Ryan Gosling Tells Fans It’s Not Their Job to Save Theaters, Hollywood Needs to Make Movies Worth Seeing

Maybe someone should also ask why average people have less and less disposable income these days?

This is a coded way of saying he wants to make THE NICE GUYS 2

> It’s much easier to: > Blame audience habits > Blame streaming > Blame “changing times” > Blame “-ists” and “-phobes” and “hate campaigns” I agree with the sentiment that it's on moviemakers to make movies worth paying for. But the moment the author started to go off on "messaging instead of storytelling", I knew he had ulterior motives. Just checked the Reddit domain info and this website is popular in the Kotaku in Action subreddit, make of that what you will.

It's also up to the theaters to make the experience worth the price of admission. The only time I enjoy the theater these days is when I can take a weekday off and see the first showing. Otherwise there are too many people with zero etiquette making me wish I had just waited for it to hit streaming so I'm not so massively distracted.

Also promote them and make them accessible as opposed to just shadow dropping them in select theaters

I think price a big reason as well. . I wanted to see Project Hail Mary with my brothers and 3 tickets came it to like $70 that’s not even including tax plus whatever snacks or drinks they would want.

At least for me, it's not the expense or even the quality, but the lack of common theater etiquette and rudeness that keeps me away. I'd gladly start going back to see movies in theaters if they would initiate and enforce very simple, common sense rules like "be quiet" and "phones off".

Why is cost of tickets never a part of these conversations?

Back in the day we went to the movies because it was much much better than at home. Big screen with beautiful color and clarity. Amazing sound too. We forget that back on the day our TVs picture was absolute dogshit and so was the sound coming out of that 4” speaker. Why go to the movies now??? At home it’s quiet, the food is already paid for, and I have a pause button.

Thank you, Ryan Gosling. It’s like when people say they have “superhero fatigue” like no you have bad movie fatigue. If Hollywood made movies worth seeing and theaters tried even a little to be a third place, it’s really incredible how theaters have messed this up so royally. Everyone is lonely and no one has a third space to go to…hmmm… wonder where I can spontaneously meet people with similar interests and hang out before spending group time without fear of awkward pauses and then actually have something shared to talk about after …. Like hmmm… seriously theaters could be making bank right now if they had leadership that even kinda cared about creating a quality experience. But Hollywood is still pumping out trash like DVD sales will save them instead of just going back to basics and focusing on making something worth bringing yourself to

Theatre need to enforce etiquette behavior

They need to drop prices as time passes. First week, full price. The people who really want to see the movie, will pay. It’s like early tech adopters. Following weeks, the price starts to drop. Let the theaters keep most of the ticket profit at this point. Cheaper tickets, more money to spend on candy and popcorn. I’ll spend full price to see Hail Mary the first weekend. But, I’m not paying 20 bucks to see April Fool’s day. But I may pay 10. And I will probably get popcorn. One of the theaters by me has 1/2 price Wed afternoon movies. The place gets packed.

Reality is most movies don’t need to be seen in theaters. Movies that take advantage of the big screen are must-sees, but most movies there’s not much difference between seeing it in theaters vs watching it at home, so the cuts in cost are the swing.

I think both sides are correct in this, if you care about movies then you should see them in theater, and if you care about movies and are making them you should make them worth watching. We’re dealing with art, there’s a relationship occurring between the recipients and the creators and both have to be participating for it to work in a market environment. All that being said, it is way too expensive to see a movie today and the experience itself is constantly degrading. That drives me away from the theater more than movie quality by a significant margin. And that’s on the theaters themselves.

Ok I’m starting to think he might be the coolest guy ever, at least in Hollywood

Has nothing to do with the movie for me. I can’t stand people not knowing how to behave in public anymore.

BIG FUCKIN FACTS, MOUSEKETEER!!!

He’s 100% right. I’ve seen enough superhero movies

with my medication i have to pee every hour or so. it’s just not worth it anymore for me to go to the theaters when i can watch it at home on my OLED and surround sound and be able to pause it a couple times so i can go pee

If theaters would enforce proper behavior, that would be a start. Actually throw people out when they are a disturbance. But also he’s not wrong.

