Justin H
I manage a movie theatre so I know almost everyone has something to say about how outrageous the prices are at movie theatres. I've heard it all before, so lets leave that out of this discussion.
What I'm curious to know is what effect the prices have on your decisions about when and how often you go to the movies.
Do you go less because of the prices? Do you only go if it's a movie you really want to see? Do you see movies as an escape from home and not worry about the prices? Do you intentionally go on discount days or matinées because of cheaper prices?
Also, if you have any understanding of the economics of running a movie theatre, does that influence your decisions?
I would love to hear anything you have to say about how the prices affect you movie going decisions, but I would prefer not to hear the grips about how outrageous the prices are because I hear that every day.
Lord Z: Thanks for responding. You seem to have a basic understanding of the movie theatre business, but I do need to clear up a few details.
First off, movie theatres are not doing nearly as badly as you make out. Yes, we had a horrible year in 2005, but we recovered with a decent 2006. And 2007 has been a record year so far (although total admissions are not as strong as 2004 - the record year).
Yes, the megaplexes are partly to blame for the degradation of the movie going experience, but the public needs to take a bow here. People have become so accustomed to watching movies at home where they can talk, pause, multi-task, etc, that they have forgotten what the movie theatre experience is supposed to be.
And while DVD has been a boon for home entertainment, sales are starting to flatten out there. Furthermore, you have to blame the studios for the ever shrinking theatre to DVD window and the ever increasing amount of crap product.
As far as concession prices, you have to keep two factors in mind. First of all, the concession stand is how the theatre pays the bills since the largest chunk of ticket sales go to the studios. We have to pay to keep the theatres warm or cool, we have to pay the staff, we have to pay for the projectors, and the electricity. And don't forget the insurance - which has been going up since 9/11 for any public gathering places.
The second factor is that movie theatres have to get a larger markup on their items because they do a smaller volume than a supermarket. Where a supermarket sells hundreds of thousands of items and can get a quarter each, a theatre sells thousands and must get a dollar each.
Lastly, I would argue that the technical experience of movies is better than it's ever been. Better sound systems, larger screens, more comfortable seats, etc. And with digital cinema there will be many other advances in the near future.
Answer
The price of movie tickets has an inverse relationship to audience attendance the same way any luxury item has an inverse relationship to price. As the price goes up the demad surely goes down.
It is one of those decreasing margional utilty relationships. The first thing a person is willing to give up as the economy gets worse is a luxury item.
Add to that the steadying costs of DVDs and the lowering cost of sound systems and you see a trend towards ignoring movie theaters altogether. It is a substitution effect as there is an easily acceptable substitute for going to a movie and that is to wait a few months and buy or rent the video so that you pay 5 to 20 dollars for everyone instead of that same price for just yourself.
Most tickets these days are purchased by people who have either a large amount of disposable income or teenagers who have access to people with a large amount of disposable income. That is why so many movies and movie releases are geared towards teens. Children's films while big business are few because it is harder to draw in a steady flow of family dollars since you buy 4 or more tickets instead of just 1 or 2. So companies produce those movies normally at holiday times when parents just want to get the children somewhere other than the house.
As for concessions stands, those prices are ridiculous but that is just the way they are. Movie theaters have only two sources of income , ticket prices and concession stand prices and it is easier to maintain ticket sales by keeping ticket prices down than by raising ticket prices and keeping concession stand prices fixed. The problem is who wants to pay $4 for a bag of popcorn, a drink, or a hot dog when you can go to the grocery store or a restaurant and pay a quarter of the price. So what you see is even fewer people wanting to go to a place that is selling over priced merchandise.
