by Walter T. Runn

Created on: July 13, 2010

 When one thinks of summer time, among all of the pleasant and exciting activities that come up, the word 'movies' comes up more frequently than the other activities. The red carpet, the succulent scent of popcorn drenched in warm butter, the dark room with comfortable chairs, the large screen, and the surround speakers is an attraction multitudes of people go to visit every day all around the world. Something about going to the theater transmits a welcoming and comforting place for friends, families, couples, and even mere individuals to go watch a film in this environment. Unfortunately, the prices for movie tickets and concessions have begun to increase drastically. Movie tickets rose from a simple five dollars to ten dollars during the span of approximately four years; the price has doubled in less than five years. Due to the rising expenses, many people started to build their own home theaters, complete with surround speakers, a large screen, a projector, home made popcorn, blu ray DVD players, and comfortable chairs. The thought of being able to watch films in the comfort of one's own home creates the illusion that the experience is cheaper. However, is this method truly worth the effort to try not to pay ten dollars for a movie?

Consider the prices for a regular DVD: a new release can cost up to thirty or forty dollars per disc, which are normally released at least a good four or five months after the film has been released in theaters. The cost of a regular DVD player is approximately forty dollars at a minimum, and at least a hundred and forty dollars for a blu ray player. A cheap surround speaker system is around eighty dollars, and can cost up to five hundred dollars for a set of speakers that can barely compete with the speakers from the movie theaters. A decent projector costs four hundred dollars, and a 16:9 ratio 120 inch projector screen, which is less than standard for a movie theater, starts at one hundred and fifty dollars. To buy chairs that are as comfortable as the ones in a movie theater can cost over a thousand dollars for a set. Excluding concessions and the luxury of many DVDs, the starting price for a cheap home theater is approximately $1700 dollars, and for a home theater that gets even close to a full theater experience costs almost $5000 dollars to set up. To buy more movies to add to the theater collection can add another thousand dollars. In addition to the cost, to watch a movie that is released in the summer, one has to wait till the fall or even the winter to be able to get the movie on DVD.

The purpose of this article is not to say that home theaters are bad. In fact, it is one of my personal dreams to build a home theater in my basement some day. The purpose of this article is to say that paying ten dollars to watch a movie at the movie theater is not such an extravagant price. By paying ten dollars, you can go watch a movie right at that moment without having to wait, go with other people to share the experience with, experience the film with the highest quality, and also supporting the filmmakers so they can continue making movies for all of us to enjoy. Though the illusion of a home theater may seem cheaper and better, for people who don't have more than five thousand dollars to spare, a theater experience is one of the best ways to experience a film.  

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