This is kind of a shit article, though. Gosling's statement is fine. Then the former Breitbart writer goes on some rants about inclusivity and representation and holds up Snow White as an example of a failed movie because the lead isn't white enough. He also goes on a rant about people buying fewer movie tickets isn't because audiences have more options and can watch stuff at home but because studios aren't making good movies--Top Gun: Maverick and Deadpool & Wolverine did fine and just proves that you need action movie sequels featuring while male leads and you're guaranteed to get people back into theaters. F*** this Breitbart writer and his terrible hot takes.

The theater going experience has been ruined, and it's not just the cost of tickets or how overpriced a bag of popcorn is to the consumer. And it has *nothing* to do with the films. There are plenty of films being made which are worth seeing. The multiplexes have have killed it. They have theaters with adjoining walls that have no sound barriers which allows the sound from the movie playing in the theater next door to bleed through in an obnoxiously loud and intolerable manner. I went to see Hamnet - a very quiet film - and all I could hear was the soundtrack to Zootopia blaring through the walls into our theater. Kinda broke the mood. It wasn't just my ADHD making it impossible. It was for the entire duration of the movie. This is a pretty common experience anymore. The theaters also will not oversee the people pulling their phones out. It's a f****** disgrace. There's no civility or consideration for other moviegoers and next to nothing is being done about it no matter how many times Nicole Kidman reminds us we're in a magical place. A system with ushers and removal after a single infraction for the people who have their phones out during the movie (like at Alamo Drafthouse) is NEVER going to happen in any widespread way. It doesn't matter how many times you tell these people not to do it, they're going to do it anyway. And then if I - as a moviegoer - confront them I have to fear I'm going to get told I'm an a******, punched in the face, or worse. Its not just "kids" either. It spans every demographic. I tried to get this older man to stop commenting to his wife about every f****** scene in the movie we were watching and he just doubled down knowing I would sit there and take it, or I would leave and ruin the rare chance I had time to go out. He didn't give a flying f*** about me at all. F*** that. I'm basically done with going to the theaters because it's become such a shitty experience. Its not fun. Its not enjoyable. The cost is actually quite negligible.

Studios want a sure thing nowadays. It’s why we’re getting tons of reboots, sequels and prequels vs original or adapted films. Sinners was another example that people will pay to go to the movies if the product is good, as they always have.

The shape of theaters suck as well. I was doing that stars A list thing where you can see a couple movies a week with it. Even then it wasn't worth it because they never keep up with maintenance on the building or equipment. Not to mention having to deal with all the main characters that go see movies. I stopped going completely after that. Now me and my son buy a big thing of corn and pop our own fresh popcorn and enjoy movies on our own comfortable couch. I don't really see that changing anytime remotely soon either.

Ticket and popcorn were $7 total when I was a kid. I’d go all the time. I went to see Marty Supreme last month and it was $35.

He's 100% correct. I haven't seen a movie in theater in months because there hasn't been anything I've actually wanted to see. I think also Hollywood got too used to the Marvel universe popularity explosion...like that was a great time for them. The entire 'shared universe' was sort of a new idea and the Marvel movies appealed to a lot of people so people were going to the movies more often, I feel like.

This is the same thing that Chalamet was saying. And they're both right.

Coming from someone who works at a movie theater, he’s partially correct. However, it’s also important for all the studios to quit royally f****** theaters over with how much they take from ticket prices, that way we can collectively make concessions cheaper. But, yeah, Hollywood also needs to quit attempting to cater everyone and take more risks with movies

I agree, honestly. I can remember 15-25 years ago, I’d go to the movies almost every week because there was something worth watching. Last year I went to the movies 4 times, because I couldn’t justify the price for watching something terrible. Already battling ADHD without the movie being terrible too lol

And cinemas need to make the experience worth it.

Its not our job to save anything. Businesses in a free market can pull themselves up by their bootstraps and if they can't figure out how to do it then they deserve to die.