Last but not least is the rise of the megaplex and the consolidation of theaters which discourages movie going because the product is no long as palacial and the experience is no longer as special as it once was when gaylynns, cinemas, and drive in theaters offered the audience comfort and a since that this film is special for every film you attended. Say good bye to the balcony seating and the comfy chairs, the opening of the curtains and the pre show cartoons, the speakers that hung off you door and the cloth stations on route to your seat and say hello to movies on smallere screens with bigger speakers, crampt seats, and mulitple screens so that the movie only stays in a theater for a few weeks if at that and then goes to video leading you back to that thought od substitution. Megaplexes are killing movies.
And now, when it is realized that ticket sales are lousy but video sales are good, wham every thing goes straight to video. The last three American Pie Movie wham straight to video. Van Wilder 2 straight to video. Bloodrayne 2 straight to video.
As Kevin Smith said, as long as I make cheap movies ($30 million or less) and show a little profit and the video sales are good, I (he) will always be able to make movies. In otherwords, the movie makers no longer care about the box office but rather the video sales.
That is the state of movie going in the new millenium.
And oh, yes, I caught your question about me. It is actually a violation but I get a question about me every now and then so I try and answer them but I saw yours too late to do so. I do answer hundreds of people, but; there are so many questions and I am # 1 in Entertainment, Television, Movies, and in the top ten of seven or eight other categories, so; I am not as visible as the person in second in movies, whatever he calls himself now, who focuses normally on movies alone , and who is a movie critic by profession, and doesn't enjoy the full Yahoo experience as many do. I jump around. As for my Q&A's they are closed because of trolls, thumb monsters, and hackers all of which I have to deal with on a weekly basis. When you are atop th leaderboard you get reported, suspended, and so on just for the fun of it. I had to close up like Willy Wonka to stay around and even then i made the mistake of taking on a contact or two and that blew up in my face. But I answer all sorts of questions from Script advisement to soundtracks to favorite this or that and that is onli movies. I do all the television magazine and other topics. I do Polls and Surveys. I do Philosophy. Psychology. Law Relationships. You name it I answer it. I hopr this answers your question and the second guy was close to being right whoever that was.
Anyway that was my answer and thanks for the question.
Additional information:
My knowledge is far from basic.
I too have spent my time like you in the theater.
Unlike you I have seen the good old days.
I have been to prenier theaters with balconies and theatrical seating and curtains drawing, ushers in those uniforms with the hats and all. They were better. Chandeliers in the lobby. It was an experience.
I don't know who the brilliant one was that thought that bigger speakers made it a better experience, probably George Lucas since he came up with THX but it simply makes the movie louder. It does not make the experience better unless you are deaf.
And the fact is that AMC pretty much dominates the market because they purchased all the competition that could not make ends meet.
Ticket sales are up because a movie no longer spends half as long in a megaplex as it did in the past, so you have less empty screenings. It is what I call the sucking you in because it won't be there tomorrow theory of scheduling. They want you to go as soon as possible so they can take the movie off the circuit and start optioning it to Distributors and Cable companies.
You are only looking at it from the perspective of your business.
You were asking from the perspective of the ticket buyer.
I tried to give you an answer from that perspective.
The ticket buyer does not care about your electricity bill, staffing, insurance, whatever. They care about how much money they have to spend for a hotdog, pop corn and a coke.
That is simply the way it is. Twenty dollars for ticket and snacks or fifteen dollars for a video and you get to keep it.
I am talking economics.
And stop blaming the movies for the problem. Pretty Woman was a cruddy movie and made millions. Titanic lasted 22 a top the box office. What beat it? "Lost in Space", another cruddy movie. Cruddy movies are nothing new. Troma never made a good movie, but; most of their movies are cult classics. Rocky Horror fills theaters still and it is not a masterpiece. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes will still fill an audience. It is not the movie. It is the prices.
And like I said, movie makers have the good sense to send a movie direct to video when they realize that it will not draw an audience. It does draw video sales. In other words, people will pay less for that movie if given the opportunity.
This is not a gripe.
This is telling you what the moviegoer thinks.
This is what you should be asking yourself. How can I lower prices?
