If It Was Cheaper Would You Go To More Movies?

[Jim Koepke]

Saw this story linked on another forum:


As movie theaters struggle with tepid sales, Mitch Lowe has an extreme proposal for how to get more people into seats: Let them come to all the showings they want for about the price of a single ticket each month.

Lowe, an early Netflix Inc. executive who now runs a startup called MoviePass, plans to drop the price of the company’s movie ticket subscriptions on Tuesday to $9.95. The fee will let customers get in to one showing every day at any theater in the U.S. that accepts debit cards. MoviePass will pay theaters the full price of each ticket used by subscribers, excluding 3D or Imax screens.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-15/netflix-co-founder-s-crazy-plan-pay-10-a-month-go-to-the-movies-all-you-want

The theaters would likely do better at the concession stand, but how the heck is Mitch Lowe going to make any money on this one?

jtk

[Malcolm Schweizer]

They would still have to pay royalties for each movie, so that would not work. Also, I still wouldn't go see most movies even if they were free. In fact, every Friday they have free movies on the beach and I still don't go. The only movies we go to now are children's movies. The last "big person" movie we paid to see was Avatar. (I originally said "adult movie" but that kind of sounds like something else!!!)

[Frederick Skelly]

I cant see how that would make money. But it would be interesting to see what he thinks is the business case.

I went to the movies 2 weeks ago for the first time in a couple years. (Saw Dunkirk.) Took a date. Tickets, 2 cokes and popcorn cost me $50. Pfui! to that. Next time I'll buy the new LV marking gauge Derek posted instead and wait for the movie to hit Redbox.

[Terry Wawro]

Short answer. Yes. I would like to go to the movies occasionally but the currently the high priced tickets keep me away. If the tickets and concessions were cheaper I'd go.

[Larry Frank]

Going to the movies is just too expensive and the food outrageous.

I rent the movie on Netflix, Amazon or other and fix myself a good meal and still be cheaper.

[George Bokros]

Local theaters have lower priced matinee but the volume they use is deafening. We went to see Sully and it was so loud we thought our ear drums would rupture. We complained and the manager turned the volume down 3 decibels, yes three decibels. Never again!

[John K Jordan]

The local movie theater (Ritz, Clinton TN) always charges $5 per movie. We don't go often but when we do there are usually 10-25 people there, sometimes just me and my wife, grandson, etc. Unlike other theaters, drinks and snacks are reasonable. The theater itself is great - quite large inside, very high ceilings, with the same seats, lights, and interior as it had back in the 50s. It's "dated" but quite the retro experience.
https://www.facebook.com/Ritz-Theater-158010104510/

I wonder how much a theater actually has to pay for a movie.

Other theaters in the area around Knoxville charge $10-$15 and the snacks are outrageous. They are also crowded and noisy. If the Ritz theater can stay in business, I wonder just how much a theater makes on every ticket and every drink. Perhaps the Ritz owners are in this for fun and the neighborhood rather than to try to get rich.

This theater does have a low overhead - family run by just two people, one guy sells tickets and his daughter sells snacks. They don't do 3D, don't have IMax. No stadium seating but the view is great. No parking lot - six spaces on the street in front or park around the corner. There is only one movie playing and it changes every Friday. The theater also has a stage and is sometimes used for private events.

Also it's less than three miles from our farm. The small town itself is interesting - as businesses left over the years antique stores moved in. Next door to the theater is an "old-timey" drug store soda fountain cooking up hot food every day. They have the original swivel seats and booths installed in the 1940s. Great place for a real milkshake. Worth a visit! Service is not real fast - everything except for the soup is cooked up to order and the kitchen is not very big.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g54958-d3791788-Reviews-Hoskins_Drug_Store-Clinton_Tennessee.html

JKJ

[Mike Null]

We haven't been to a movie in many years. We have NetFlix and Amazon Prime along with a kitchen and a bathroom seconds away. We can't find a reason to go to a theater.

Further, we can't see the need for the disgusting language, sex scenes, and violence that they think must be a part of today's movies. At 80 years of age, I remember when there was censorship and I liked it better than what we have today.

[Karl Andersson]

I might go more if it were cheaper (we go about once a month) but I'd go more often regardless of cost if they would exercise more control over the rude talkers/ texters in the audience (limits us to early shows) and also if Hollywood would start writing better original movies and stop making 'blockbuster' movies based on old TV shows, 8th-grade humor, and/ or 3rd-string comic book entities. Although I did like Deadpool a lot.

