Cinema Experience Under Fire: Readers Cite Noise, Cost & Home Comfortsโฃ as Theaters Struggle
Prague, Czech โฃRepublic – A growing chorus of cinema-goers are โฃvoicing dissatisfaction withโฃ the โmodernโ movie-going experience, with complaints ranging from disruptive audienceโ behavior and excessive volume to high costs and the convenience of home entertainment. The concerns, shared in โrecent reader responses, paint a picture of โa struggling industry facing an uphill battle to attract audiences.
While price isn’t the sole deterrent, โฃseveral readers highlighted the escalating costโฃ of a cinema visit, extending beyond ticket prices to โขinclude expensiveโฃ refreshments. Naฤa Freundovรก acknowledged the high prices, stating,โ “The prices are really big, but I respect them,” while Zdenฤk Grรฉgr โขpointed out the importent savings availableโ at home:โฃ “At home, it’s a fraction of the price (movies โคandโ snacks).”
However, the financial aspect is often overshadowed by โissues โขwith the viewing โขexperience itself. One reader reported negative experiences at Cinestar, describing the sound asโ resemblingโ “a health-threatening brawlโฃ and instead of the music of a deafeningโ techno โขparty,” and questioned the lack of hygiene checks. Freundovรก echoed concerns about soundโฃ levels, specifically noting โคthat even children’s films often have dangerously loudโ audio, “theirโ ears get a hard time.”
The rise of streaming services and improvedโฃ home theatre technology is also โa major factor.Jeronรฝm Novรกk, equipped with a “two-meter TV” andโค “super comfortable couch,” explainedโข he now relies on platforms offering new releases shortly after their theatrical debut, avoiding “expensive โคmoney” and disruptiveโ fellow โคpatrons – “others who are disturbing, eating, โsnacking, โdrinking, their phones are ringing, children are disturbing.”
Despite theโ convenienceโค of pausing andโ enjoying refreshments at home, some still valueโข the immersive experience a cinema offers. Jan Novรกk stated, “Evenโข though we have subscription streaming servicesโฆin โขthe cinema, it’s โan โคundisturbed โคexperience for me, and money is not a concern.” He also expressed a desire for more classic film showings, citing theโ metropolโ cinemaโ in Olomouc as a positive example โคwith itsโฃ movieโข marathons.
However, the overall โคsentiment suggests aโฃ bleak โคoutlook for conventional โฃcinemas. Zdenฤk Grรฉgr bluntly stated, “cinemas go completely โbankrupt over time, it’s โฃa dying โdiscipline,” recountingโ a recent experience seeing a Leonardo DiCaprio film to โฃan audience of โคonly eight people. He added, “Sad,โ but that’s the reality.” Freundovรก acknowledged a shift in youngerโฃ generations, observing they lack the same enthusiasm for cinema โdue to the abundance of entertainmentโข options, lamenting they areโฃ “deprivedโข of that โฃjoy and do notโ know โคabout it.”