Movie Tickets Reach the $20 Mark (Anyone still going to the movies?)

WSJ ^ | 21 May 10 | LAUREN A. E. SCHUKER

[SkyPilot]

For the first time, a major Hollywood film will hit the $20 threshold at the box office, as movie-theater owners test the public's ability to absorb ever higher ticket prices.

Several theaters will charge $20 per adult ticket to IMAX showings of the animated 3-D family film "Shrek Forever After," the fourth "Shrek" installment from DreamWorks Animation. The theaters include the AMC theater in Manhattan's Kips Bay neighborhood, AMC Loews 34, AMC Loews Lincoln Square and AMC Empire 42nd Street.

The increases weren't officially announced, but were reflected in prices posted Wednesday on movie-ticketing Web sites such as Fandango.com and tracked by BTIG LLC media analyst Richard Greenfield.

"With the state of the economy remaining questionable, we worry pricing is simply moving up too quickly," cautioned Mr. Greenfield in a research blog post, adding that he was especially concerned about how quickly children's ticket prices are increasing. "The danger is scaring consumers away from the movie theaters."

This weekend's price increase come less than eight weeks after theater operators instituted some of the steepest hikes in a decade. Those increases in late March—in some cases of as much as 26%—varied theater to theater and focused on 3-D and IMAX showings of another DreamWorks Animation title, "How to Train Your Dragon." The same AMC theater in Manhattan charged $19.50 for an IMAX showing of "Dragon."

The $20 ticket may prove to be a psychological barrier too steep for some moviegoers to overcome, but the industry appears ready to take the risk, especially in the wake of a string of 3-D blockbusters, from "Avatar" to "Alice in Wonderland." 3-D movies accounted for the vast majority of last year's 10% jump in domestic box-office sales.

[SkyPilot]

The last actual movie my wife and I went to was the last Bourne installment movie a few years ago - and I didn't even like it. It became a "water boarding is evil and the fault of Bush!" plot and fell apart.

Seriously - who goes to movies anymore? I didn't want to see Avatar. Sorry, but from everything I read, its title should have been: "Pochahantas Meets Dances Wtih Wolves in Pagan Land and the Military and Exploiters of Resources Are Evil!"

If there is a movie we want to watch, we get it on demand. I don't buy DVDs anymore either, even though I got a Blue-Ray player for Christmas last year.

Most Hollywood movies simply stink. Period.

If I really want to watch something, I might throw "Master and Commander" or "The Godfather" in the DVD player. The truth is 90+% of all movies made today are simply unwatchable.

[SumProVita]

No. There’s not that much worth watching anyway.

[rlmorel]

Whoever did this was pretty clever, but on the mark...

[TSgt]

I pay for less than the cost of one movie ticket each month and get access to a plethora of movies.

[stumptalker]

I’ve had 6 free tickets sitting on my desk for over a year and I still can’t find movies worth going to!

[rlmorel]

I used to be an inveterate movie-goer. I would sometimes go to two movies a week.

Sometime after 2000, the wheels fell off Hollywood completely. Sure, there is the occasional move that is decent, but going to the movies? No.

Now, the last time I went to a movie theater was for “Up!” last June (I think). We have a small local, family-run theater in our town which I can walk to. Admission is $6.50, and snacks are more reasonably priced. I don’t mind giving them my business, and if there is a movie worth seeing, that is likely where I will go.

But I don’t think I will go to another big cinema again for a long time. My wife and I had an awful experience last time we went. It was “Quantum of Solace”, and my wife and I had both enjoyed the first Daniel Craig Bond Movie, “Casino Royale”.

We got to the theater ten minutes before the show, and it was packed, so we had to sit pretty close to the front. There were five young girls (Maybe 12 or 13 yrs old) sitting in front of us, and when the movie started, they kept on talking to each other, grab-assing, phoning, texting and so on. I let it go for about a half hour, figuring that they would settle in and watch the movie, or someone would tell them to pipe down. They didn’t, and nobody did. So I leaned over and politely asked them (seriously...politely...) to keep it down.

They literally “kept it down” for less than one single minute. I am not kidding.

I leaned over again and said “I asked you politely. If I hear one more peep from one of you, or see you texting or calling somone, I am going to get a manager and have you all thrown out of the theater.”

They kept quiet, but it PISSED me off to have to do that. Why the hell should I have to discipline someone else’s kids?