Senior discounts, Matinee prices, Student Discounts, and all of those programs tell a movie goer that they should be paying less. Why aren't they? Why the gimmicks when the truth is that you could lower ticket prices if you wanted to, not you the manager but, you the representative for a company that as you admitted puts the price of expenses in the concessions.
My point was that concession stand prices are inflated 300%. There is no denying that. I thinki I could sell something a bit more nourishing for 12 dollars than a hot dog, popcorn and a coke. You are not just competing with the DVD market but fast food as well. Moviegoers are choosing to eat first and watch the movie after or vice versa.
Move this question over to polls and surveys and see if people don't agree with me.
This is a survey question.
If you really want to try and make a name for yourself, be the first person to get a theater chain to merge with a fast food chain and see if sales don't climb through the roof.
Fast food sells on its own, and the chance to take your meal over to theater and eat it there will be too tempting to pass up.
It is a synergy of companies leading to a profit that will make all happy. The fast food guy is happy because you came to him to watch the movie and bought food. The movie guy is happy because there is a built in profit in fast food even if you did not come to see the movie. Merge Taco Bell/Pizza Hut with Cinemark and you have a winner. Burger King, Mac Donald, KFC, they will all see the possibilities for added sales .
But seriously, the theaters were better in the good ol' days. And, I don't really need THX to watch "The Notebook" or IMAX to watch "Toy Story". All I would have to do is sit in the middle of the theater to get better sound or the front of the theater to get that larger than life perspective.
Give it a thought.
And take that poll if you doubt me.
I am sure people will tell you they would rather go if prices were less and if concessions were better. that is just the way they are.
Oh, and you have learned another thing about the questions I answer. I check to see if the answer was received well or if the questioner has other questions. Your response sounded like you needed to clear up the griping point. This is not griping. This is telling you what I think. You not belittle it by calling it "basic." That was just wrong.
Any way, I hope this information cleared that up. If not I tried.
The price of movie tickets has an inverse relationship to audience attendance the same way any luxury item has an inverse relationship to price. As the price goes up the demad surely goes down.
It is one of those decreasing margional utilty relationships. The first thing a person is willing to give up as the economy gets worse is a luxury item.
Add to that the steadying costs of DVDs and the lowering cost of sound systems and you see a trend towards ignoring movie theaters altogether. It is a substitution effect as there is an easily acceptable substitute for going to a movie and that is to wait a few months and buy or rent the video so that you pay 5 to 20 dollars for everyone instead of that same price for just yourself.
Most tickets these days are purchased by people who have either a large amount of disposable income or teenagers who have access to people with a large amount of disposable income. That is why so many movies and movie releases are geared towards teens. Children's films while big business are few because it is harder to draw in a steady flow of family dollars since you buy 4 or more tickets instead of just 1 or 2. So companies produce those movies normally at holiday times when parents just want to get the children somewhere other than the house.
As for concessions stands, those prices are ridiculous but that is just the way they are. Movie theaters have only two sources of income , ticket prices and concession stand prices and it is easier to maintain ticket sales by keeping ticket prices down than by raising ticket prices and keeping concession stand prices fixed. The problem is who wants to pay $4 for a bag of popcorn, a drink, or a hot dog when you can go to the grocery store or a restaurant and pay a quarter of the price. So what you see is even fewer people wanting to go to a place that is selling over priced merchandise.
Last but not least is the rise of the megaplex and the consolidation of theaters which discourages movie going because the product is no long as palacial and the experience is no longer as special as it once was when gaylynns, cinemas, and drive in theaters offered the audience comfort and a since that this film is special for every film you attended. Say good bye to the balcony seating and the comfy chairs, the opening of the curtains and the pre show cartoons, the speakers that hung off you door and the cloth stations on route to your seat and say hello to movies on smallere screens with bigger speakers, crampt seats, and mulitple screens so that the movie only stays in a theater for a few weeks if at that and then goes to video leading you back to that thought od substitution. Megaplexes are killing movies.
