Ticket prices getting out of hand?

glunark

glunark

Sr Member
I took my wife and son to see wonder woman and the tickets cost me £25, for a two and a half hour film that's slightly more than I would have earned at work for the same amount of time.

Even if I had just brought one of them with me, it would still have been more expensive than buying a brand new bluray.

There are a lot more films I want to see this year, but its getting harder to justify the cost.

I don't mind when the film is good, but when you don't enjoy it that much, it makes the experience even worse.

For that money I could have taken my family out for a meal, got two takeaways, or bought 5 blurays that have been out for a while.
 
I thankfully have 2 theaters that aren't too expensive, although the closest one by me is very expensive.
But its funny how they keep saying how new movies are breaking records and making more and more. Yet, its only because they just keep raising the prices.
 
Yep, it's getting pretty pricey. I just wonder when new films will be available to stream directly to your smart device. Seems like it should be a bit cheaper for a whole family to view a new movie. When it does happen, I wonder how many people will still venture out to a theater for overpriced drinks and snacks.
 
I like that its more expensive to go to the movies. Keeps out the troublemakers. If it were cheaper to see a movie in IMAX at night, you'd get more people in the theater who weren't really there to see the movie and those are the ones who end up being disruptive. I really haven't had a bad movie experience in years due to this.
 
I find that I go to bargain matinees like when I was a youth. A lady friend wanted to see a new film a few weeks ago, Saturday night, spur of the moment, and my first thought wasn't

¬ Will there be crowds? wasn't
¬ Can we get there in time? wasn't
¬ Is the nearest theater and show time a good, clean theater?

It was, "wow, how much will this cost for a 10 pm screening?"

There's a new trend in teh US, a return to luxury theaters where you reserve your seat, it's a comfy, clean reclining loge seat, some have food service (order dinner, or drinks, or gourmet refreshments). It's not cheap, but VFM equation is that you're getting a quality moviegoing experience for your dough. Routine, run of the mill theaters have become, as you say, super expensive.

And we haven't even mentioned the prices for what amount to crap refreshments (at AMC, Cinemark theaters in my area). $7, $8 for a little bag of so-so popcorn. $5, $6 for a soda that would cost $1.85 at a fast food joint.

Worse, to me, is the incessant advertisements (full video with loud audio) playing as you sit down, so you can't even converse. They're all ads, so it's like watching TV. If I'd wanted to watch TV, I'd have stayed in!! Then you're assaulted by more ads, and trailers, that have compressed audio (I suspect) and are turned up full volume. I was once accosted coming out of a theater because I put headphones on during the trailers because one after another they were loud, booming, audio assaults, repeated trailers for action movies (this was during the release of Batman Begins). My ears already ring with tinnitus, trailers like that actually hurt me.

In the last few years, I don't see a film in theatrical release unless i really, REALLY want to see it. Or have a date who wants to. Otherwise, I pass.


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I feel bad but it's the reason my wife and I only see the big tentpole movies at this point. Things like smaller dramas or comedies get passed over because being on the big screen doesn't have the same benefit for them
 
No "casual movie going" for me, just the occasional movie that I am really interested in. And I try to bring in my own snacks. Probably the only movie I will go to this summer will be"Valerian". When I rent a movie from Amazon I usually get the standard version partly on price and the HD version is usually only $5 or $6.

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I don't even bother with theaters anymore. Even if it's something I really want to see, I can wait the few month it takes for it come out on bluray and it cost pretty much the same price, Otherwise, I wait for it to be on HBO or something. I couldn't stand the ever increasing number of ads before the movie would even start.
 
Y'know I never thought of it this way, but buying the BD at Costco, particularly when there's a rebate, is arguably cheaper than seeing it in the theater. And I can control the experience. Even make white kernel popcorn in my Cuisinart popper with real butter (yay).

Then give the disc(s) to my local library, for their catalog or to sell.

I did that with the Kingsman: The Secret Service. A lady friend wanted to see it, so I bought it. That was a good night. Movie, ice cream, and …. ;)


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I totally sympathize with every comment in this thread. I tend not to go to the theater as much anymore for some the very reasons posted here. 25 Pounds is the equivalent to 32 USD, and for that price, I could've seen a film released just 20 years ago about 5 or 6 times in the theater. It's funny how theaters are caught in the same conundrum it encountered back when television became widespread. Now they've got to come up with new ways to bring people back into the cinemas, again, thanks to streaming and on-demand services and I suspect that has something to do with prices going up. It's a shame, too, because I love film (I used to go almost once a week), I think films should be seen big and in the blood of the masses but so many just aren't worth the pixels their projected with.

KojiroVance mentioned the rise of luxury theaters State-side and, having been to one, I found like with everything else, there are good and bad things about it. You're with better crowds, but that means there are complete snobs sometimes; there's a better choice of food, but that means you're inevitably stuck sitting next to people ordering and consequently eating loudly close to you (this is barring the argument of ordering hot foods in confined spaces in the first place); stricter rules promote better behavior, but sometimes I'm left wondering if can be a bit too strict. Of course, people spend money how they please and your mileage may vary, but all of this has got me wondering if there isn't a better way for all of this to be better. A good film release projected big and loud, a decent crowd attendance, concessions decent, and it all being cost effective...

...God, I miss the drive-in.
 
There;s a reason I never got to theaters. I haven't been since the mid-90s and will never go again. Not only does it cost an arm and a leg, but you have to deal with really awful people in the theaters as well. I'm happy to wait a couple of months when I can watch it in the comfort of my home.
 
Yeah, but you pay the same to see a tentpole blockbuster as dirt cheap indy film.

I used to go see films more than once, now that's a luxury I can't afford.

Cinema used to be entertainment for the masses, now its just for those with massive pockets.
 
I agree, the downside of going to the movies (expense, people talking, texting, annoying ads) is getting harder to ignore. Still, there's something to be said for seeing an "event" film with a packed audience.

I saw The Blair Witch Project in a Chicago theater when it first came out. Not a great film by any stretch and yet the audience was on the edge of their seats for the last 40 minutes or so, myself included. And the last big jump-scare scene made people go berserk. There are certain films that are still more fun to experience with a crowd.
 
There is a cult cinema club in my town, not a big place, maybe seats a hundred, but I go most months with a crowd and have a great time, for 5 pound, plus there's a bar!
 
We had a thread not too long ago about what's your theater cost

I forgot what I posted, I haven't been to the movies since... last October...

It is pretty expensive, I use to drop 60-80 bucks easy on 1 movie and that was just 2 tickets. By the time u get a snack, heck a small bottle of water is 4.50 the stuff adds up...

I look at it though, I may go to the movies 4 times a summer. I rather spend the 60-80 bucks in the theater then take her to Cheesecake Factory... I hate that damn place lol


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Hell I took the six year old to watch rogue one and spent $40! Rediculous! All we got was one adult ticket, one child ticket, and a slush and small popcorn for the kid!

sent from the cockpit of SLAVE I
 
If you live near a major theater chain and if they don't have reserved seating you can save money by buying tickets ahead of time, and in "bulk" through club shops like Costco and Sam's Club or individually through your local AAA. While they're not as cheap as tickets of yesteryear were they are a lot better than they are at the box office.
 
I've never been to (or even seen) one of these luxury theaters you guys speak of where you can order food and drinks and have recliner seats etc. When you say order food, are you talking ordering food like in a restaurant? You can actually order a full meal and eat it while watching the movie? Is there tables in front of your chairs? Do you just eat it off your lap? Are there waiters walking around during the movie? Wouldn't this be very disruptive to the viewing experience?
 
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