Omg just make it affordable to go again. That’s literally it.

geeks and gamers is a right-wing culture war shit hub

Start by not charging $40 for concessions. Start by starting the movie on time instead of having 45 minutes of commercials *before* the previews. Hell… make tickets $11 again. Just some ideas though, no one has to listen to me.

Ok but The Rock is going to blame everyone when Moana fails 

Ryan is right but there’s way more than just that. Almost everything about the theatre experience needs to change.

The last time I went to the theater was for the live action Christopher Robin. It was a unique take on Winnie-the-Pooh. Having a seven year old daughter was a bonus, not the reason. The next time I plan on going to see a movie in the theater is the adult showing of the Bluey movie. And you know there will be both a Bluey movie and an after 7 pm showing for the adults. Because everybody likes Bluey. In that span of time, the only movie that was released that tempted me to think about the theater was Civil War. And I think if there was more backstory into why we were having a Civil War, I'd have gone. Instead I watched it at home. Even Maverick didn't tickle my fancy enough to spend the cash. And I'm a sucker for a Tom Cruise action movie. I don't care about the prices if you make a damn good movie. But tell me a story I haven't heard in the last 40 years.

It doesn’t need to feel like spending vacation money going to a weekly event.

And I'll still be watching them at home 

I take my kids to 1 maybe 2 movies a year. It’s ridiculously priced.

That’s pretty bold of him to say. I agree.

Movies haven’t been great since before Covid. How many Marvel movies do we need? How many adaptations of the same regurgitated movie is necessary? I truly think writers have lost all creativity. Couple that with the insane cost of going to a movie theater and it’s a big NOPE for me.

YA HEAR THAT CHRIS STUCKMAN?!!!

Haven't gone to a theater in like 30 years. I'd be hard pressed to go back now.

Why can't they just show old movies instead? No need for remakes. But I guess young people don't have the same attention span now. I'm all about independent films and quirky documentaries, it's true that Hollywood is churning out too much bloated garbage.

And stop trying to reach for the largest audience and just make a good story.

He is 💯 percent correct.

Another W for Gosling….he’s on fire lately

The movies are absolutely worth seeing already, just at home where I don’t have to spend $60 for a ticket and some popcorn.

He’s absolutely correct.

I really, *really* don’t need a f****** live action Moana.

Hes correct. I've found I'm no longer interested in going to see any of these big event films because you can usually guess how shit goes. Shit like project hail Mary or "get help" are examples of good directors making fun films that should make you want to go to the theater 

It’s not our job to consume? That’s not what I heard.

I love movies but hate the current movie-going experience so we don’t go nearly as much anymore. However, the buzz convinced me and I literally bought tickets this morning to see Hail Mary on Saturday at our favorite local studio theater. If you make a good flick, I will go, but ask me to deal with $25 tickets and $15 popcorn and $10 Red Vines and $15 sodas in a multiplex with talking assclowns all for a movie that probably sucks? Pass.

Before the first Iron man movie, I used to go once a month. It was still once a month until 2014. I think I missed one marvel release and I never kept up to date/bothered to do it. Pre-pandemic it was once every 3 months. Then I realised when I watched One Battle after another on IMAX last year, the last movie I saw on the big screen was Oppenheimer, also at IMAX. After One Battle, there wasn’t much available. I watched other releases-a Jackie Chan movie and No other Choice (Korean). So he is right. Something is broken. I’m watching more TV dramas, Chinese, Korean or Japanese.

They doo all the f****** time! Every year, every f****** month! They don’t get support. But every f****** week a great original movie comes out!

The entire article read like it was AI written.

I will probably never go to the movies again. Last time I went was to see Avengers Endgame and that was to avoid spoilers. It's much easier and cheaper to watch movies at home.

Have you been to a budget theater? You know the theaters that releases movies that have left theaters release window 6 months later and their prices are 1/3rd its original price. Those theaters could use just a little bit more help in furnishings and maintenance. Studios still ask a lot from theater chains and theater chains still take too much while providing worse services. Ryan Gosling is trying to be nice, but there’s a lot of things they can do to make movies better.

