How often do you go to the movies?

As in, out to the cinema.

Another, related question: At what point in your life were you going to the movies most frequently, and how often was that?

As for me: during the summer, when I'm not on a strict schedule, I probably go to the movies 2 or 3 times a week. If there's good stuff playing at the 2nd-run theater, I might go 3 or 4 times a week. During the rest of the year, mostly once a week, often twice, sometimes not at all (sadly). In Paris, I probably went to the movies 7 or 8 times a week, sometimes more.

a few times a year - usually as part of a larger group (4 - 6 people). I went to the movies once a week when I was in college, but I was a member of the campus film society and had to set up and run the projectors and manage the other volunteers. After college, I went once or twice a month when my current bf and I were dating and not yet living together.

Maybe half a dozen times a year? We now live within easy walking distance of three multiscreen cinemas, as opposed to 30 minutes drive away, but we're not going any more frequently, largely due to finances.

I want to go and see GI JOE next. OH HELL YES.

at least twice a month usually

Never. I cannot actually remember the last time I set foot in a cinema, I'm sure it was more than 2 years ago.

I've never been much of a movie goer. I think the period I went to movies the most was when I was living with Joe, because he liked going to the cinema, so we went maybe once a month. (I think we'd have gone more if he could have afforded it)

In my early twenties I used to go the cinema at least once a week. I used to collect all the movie tickets I bought, and one year I counted them and it turned out I'd gone to the cinema over a 100 times that year. That number included 30+ movies seen at a couple of film festivals though. Now the number is significantly lower, I think around 1-2 movies a month, and I haven't been to any film festivals for two or three years. Also, I don't want to go to the cinema by myself, and these days it's a bit harder to arrange seeing a movie with my friends as it was when we were younger and had more free time.

We have a great movie archive in Helsinki that shows 2-3 old movies almost every day, and the tickets cost only 4 Euros, I should go there more often. I used to be a regular there when I was younger, it's a great way of catching classics and obscure non-American movies, especially if you don't own a video.

I should try and force myself to go to, like, the Prince Charles at least once a month. I have been seriously missing movies that I would actually like to see, simply because by the time I remember to go to them, they have gone.

I haven't been inside a movie theater in over two years.

I used to go every weekend when I'd visit my dad and step-family. I saw stuff like "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Ghostbusters", but every once in awhile, a pile of crap like "The Pirate Movie" or "Oh Heavenly Dog" will come on cable, and I'll remember, "Sheesh, I actually saw this one in a movie theater."

Probably 6-8x/year on average.

i've been about half a dozen times this year which is already double on last year i think

somwhere around 15 times a year? id go WAY more often if it wasnt so fucking expensive

I don't think I've been to the cinema proper for a good few years. Wanted to make it to Antichrist but that finishes tomorrow so I doubt I will. On the other hand, friends of mine back in Nottingham put on an awesome film night in an artist studio, showing lots of short films - old avant-garde stuff combined with new work - which ran regularly for a while. They still do it, but sadly I no longer live there. Bah.

About 15 to 20 times. The fallow period runs from May to August – I see very few summer blockbusters. In the fall my movie viewing goes up markedly.

Probably around ten times or so a year. So far this year it's been six, I think.

i go once or twice a week, sometimes more. but i have a membership at a cinema where i get in for free, so that encourages me to go. i recently went to a movie at another place for the first time in months and it was pretty shocking to hand over so much money.

Regrettably, I go maybe once every week or two. My work and life schedule is just too prohibitive to go much more often.

i probly see at least 100 movies a year but you know, job and all that

(and that's just in the theaters)

Since I don't have my .xls with me now (need to import that into Google Docs pronto), I just glanced at a list of 2008 movies, of which I counted 20 that I saw in the theater. Of course, that includes one movie that I saw in 2007 at a festival and two late '08 releases that I saw in 2009, but 15-20 is probably a good per-year estimate.

From month to month, it's irregular, though. I can go three months without seeing a thing (usually in the spring), and then see five movies in November.

At what point in your life were you going to the movies most frequently, and how often was that?

1998-99. I was on study abroad in Lancaster, England. I didn't know very many people, except for my friend Summer, and we were both budding cinephiles, so we spent a lot of our time at the cheap second-run theater on campus and at the arthouse/repertory theater in town. This was probably the most indiscriminate I've ever been in terms of seeing movies. At the campus theater, especially, I had no excuse for not going if I were even vaguely interested in the movie: it was less than a five-minute walk from my dorm, it couldn't have cost more than a pound or two, and what else was I going to do? And the arthouse was probably the crown jewel of that otherwise sleepy town, with well-curated programming several nights a week and a fantastic screen, and it just seemed like a wasted opportunity to miss something there. So I probably saw 2-3 films in the theater per week for those six months.

