[gcb1]

if i can watch action movies on a 20 feet screen with a $100k audio system for $8 to $12 at my local theater, why would i want to watch it on choppy netflix on my cheap tv a lame stereo?

people who download that don't care much about the movie. they would be watching commercials on cable tv and be likely entertained. there is no sale lost to the studios there.

the lost sales are people looking for classics or hard to find titles. and those are hard to find in pirate sites, and nowhere to be found on netflix, amazon.

edit: the comment from ChuckMcM bellow describe why that happens.

[ssmoot]

Because you might be married with kids?

Spending $100 on a night out after hiring a baby-sitter vs an evening after the kid's 8PM bed-time spending $5 to $10 at home in front of my nice speakers and 60" TV? When I've got to wake up at 6AM in the morning to get the kids to day-care?

Maybe you'd look down on it, but yeah, Married With Children is a big market, and a legit reason not to want to spend several times the price going out to a theatre where there's a good chance other obnoxious viewers will sour the experience anyways. I never have to worry about that at home.

Also, I can pause the movie, not miss anything, and take a bathroom break. Or let the dog out. Or get a drink.

Reading the rest of your comment I'm not really sure what you're trying to argue for/against.

[kleiba]

I don't have access to streaming movies, but I imagine it has to do with the fact that the movie going experience has deteriorated over the years. I for one really like the big screen as well, but the projection quality in theaters is not seldom poor. I can also see that people are fed up with the smell of nachos and fake-butter popcorn in the theater, with overpriced drinks, with others making phone calls during the movie, or spoil your experience in other ways.

Now, luckily, this doesn't happen every single time, and the movies I like usually have a more adult crowd. But I do fancy the testosterone-ridden braindead Hollywood blockbuster every now and then too, and then I can see why some people would enjoy watching a movie in the privacy of their home more than in the theater.

Plus, you can pause when you have to go to the fridge :-)