Anyone else not like to go out for movies

[rkoelsch]

I find that I just don't want to pay the money to go to a movie anymore. Someone was always talking or some kid sitting behind me kicking the chair or cell phone going off. I would rather sit at home and watch in comfort. I can pause it for bathroom and kitchen breaks and don't miss a shot.

I was thinking about this as I watched Two Towers for the first time last night. Gosh it took forever for that to come out.

 

[Spiderman]

I would still go for movies I really want to see (the only one I can think of coming up is Spiderman 2), but it's funny, there was a newspaper article the other day how more people are putting in home theater systems to get away from what you describe. If I had the money, I'd probably do it

 

[EricBess]

There's something about seeing a movie on a big screen. I don't get to movies very often, but for a few, I make a point of going.

Personally, I think the theaters are getting greedy, but they aren't thinking things through. My personal opinion is that they should adopt a different pricing system.

They raise the prices to try to increase revenue, but there is a law of diminishing returns that kicks in. They need to keep the prices down to an afordable level to compete with the fact that it's so annoying.

I've gone to good, first run movies recently and there have only been a handful of people in the theater. If they charged $5 instead of $8, the theater would be packed and they would make more money on people that wouldn't otherwise go to see the movie. Plus, there would be a lot of people who would go see the same movie more times.

And for really bad movies, they could lower the price even more (say $3) and at least manage to break even.

And for blockbusters? Charge $8 for the first month and then lower the price to $5. Sure, there are people that will wait until it's $5, but for the most part, you are still going to pack the theaters for a while. In fact, you might get only stragglers (or people that prefer a "private" showing) right before the price changes, but then you pack the theater again. Overall, I'm guessing revenues would be much higher.

Still, with movies being so expensive, 95% of what I want to see, I just wait until it comes out on DVD and I buy it. It costs less for me to buy it than to take my wife to see it. And that's not even considering the kids.

 

[rkoelsch]

I think one of the last movies I saw in the theater was The Phantom Menace. Probably one of the problems is that my wife and I have slightly different tastes in movies. Not that I don't enjoy some of the movies she really likes but I wouldn't go out of my way for them. And she feels the same. I really wanted to see Lord of the Rings on the big screen and may still see the Return of the Kings in the theater but I am really not motivated to see them there for the most part.

 

[Spiderman]

The thing about theaters is that they don't make most of their money off the price of admission, but rather the concessions. The price of admission usually goes towards paying the studios for their cut, which I'm guessing has been raising all these years to cover the costs of the making and production of the movie.

In other words, the admission is largely out of the theater's control; they HAVE to charge that much because the studios want x dollars. It's the concessions where they make their profit and could drop a little.

 

[train]

Spidey hit it on the nose...

That's why we usually eat right before going to a movie...

We may pay the admission, but the most we buy in the theater is the drink... if at all...

And we're usually paying for 4 tickets... so I know it can be expensive - sometimes more expensive than where you had lunch or dinner...

The greatest thing about the movies - the previews, and the size of the screen...

The worst - the size of those chairs, and fighting for elbow rests...

 

[Spiderman]

Ugh... I hate the previews... especially now that there's actual ads appearing...

but most of the theaters around us have stadium seating so the size of the seats don't matter too much... they even recline

 

[EricBess]

So, Spidey, you think that the studio controls the cost of the ticket? That would actually explain a lot. Economic law dictates that price will gravitate to an optimum level if left alone. If government steps in and tries to control price, it often leads to failure because there are too many outside forces. So in this case, the Studio thinks that raising the price increases revenue and makes enough money overall that they aren't in a position to see the big picture (no pun intended).

And BTW, that's the other point about lowering ticket prices. Lower ticket prices increases the number of people in the theater, which in turn increases concessions. Plus, it gives people more money to spend on concessions.

But it still holds. They are going to show the movie regardless, whether there is a packed house or 1 lone viewer. So in that sense, their costs are sunk, so the only question is how much do you make from ticket sales.

My argument is that for every 100 tickets you sell at $8 each, you will easily sell 200 tickets at $5 each, which is a net increase in overall revenue of 25%. Studios make more money, theaters sell more concessions, and viewers are happier with the experience and more likely to repeat.

Am I missing anything?

 

[train]

Am I missing anything?

Your own theater!...

 

[Spiderman]

I am fairly confident that it works the way I described, having worked in a theater in my college days...

Here's the thing (plus there was an article about this in the Monday Washington Post: Studios have a "set" price they charge theaters based on the cost of movies. When a movie fails to recoup its production costs, the burden is shifted a little on other movies. So the studio doesn't really have an incentive to change their price.

That leaves the theaters. Your argument is valid IF there was room in the theaters to hold all possible viewers for a release. But as it stands, most movies make their attendence numbers on their opening weekend and then depend on word of mouth (and any award ceremonies) to keep the people coming back. Since movies limit new releases to a certain number of theaters (usually 2-3), only a certain amount of people can get in. Hence, higher ticket prices.

In addition, your price structure is actually in effect as the "matinee" price, i.e. before 6 PM (at least in my area). I am sure numbers can be shown that this does not deter people who want to go at night and pay the higher ticket prices. *I* do of course, and am also willing to see it on later weekends when the rush has depleted. But the demand is there to see it at night and pay the higher sales (which usually comes after dinner anyway so it's iffy if people will buy more than a popcorn and soda - which is still a hefty profit in themselves).

So I guess my point is that because people are willing to pay the higher prices on opening weekend at night, theaters figure they can charge the higher prices so they can get the money while the movie is still "hot" and not wait for the drop-off in the following weekends.