I also hate it when I go and the trailers for upcoming movies seem better than the movie I am watching - then they say "coming this November" and the movie never materializes. Or it looks nothing like the trailer.

Truth be told, our favorite theater has a couple of special 'cinemas' that have reserved seating in the balcony at about $18 a seat...we've been known to get those so we get good seats (that recline with leg rests) and are further removed from the rude people. Plus there's a bar just outside. However, they still have to present a movie that's worth a darn, and they seem to have trouble with that IMHO.

OK, back to keeping kids and groundhogs off my grass.
Karl

[Mark Blatter]

We lived in Laurel, MT for many years. Small railroad town of about 8000 that is 11 miles from Billings which is small city too, but the largest in Montana. We had a theater that showed movies for $2 with reasonable concession prices. Didn't get the first run movies, but that was OK. Saturdays during the summer they showed kid/family movies for a buck. They would also do passes during the summer where you could buy a pack of tickets to see all of them for less. It was a great deal and the place was always busy. Family owned and run. Then a welder was working on the place next door and burned it to the ground. The entire place was a pile of rubble. They tried to rebuild but the insurance would only pay them about $.40 on the dollar for the cost to rebuild so they never did. Sad to see yet another piece of history and small town America die.

My wife and I seldom go to a theater to see movies. Mostly because of prices, but also because of migraine issues she has made worse by smells (perfumes/colognes) and bright flashing lights. Paying $10 per ticket is just too much and don't get me started on paying $6 or more for a drink, or $10 for a popcorn. Stay home and watch an old movie or a rerun of a good TV show.

[Stan Calow]

There is article in today's KC Star about this MoviePass program. AMC (the large theater chain) saying its not sustainable and customers are likely to get burned when MoviePass fails. The theaters get paid full price by MoviePass, so if you are paying $9.95 a month, and you see more than one movie in a month, MoviePass will be losing money.

We like going to see first run movies in a real theater, but agree that rude and disruptive audiences, high concession prices and lack of good films keeps us from going more frequently. I am tired of comic book superhero movies, fast cars and special effects movies, and sequels to sequels. The good stuff is all on cable TV.

[Brian Henderson]

Nope. The last movie I saw in a theater was back in the 90s with the first Transformers and that was only because it was hot and we wanted to get out of the house. Theaters simply have nothing to offer. I'd much rather enjoy a movie in the comfort of my own home, where I control everything about the experience, I don't have to deal with people talking on their cell phones, kicking the back of my chair, having my feet stick to the floor, etc. If I want to pause the movie, I can. If I want to watch it again, I can. It's all in my control, not the theater's.

So no, I will never step foot in a theater again as long as I live. They've got nothing for me.

[Charles Wiggins]

When I was younger, sure thing. Now, not so much.
I'm patient - even in jr. high, I didn't see the original Star Wars until it had been out for months - sometime in the late fall I think - and I have a 55" LED TV with a PS3 that gets Netflix, Amazon Prime, and functions as a DVD/Blu Ray player. I can pause, rewind, and restart as often as I like, AND I don't have to put up with rude people.

[Mel Fulks]

They let people talk and throw stuff now,and most of the buildings look like warehouses. They used to throw people out for talking. I still remember going to see a Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis movie with my parents....and being denied entrance !
And I was one of their biggest small fans! We had several fine movie palaces and wore coat and tie. Dates always wore dresses.

[Steve Peterson]

My wife likes to take the kids to anything that is playing. She usually goes to the matinee for around $7 each, but then buys $5 sodas, $4 candy, and $10 popcorn. That is way too much for me, especially since most movies are so bland. I usually pass.

I think I would go to more movies if the quality was better.

Steve

[Larry Foster]

Our local muti-plex has $5 matinee days and discounts for all of us senile citizens of $6 any time.

We also have a drive-in with 3 screens and a car load night.
I think it's $18 and senile citizen discounts

I did go to see Wonder Woman in a theater

[Jim Koepke]

The last move I went to see was only because the power was out. After most of the day had passed I drove to where the line was down. They were starting to set up so I asked one of the crew if there was an estimate as to how long before things would be up and running. He said a few hours. I decided to go into town and watch a movie. The only one that appealed to me was "Going in Style" with Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine.

