Why is it that new movies are released in theatres on a Friday while....?

....new CDs/DVDs are released on a Tuesday

Why is it that new movies are released in theatres on a Friday while....?theatre

Movies were the first to be released on Fridays. Friday is the end of the work week for most people and is also a traditional date night. If a movie has created sufficient buzz prior to its release in theaters, they can get the best box office draw with a Friday release, that hopefully builds to momentum through the weekend. If the film had a good weekend, then the momentum will hopefully build further. So the Friday relase for movies is a matter of maximizing BO (that's box office in show biz language).

Now, CDs and DVDs are also issued by some of the same companies that produce movies. They don't want to compete with themselves, so they created a release time which they think is least likely to do that. Monday would be too soon after the major weekend draw for movies, so Tuesdays are a logical choice.

It's all about maximizing revenues.

Why is it that new movies are released in theatres on a Friday while....?opera music opera theater

Because people listen to music all the time, and watch movies at home all the time. Not sure why they piccked tuesday specifically though.

But 80% of theater movie watching is done on weekends. So if they release a movie on Friday it is brand new for the weekend, and people get more excited about seeing the brand new movie, hence more people go see it.
So that movies like "Hottie and the nottie" staring paris hilton at least have 3 days in theaters before being released to DVD.