its way with a vengeance, and there’s nothing to stop it. This holiday season will see a dramatic upswing in HD TV sets sold. Front screen projectors can easily provide a 10-foot image. Not only are we talking about size, but clarity (both audio and video) of a kind never available in a home for a reasonable price. By the end of 2006, you will be able to purchase for $10,000 a similar system to what cost $100,000 just a few years ago. Die-hard film-lovers will argue until they are blue in the face that video isn’t celluloid, but it’s a losing argument, and one I have long since given up advancing. The more I see where digital technology is going, the more impressed I am. Film as we know it is a dying medium.
He goes on to say:
I do not believe that home video will eliminate multiplexes. They are too valuable as teen hangouts, and exhibitors will eventually find a way to make them viable. But the number of screens will be greatly reduced, with all but the most high-end multiplexes closing due to a lack of business and/or product. IMAX has the best chance of survival. And if digital 3D can be expanded to a large enough number of venues, it may catch on.
I miss how movie theatres used to be, when they weren’t primarily hangouts for teenagers like they are today. However, I have no desire to become the Internet’s defender of the old-time, quiet, movie-going experience. I suspect that most people who don’t see where I’m coming from are simply too young to know what I’m talking about.
At any rate, I think I’ve been reasonable and clear in stating my case, and have little more say on the subject.
4th Update (Dec. 11/05): I still go to the movies (matinees) to see blockbuster’s like “King Kong,” but I’ve signed up to Zip.ca and can now watch about twice as many movies as I used to at a fraction of the cost. And no advertisements.
I only go when someone else drags me along now. I hate them as well, for the same reasons. Did you know that theatre attendance in north america has gone down every single month for the last 18 months? They blame it on internet piracy of course, there is never any mention of the ads and high prices. it could never be that, it’s gotta be those damn internet pirates with their handicam recordings that no one ever watches cause they look like garbage!
I just download all my movies when they come out on DVD… :)
I think for now I’ll rent whatever movies I want to watch, and if I like them I’ll copy them with DVD Shrink and remove all the menus and crap while I’m at it.
Why? Spite. Spite’s a good reason, isn’t it?
I try not even renting now. I purchased the movie network from Rogers and I figure if I am paying $20 a month for that, then I will not rent or go to the theatre.
The only time I go now is if my son wants to see something, or there is something that I have to watch on the big screen (ie. Star Wars) Everything else can wait!
I’ve been living without a tv for the past month and have no intentions getting a tv any time soon. But eventually I’m going to get sick of watching DVDs on my computer. And now that I’m no longer wasting my money on going to the movies, I think it might be time to start saving up for a good home entertainment center, wide screen tv, surround sound, the works. What the hell. I’m not giving up on movies, just the multiplexes. And for the rest of the summer, I’ll be checking out the films at a local 81-seat independent movie theatre I’ve found — where they don’t play any advertisements, and when they say the movie starts at 7 o’clock, it starts exactly at 7 o’clock. Gotta like that.
Instead of seeing some crappy movie at the multiplex yesterday, I rented Donnie Brasco with Al Pacino and Johnny Depp. I saw it on video tape when it first came out. It didn’t make much of an impression on me then. Just another gangster movie, Al Pacino recycling another one of his wiseguy roles. But I was wrong. This might be the best gangster movie I’ve ever seen. Baffling how Al Pacino got an Oscar for Scent of a Woman (a completely forgettable movie) and not this. It’s also with this film that Johnny Depp really began to hit his stride as an actor. An all around well-acted movie, a tight screenplay, a funny but tragic story, one of the most compelling I’ve seen within this genre.
I just did a Google search for “digital pre-show,” and discovered I’m not the first to complain about sitting through 40 minutes of advertisements.
