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This is one of the most important challenges coming out of the exhibition industry’s CinemaCon convention this week. Studios and especially technology companies are heavily promoting advances including high-frame rates, 4K projection, and 3D sound. But theater owners “have to all be very cautious not to buy the next iPhone or iPad with a new doodad,” Carmike Cinemas’ Terrell Mayton said at a panel this morning. “We could spend a lot of money and not get a lot of return on our investment.” Exhibition companies are financially exhausted after collectively spending $2.5B to install digital projectors — and they’re skeptical about gee-whiz promises after hearing Hollywood’s excessive hype for 3D. Now the industry knows that “not every movie should be in 3D,” AMC Cinemas’ Dan Huerta says. Execs are intrigued with the clear images produced by high frame rates — which could become a selling point later this year when Warner Bros releases The Hobbit at 48 frames per second. But theater owners say they’re still figuring out whether it makes sense to deploy the pricey software upgrade needed for high frame rate films in more than a few screens. Digital storage costs “can be significantly larger” than for a conventional 24-frame per second film, Huerta says. Mayton adds that high frame rate “has to be a kick-the-picture-out (advancement) or it just becomes one of a long line of technology advances that’s here for a while and then move into oblivion.” While theater owners seem to agree that they can’t necessarily charge a higher ticket price to upgrade the picture or sound quality, advances such as the high frame rates may work in some of the theater chains’ large screen venues as an added incentive for ticket buyers to pay a few extra bucks for 3-D. “There’s no question there’s pushback on that upcharge,” says Cineplex Entertainment’s Dan McGrath. “We all got, to an extent, a little bit greedy.”
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You dont need 240hz at home and you definitely don’t need 48fps for cinema projectors
Considering that almost no one has seen 48fps yet, don’t you think the jury is still out?
The frame rate is not nearly as important as what the movie is about. The focus on technology is short-sighted and an oft repeated mistake by Hollywood. 3D only works well for a select few directors notably James Cameron who could make Julia Childs’ cooking show work in 3D. That’s why there’s customer pushback crappy 3D movies that you pay extra for we hate.
Tell better stories. Make better films.
The rest is just blather.
As long as my theater has at least one screen showing The Hobbit in 24p, I’m happy.
Agreed. Although I would say as long as they have one screen in 24p AND 2D, I’m happy.
You should be able to find 24fps at you local theater. It might be harder to find someone playing 48fps.
Don’t look for “selling points.” I know someone in business school told you that you need something new or different to advertise, but “new, improved, better” fades quickly – especially if the consumer hates how the film looks, hates paying higher prices, and hates the story dumbed down to entertain worldwide audiences.
It’s the screen brightness, stupid.
The one single thing exhibitors can do to improve image quality is to improve screen brightness.
A major part of the success of IMAX is consistent high screen brightness . . . . which
is maintained by IMAX and not the theatre chains.
I acknowledge projection bulbs and electricity can be expensive . . . . but they are
much less expensive than new digital projectors.
However, screen brightness does not have not the easy cachet and sex appeal
[ and higher ticket prices ] of 3D ! ! ! ! or HIGH FRAME RATE ! ! ! !
If exhibitors would just maintain the accepted industry standard for screen brightness
audiences would be a lot happier.
Unfortunately, at any given time it is safe to assume that most screens are just simply too dark. . .
. . . and it is just appalling that no one is held accountable for this.
Please fix the EASY stuff like brightness before you worry about 3D and HFR
The jury is still out on HFR but the one good thing is that in digital higher frame
rate shouldn’t require brighter projection bulbs.
Dont need to see it JohnT cause I basically have on a Samsung, an LG a Vizio. Just like with led tv sets, it is being described as “soap opera” effect, and only thing that a higher refresh rate is needed for is fast moving images like say sports. The 24fps look of film is has and always will be brilliant
I’ve got a large 50+ inch HD digital television, 7.1 3D surround sound with thundering volume, GREAT seating and an unlimited supply of inexpensive snacks & drinks.
Point of fact, people like me only go to the theater once every 1 or 2 years for a particularly enticing movie.
Otherwise, your big, dark, 3D, high-rate movies, with sticky seats, in large crowded rooms, with grotesquely overpriced snacks & drinks are simply NOT worth our time or money.
The days of a movie theater in every town is OVER. Drive-on theaters have already been gone a while now.
The future is streaming a fresh new movie release straight into the homes of those willing to pay a reasonable price. Yes, this cuts out the “middle man” brick & mortar movie theaters and results in their extinction. But, our new digital, on-demand world is heading there anyway.
Watching Hollywood studios and theater chains floundering around trying to save a dying format (movie theaters) is a lot like watching the newspaper and magazine industries cope with massively free, paperless, online content.
I genuinely feel for all of those holding & losing jobs in the business. Like so very many other grand industries, which have faltered with the digital age, studios and theater owners can accept the inevitable transition, adapt and reinvent. Or, they stomp their feet and mash their teeth at something as unstoppable as the rising sun.
However, sometime new things are going to come up and you are just going to have to try it out. Do we just stick with film projectors and 5.1 surround for the next 70 years. At what time to you say “Ok let’s move forward on some things.” Should they have waited on color tv until we got hd and lcd screens and digital broadcasting and then just did it all at once this year instead of doing it at different times. Can you say Brady Bunch in black and white. This crying over new stuff is kind of silly.
The end is near for movies and theaters as we know them. I worked in the industry from 1968 to 2011. I was a 35mm Union Projectionist in Omaha,Nebraska for over 25 years. I was replaced by the “DIGITAL AGE”. What a scam that will become. We need to concentrate on Home Downloads for cheap movies. The theaters will never drop prices. They will close first. The sooner, the better. Hollywood will get there millions with or without theaters.