 

[rkoelsch]

That's what I like about this place. I had no idea when I started this thread that it would turn into a discussion of theater economics.

 

[train]

What I'm not understanding is:

What determines which theater will hold the movie on release weekend?

Locally it's the crappiest - yet cheapest one...

so is it up to the highest bidder or what?...

I'll also note that the theaters make a good chunk of extra money off the game machines that they have...

"Hard to get away from that Galaga machine..."

Which you know has already paid for itself...

 

[Aku Necromancer]

Sit in the front seats, right in front of the screen...if your going to see a movie on the big screen, see it as big as possible.

Also this way you can stretch your legs, avoid pests in front of you, and magically the movie becomes so much more important

 

[Jigglypuff]

The last movie I saw in the theater was the Powerpuff Girls movie. And there was this couple in front of me kissing almost the whole movie. I threw popcorn at them, but they ignored it.

(- Steve -)

 

[Nightstalkers]

I find that I just don't want to pay the money to go to a movie anymore. Someone was always talking or some kid sitting behind me kicking the chair or cell phone going off.

For children kicking your seat: Pull my mask off and scare the crap literilly out of them.

People on Cell phones: always bring your home made cell phone to break into the conversation. Then go into to the bathroom start yelling "WILL YOU SHUT THE F*** UP!" Repeatedly until he finally gets peeved and stops talking.

To silence that annoying guy who's always commenting out loud so that everyone in the next movie room can hear him: Wait till he goes to the bathroom (they usually do after you...), then jump him and bound and gag 'im to a stall.


I'm not responsible for any lawsuits being filed against you if you actually try these suggestiong... I'm merely telling you how I counteract the "movies."

 

[EricBess]

I agree, Spidey, but if you read my original proposal, I accounted for this. In the early weeks of release, charge the $8. After the big crowds start dying down, lower the price.

Yes, you will lose a bit of the initial surge from people who decide to wait until the price goes down, but I would be willing to bet that this is not significant.

In fact, you bring up matinee pricing and I think that serves to prove my point. I avoid going to movies unless it is a matinee. The main reason why they are cheaper is because they are during the day when most people have to be at work, so they lower the price since they are less convenient. And most people still go to the evening showings, paying the full price. So, I don't think that most people who are going to see the movie are going to wait until the price drops.

But, you will have a lot more repeat customers, and a lot of people who normally wouldn't go to see a movie because of the cost and the fact that the matinees are too early.

But train said it best. What I am lacking is my own theater. I have no way of proving my theory and I doubt that I'm going to convince any theater executives to give it a shot anytime soon Plus, at this point, most of the "bargain" theaters have a reputation of being sticky, so the "high profile" could be ingrained by now, so we may just have to live with the high ticket prices...

 

[Spiderman]

I must have missed it the first time I read it or I forgot it in my second reply

But you see, that's the thing, people are willing to see it after the opening weekend. Since they are willing to see it, theaters might as well keep charging the higher price. I am willing to bet that it's not as much as the price that deters people as just the plain lack of good quality of the movie, since they can see it at the matinee price (which is also good on the weekends, so they can't use work as an excuse)

Most people are going to see the movie once, then probably spend their movie time on seeing another. IF they are willing to see it over and over again and be repeat viewers, they are most likely bordering on the fanatic side and don't mind the prices.

And again, since theaters have to pay the studios a set amount, they probably have to keep charging the higher price as long the movie is showing, no matter what the weekend.

And I agree with train: I would love my own home entertainment system

As for his question about which movies are shown to which theaters, I think certain studios "release" to certain movie chains. Certainly the AMC and Loews theaters have some different movies (along with some common ones).

 

[EricBess]

But that's my point, Spidey. A small handful of people are willing to see it after the opening weekend. But theater's are often virtually empty after the opening weekend. If they were to lower the prices at that point, they could fill those theaters.

And since they have to pay the studio a fixed amount, as you say, then there certainly is an incentive to lower prices. Two incentives, actually: 1) More overall revenue from ticket sales, and 2) More people purchasing concessions.

Again, do the math. if 100 people purchase a ticket at $8, the theater brings in $800 revenue. If lowering the price to $5 would bring in 200 people, they have no additional expenses (the cost of the paper and printing of the tickets is negligable), but they increase the revenue to $1000.

The problem is, the theater executives probably don't think like this. They see that they are losing money, so what can they do about it? Raise ticket prices! It's counter intuitive, but if they want to make more money, I would say that they need to lower ticket prices on things that become (or start out) less popular.

Granted, this is just a theory, but it has a solid basis and it would be interesting to see a large theater conduct something like this as an experiment. It would need to be a large theater because the smaller theaters that already have lower prices also have the aforementioned stigma about them.

 

[Spiderman]

Nonono... what you propose is already in effect for matinee prices. If more people wanted to see the movie, they'd just go during the afternoon and the nights would be deserted (that's why I mentioned the weekend and work isn't an excuse then )

Obviously though, people are NOT just going to the matinee but still going at night. Thus the demand is still there and the theater doesn't have a need to lower prices at night.

I could see your point working if there was just one flat (high) price at theaters, but there isn't...

 

[EricBess]

But I've covered that. Matinees have the problem of being inconveniently timed. You pay less because of the inconvenience factor. So, I say that they actually help support my point. I, for example, make a point of going to matinees because my hours are a bit more flexible than most. If matinee prices were just as high, I would likely go to even fewer movies than I do. I doubt I would ever take my family to a movie at all.

And as for those movies that I would go and see regardless, I wouldn't bother with matinees. I suspect that a lot of matinee attendees feel this way, which would mean even less attendance at the earlier showings. Evening attendance would go up, but not enough to account for the loss from matinee sales.