And now, when it is realized that ticket sales are lousy but video sales are good, wham every thing goes straight to video. The last three American Pie Movie wham straight to video. Van Wilder 2 straight to video. Bloodrayne 2 straight to video.
As Kevin Smith said, as long as I make cheap movies ($30 million or less) and show a little profit and the video sales are good, I (he) will always be able to make movies. In otherwords, the movie makers no longer care about the box office but rather the video sales.
That is the state of movie going in the new millenium.
And oh, yes, I caught your question about me. It is actually a violation but I get a question about me every now and then so I try and answer them but I saw yours too late to do so. I do answer hundreds of people, but; there are so many questions and I am # 1 in Entertainment, Television, Movies, and in the top ten of seven or eight other categories, so; I am not as visible as the person in second in movies, whatever he calls himself now, who focuses normally on movies alone , and who is a movie critic by profession, and doesn't enjoy the full Yahoo experience as many do. I jump around. As for my Q&A's they are closed because of trolls, thumb monsters, and hackers all of which I have to deal with on a weekly basis. When you are atop th leaderboard you get reported, suspended, and so on just for the fun of it. I had to close up like Willy Wonka to stay around and even then i made the mistake of taking on a contact or two and that blew up in my face. But I answer all sorts of questions from Script advisement to soundtracks to favorite this or that and that is onli movies. I do all the television magazine and other topics. I do Polls and Surveys. I do Philosophy. Psychology. Law Relationships. You name it I answer it. I hopr this answers your question and the second guy was close to being right whoever that was.
Anyway that was my answer and thanks for the question.
Additional information:
My knowledge is far from basic.
I too have spent my time like you in the theater.
Unlike you I have seen the good old days.
I have been to prenier theaters with balconies and theatrical seating and curtains drawing, ushers in those uniforms with the hats and all. They were better. Chandeliers in the lobby. It was an experience.
I don't know who the brilliant one was that thought that bigger speakers made it a better experience, probably George Lucas since he came up with THX but it simply makes the movie louder. It does not make the experience better unless you are deaf.
And the fact is that AMC pretty much dominates the market because they purchased all the competition that could not make ends meet.
Ticket sales are up because a movie no longer spends half as long in a megaplex as it did in the past, so you have less empty screenings. It is what I call the sucking you in because it won't be there tomorrow theory of scheduling. They want you to go as soon as possible so they can take the movie off the circuit and start optioning it to Distributors and Cable companies.
You are only looking at it from the perspective of your business.
You were asking from the perspective of the ticket buyer.
I tried to give you an answer from that perspective.
The ticket buyer does not care about your electricity bill, staffing, insurance, whatever. They care about how much money they have to spend for a hotdog, pop corn and a coke.
That is simply the way it is. Twenty dollars for ticket and snacks or fifteen dollars for a video and you get to keep it.
I am talking economics.
And stop blaming the movies for the problem. Pretty Woman was a cruddy movie and made millions. Titanic lasted 22 a top the box office. What beat it? "Lost in Space", another cruddy movie. Cruddy movies are nothing new. Troma never made a good movie, but; most of their movies are cult classics. Rocky Horror fills theaters still and it is not a masterpiece. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes will still fill an audience. It is not the movie. It is the prices.
And like I said, movie makers have the good sense to send a movie direct to video when they realize that it will not draw an audience. It does draw video sales. In other words, people will pay less for that movie if given the opportunity.
This is not a gripe.
This is telling you what the moviegoer thinks.
This is what you should be asking yourself. How can I lower prices?
Senior discounts, Matinee prices, Student Discounts, and all of those programs tell a movie goer that they should be paying less. Why aren't they? Why the gimmicks when the truth is that you could lower ticket prices if you wanted to, not you the manager but, you the representative for a company that as you admitted puts the price of expenses in the concessions.