I also realized it’s going to get worse before it gets better, and that the response I got from Empire Theatres seems like it could have been copied-and-pasted from a press release for digital pre-show technology.
i will give you the benefit of the doubt with the digital pre-show, i also think it is pretty lame and annoying. i also happen to work at an empire theatres so i know your story is a bit exaggerated.
first — i know the pre show is annoying but it is far from loud, i’ve seen them like million and one times and quite easy to talk over and carry on a normal conversation. i’ve been able to easily talk to customers seated a few rows up without a megaphone. emailing someone after the fact too say it was too loud is no good, how about telling an employee when you are actually there… you usually get better results that way
second — you say “the folks at empire theatres” dont know what you are talking about. well im am nearly positive you werent the only email they received about that and they do know what they are talking (or just dont care about your business and by the sound of you i wouldnt either) about because those ads that are played in the pre show and the TEN minutes of trailers (not 20) are actually paying for your ticket. those ads save the company from raising prices which are no bargain anyway…
and third — i dont even know why going to the movies has to be a huge deal to people. to me having a good experience is if the movie was any good or not, isnt that why i went? i certainly didnt go to criticize whether i liked the atmosphere in the lobby or how many commercials i saw
UPDATE: I have gone to Empire Theatres since this post was written, but I’d say maybe a third as often as I used to — for all the reasons I mentioned. Walking into an Empire Theatres multiplex is still like walking into a carnival. It’s loud and abrasive and not a fun place for anyone old enough to know that there was once something better.
However, I did eventually go back to the theatre where I was first exposed to the horror of the “Digital Pre-Show,” and the volume actually was low enough that I could have a conversation with the person next to me without having to yell. When I have gone to Empire Theatres, I usually timed it so I didn’t have to sit through the “The Digital Pre-Show” (regardless of the volume, I came to see a movie, not advertisements). On the few occasions I arrived early, the volume of the “Digital Pre-Show” wasn’t loud. So I’ll give them that.
But that’s about all I give them. I timed the trailers in the last movie I saw: 16 minutes. If I actually sat through a full “Digital Pre-Show,” that’s still 36 minutes of advertisements I could happily live without. As for the argument that criticism of the “Digital Pre-Show,” the trailers, and the carnival atmosphere at Empire Theatres is invalid, that if the movie is good than the experince should be good — well, you’re wrong, and you missed the whole point: “A night at the movies used to mean going to a theatre, but these days it’s more like going to a carnival.” I paid to see a movie, and to experience a movie, not all that other crap.
I don’t think Empire Theatres wants my business, and who can blame them? People like me thinking a movie theatre is the best place to go to enjoy a movie. That’s just naive.
there is no digital pre-show, OR commercials on my 9 foot projector screen with 5.1 sound system at home. I also have comfortable seating, no fucking kids, and I download any movies i want just before they are released on DVD. what else could i ask for? OOOH, i have to wait an extra month to watch shows that are playing at the theatre! i have about 15 already queued up at home to be watched whenever the woman and i both get to sit down for them.
projector: 1200$ after tax
audio system: 350$ after tax
peace and quiet for every movie: well you know the rest…
Wow…ChrisO I now have entertainment envy…but I have kids…hey white slave market… a certain economic transaction could take place…they could pay for the entertainment system…thanks chris!
an phil i completely agree…hey did I tell you about the plan..well my new scheme..to have an outdoor summer cinema season on the market building…yeaah..Im working on it…not soonn but someday…I sure miss Wormwoods…
Yeah, Tom, I’ve been thinking about doing the same kind of thing here. I would have looked into organizing something over the summer, except I was living on a soulless dot on the map all summer. There’s an excellent spot right here in the city where I could project movies — onto the whole side of a nice flat buidling.
Tommyboy - that sounds like a fantastic idea! Where you are would be a great place to try to do something like that.
Yeah well first I have to get this Market project started…but over the summer i had made the aquaintance of a market customer whose job is to stage outdoor productions and so he was able to give me some of the info required to do this…I told him in about threee years I would be interested..if I can get the city to build me a market square…He said great because he was going to Dubai for the next two years so he could make enough money to retire here in owen sound…he said when he gets back we will start moving it along…The cost in todays cash to do it well screen, sound system etc. was about 25,000 a lot but not unacheivable…far cry from 650,000 required for my current scheme…regardless when he gets back we are going to try and start a venue something like the former Wormwoods, in Halifax…ahhh schemes and dreams..I am also going to grow up and be a fireman..and be a stunt pilot, and move home and obtain my dream job as lighthouse keeper,…
Dear Phillip or how ever you spell your name….
