A hidden culprit in all this is that movie theaters are too damn expensive. I have a ticket stub from 2001—when OCEAN'S 11 was released—for a 9pm Saturday movie and it was $6. If WOLFS was in that exact same theater at the same time, it would cost $17.99.

Movies used to be priced as something fun you could do after going to dinner. Now they are priced as events, theaters are dumping money into to a "premium experience" model, and audiences are acting accordingly.