Anyone else not like to go out for movies

[Spiderman]

I thought I covered that too. How can matinees be inconveniently timed when they're available on the weekends?

And your last paragraph is what I was saying also: if you're gonna see a movie anyway and not at a matinee but are willing to pay the higher night price, then there's no reason for the theater to lower it because you're going to see it anyway.

 

[EricBess]

We're talking circles. Okay, I'll grant you the weekend. And I probably wouldn't argue that well over 50% of sales are on the weekend (starting Friday night).

So, let me amend this. It would be first of all interesting to see what the attendance difference is between matinees and the later showings. I still don't think we are comparing apples to apples, though, because there are other factors that keep early show times from being the same thing. It breaks up the day, it's not "traditional", it doesn't work as well for dates, some peopel do work on weekends... But I do concede that the difference is perhaps not truely as significant as all that.

So, how do they compare? Do theaters get more attendance for a 7:00 showing than for a 6:00 showing (final matinee)? If so, than it may be that pricing just doesn't matter.

 

[Spiderman]

I agree that attendence figures would probably be good at this point. And I agree that there are factors like what you mention, but like you also said, they're probably not significant. If a person wants to see a movie at a matinee price, they can probably somewhere, somehow find the time and place that's good for them to do so. Even better, they might find the movie is at their local $2 theater

 

[EricBess]

When I was going to school, there was a theater that had 8 screens that showed everything for $1. They eventually had to raise it (I think it's $3 now, but I'm not sure). They never had first-run movies, only stuff that had been around for a while.

The place was constantly packed.

Of course, it was a college town with a lot of students who need to pinch pennies...

Truely, I think the biggest issue with what I suggest (and perhaps the reason it hasn't been done) is the hassle of different pricing structures depending on the movie. It may very well turn out to be something too complicated to realistically implement. So something like a first run theater vs. a second run theater might be the only realistic way.

Come to think of it, some movies hit the dollar theater faster than others, just like some movies come out on DVD faster.

 

[Killer Joe]

My wife and I don't go out that often but when we do it's; Dinner & a Movie.

We went out last Saturday around 4:30 pm. We ate at Max & Erma's (a nice place with $8 to $12 priced entree's). Then we went to see Pirates of the Carribbean. I thought it was rated "Arrrrrrr".

$30 for baby sitter (My wife's 6'4" 25 year-old neice)
$35 for Drinks and Dinner (My wife had alcohol I had an Ice Tea)
$14 for 2 Tickets to the movie
$12 for a Anna Nicole Smith sized Popcorn, Twizzlers and two medium drinks.
$91 total for the night.

It was well worth it. The restaurant was busy but not obnoxious. The movie theatre was sparce in attendance (I think it was because the movie stunk, but I liked it anyway), and the smell and taste of the cocoanut buttered popcorn washed down with the cool refreshing taste of Coca-Cola,.....to die for .

I also like watching movies at home. I actually like watching them over and over again. My 7 year old and I can almost recite the entire LotR: Fellowship movie. I have "The Ring" and I've watched it like five times in a row, and am STILL scared.

We probably make it out about 7 times a year to the movies as a date. But when it comes to 'kiddie' movies, I take the girls (my 7 & 4 year old) to all of them. We LOVED Finding Nemo, we had fun and cracked up all the way home. We still make whale noises just to get my wife mad .

Movie watched the most times?
20 - Somewhere in Time

 

[Azreal the Soulmaster]

When I want to see a movie, me and my friend Andy will go to a 9-10 showing of the movie. I've usually already eaten dinner, so I might buy a drink, but probably not(If I'm wearing my jacket I'll carry in a canned soda) so It'll usually cost me about 8 bucks, unless I'm at a theater where I can get a student discount, then its 6.

My father's half brother(which I guess makes him my half uncle? I don't know) works for I think United Artists, which is now regal cinemas. He manages a theater, plus he trains other managers. He was telling me that the price of the ticket only pays for the reels of film to actually show the movie. the concessions actually don't give them much of a profit(if any) the concessions money goes to pay for the building, electricity, ect. basically it pays for the utilities. The theaters make their profit from advertisment. ever look at the back of your ticket stub? It'll usually have an add for sprint on it.

oh and I love Pirates of the Carribbean. I thought it was quite entertaining

 

[Apollo]

Spidey: Speaking as a teenager, there's a lot of stuff to do during the day on a weekend. But you get to 7:00 or whatever, it gets dark, you don't wanna just hang out, or you wanna go on a date--that's when kids might want to go to movies. But then it's late, and the prices are expensive, and you don't want to go then either. Result: no movie at all. I think lowering the later ticket prices would have a big effect bringing in the younger crowd particularly.

Granted, I don't know if EricBess's idea would work, but saying that it already exists with matinee pricing isn't a very good argument. You have to try it at a time when people actually want to go.

 

[Spiderman]

Az: Things must have changed in the last decade. When I was there, concessions were making at least 100-200% profit (I mean, soda, which is basically a cup 'cause that's how you keep track of sales, sold back then for $1.50/$2 for a small and it cost probably a quarter; same principal with popcorn and candy). But now that I think about it, the most food we sold was hot dogs - since some theaters sell almost full meals or appetizers, maybe that's biting into the profits. And of course costs have probably gone up (though I can't imagine that much for supplies, but maybe so...)

Apollo: I hear you personally and believe me, I am really in EricBess' corner with the pricing coming down. But in the large scheme of things, you still see teenagers packing the theaters at night (at least in my area). You even see some in the afternoons on weekend So while here and there, I'm sure you can pick out individuals who DO care about the high price at night, it's not the majority overall which is why theaters feel they can get away with charging as much as they do.

And again, it probably has to do with the limited number of seats for a movie. If a theater can have a full house of say, 300-500 people a night, obviously that's less than the total number of teenagers/people around so the ones that do care just get lost in the shuffle.

 

[train]

I'd say sell family packs and they'd get even more business...