[lancebeet]

I think a fair question then would be what you actually love about them. Theaters do boast large screens with high image quality, but compared to a large flat screen you can have at home (where you can select your own seat) the difference diminishes. They also boast high audio quality. But as we all know, the audio quality is only great at a few seats in the center. You can certainly create an audio setup at home for not that much money that rivals the actual experience at the average seat.

There are other reasons people like movie theaters: the inability to pause the movie, nostalgia, the gathering of many people to engage in the same experience. Many of these are, to me, almost inseparable from expensive popcorn and inconsiderate behavior, which movie goers have been lamenting almost since the invention of the motion picture.

[finack]

It's just kind of the experience, I don't know. It has a certain familiarity, but there's also the shared experience aspect of it. I don't like to be cloistered more and more at home, despite that being the overwhelming arc of American culture. Sometimes it's nice to enjoy a shared, familiar experience (even if the popcorn costs too much).