Then, now that they were quiet, there was incessant loud talking and giggling coming from behind me. I guessed I hadn’t heard that because of the kids in front of me, but it wasn’t whispers or suppressed giggles, it as normal conversation. It was a teenage couple, probably 16 year olds. As I looked, I could see a load of other people looking too, so I walked over, put my hands on the backs of the seat in front of them, leaned over them and told them in a comparatively loud voice that people were trying to watch a movie, and if they didn’t keep it down, I would have them tossed out.

In retrospect, it was funny. They were completely shocked, looking at me wide-eyed and open mouthed, which irritated me even more. As I went back to my seat, I thought “What the hell did they think people came to a movie theater for?” Then it occurred to me that they probably didn’t spend $22 of their own money, it was probably given to them, or this was the second or third movie they went into for free after paying for one.

Needless to say, when my wife and I left we both said that was it. We were not going back to one of those theaters again. And we haven’t. And it isn’t just because the price and atmosphere are appalling. Hollywood puts out crap. There is nothing worth seeing that we would pay that price for.

I know some people reading this migh think I am an ogre or a jerk. Naturally, I don’t think that I am. I try to give people a lot of leeway, and mind my own business, but as support I did notice a lot of people in that theater looking my way and nodding their heads in approval, so I know I wasn’t the only one fed up.

[caver]

The movies are so good, they put me to sleep.

[rlmorel]

Me too. I have a book of ten, and just got two as a thank you, and my brother has several (he used to be my movie-going companion, along with my wife)

[peteram]

I haven’t seen the Bourne series yet. I loved reading Ludlum’s books many years ago and wanted to see these but hadn’t had the time. If it’s gone political/anti-Bush, then I won’t bother renting them either. Thanks for the heads up.

The Movie theater industry better be careful. With advancing technology and falling prices making it easier for anyone to assemble a home theater (wide-screen 6.1 surround sound), more and more people will opt for on-demand movies or blu-ray rentals and Orville Redenbacher popcorn and stay home.

[BelegStrongbow]

Yep. When I get the time, LOL!

[netmilsmom]

You need to make an exception and see IronMan2 on the big screen.
It’s not often that you have the main character turning to his secretary and saying, “I’m tired of this liberal agenda.”

Marvel movies will be the ones to watch in the future.

[netmilsmom]

I would pay more for Netflix if they had more movies streaming.
I don’t want 2 DVDs out, I want more streaming.

[pnh102]

Someone must be paying for this crap. Movies still seem to be making a lot of money.

[peteram]

Way to go! Many of the same reasons my wife and I stopped going to the theaters as well. Noisy people and cruddy movies.

[mlocher]

I saw a “talkie” a few years back.

[stumptalker]

It will cost you over 20.00 for a bucket of popcorn and a couple of cokes.

[AbolishCSEU]

Today’s kids are not disciplined; they are “guilt parented” by usually divorced parents competing to see who can buy their children’s love. Throw in “adult spousal status” where children are allowed to have adult-like privileges in (usually both) homes without the accompanying adult responsibiilities and you get what you see at that movie theatre. Little dictators who lead their parents and all other adults (which they have been taught NOT to have respect for) by the nose; all the while thinking that they are royalty. Obama is a fine example of a guilt parented child; one of the first to roll off the presses shortly after Dr. Spock and his child rearing ideologies were being espoused.

I blame the lack of the strong father disciplinarian. Unheard of these days because both gold digging, parent alienating mothers AND the government agencies have forced the old fashioned father out of the family. And marginalized him into nothing but a wallet.

As far as movies go, haven’t gone to them in YEARS! They are all terrible, no plot and nothing but special effects or an anti-conservative agenda.

[rabidralph]

The last movie I saw was the latest Star Trek. I’ll make the effort to see only the big SFX spectaculars in theaters. All others I’ll watch on DVD.

[Future Snake Eater]

I don’t know about all that. Marvel is an EXTREMELY liberal company. Their comics are far left these days (Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Captain America, especially). What you saw there was Robert Downey and Jon Favreau who are right of center.

[rlmorel]

I will not buy anything at the big theaters like Lowes or any like that. It is a blatant, major rip-off because they think that people can’t go for two hours without stuffing their face (In some cases, they are correct) they can shamelessly gouge them. I don’t have any problem bringing my own food in those.

My local theater actually sells reasonable drinks and popcorn (family run) so I will purchase from them. I think they have a $3.50 package for popcorn and a soda. Still expensive, but not seven or eight dollars, either. I won’t bring food in there, because I will support them. Of course, it is nearly a year since I went there.