Going to the movies for means frequently means a 15-minute drive and a multiplex. No arthouses here.

i go maybe once a month or a bit more which is plenty for me. my dad broke an almost 30-year no theater streak this year to see (lol) star trek.

Last time I saw 100 movies in one year, I was writing about them too. Not surprisingly, tho, seeing more only meant I saw a lot more zero- and half-star films. I don't feel I'm necessarily missing all that much by seeing roughly 50 a year now.

1998-99. I was on study abroad in Lancaster, England. I didn't know very many people, except for my friend Summer, and we were both budding cinephiles, so we spent a lot of our time at the cheap second-run theater on campus and at the arthouse/repertory theater in town. This was probably the most indiscriminate I've ever been in terms of seeing movies. At the campus theater, especially, I had no excuse for not going if I were even vaguely interested in the movie: it was less than a five-minute walk from my dorm, it couldn't have cost more than a pound or two, and what else was I going to do? And the arthouse was probably the crown jewel of that otherwise sleepy town, with well-curated programming several nights a week and a fantastic screen, and it just seemed like a wasted opportunity to miss something there. So I probably saw 2-3 films in the theater per week for those six months.

― jaymc, Wednesday, July 29, 2009 11:43 AM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i had a similar experience first year of university as a semi-alienated stoner with the local rep house, i was there like every night

Last time I saw 100 movies in one year, I was writing about them too. Not surprisingly, tho, seeing more only meant I saw a lot more zero- and half-star films. I don't feel I'm necessarily missing all that much by seeing roughly 50 a year now.

― sir-mounter (Eric H.), Wednesday, July 29, 2009 11:48 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

ya probably not!

My dad and I used to go see one of the best picture nominees every February, but we stopped after his hearing started to go a little. I think his current "last movie saw" was Fahrenheit 9/11.

We were going to see W, but sunny saw it first and told us not to bother.

I always love hearing which movies get which people back into a movie theater after years and even decades away. My grandfather willingly went to Titanic. I think the last movie he saw in a theater before that was probably Stalag 17.

my first year at college me and my friend would go once a day during study/exam weeks (lol procrastinators).

movies are super super expensive in nz, but since i moved to the US we've started going to sunday matinees most weeks. i think i cried about this on some other thread but: after 8 months we finally went across the road to the second-run movie theatre, discovered it was absolutely GORGEOUS inside and had tons of huge comfy couches, $5 tickets (2-for-1 on wednesdays), vowed we would go twice a week... and then 2 weeks later it closed down.

I thought of W. as a worthwhile trifle.

(Speaking of which: I saw it one day last fall when my girlfriend was out of town and then, on a whim, decided to go see Wendy and Lucy at the Chicago Film Festival later that afternoon. If I had more itinerant days like that, I'd probably see a lot more.)

looks like this year i've seen an average of 1/month in the theater, and then a ton more on dvd.

i hit about one a month and wish i had time for more

i have a friend who's all snobby about not wasting his money at the movies like "Why would you go to the movies?"

Because it's the fucking movies and people have been going to them for 100 years!

"Why would you go to the public library?"

that would be more like "why would you go to a bookstore and buy new books?"

^^^^

not really

I'm definitely not one of the "film needs to be seen as FILM" purists, but that's not an accurate syllogism at all.

1998-99. I was on study abroad in Lancaster, England. I didn't know very many people, except for my friend Summer, and we were both budding cinephiles, so we spent a lot of our time at the cheap second-run theater on campus and at the arthouse/repertory theater in town. This was probably the most indiscriminate I've ever been in terms of seeing movies. At the campus theater, especially, I had no excuse for not going if I were even vaguely interested in the movie: it was less than a five-minute walk from my dorm, it couldn't have cost more than a pound or two, and what else was I going to do? And the arthouse was probably the crown jewel of that otherwise sleepy town, with well-curated programming several nights a week and a fantastic screen, and it just seemed like a wasted opportunity to miss something there. So I probably saw 2-3 films in the theater per week for those six months.