First and foremost… the audio outside the theatre you so call an anoyance…. caters to probably your own location. I live in Fredericton NB. and I must say that I totally enjoy my experience at Empire Theatres. for one.. I dont find the volume of tv’s too loud. and there is enough space in these theatres to get out of the volume area. also.. Also…. I think the previews while waiting for the movie is a good thing… if you go to watch a movie there is always going to be noise. if you dont like it… wait for movies to come out on DVD, and watch them by yourself. Really.. I personally think the mail you sent to Empire Theatres was stupid and makes anyone who reads it and this post think your a self righteous prick who cares about only yourself.
Also you seem to be stuck on Mind numbing advertisements. one question dude….. Do you watch Sports on your TV?? I can guarantee you that you will see more comercials and advertisements on your TV in a 2 hr period than you will going to watch 20 movies…. 40hrs approx… get over yourself.
also reading some other posts below.. you seem to be the type of person who is interested in the old Drive in movies… yea… thats very economical… NOT. you’ll get some prick leave his car running and everyone will be breathing in Carbon Monoxide all night.. not only that.. you’ll have the assholes who just break stuff cause they think its funny. Then there are those…. Traffic problems.. you can fit 50 ppl comfortably in a nice theatre.. and do that 10 times in a decent sized building. maybe the problem lies in the floor plan of your theatre. Or maybe there is no respect in your neighborhood towards other ppl. I can go into my theatre and read a book and not have anyone bother me. so its not empire Theatres in general you smuck… have a problem go talk to your own Theatre personel… and tell them face to face your probs.. this whole topic on the internet….. Nuf said!
[Edited due to belligerent, idiotic content. Yeah, it was worse. - jody]
Home theatre is clearly over-taking the regular moving-going experience, anyway. Here’s what James Berardinelli had to say in his November 7th, 2005 “ReelThoughts”:
And the multiplexes are about to lose one of their few remaining selling points. HD is on its way with a vengeance, and there’s nothing to stop it. This holiday season will see a dramatic upswing in HD TV sets sold. Front screen projectors can easily provide a 10-foot image. Not only are we talking about size, but clarity (both audio and video) of a kind never available in a home for a reasonable price. By the end of 2006, you will be able to purchase for $10,000 a similar system to what cost $100,000 just a few years ago. Die-hard film-lovers will argue until they are blue in the face that video isn’t celluloid, but it’s a losing argument, and one I have long since given up advancing. The more I see where digital technology is going, the more impressed I am. Film as we know it is a dying medium.
He goes on to say:
I miss how movie theatres used to be, when they weren’t primarily hangouts for teenagers like they are today. However, I have no desire to become the Internet’s defender of the old-time, quiet, movie-going experience. I suspect that most people who don’t see where I’m coming from are simply too young to know what I’m talking about.
At any rate, I think I’ve been reasonable and clear in stating my case, and have little more say about the subject.
Wow, ron’s a jackass. Wah wah, only my opinion counts and everybody else is a dumb moron even though my sentences suck and my arguments suck and grammar is suck.
I’m clearly not as mature as phillip.
I’m getting too riled up reading his bs over and over, time for some editing.
Dear Phillip or how ever you spell your name [exaggerated pause] because I’m too stupid to look even though I’m going to be typing stupid stuff for the next 6.36 hours into my keyboard for the entire interweb to read.