When I was young, I didn't go to movies much because most movies would be on TV in a year or less. I could save money by waiting. When I lived on my own I didn't have a TV until one came with my wife. She couldn't live without a TV, or so it seems.

jtk

[Pat Barry]

Money isn't keeping me from going to the movies. They aren't all that expensive. You can always smuggle in your own snacks by the way or go two hours without food! What keeps me from going to the movies is available time.

[Jacob Mac]

It isn't a price issue for me, it is that 80% of the time I get stuck by people who talk and are disruptive the entire time. Really kills the experience for me

[Ralph Okonieski]

It has been maybe 10 years since my wife and I have been to the movies. We have no intention of going anytime soon. Ticket prices are not the only negative. As others have mentioned, the volume is so loud that it is painful on the ears.

Lower ticket prices would not be an incentive to us. We watch netflix and amazon video at our leisure.

[Jim Becker]

Something that's going to add some "spice" to this already difficult situation for theaters is the ideal like Disney is entertaining around offering content to subscribers at or shortly after release via streaming. If that kind of arrangement catches on, theaters will be further strained financially. The parallel difficulty for consumers, however, is that more and more content providers are now looking at offering their own subscriptions like CBS has done and Disney is considering. So "cord cutters", who have broken away from traditional TV solutions for OTA and streaming may once again be faced with escalating costs to obtain the content they want because there will be no one service to get it from. That's already in full swing as many folks have had to maintain Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and other subscriptions just to get the breadth of content they want. CBS added to the fray in that some new content is only available on their "all access" subscription, such as the new Star Trek series.

To the original question, lower theater prices "might" encourage me to visit more than the about once a year I do now, but not significantly since I'm perfectly happy to wait until something is released for streaming to the comfort of my own home for $15-20 for the whole family to watch. I doubt ticket prices will ever drop that far and the food at home is already paid for. ;)

[Bruce Wrenn]

When I was a kid, primary reason to go to movies in summer time is they were AIR CONDITIONED, along with Sears, Montgomery Wards etc. None of us had AC at home, and public schools sure didn't!

[lowell holmes]

Only a block buster like a Johnny Depp movie.

[Harry Hagan]

Since I don’t contribute to the income of movies made by knuckleheads*—the list of movies I’m allowed to see these days keeps dwindling.


*knucklehead
noun ⎢ knuck·le·head ⎢ \ˈnə-kəl-ˌhed\
: overpaid actor/director/producer that doesn’t have enough sense to keep their offensive political/social opinions to themselves

[Dennis McDonaugh]

We go all the time, senior tickets are $5 each so it's not expensive. Snacks cost double the cost of getting in though.

[Brian Elfert]

I haven't seen a movie in over a decade, but I drove by a movie theater the other day and they had a sign that tickets are $5 matinee and $7 other times. It is a fairly new multiplex that I think shows new releases.

I recall thinking as I drove by that the prices seemed reasonable.

[Bill McNiel]

For years I refused to go to movie theaters unless the film had truly remarkable special effects (Avatar). ATT now has a 2 for 1 deal on Tuesdays that combined with senior/matinee discounts costs us between $6 & $7 total for both of us. We don't buy snacks or drinks, they are insanely priced. We have seen 6-8 films in the last year and only once was there anyone else in the theater. Seats are really comfortable and I can stealth vape.

[Steven Kliebert]

I will check your blog later.
Thank you for sharing.

[Roger Feeley]

In northern Virginia, we have an Alamo Drafthouse. I love that place! They happily eject teeters and talkers. You can get table service during the movie that is not obtrusive at all. No ads pre show. Instead they run these trippy old film clips that are a hoot. Who wouldn't want to see a clip of Kung foo Wizard of Oz?

a theatre closer to us has $7 tickets for seniors on thursdays when no one goes anyway.



There is article in today's KC Star about this MoviePass program. AMC (the large theater chain) saying its not sustainable and customers are likely to get burned when MoviePass fails. The theaters get paid full price by MoviePass, so if you are paying $9.95 a month, and you see more than one movie in a month, MoviePass will be losing money.

We like going to see first run movies in a real theater, but agree that rude and disruptive audiences, high concession prices and lack of good films keeps us from going more frequently. I am tired of comic book superhero movies, fast cars and special effects movies, and sequels to sequels. The good stuff is all on cable TV.

[Mike Cutler]

No, people seem to have lost social grace and etiquette these days. The times we have gone have been to the IMAX.
It's been a few years since I was in a movie theater. It's just not worth it for me.

