Welcome to the Fourth Dimension!

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to actually feel and smell all the things that happen in a movie? I mean, 3-D is cool and all, but what if our seats rocked around and gave us the motion that the characters would feel? What if we smelled the bacon that was cooking in the next room over? Mmmm...bacon. Wouldn't that be cool? I know I've thought about it, but that couldn't be possible. Or could it?

Apparently it is and it has been for a while. In fact the first 4-D movie was James Cameron's Avatar in 2009. 4-D just hasn't been in the United States. That is, it hasn't been available in the United States up until now. Now movie goers can experience this fourth dimension in Los Angeles, California at the Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium 14. Which is the 110th 4-D theater in the world. But...

Why?

Well, that's what some consumers are asking. The thing is movie ticket sales are on the decline. They have been for a while now. Ever since TVs started to become more easily accessible to consumers in the late 1940's and 1950's, people have been able to find entertainment from the comfort of their own home. And now with so many more amusements at the very tip of people's fingers due to smart phones and tablets, movie ticket sales have begun to plummet even more than usual. Why pay the high prices of a theater when you can just look a title up on Netflix? You lose the expense of the trip to and from the theater, the expensive refreshments and the ticket.

But what will this new dimension do to our wallets? If you thought 3-D was expensive, try adding $8 to that for the experience of 4-D. In some places that's more than $20 a ticket! I don't know about you, but even for me, a movie lover, that's almost enough to make me want to go running home and waiting an additional 3 months or so for a film  to come out on DVD. 

So what can the average moviegoer expect to experience if they go to a 4-D feature film? Well, you can expect your typical 3-D experience plus your chair taking you along for the ride, wind and/or rain if you so choose (there is an button to turn it off) and smells of whatever. So basically if you go see the new Transformers be prepared for some burning rubber and oil.

http://www.etcentric.org/cinemacon-4dx-theater-technology-coming-to-los-angeles/

But after all of this, can we blame Hollywood for this as so much the theaters?

To check out more reasons why people aren't going to theaters, check out Roger Ebert's article here:  http://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/ill-tell-you-why-movie-revenue-is-dropping
And for more info on this 4-D experience click here:
http://hometheaterreview.com/first-us-4dx-theater-opens/