“..But also continue to pay me the most of money that is possible and act like it's normal cause it is k bye”

It seems like there has been a complete collapse in "middle ground" movies. 20 years ago, on the average week, the theater would have 1-2 lighthearted 90 minute rom coms that had reputable actors. Tons of different kid movies. Now it seems like they're all 2.5 hour Oscar attempts or the worst f****** thing you've ever seen. Not to mention the millions of Marvel movies and remakes. Scream 7? Why? Even for kids, they release like 2 big movies a year and it somehow takes Disney 5 years to make. It blows.

Make movies more affordable or pay people more. I go to several movies a week only because I can pay regal cinemas a monthly subscription instead of buying individual movies.

Bring back the dollar theater and I will watch 2 movies every week.

How about getting rid of a half hour of commercials before the trailers start?

It’s not just the movies, most theaters suck due to terrible corporate management squeezing labor and by extension service until it’s just not a good experience. We had amazon theater, a small local chain with great food and service. The owner sold it to a chain and now it’s regal. They ran a great theater into the ground. They used to have amazing food and service but it all sucks now.

Hollywood needs to reinvest back into theatres to drop the prices. It’s outrageous how much it would cost a family of four to see a movie with popcorn drinks and candy on top of that

f*** movie theaters and f*** movies. They're f****** boring slop! SLOP

They should turn movie theaters into late night bars and karaoke places to make more revenue so they can charge less for tickets.

The whole thing for me is why would I go to the movies and spend 50 dollars plus to take two plus snacks plus anything else that may come up. When I can be in the comfort of my own home and just wait for it to go to streaming and not have to be around pricks who don’t stay quiet during movies?

Also, movies don’t stay in theatres that long before being aired on Netflix, Paramount and HBO. We already pay a 17.99 a month, it’s worth it to just wait and make popcorn at home.

People barely have enough money for food and gas, why would they go to the movies and spend 15 dollars a person + snacks?

All they make are reboots and sequels. Nothing new, nothing interesting.

The studio for PHM also did advertising early and often - so many films I only hear of like days before they come out

Im thirsty for good, original stories and Hollywood just keeps pumping out remakes and reboots and sequels to trusted IP. Im sure a lot of people feel the same. Ive mostly given up on films and look to tv/streaming for more original ideas. Project Hail Mary is the first movie I've seen in theaters in 4 years and though it was expensive I actually felt excited about being there and left satisfied (more than, the movie was great). It felt like the kind of movie you'd want to see in the theater where in most cases I dont see it adding much and would rather stay home where I dont have to deal with rude people. It used to be you'd use Hollywood talent to sell the film/idea and now we just shove already succsssful actors in already successful franchises and everything stagnates.

2 non-IMAX tickets, parking, and snacks for 2 people is $100 in my city. So yeah, I often just wait to watch at home.

The dialogue comes off like it was written by ChatGPT. Soulless.

Also expendable income is disappearing at an alarming rate so maybe don’t profit as much.

Someone needs to tell theaters to stop charging $48 for popcorn, a soda, and stale red vines.

Let’s start by getting rid of all nepobabies actors and stop with the remakes. The 2 biggest improvements that can be done asap.

They got greedy. The commercials on top of the cost of going to the movies is not worth it. The experience before the movie even starts is painful.

Ah, the reverse Chalamet. Beautiful.

it’s too expensive to go out eat. $20 for a seat, plus drinks were $7-10 dollars. The food is average at best… if I want popcorn, another $15-20. But all the normal food were $12-15. In the end, date night on the c**** side is almost $100. However, at home… I have a 85inch tv, surround sound, my recliner seats that massage and heat function. I can dress comfortable and add a cosy blanket, drinks are “free”, make my own movie theater popcorn and/or eat whatever I want. Plus my wife can pee by pausing a movie. I can wait a few months to rent the movie for $6-12.

He's right. Give us something we actually want to see. But more importantly... actually make it good and entertaining. That's seriously been lacking for many years now.