Does the future of going to the movies mean getting hit with fake bullets and drenched by rain?

With a significant amount of movies being leaked before release, and other former movie-goers choosing to forgo the pricy tickets and wait until the movie is released on Netflix, attendance at movie theaters has been on a constant decline. Profits at both AMC and Regal have fallen over 50% year to date, compared to the same period last year.   The largest decline has come from the younger viewers, with the 12-to-17 age bracket declining 13%, and the 18-to-24 demographic dropping 17%. This is especially concerning as movie theaters have long relied on younger viewership to continually turn up.

Some believe that younger audiences have a hard time focusing on just one screen for an extended period of time, and need more to capture their attention. To get ahead of the problem several theaters have been going to great lengths to recapture this audience that is demanding more exciting experiences.  Regal, for instance, launched 4DX this spring, equipped with seats that move to the motion of the action on the screen, and everything from compressed air blasts to simulate flying bullets, to water dripping from the ceiling to simulate the rain you’re seeing in front of you. Though Regal has thus far only tested this concept in Los Angeles, they have received such positive feedback that they are planning to roll this out to a great number of theaters across the US and abroad over the next few years.

Cinemark is another theater that is trying to upgrade the typical movie-going experience, but offering 270-degree viewing. While they have received positive feedback from this offering, they hold firm that they are not willing to change the experience too much more, stating, “we still think the reason people go to the movies is to see movies.” 

And while few theaters have actually picked up on the concept just quite yet, last year Disney experimented with an idea called “Second Screen”, where moviegoers were actually encouraged to bring iPads and play games that related to the scenes they were watching throughout the movie.

It will be interesting to see where the future of movie theaters goes, and just what types of experiences we’re in for in the future. 

Read more about the potential future of movie theaters.