Five Reasons Why You Still Need to See Films in Theaters

In this age of movies streamed over broadband on screens larger than your picture window(s), there are still good reasons to see films in theaters. Not sure? Here are a few reasons you need to see a film in a theater:

Size and sound

As big as your screen is, your movie theater has it beat. By… well, a lot. There are screens taller than my house—including the chimney! No matter how good your screen, no matter its resolution, seeing a movie in a theater is a far more immersive experience. Sound systems are another feature where the average movie theater beats out most fancy home sound theater ones. Theaters a built with the acoustics of the room in mind, from seats to curtaining to position of the stairs and exits. And they’ve got more speakers, usually ones with wider dynamic ranges, to deliver the sound going with that special effect.

Technologies

Maybe I-MAX will come to home screens at some point, but we’re not at that point. I mean, you’d need to renovate your freaking HOUSE to show an I-MAX flick at home. And that’s not just the size: these movies have larger projection systems that just can’t be faked by anything on the market today. So put down the phone and cancel the raise-the-roof (and acoustic) contractors. Just go to a movie theater!

Going out instead of staying in

There’s an intimacy snuggling into a comfy couch with your free food. Alone, together, distracted by phones, laundry, dogs, email, or children (check off what’s applicable). The point of seeing a movie on a big screen with technology not requiring house remodeling is seeing different scenery. Lots of couples have date nights. Does the living room sofa conjure the mystique and excitement of a nice evening? Or would dinner without cooking and cleanup, and a movie with excellent acoustics be better?

The group experience

This is another reason to see a film in a theater. There are two groups, really: the included, and the excluded. Seeing a film in a theater creates a shared experience and shared memories with friends and family. Maybe not during the screening of the film—chatting during the movie can get someone tossed from the theater. The excluded group includes animals, chores, and children.

The brewery cinema

The movie first and dinner after. Or is it dinner first, movie after? Here’s the home version: Cook at home and watch a movie, then keep chasing the kids out (or the pushy dogs, or the cats insisting on seeing the movie from the exact point of view as your eyeballs). End the evening with some dishwashing, all without leaving the environs of that place you already spend so much time in. The movie theater or cinema brewery version of events neatly solves all those issues. No muss, no fuss—assuming everyone keeps their pizza out of their laps. No need to shop, clean, cook, clean.

Sure, time equals money, but Science says it’s better to pay for experiences rather than things. The right movie, at the right theater, ticks that box off nicely.