― jaymc, Wednesday, July 29, 2009 11:43 AM (31 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yeah i had a v similar experience, except instead of england, it was hilo, hawaii, and instead of jaymcs friend summer, it was my redneck neighbor and my vietnamese roommate, and instead of an arthouse theater it was a shit-smelling second-run five-screen theater, and instead of well-curated programming, it was haunted mansion, cheaper by the dozen, love dont cost a thing and the last samurai, among others, and instead of a pound or two, it was a buck twenty five

ive been to maybe four movies since moving to the US. Three of them crappy. Im the type of person who likes to see movies alone which is kind of weird when youre married. In my height of movie going i was seeing maybe 2 a week. I went to the sunday night screening of pulp fiction 10 or so weeks in a row because i knew noone would be in the theatre and its a good movie to see high.

Once a year. There was never a time where I went more than roughly 5 times a year. There's just not enough movies I'm interested in enough to justify shelling out the cash and making a trek.

Just out of curiosity, what movies have piqued your interest enough to make them your annual viewing?

it would be funny if they were all pornos

Over a five year period, during and shortly after university, I would go to probably 2 movies a week, on average. My boyfriend at the time was pretty obsessed with movies and we would just always go. That ended about 6 years ago now.

Now my partner and I probably go between 1-4 times per year. We tend to go with friends, as a weekend get-together, rather than just as a couple. It's usually the blockbusters that get us out of the house now.

actually I shouldn't say that; me just not paying much attention to movies combined with the ones that do pique my interest invariably not being popular enough to get run at suburban megaplexes (23 screens! all playing the same 5 movies!) is a more accurate characterization.

movies I can remember seeing the last few years in a theater: Batman, The Wrestler, No Country For Old Men, and Borat. (the 1st 3 were mainly due to my mom asking me to go with her. she's more of a movie-goer than I)

I'm definitely not one of the "film needs to be seen as FILM" purists

I'm not either, but I like to see movies when they come out. By the time they're on DVD, I've often lost interest. Further, I do think there's something to be said about seeing a movie in its ideal conditions -- in the dark, on a large screen, without interruption. Even if I try to recreate these conditions at home (barring the screen size), I'm still more likely to be distracted. The truth is, most of the transcendent or emotionally affecting experiences I've had with movies have been in the theater.

maybe like 3 times a month, on average. but it tends to vary a lot for no real reason or really just depending on how much other stuff i have going on theres always something im vaguely interested in seeing playing

honestly even tho i have a big tv & surround sound it still will never ever be a match for watching a movie in the theatre

not getting many calls on your c/p? :(

The truth is, most of the transcendent or emotionally affecting experiences I've had with movies have been in the theater.

Mostly, yeah.

I think the last film I saw in the cinema (and I actually went alone, which I hate doing) was Children of Men.

Before that, I think it was Pirates of the Caribbean - forget if it was 2 or 3, it was a rubbish ex-boyfriend that made me go to see it.

I find going to the cinema alone really intimidating in a way that I don't find eating alone, going to gigs alone, even clubbing alone.

used to go once-twice a week, especially in 2007 (unusual amount of quality dramas came out that year)...then after I moved, probably more like once a month.

lol. i personally turn my phone off completely while at a movie, simply considering the odds.

Went 2-3 times a week until recently, but since moving back to London, it's harder to just skip out to the cinema all the time (there used to be an 18-screen multiplex 200 yards from my workplace, which I could pay £12 a month to see unlimited films at, plus an arthouse cinema round the corner).

I struggle to see a film a week at the moment.

maybe 10 times a year, tops, these days.

I go usually about 2 times a week. Have done so for the past 5 years. I am lucky enough to live in a city where there are loads of cinemas that show recent and old movies. There was that one year where during college where I went about 180 times to the cinema in the year. I have to thank the good people responsible for the card that gives me unlimited access to about 40 cinemas for 19€/month. Thanks fellas!

yeah i had a v similar experience, except instead of england, it was hilo, hawaii,

i spent two weeks in hilo a few years ago. i saw the 1st bourne film in a multiplex there. downtown, there was a little storefront where a guy established a "classic movie fest" which consisted of him showing 16mm films on a projector placed in the middle of the room, with folding chairs all around. when i was there he was showing (among one or two other things) susan hayward in "i want to live!." we never made it, though, since we were on the other side of the island, near kona, on the weekend. which reminds me, there was a beautiful old wooden art cinema in kona. it was painted electric blue and looked like it would blow down in a stiff wind (ironic considering hawaiian weather). we never made it there, either, though i wish i had. i really liked hilo, by the way. it was run down, but in a very appealing way, and of course the area in general is very beautiful.

it seems that i'm almost an outlier here, considering i see one or two movies a week on average (in the theater, that is; probably see well more than that at home).