My point was that concession stand prices are inflated 300%. There is no denying that. I thinki I could sell something a bit more nourishing for 12 dollars than a hot dog, popcorn and a coke. You are not just competing with the DVD market but fast food as well. Moviegoers are choosing to eat first and watch the movie after or vice versa.
Move this question over to polls and surveys and see if people don't agree with me.
This is a survey question.
If you really want to try and make a name for yourself, be the first person to get a theater chain to merge with a fast food chain and see if sales don't climb through the roof.
Fast food sells on its own, and the chance to take your meal over to theater and eat it there will be too tempting to pass up.
It is a synergy of companies leading to a profit that will make all happy. The fast food guy is happy because you came to him to watch the movie and bought food. The movie guy is happy because there is a built in profit in fast food even if you did not come to see the movie. Merge Taco Bell/Pizza Hut with Cinemark and you have a winner. Burger King, Mac Donald, KFC, they will all see the possibilities for added sales .
But seriously, the theaters were better in the good ol' days. And, I don't really need THX to watch "The Notebook" or IMAX to watch "Toy Story". All I would have to do is sit in the middle of the theater to get better sound or the front of the theater to get that larger than life perspective.
Give it a thought.
And take that poll if you doubt me.
I am sure people will tell you they would rather go if prices were less and if concessions were better. that is just the way they are.
Oh, and you have learned another thing about the questions I answer. I check to see if the answer was received well or if the questioner has other questions. Your response sounded like you needed to clear up the griping point. This is not griping. This is telling you what I think. You not belittle it by calling it "basic." That was just wrong.
Any way, I hope this information cleared that up. If not I tried.
Best things to do in Cleveland on a day trip?
Sam
I have a roommate from France, and we live in a lame area (think cornfields). I want to take show her more of what the US has to offer. I'm thinking of taking a day trip to Cleveland, but I have only been a few times. Any suggestions of the best places for college-aged tourists?
Answer
Cleveland has one of the best orchestras in the world and it performs in one of the world's best concert halls and at one of the best summer music venues. The summer season almost is over, and the Cleveland Orchestra's Severance Hall season doesn't begin until late September.
http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/tickets/calendar/index.aspx#Month=9/1/2010
The orchestra offers student ticket discounts and free tours of Severance Hall.
http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/tickets/student-tickets.aspx
http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/visit/severance-hall.aspx
The Cleveland Museum of Art is one of the nation's best, and admission to the permanent galleries is free. The museum's famed Asian art collection currently is not on display due to an ongoing expansion.
Within walking distance of the art museum is Cleveland Botanical Garden, one of the nation's best; a very good natural history museum and a separate history museum; and the Peter B. Lewis Building, designed by famed architect Frank Gehry. All, along with Severance Hall, are located in the University Circle District.
http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/peterblewis/index.htm
http://www.universitycircle.org/visit.aspx
L'Albatrose, also within walking distance, was named as one of the best new restaurants in the U.S. in 2009 by Esquire magazine.
Playhouse Square offers the second largest theater complex in the U.S. after New York's Lincoln Center. Cheap tickets are available but they may not be the best seats -- check for student tickets and/or the "Smart Seats" program. There IMO are few, if any, bad seats in the Hanna Theatre, home of the Great Lakes Theatre Festival).
http://www.playhousesquare.org/default.asp?playhousesquare=21&urlkeyword=Smart-Seats
http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2008/10/hanna_theatre_renovation_shoul.html
http://www.playhousesquare.org/default.asp?playhousesquare=11&urlkeyword=Events-Tickets
http://www.cleveland.com/onstage/index.ssf/2010/01/tom_hanks_gift_pushes_great_la.html
If you want to introduce someone from France to American sports culture, consider an Indians game at Progressive Field, or a Browns football game. Maybe you can even catch a bout of the Burning River Roller Girls, depending upon when you make your trip.
http://www.burningriverrollergirls.com/about_brrg.html
The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo features one of the best rain forest exhibits in the U.S. as well as animatronic dinosaurs.
