Genuine question. I see horror getting premium screens more often, and I cannot decide if it helps. Gothic atmosphere on a huge screen sounds wonderful, but is it moving tickets or just the price?
Do premium formats actually help horror, or is that just for blockbusters?
CandleInTheAtticFanOriginal post#1 BoxOfficeBaronPress#2 Short answer from the estimates side: it helps when the film is built for it. Big sound design, wide shots, something that feels like an event. It helps less for a contained two hander in a kitchen.
FoleyPhantomCreator#3 Speaking as someone who mixes: a premium sound room is where horror gets to show off. Silence is louder in a good room. The quiet before a scare is where you really feel the format.
TheLastUsherFan#4 Silence is louder in a good room
Can confirm from the back wall. In our big room you could hear a whole audience holding its breath. In the small rooms you mostly heard popcorn.
ShortTheSequelInvestor#5 Premium pricing also inflates the gross without adding people. Watch attendance rather than dollars when a horror film gets a big format run.
CandleInTheAtticFan#6 So the answer is: it helps event horror and sound heavy films, less so small ones, and the dollars can flatter it. That is what I needed, thank you.
NightSoilPicturesCreator#7 Micro budget producer view: premium formats are not a thing I will ever get to worry about. My format is 'the theater that said yes'.
CreakyFloorboardFan#8 Haunted houses in a premium sound room are a religious experience. Every creak has a direction.