First and foremost [exaggerated pause] because this is clearly the most important part of the bullshit I’m about to spew across the floor, the audio outside the theatre you so call an anoyance [exaggerated pause] caters to probably your own location, because I can’t know being the ignorant and presumptuous bastard that I am. I live in Fredericton NB. and I must say that I totally enjoy my experience at Empire Theatres. for one.. my grammar is atrocious and I dont find the volume of tv’s too loud. even though nobody’s talking about tv’s here and there is enough space in these theatres to get out of the volume area. also.. Also…. YES ALSO YA BASTARDS!!! I think the previews while waiting for the movie is a good thing [exaggerated pause] but I will say nothing more on the subject because I’m paid to tell people what I think and if you go to watch a movie there is always going to be noise, I know this from my years of experiencing noise while in theatres. if you dont like it [exaggerated pause] wait for movies to come out on DVD, and watch them by yourself, thus throwing my entire argument out the window about how empire theatres is the good and that I’m smarter than you think, stupidhead. Really [exaggerated pause] I personally think in my own braines by myself about things and that the mail you sent to Empire Theatres was stupider than me and makes anyone who reads it and this post (yes, THIS post) think your (not you’re, no no, YOUR, becuase you own it) a self righteous prick who cares about only yourself.
Also you seem to be stuck on Mind numbing advertisements. one question D00000000000000000000DDDDDDDDDDDD [exaggerated pause] Do you watch Sports on your TV?? Golly gee I sure hope so or my assumption goes out the window! I can guarantee you that you will see more comercials and advertisements on your TV in a 2 hr period than you will going to watch 20 movies [exaggerated pause] 40hrs approx [exaggerated pause] get over yourself you handsome devil you.
also pretending to read some other posts below.. you seem to be the type of person who is interested in the old Drive in movies because as I’ve shown time and time again, I’m a presumptuous assuming bastard [exaggerated pause] yea [exaggerated pause] thats very economical [exaggerated pause] NOT (haha, I bet you totally didn’t see that coming, sucka!). you’ll get some prick leave his car running and everyone will be breathing in Carbon Monoxide all night [exaggerated pause] not only that [exaggerated pause] you’ll have the assholes who just break stuff cause they think its funny, with their giant powerful assholes. Then there are those [exaggerated pause] Traffic problems [exaggerated pause] you can fit 50 ppl comfortably in a nice theatre [exaggerated pause] and do that 10 times in a decent sized building. maybe the problem lies in the floor plan of your theatre who amazingly deviates from all empire theatres floor plans. Or maybe there is no ’spect in your ‘hood towards other ppl. I can go into my theatre and read a book and not have anyone bother me because I am clearly a superior human being with mind tricks that I learned from years of practising mind tricks in noisey theatres. so its not empire Theatres in general you smuck [exaggerated pause] have a problem go talk to your own Theatre personel [exaggerated pause] and tell them face to face your probs (yes, face to face your probs, TO THE MAX, though I have to warn you, it hurts when you face to face your probs) [exaggerated pause] this whole topic on the internet [exaggerated pause] Nuf said! OR IS IT? Maybe I should keep blathering my insanely cool person points at everybody for the next hour and a half and maybe you internet losers will read it and say “I should be cool like ron, and not an internet loser!” then you’ll each get lives and drink beer and do drugs like me, the ron! Cool! I made a difference on the internet!
my picture is better than the theatre one, screw that!
“clap” “clap” “clap” “clap” wow my applause to pender…nice rant..hey wanna go to a drive in rented suv or two…one each ..we can run the engines all evening…hey mayby ronny can come along…
Like I said, I have little more to say on this subject, but James has plenty more to say in his Dec. 19/05 “ReelThoughts.” Way to go, James.
May 13/06. I’ve seen a grad total of 4 movies in the theatre this year. At this rate, I might see 10 by the end of the year, though I suspect it’ll be slightly under 20.
I saw 31 in the theatre in 2005. I saw about 60 in 2004.
I wasn’t kidding when I said they’ve lost my business. It’s only my love of movies that keeps me going, not the love of their theatres.
I could tell you another story about Empire Theatres to demonstrate, on top of everything else, the incompetence of their managers. But there’s no point. Every new “inovation” they come up with seems to make the movie-going experience even worse.
Eventually DVDs will be released at the same time as theatrical releases. I’m looking forward to that day.