Comments on: How Movie Theaters Work

By: otto burgess

otto burgess — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 04:24:17 +0000

i read with great interest. there have been times in my life when it was not uncommon for me to go to the movies three times a week. i hate the excessive prices on snacks at the theater. i mostly skip or bring a little something – shame on me. i guess you could say that i am a dead beat movie goer.

By: Leizl

Leizl — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 02:16:23 +0000

In the Philippines a movie costs $2.50 – $3.50. And since the time zone is a day earlier than the US, we get to watch most films a day in advance! Some people usually fork out $10 for advanced screenings that are tied up to organizations for a cause or fundraising events, so you its not all about the money.

Concession stands are a bit of a problem though. Popcorn that costs a dollar is salty with a hint of butter at best. Movie theaters at big malls sell their own line of overpriced bland chips. I simply get a hotdog or some burgers from a nearby local fastfood or stop by the supermarket to buy cheap food. Some theaters even allow rice meals and soup to brought inside the theater.

I love my third world country :)

By: Liz

Liz — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 21:54:42 +0000

To be fair, movie theaters do also have the power to mess with studios if they start acting too obnoxious. Theaters control which screens get which movies, so they can pretty much decide if X big movie is going to get 6 gigantic theaters or 2 tiny ones in the back of the building. More than one major movie has gone down in flames because the studio pissed off the theaters. It’s part of the game.

By: Jenn

Jenn — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:05:08 +0000

Here in my corner of the Midwest, the advance tickets to see The Dark Knight were about $7 (with a military discount).
Unfortunately, concession snacks are horribly expensive. To solve this problem, all the females in my group brought huge purses and stowed all sorts of treats in them. We had boxes of Swedish Fish, Sour Patch Kids, one-pound bags of Twizzlers, and quite a few cans of cola. As for the guys in the group, they used our bags to stow their treats. The best part of this: the theater management didn’t even care. We unpacked as soon as we got into our seats, and almost all the people around us were doing the same. It just makes more sense: almost everything we brought was 99 cents at Walgreens!

reCaptcha: “conceded Earle.” What does Earle concede to?

By: gokarm

gokarm — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:27:18 +0000

Interesting reading, I’m glad to finally understand the ins and outs of the movie theatre business. I wonder, though…I mean I understand the high cost of foodstuff, but do they need to sell so much of it at one time? The sheer SIZE of the concession products…it’s ridiculous. What is their small drink, 20 oz? Not necessary. I’d think theaters could save some money on portion control.

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:24:11 +0000

What are you all complaining about? :) Here in Tokyo, tickets are $18.

Diana, great post! I’d love to see a follow-up on how the distribution system works overseas and how studios decide when and where to open their movies. Sometimes Tokyo gets movies within a couple of weeks of their stateside release (”The Dark Knight” is opening Aug. 9), but often we have to wait months even for big movies — “Sex And the City” STILL hasn’t played here!

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:10:50 +0000

There was a bit on Nightline last night about movie concessions; according to that report, theaters keep only a small percentage of the ticket take. Concessions is where they make their money to keep the lights on and employees paid. Not sure if that is exactly the case, but even if true I don’t see that as a justification for $5 popcorn and $5 sodas. Any economist worth his salt would argue that theaters could increase their revenue by dropping prices, thus increasing volume.

By: Laura

Laura — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:38:26 +0000

In Vegas I found that every year the ticket prices get hiked up by at least a quarter or so, sometimes as much as a buck some years.

Matinee shows have gone up to 7.50 from what was once 5.25 (back in 2003 or so). Evening tickets are an even 10 bucks, but at Regal cinemas I get a buck off with my student ID.

Fri and Sat tickets are 25 cents more.
It sucks it’s such a rip-off, but if people didn’t bite the bullet and pay it, they wouldn’t be able to charge what they do.

And I agree: why bother paying for crap concession food when you can stop off at the gas station and load up?

I always hated that you had to smuggle your food in like a criminal just because you didn’t feel like blowing even more cash than you already had on the ticket.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 07:29:39 +0000

In New Zealand (at least in Wellington), movies are typically $15-$18. The “cheap” night is Tuesday, when all movies are $10 (even if they were just released the week before).

One chain gives points for every dollar spent on tickets, and rewards every $30 or so.

Not sure how much popcorn is – $4? Don’t drink soda, so meh.

The food is fairly good, though, and you can buy wine, beer, ice cream cones and hot tea at the theatre.

By: Pete

Pete — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:29:08 +0000

Here in LA, we have a beloved neighborhood theater that only shows one film (90% of the time it manages to be the one I most want to see). It’s called the Vista (also in a shot briefly towards the beginning of True Romance when Clarence and Alabama exit the movies) and they’ve taken out every other row so you can really stretch out. Tickets are dirt cheap. Previously I would never buy snacks at the concession stand, now I do whether I want something or not, knowing that that’s how the place stays open. Viva la Vista!