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> these are all critiques you could have leveled with equal force in 2002

Netflix streaming wasn't around in 2002. This (and similar services) is the biggest factor in theaters losing market share.



Don't forget Amazon and iTunes rental streaming. Since I've gotten my appletv 2 I have found that waiting for it to stream on iTunes has replaced netflix and most of my theater trips.

Its nice to be able to pause and go to the bathroom at home. Do I miss some of the movie theater experience? Yeah, but not having kids kicking my seat, or people talking during the movie/etc... basically makes me not care about the plight of pre streaming movie distribution.


And Xbox Live streaming (or 'Zune' as it's called)


I agree, but that's not Ebert's critique.


It was his fifth bullet point:

"Competition from other forms of delivery. […] Netflix alone accounts for 30% of all internet traffic in the evening. That represents millions of moviegoers. They're simply not in a theater."

Ebert didn't really tie it into the overall argument as well as I would have liked, but he did bring it up.


Also, many people have home theaters that provide a very nice movie-viewing experience. So whereas a family of four might go see a special, well-reviewed movie like "The Muppets" in the theater, they may wait to see "We Bought a Zoo" when it comes out on video.


Doh. Thanks!


Not to mention that tickets were $6 in 2002 and are now $11 where I live.




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