it makes me sad that so many people--notably so many people's parents--don't go to the movies but once every few decades (!). my mom probably sees between four and eight movies a year -- i drag her to about half of those. that's probably close to the average (in the USA, at least).

if i lived in a town that had better movie theaters showing more interesting things, i'd probably go a lot more often -- or maybe i'd just be more selective. or both, oddly enough.

i really enjoy going to movies alone. unfortunately, i don't have a car, which means (in my town) that there are only two theaters i can get to easily (and one is a decent bus ride away) if i'm not going with somebody else.

i like the idea of going alone to those 11 AM weekday matinees that are always poorly attended, but i never make it to them.

i hate people who text at the movies. that glow is so distracting.

you should(n't) meet my students.

by the way, if you don't turn your phone off at a movie, you suck.

im so used to going to movies alone that it's weird when i actually go WITH someone, i get all exciteable

What you're saying sounds so different from what I see around me. Most of my friends go to the movies quite often as do my parents and their friends. I too enjoy going to movies by myself. I kinda had too though, seeing as I was never going to find anybody to come with me to the movies as often as I do/did. I also really enjoy to poorly attended shows. Yesterday there were only two of us in the cinema. I love when that happens (which well, has happened about 4/5 times to me). I've always once attended a movie where I was the only person in the audience. It felt kinda weird, like I was watching a movie at home except on a much bigger screen and better sound system.

*I've also once attended

19 times in 2008, 10 times so far this year so on target for about the same again. Over those 18 months or so I've spent maybe 2 months in the U.S. but probably saw more than half the films were there. It's a combination of being on my own in the U.S. (so being bored and able to go whenever I want) and knowing stuff I'm keen to see won't be out for a while in the UK (which shouldn't make any difference to the toal, but it's such a hassle rounding up friends back in the UK that I often and up not bothering).

I was the only person in the audience

happens all the time here, sadly -- often it'll just be me and my GF, sometimes one other person.

I've always once attended a movie where I was the only person in the audience. It felt kinda weird, like I was watching a movie at home except on a much bigger screen and better sound system.

I saw "Bowfinger" by myself at a 2:00 showing in the old Cinema 150, a single-screen theater inside a domed building, built in the parking lot of a strip mall. It was pretty weird, like all the previews and ads were put on just for me.

Once a season.

s1ocki, do you take notes when you're watching films?

no never

happens all the time here, sadly -- often it'll just be me and my GF, sometimes one other person.

― amateurist, Wednesday, July 29, 2009 5:36 PM (26 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

does it ever turn into a threesome?

Yeah, I used to watch movies almost always alone. Lately, I go in pairs and groups a lot more often.

I certainly don't mind seeing a movie with my girlfriend, but I don't really like seeing movies in groups. For one, it can be a big hassle -- someone's inevitably late, there's a whole charade about trying to sit together (when you're all just going to shut up and watch the movie anyway). For another, sometimes I need time to process and formulate an opinion on my own and don't immediately want to launch into a post-movie discussion with other people, especially if they're saying things like, "Didn't you love it?" or "God, that sucked."

i love going to movies alone

a few times a year. too expensive, too poor.

since the parenthood era began, i've been lucky to get to maybe 7 or 8 a year. almost always by myself, since it's the most cost-effective way to do it -- paying the babysitter for an extra 3 or 4 hours makes the whole thing pretty expensive. and most of the movies that i want to see my wife's not that interested in anyway.

i really prefer going to movies by myself. i can choose the movie, the time, sit where i want and not have to worry whether anyone else is enjoying it.

(my wife and i watch tv shows together -- "daily show," "house," "mad men" -- so that's our couples-viewing time.)

i try to go at least twice a week, but school tends to put a damper on that. i rarely watch movies at home.

I usually go at least two or three times a week (either with people or by myself). I live within walking distance of both The Grove and the New Beverly Cinema and I always feel obliged to take advantage of it.

In terms of media consumption, I probably watch movies on my laptop the most, then at the theater, and then on a conventional television.

since the parenthood era began, i've been lucky to get to maybe 7 or 8 a year.

did not realize that movie was such a era-defining one.

My ex and I used to go almost every Sunday. He called it "the big screen". We recently went and saw Orphan, but there were these two girls sitting behind us talking throughout the ENTIRE movie. We were almost to the end of the movie and I hear a loud sigh from him then he puts his hands on his knees and leans forward then he gets up and very sternly but politely asked them to be quiet. They did... for about 3 minutes then it was on again. Here comes the sigh again and before I know it he is click clacking in his cowboy boots out of the theater. They start giggling and someone shhh's them. All in all I think everyone wanted them to shut up but no one was going to say anything. Why do we allow this to happen?

xpost: Tom Hulce has much to answer for!