There is no minimum age at the famed Beachland Ballroom.
http://www.beachlandballroom.com/
One of Cleveland's leading downtown entertainment/dining districts is East 4th St. The other is the Warehouse District, where many of the clubs are located if you're at least 21.
http://www.east4thstreet.com/
http://www.warehousedistrict.org/
Across Euclid Ave. from East 4th Street is The Arcade, partially financed by John D. Rockefeller and one of the nation's architectural gems. It's a legacy of the period when Cleveland was the richest major city in the world on a per capita basis.
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/cleveland/arcade.html
In addition to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, other attractions in Cleveland that visitors enjoy include the West Side Market, the U.S.S. Cod, and Lakeview Cemetery.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g50207-Activities-Cleveland_Ohio.html
Read resolved questions in the Cleveland travel category for much more.
Enjoy Cleveland!
Cleveland has one of the best orchestras in the world and it performs in one of the world's best concert halls and at one of the best summer music venues. The summer season almost is over, and the Cleveland Orchestra's Severance Hall season doesn't begin until late September.
http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/tickets/calendar/index.aspx#Month=9/1/2010
The orchestra offers student ticket discounts and free tours of Severance Hall.
http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/tickets/student-tickets.aspx
http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/visit/severance-hall.aspx
The Cleveland Museum of Art is one of the nation's best, and admission to the permanent galleries is free. The museum's famed Asian art collection currently is not on display due to an ongoing expansion.
Within walking distance of the art museum is Cleveland Botanical Garden, one of the nation's best; a very good natural history museum and a separate history museum; and the Peter B. Lewis Building, designed by famed architect Frank Gehry. All, along with Severance Hall, are located in the University Circle District.
http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/peterblewis/index.htm
http://www.universitycircle.org/visit.aspx
L'Albatrose, also within walking distance, was named as one of the best new restaurants in the U.S. in 2009 by Esquire magazine.
Playhouse Square offers the second largest theater complex in the U.S. after New York's Lincoln Center. Cheap tickets are available but they may not be the best seats -- check for student tickets and/or the "Smart Seats" program. There IMO are few, if any, bad seats in the Hanna Theatre, home of the Great Lakes Theatre Festival).
http://www.playhousesquare.org/default.asp?playhousesquare=21&urlkeyword=Smart-Seats
http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2008/10/hanna_theatre_renovation_shoul.html
http://www.playhousesquare.org/default.asp?playhousesquare=11&urlkeyword=Events-Tickets
http://www.cleveland.com/onstage/index.ssf/2010/01/tom_hanks_gift_pushes_great_la.html
If you want to introduce someone from France to American sports culture, consider an Indians game at Progressive Field, or a Browns football game. Maybe you can even catch a bout of the Burning River Roller Girls, depending upon when you make your trip.
http://www.burningriverrollergirls.com/about_brrg.html
The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo features one of the best rain forest exhibits in the U.S. as well as animatronic dinosaurs.
There is no minimum age at the famed Beachland Ballroom.
http://www.beachlandballroom.com/
One of Cleveland's leading downtown entertainment/dining districts is East 4th St. The other is the Warehouse District, where many of the clubs are located if you're at least 21.
http://www.east4thstreet.com/
http://www.warehousedistrict.org/
Across Euclid Ave. from East 4th Street is The Arcade, partially financed by John D. Rockefeller and one of the nation's architectural gems. It's a legacy of the period when Cleveland was the richest major city in the world on a per capita basis.
http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/cleveland/arcade.html
In addition to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, other attractions in Cleveland that visitors enjoy include the West Side Market, the U.S.S. Cod, and Lakeview Cemetery.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g50207-Activities-Cleveland_Ohio.html
Read resolved questions in the Cleveland travel category for much more.
Enjoy Cleveland!
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