Does Technology Mean The End Of The Multiplex?

With movies available on the Internet, studios are considering whether or not to release DVDs the same day a movie opens in theaters. Is this a sign that people will completely desert the mutiplex in favor of watching films on HD DVD players or Blu-Ray?

Don’t start crying for Hollywood just yet… Technology doesn’t affect movie going as much as the fact that American families are changing. There are more singles than married adults now, than ever before, and more divorced singles (sometimes more than once or twice) than ever before. This means that there are more dates and dates will always involve getting out of the house and going places — the movies being one of the most popular places to be, besides restaurants.

So, no matter what the technology, as long as there are singles, and more and more singles, there will always be movies at the theaters for singles to attend on dates.

In addition, more families are having children later in life when they have more disposable income. Thirty and forty year old parents are much more common than twenty year old parents — the once most common age group of parents for child rearing. These parents are taking their children to more movies than ever before and there is an increased output of movies for children — way more than a decade ago.