Ok, so when I was younger. I could take $10 go to the theater watch a movie AND have popcorn and soda. That is totally not the case now. I just don't get it. Other than people being paid WAY more money than they are worth I don't see why these theaters are so expensive.
First issue Candy at the theater. I can purchase that same size box of candy at the dollar store for $1. Why is it $5 there? I know the dollar store makes money because they are still open. So why so much?
In 2000 the price of a movie ticket averaged $5.39 and it increased to 7.92 in that same year. That means in that year the price went up 50%. At our local Premier Theater in Spanish Fort a prime time movie ticket is $8.75. Nationally the resources I used averaged the price of a movie ticket to be $8.12, so I guess our theater is significantly over the quoted averages, however, I have heard friends talk about paying $10 per ticket to go to the movies so I don't know what I think about my online research findings.
At any rate, if you have a family of four. Tickets alone are going to be at least $32, unless you go to a maintee which may save you about $10 for 4 people. Now, most people now are just sneaking in snacks etc. I don't blame people. With the price at the theaters, you have to save where you can. My research shows that the average bucket of popcorn is $8.15. A professor in California did a study that the popcorn bag you pay $8 plus for actually only costs the theater 90 cents.
I do realize that this is a company that is for profit. I also realize they have the cost of the buildings and the employees wages. But, it seems to me that a lot of people now just wait for movies to come out on DVD and get it on Redbox. So in the end if they dropped the prices all over, it would increase attendance and they would make more money overall. Sadly I fear that their ignoring the trends will create a time where we don't have theaters at all. Maybe they will remain in a big city but, I don't think the average area will be able to support a theater.
I had the opportunity to meet someone who is an art director for some major movies. He does one or two movies a year. The rest of the time he will sometimes work. His wife is a teacher. His kids go to private schools far away. Here is my thing, even if I was the richest person in the world I would NEVER disrespect someone's home. They came into my home and commented on the age of my tv and the quality of my furniture (which we bought new 6 months earlier from a very nice store). But, it was just rude. Although off topic, I think what I am saying is these people who work in the film industry are not 'regular' people. They don't struggle to pay bills, put food on the table, cover the increasing costs for school services that used to be covered at 100%. They have no concept at the end of the day how when they come out with a movie that our kids want to see, we get pressured as a parent to let our child go see the movie their friend went to see etc etc. The movie makers and movie theaters need to wake up and realize where we are all at as a nation financially and show it some respect if they want to stay in business.
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