There's always going to be the need for the shared movie experience. No matter how advanced home entertainment systems get, you're not going to have an 80-foot screen with stadium seating.

There's a way for them to continue to be an essential part of the mix, but they do risk being made irrelevant if they don't change their ways. It's not inevitable that the window between theaters and DVDs will disappear, but theaters would be wiser to pay more attention and explore all the alternatives. With certain movies, it might be smarter to have a simultaneous release.

Theater owners have to manage their holdings ... and recognize that the world is changing rapidly in terms of the way people are consuming media. There's a way for them to continue to be an essential part of the mix, but they do risk being made irrelevant if they don't change their ways.