I Call B.S. On This!

[Bon]

http://www.physorg.com/news122917253.html

New research from Stanford and the University of California, Santa Cruz suggests that there is a method to theaters' madness--and one that in fact benefits the viewing public. By charging high prices on concessions, exhibition houses are able to keep ticket prices lower, which allows more people to enjoy the silver-screen experience.

That statement, alone, makes this whole article trash. Movie tickets and concession prices go up EVERY YEAR. What's the point?

[John Mora]

What do you expect? Attendance is plummeting.

[The_Real_Crunk]

I always sneak in snacks and drinks when I go. Puffy jackets with lots of pockets are your friend. Hell the place out here wont even ask questions if you walk in with a backpack.

[Bon]

I always sneak in snacks and drinks when I go. Puffy jackets with lots of pockets are your friend. Hell the place out here wont even ask questions if you walk in with a backpack.

My theatre is anal....very anal.

They won't allow jackets with several pockets, nor handbags. Purses are good, though.

@Mora: tell those bastards to drop the price. Then, maybe, there won't be as much bootlegging 'round this mofo.

[John Mora]

Depending on when you go, you can get in for as little as $5.

[SirTMagus]

I bet bootlegging is just a drop in the bucket.

****ty movies is the industry's #1 enemy

That, and really good TV and video games.

[IRC]

Boo hoo movies cost money. Get a job hippy!

[Duel]

Hooray for cash and popcorn! With butter :D

[Wavelength]

Well, don't be so quick to call BS, then.

I worked in a movie theater for 3 years and I've got a relatively strong background with economics and marketing, and I can say that pretty much everything in this article is feasible if not outright true.

I believe I remember our GM saying that as a movie stays in our theaters longer, we end up with a bigger percentage of the revenues. This seems to make sense, given how (I believe) theaters pay a more-or-less fixed sum for the rights to show the movie, rather than giving a percentage of revenues to the studio. This is really where the problem is lying, because it takes about six months (which almost no movie ever stays for) before they start becoming pure profit (again according to my GM).

The concession stand really is where we made our money. (And for the record, we generally didn't give people too hard a time about bringing in snacks. Those people probably aren't willing to buy concessions, and it's not a good practice to harass your customers. We were much stricter with people trying to sneak into movies without paying.) The assertion that the article makes seems solid--a golden tenet of marketing is to try and price-discriminate in a legal way among your different segments of customers. Some people really want the full theater experience, so if we can get them to pay everything that they'd be willing to pay for that experience (by collecting extra money in the form of 93%-profit concession items), while not driving away people who would be totally unwilling to pay $14 to see a movie, then it makes sense to structure ticket and concession prices as such.

I know that ticket (and concession) prices keep rising--and I think that sucks, but it's not theaters' corporate greed at work. It's the fact that the movie business, and especially the "buying the film" part of the cinema business, is getting so costly, and less and less people are going to theaters.

You could blame it on DVDs, or bootlegging, or overpaid Hollywood people, or dumb business structures... and you'd be right. Still, unless you want to see theaters close down one after another, please consider buying the tasty, ridiculously overpriced, concessions. You're making the world a better place. :)

[Omnislash024]

Bonanza, you live around here. So I'm curious to know what movie theater you go to. I always use Loews up in White Marsh. Decent prices, though concession stand stuff is high, but I say eat lunch or dinner at White Marsh before trudging over there. Also try Muvico.

I go to the movies for the movies, not the snacks. Though on occasion I'll spring for myself a bah a popcorn and some soda. Other then that, I'm there for the movies.

[Red Dragon]

I paid, like, 4.75 to go see Transformers in the middle of the day.

It's all about what time you go in.

[Ivan Rosenguard]

Bah. Going to the movies nowadays is lame anyways. It isn't what it used to be, and that has nothing to do with the price of admission. Theaters want more money, and doing it they way they did just isn't profitable to them.

It used to be that you would go to a theater and it was an actual night out. There wasn't a showing at 7:00 and then a showing at 9:00, there was a showing at 7:00 and it lasted till 10:00, because there was a short film at the beginning and then you had the movie complete with an intermission and you went into a beautiful lobby. And the stuff they sold at the theater was better. Hell, sometimes they sold actual food instead of that greasy junk you buy now for six dollars.

The last theater to do this in my state closed down just last year because they couldn't compete with the multiplexes and megaplexes. It was beautiful building and was a significant landmark that they just knocked over for a strip mall. The money turns everything to ****. Going to the theater isn't worth it anymore, IMO. When I go out with friends we generally go to see a live show nowadays anyway.

[Bon]

Bonanza, you live around here. So I'm curious to know what movie theater you go to. I always use Loews up in White Marsh. Decent prices, though concession stand stuff is high, but I say eat lunch or dinner at White Marsh before trudging over there. Also try Muvico.

I go to the movies for the movies, not the snacks. Though on occasion I'll spring for myself a bah a popcorn and some soda. Other then that, I'm there for the movies.

Well, I'm currently in Lynchburg, and there's a movie theatre that's literally a 3 minute drive away. Matinee is about 6 dollars, but there's a special $5 price if you see a movie in the mid-afternoon (4-5:30). After that, the price goes up to 8.50.

The concession is ridiculous. A large popcorn is 6 bucks, and it's not even the damn tub. Plus, the popcorn I've had in th theatre close to my home tasted better. Drinks are anywhere from 3.50-5 bucks. Candy is just over 3 dollars. That's about all I know.

[John Mora]

You can go two hours without stuffing your face.

[Bon]

You can go two hours without stuffing your face.

The aroma of the popcorn lures me. *hiss*

[d2king10]

Well the theater here is only 3.50 haha.