Why do movie theaters still have to buy the films on a giant reel, with modern technology, wouldn't it be...?

Question

more economical to release the movies on disc to the theaters and they play it through a projector? Also film reels are such ancient technology, they've been around since the late 1800's. What about high definition and the quality of a digital video, that is not possible on a reel? Or am I wrong about the quality, I know reel films are pictures or frames that are played very fast, maybe the quality of each picture is comparable to digital pictures, especially with the modern equipment they are recorded with these days.

I know the theaters pay alot for the movies, averaging about 50-60% of the ticket sales, so I wonder if production companies want to keep producing the films on reel, because it's easier to justify charging thousands of dollars for a reel, rather than a digital disc, that anyone can buy for $20 in about 9 months.

Old films on reel are considered works of art these days, I doubt a DVD released only to theaters would ever be considered art.

Just wondering.

Thanks much guys for sharing your knowledge on the subject, very interesting.

If Droopydog comes back he may be interested to know I never used the word 'buy" as he seems to think I did because he put it in quotation marks. I thought there was probably some sort of leasing or renting, that's why I said they "pay" around 50-60% of ticket sales, if they are buying it, how would they know in advance what to pay, as in 50-60% of what? The only reason I feel I want to address this is because when someone seems like they are correcting you and puts a word in quotes, as if you said it, I can't resist letting them know, I need not be corrected on this one. Thank you anyway though.

Answer 1

Hey! Great question! Here's what's happening now. When George Lucas release Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith, he would only allow it to be shown in theatres with digital projectors. This worked out so well, that the movie studios have banded together to help pay the cost of converting ALL movie theatres to digital projection format. On top of this, last year, some theatres were used to test 'satellite projection' where the movies could come through over a satellite and then digitally projected on the screen. These 2 technologies have move makers and movie patrons very excited, as both make High Definition a reality at the movie theatre. I think it's great. However, imho, I hope there will still be outlets for the old 'film in a can' old school projection, because I DO love the 'little quirks' that come onscreen during certain movies (i.e. when it looks like 'lint' sliding down the screen)... But the future of digital is NOW :-)

Answer 2

The theaters would have to purchase all new projectors that run oly in didgtal format and retrain people to work them.
Not all Studios have switched over to digital for recording format, there is no profit margin to switch over to digital projectors if you would have to raise ticket prices and lose market share to get a return on investment.

Here's the path a film usually takes to get to your local theater:

Someone has an idea for a movie.
They create an outline and use it to promote interest in the idea.
A studio or independent investor decides to purchase rights to the film.
People are brought together to make the film (screenwriter, producer, director, cast, crew).
The film is completed and sent to the studio.
The studio makes a licensing agreement with a distribution company.
The distribution company determines how many copies (prints) of the film to make.
The distribution company shows the movie (screening) to prospective buyers representing the theaters.
The buyers negotiate with the distribution company on which movies they wish to lease and the terms of the lease agreement.
The prints are sent to the theaters a few days before the opening day.
The theater shows the movie for a specified number of weeks (engagement).
You buy a ticket and watch the movie.
At the end of the engagement, the theater sends the print back to the distribution company and makes payment on the lease agreement.

Answer 3

It's only been in the last couple of years and maybe not really yet that HD DVD style photography in movies is getting to the Quality of reel cinema.

You can expect the switchover to start occurring in the next 15 years as digital cameras get more powerful each year and it eclipses the photo quality of the reel.

Answer 4

This is not so much an answer to your question as opposed to
an opinion about digital vs analogue. I recognize that things have all gone digital but it seems to me that there is just something more qualitative where analogue is concerned.
German television in the 60's was way more high def than what we call high def here in the USA. How is it that we here in the
USA have gone done this digital path as opposed to just improving the analogue we already had?
Of course I realize this is all about politics and profit. Everyone knows that.
But I'm wondering if there is not something beyond what most of us see.
I'm not suggesting some sinister conspiracy theory.
Just exploring.
I Cr 13;8a

Answer 5

They are bringing out a new format to produce films at the cinema but i don't know how soon or what format it is.Digital i presume and it also makes it impossible for someone to film it with a camcorder so they cannot make it into a pirate video.It is something to do with the way the light projects!

Answer 6

Theaters dont "buy" films, they rent.

Theaters would have to have purchase new equipment.

There would be an expensive dual format "changeover" period.

Film is still the superior format, it "looks" better than digital, particularly in panoramic or landcape type shots, it would be impractical to film part of the pictutre in one format and part in another.
That being said, digital is inevitable, but is going to take some time, just like HDTV.

Answer 7

There are a lot of directors (Robert Rodriguez being one of them) that would like to get all of the theatres to go digital, but most others prefer film - thus, the theatres follow suit.