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Ready to pay $30 for a movie?
Published: 4/1/2011 3:25 PM
Last Modified: 4/1/2011 3:25 PM

Would you pay $30 to watch "Just Go With It" or "Unknown" this weekend at home, if you knew you had access to it for up to three days for your family or friends to view?
Also to consider: You won't have to go out and battle crowds or texting teens; there's no expensive popcorn to buy and no babysitter to hire; and the movie isn't coming out on DVD for another month.
Four major Hollywood studios have decided to begin later this month to release films to home viewers just eight weeks after opening in movie theaters, according to a report in Variety.
The industry magazine said that the service, called Home Premiere, would initially be available to DirecTV customers in late April and to cable customers sometime later.
The idea has already lit a fuse under theater chain executives who have been battling studio desires to get movies into the hands of home consumers sooner than in the past.
The studios say that eight weeks after opening isn't going to hurt theaters because a majority of films collect most of their money in the first few weekends.
Theater owners, however, argue that a film like "Just Go With It," which is still making reasonable returns seven weeks after release, is a good example for their defense, as theaters receive a larger cut of the box-office sales each week that a film lasts in the market.
Many moviegoers are going to take a serious look at this option, knowing that $9 movie tickets, $10-$15 for popcorn and soda, and $30 for a night of babysitting add up fast.
What movies would you considering paying $30 to see in the comfort of your own home in this fashion right now? Maybe "The King's Speech," or what about "Rango," which has only been out for four weeks?
"Hop" opens this weekend in theaters. How much would you be willing to pay to see it on opening day, but at home with family, even allowing the kids to invite friends over for a movie night?

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I See Movies for Free

“I was born a poor, black child” … not me, actually, but Steve Martin’s character in the “The Jerk.” That absurd opening line is just one of the absurd number of film facts, quotes and minutiae contained in movie critic Michael Smith’s brain, at his disposal to toss out on a moment’s notice. It’s a key requirement as Tulsa World film critic to know these things. Michael learned a few other life facts along the way (seven years as a Crystal’s Pizza & Spaghetti manager) before attempting journalism and joining the Tulsa World in 1996, where he’s covered everything from a school shooting in Fort Gibson to a tornado in Stroud to witnessing an execution. A little community theater coverage was sprinkled in there, too. Movies engender many of his happiest memories, from standing in line for “Star Wars” and “Grease” at the Southroads Cinema to the James Bond and Pink Panther movies that always premiered at the enormous Continental Theater.

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Past Articles By Michael Smith

2/16/2013		Broken Arrow movie theater moves to discount showings
2/15/2013		Review: 'Amour'
2/15/2013		Review: 'A Good Day to Die Hard'
2/15/2013		Review: 'Beautiful Creatures'
2/14/2013		Review: 'Quartet'
2/14/2013		Shirley MacLaine to speak at Osage Casino
2/14/2013		Weekly rewind: February 14
2/14/2013		REVIEW: 'Beautiful Creatures'
2/12/2013		Belgian best picture hopeful 'Amour' opens in Tulsa on Friday
2/10/2013		'Die Hard' marathon at AMC Southroads on Wednesday ends with new film
2/9/2013		Review: 'Identity Thief' a stupid movie from stupid idea
2/8/2013		Oscar audit: Critics choices for best picture hold up over time

Michael Smith's Blog Archive:

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