Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.Some responses:
Judy Anghelescu:
“The Hobbit.” Talk about a blockbuster. I need the pure darkness of a movie theater to escape into that world.
Kim Callahan:
I intend to see “The Hunger Games.” Hope it's as good as the books.
David Golbitz:
I'm most looking forward to “The Dark Knight Rises” and the first Hobbit film.
Debbie Cline:
“One for the Money” (Katherine Heigl crime comedy) because I love the book series.
Josh Williamson:
I am super excited to see “Prometheus” and “The Dark Knight Rises.”
LeAnne Braniff:
“Silent Hill Revelation” (Sean Bean horror thriller). Looking forward to that one very much.
Karen Bourgeois:
I have been dying for “The Hunger Games” to be made into a movie since I read the series.
Andrea Hartwig:
“The Hunger Games”!!!
Gladney Crystal: “Hunger Games”!
See a month-by-month calendar of movies coming out in 2012.
Often, the moment when too much of a good thing begins isn't clear until later.
The familiar mix of tentpole movies coming in 2012 suggests Hollywood hasn't taken a hint from a lackluster 2011 at the box office.
In fact, the year ahead sounds much like the lineup for last year, or 2010.
Atop the 2012 movie list are more money-making franchises (“Twilight,” James Bond, “Men in Black,” Jason Bourne, “The Hobbit”); comic-book action heroes (Batman, Spider-Man, The Avengers, “Prometheus”) and animated films, often in 3-D (“Ice Age,” “Madagascar,” “Dr. Seuss' The Lorax”); 3-D reissues of past hits (“Finding Nemo,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Titanic,” “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace”); and a slate of low-brow comedies.
The year will have its originals, of course. Stephen Spielberg's “Lincoln”; the new Pixar animated movie, “Brave”; Peter Berg's sci-fi thriller “Battleship”; and “The Hunger Games,” based on a young-adult novel series, are drawing plenty of buzz.
But the question looms whether so much that's familiar is a good strategy after a year that saw theater attendance drop 4.2 percent — to the lowest levels since 1995.
Area movie fans who rarely or never go to a theater were not shy when asked what was keeping them away.
Their hints for the movie industry mostly boiled down to money, though some expressed disappointment with the quality of the movies or talked of inconveniences.
“I don't go because it's so expensive, and there is a higher than 50 percent chance I'll be disappointed,” said Debbie Cline of Omaha. “I would rather wait for the $1 machine at my local grocery store.”
For Omahan Judy Anghelescu, the comforts of home are hard to beat: being able to pause a movie when you want, and serving food you can't get at a concession stand.
“My fiance and I prepare wonderful, exotic meals together to eat during the movie, improving the experience,” she said.
Clara Sue Arnsdorff of Papillion said she and her husband love going out, and they recently enjoyed “The Descendants.” But there weren't many titles they wanted to see last year.
Mark Ledbetter and his partner have two teen sons, and a movie outing quickly runs past $50, even if they share popcorn and sodas.
“That's just a little less than six months of streaming movies we can watch at home,” he said. “I love the feelings associated with the communal experience (of a theater), but the reason I choose not to go anymore is cost.”
For Omaha musician Kevin Hinrichs, free daycare might bring him back to the theaters. The cost of sitters on top of movie tickets breaks the budget, he said.
Matt Hoppe says it's a matter of time.
“Getting to and from the theater, sitting through all the commercials and trailers — that's one thing,” he said. “But the biggest thing is, that schedule is set. I may have two hours free, but it never seems to be at the time the movie is playing.”
As home-theater technology continues to advance, Hoppe said, it no longer feels as special to see a movie on the big screen. Though he lives just a mile from the 20 Grand at 144th Street and West Maple Road, his 2-year-old and another child on the way are likely to keep him close to home.
“I don't enjoy anything any more in a theater than I do at home,” he said.
But Josh Williamson said he couldn't imagine waiting to see the next Batman flick, “The Dark Knight Rises,” on a television. “Some movies you just have to see on a huge screen with the big, big sound supporting them,” he said.
David Golbitz agreed about seeing action films, such as “The Avengers” or “The Hobbit,” in a theater. Smaller, more intimate films don't necessarily need the big screen, he said.
Deighe Wigington of Council Bluffs said she seldom goes to the theater, but less expensive matinees can be worth it if the movie is special. “I only go to movies if I am a fan of something from the movie: actor, director, composer. It's worth it to go then.”
John Morrissey said taking his child is what usually brings him to a movie theater. “‘The Smurfs' is the last one we saw at the theater,” he said. “Sad, but true.”
Others gave a litany of bad behaviors that drive them out of movie theaters: crying babies, children brought along to R-rated movies, brightly lit cellphones used for texting in the middle of the movie, or incessant talkers.
Still others say going to the movies in a theater is just the best.
“We work from home,” Wayne Brekke said of himself and his wife, Laurie. “So we enjoy the Friday matinees. Hardly anyone there, cheap, and we get to see lots of movies that way.”
Sally Brown Deskins said she and her husband think movies are the perfect date night.
“It's the best, just sitting there, eating candy. No one yanking on your arms or legs or asking for something. Ahhh. Doesn't matter what's on.”
Contact the writer:
402-444-1269
bob.fischbach@owh.com
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