[Roger Nair]

By a large margin, I find that I have no longer any interest in all the super human fantasies, speeded up action that the eye can't follow, all the cgi effects and the falling heroes that catch themselves mid-fall without ripping arms out of joint or worse. I think all this is the leading edge of the coming idiocracy.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Since I don’t contribute to the income of movies made by knuckleheads*—the list of movies I’m allowed to see these days keeps dwindling.+1 and amen to that!

[Jim Andrew]

I went to see "Dunkirk", had to see it by myself, as the wife was not interested, and with the senior discount was 4$. All the audience were seniors, and on Sunday afternoon. The local theater has sold twice in the last few years, and ticket prices have come down. They have hotdogs for 1$.

[Tom Stenzel]

Guess I'm the exception, haven't been to the theater since last night. Um, I work there.

I volunteer at the Redford Theater, built in 1927 to show silent movies. It still has the original theater organ so the building is owned by a non-profit to preserve the organ and the building that holds it. The downside is it's in a pretty rundown area of northwest Detroit.

http://redfordtheatre.com/

Shameless plugs:

If you come by this weekend we're showing The Wizard of Oz, if you come to the matinee I'll be glad to sell you a ticket, I'm in the box office.

Jackson Brown just had a benefit concert there.

The Evil Dead showing Tuesday is sold out. Bruce Cambell will be there for a talk and autographs.

The upcoming Three Stooges Festival is a major cultural event in my family.

Next scheduled silent is The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Upcoming is an Audry Hepburn weekend, a Noir City Detroit file weekend with 3 double features (6 different movies).

Last night? The Maintenance Team finished putting in the trusses for the new Ladies bathroom ceiling, a major rehab. And repair the faucet in the Mens room that wouldn't stop running. The 90 year old building has lots of old problems and invents new ways to keep the Maintenance Committee Chair from growing too much hair. It's all volunteer work but I get to watch the movie for free!

Even with all the time I spend there I still go to the nearby MJR to see movies.

-Tom

[Chuck Ellis]

One of the reasons movie prices and the concessions are so high, the movie houses pay a flat fee plus up to 80% of the ticket sales on some movies... they really only make money on the concession.

In my opinions, movie makes have lost all imagination and haven't made a decent movie in years... look at some of the movies that were up for academy awards... they are now making only comic books into movies instead of some of the really good novels that are out there.

[Curt Harms]

Since I don’t contribute to the income of movies made by knuckleheads*—the list of movies I’m allowed to see these days keeps dwindling.


*knucklehead
noun ⎢ knuck·le·head ⎢ \ˈnə-kəl-ˌhed\
: overpaid actor/director/producer that doesn’t have enough sense to keep their offensive political/social opinions to themselves

You could add more violence and less clothes in lieu of good writing/scripting to your good definition of knucklehead.

[Matt Meiser]

We just had this conversation with friends. Since I would assume you need a subscription for each family member you are talking $40 for their family of 4. They figured an average month they'd break even since they try to hit the matinee.

Every time my wife wants to go I look at the online reviews. Its pretty clear that many movies being advertised show literally every good part in the trailers. We've probably gone 6x in the last year and one of those was a charity preview of a major movie that someone we know was a writer on, and he, his wife, and kids all had cameos. That was kind of fun as the producer filmed a special message for the showing and talked about the charity and family we know.

[Ole Anderson]

If you haven't been to a movie lately I find the hi-def 4k digital projectors superior to the old film projectors. Yea the sound can be loud, but it is of excellent quality. Take ear plugs if it might be an issue to you. I know that works for concerts. We are fortunate that we have a newer, but very up-to-date 16 screen theater near us. All digital and they just pulled all of the old seating and installed loungers. Soon you can go on line if you want and pick your seat, pay for your ticket and just walk in knowing where you will be sitting. Yup, food and drinks are still out of sight. My wife and I headed to the 4:30 show yesterday (our 50th anniversary, big spender that I am) and saw The Hit Man's Bodyguard. Tickets were $7.00 each (senior rate). With Samuel L Jackson, you know up front there will be a lot of profanity. But we liked it. I guess our taste runs on the trashy side. We hit the theater about twice a year. Netfilx and Amazon gets most of our business, but then I have 4K and surround sound at home. Oh, we leave for an eastern Caribbean cruise on Saturday to celebrate.
https://www.mjrtheatres.com/location/2858/Waterford-Digital-Cinema-16-Showtimes