Not as often as I'd like to. I'm one of those ppl who fidgets and get restless pretty easily so unless I'm in the right mindset I get antsy during anything over 2 hrs. I'm trying to work on this though because going to the movies is one of my fav things ever esp. alone.

If that weren't an issue I'd probably go at least once a week.

I go about once a month...would like to go more, but I too am a fidget...my butt gets numb after more than 90 minutes in a typical theater seat...

butthurt is a problem even in movies I like. maybe I should bring a pillow

^^^ yeah im def a watch checking fidgeter in movies. more than 90 min an i start to get really mad. (xp)

iatee: grand lake theatre has $6.50 matinees (and free popcorn mon-thur, i think)

one of the other reasons we go to the movies a lot more now is because i discovered that the bay area has a ton of small, old, beautiful movie theatres. going to a multiplex has no real appeal to me, i'd rather watch a dvd.

i go probably once every two weeks. my job and passion is film, specifically documentary. if you include bad documentaries, i watch a few hundred movies each year.

From 2002-6 I was going twice a week to the theater at a minimum. Programming changed at the Dallas art-house chains (Landmark & Angelika) so there was less I was interested in and it seems like there are fewer interesting movies that make it to the bigger chains lately.

Up to once or twice a week now with a friend, but an awful lot of those are completely forgettable.

I wish I were better about DVDs. I'm fidgety and ADD, so if I have access to a computer or kitchen or outdoors or anything, I can't concentrate at all. I stop to look up actors, or I just get distracted in general. So I've probably been missing out on a lot of good stuff since I started going less, but c'est la vie.

I watch Parenthood at least three times a week.

hmmm $6.50 is pretty good. I have never been to grand lakes. (tbh my oakland experience has always been limited to areas close to BART or berkeley.)

grand lake is probably a 25min easy walk from 19th st station. miss the parkway theatre :(

yeah as many cool theaters as there are in the bay area, a lot of them seem to be going under in the last decade. I was always sad that I didn't arrive in berkeley before the uc theater closed.

Depends entirely on the time of year, but it probably averages out to once a month these days. The city I live in currently doesn't have an art house OR a decent second-run theater, but while living in Ann Arbor & NYC (b/w which I've spent most of the the past 10 years), I would usually go once every week or two.

^^^ yeah im def a watch checking fidgeter in movies. more than 90 min an i start to get really mad. (xp)

― Hillary had Everest in his veins (sunny successor), Wednesday, July 29, 2009 9:20 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

You'd think this alone would soften you to Woody Allen.

I don't think I can go watch movies in the threater at night anymore due to the chit chat. It really has become a problem for me. And it saddens me, because of how much I enjoy threaters. I have asked people to be quiet but to no avail. Really this only happens in horror movies, which is when I need silence to suspend disbelief and get scared. I give up.

i rarely worry about the time in movies. actually, i am often impressed but how little a sense of time i have while watching a movie. recently i saw "the hurt locker," and at some point my GF and i were trying to guess how long the movie had been running. we had no idea. when i saw "the sweet hereafter," i remember when it was over being rather shocked, thinking that the first act had just concluded, although it had been close to 90-100 minutes. i suppose it was all the resnais-style temporal scrambling, but it's also testimony to how our sense of time is rather elastic and context-dependent.

I was convinced Tetro was either 70 minutes or 170 minutes once it was all over, but nothing in between.

I wish I were better about DVDs. I'm fidgety and ADD, so if I have access to a computer or kitchen or outdoors or anything, I can't concentrate at all. I stop to look up actors, or I just get distracted in general.

This is me! And why I see most films in the cinema - once you're there, you're there (and I leave the imdb-checking till the journey home).

I've got data now.

2001: 19
2002: 24
2003: 20
2004: 33
2005: 16
2006: 23
2007: 19
2008: 18
2009 so far: 8

(I think the 2004 outlier is because I was dating a girl that summer who had been a film major.)

Also, that's just post-college. The '90s are more inconsistent. I only saw 8 movies in the theater in 1992, but I also couldn't drive yet.

Probably about once every two weeks, and almost always only repertory films. I'd like to go a lot more; Film Forum has tons of stuff I'd like to see . . . for example I would have liked to see the whole Nick Ray festival, and so far I've only made it to Rebel Without a Cause. If MOMI every opens up again, I may be able to up my quota, as it is in walking distance.

...