Passing on the Movies

I had planned on being part of the record-setting moviegoer crowd that packed theaters during the long Christmas weekend to the tune of $278 million. Avatar took in a whopping $75.6 million followed by Sherlock Holmes at $62.4 million.

Alas, I didn’t find the time. Freelance work and spending time with my 6-month-old granddaughter took precedence. I really wanted to go see The Blind Side after reading much about the movie. I checked out the times it played at the local cineplexes and quickly figured out why the box office set a record the last week of the year: it costs a lot to get into the theater.

I don’t go to many movies. In fact, I think the last time I paid to see a motion picture was three years ago (Rocky Balboa). The newspaper listed the price to go see a movie as $9.25. Even the matinee special ran $7.25. That seems to be a steep price, especially if my wife accompanies me. I’d rather spend the money on a nice meal in a restaurant.

Maybe I’ll catch The Blind Side when it comes to the “cheap” ($3 a seat) theater in a couple of months. Meanwhile, I’ll keep watching the old-time movies on Turner Classic Movies (no extra charge to my cable package). When the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes movie debuted last month, I sat at home and watched the 1939 Basil Rathbone classic The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes on TCM instead. By watching movies on TV I miss out on a lot of sex, gore and violence — and I save some bucks.