Gold Class Movie Theaters

[chorb]

I came across Villlage Theaters which is currently a European only movie theater chain which offers a very upscale movie experience. It looks like tickets are $37 a person, which is crazy just for a movie alone, but they have many luxuries that could make it an overall wonderful experience/evening.

Some of the amenities include:
Valet Parking
Executive Lounge for pre-movie lounging
Gourmet appetizers and meals*
Full Bar* :beer:
Concierge service during the movie*
Small theater sizes, with ultra comfortable reclining seats

*Obviously food and drinks would cost extra

I would personally love to go to one of these and pay the extra $25 a person and not have to deal with the annoyances that usually plague the theater I'm in and turn the movie into a entire evening activity.

Do you think that this type of theater would survive in the US? I think it would in metropolitan areas. The closest thing I have been to something like this is the ArcLight theaters in Hollywood.

 

[sygyzy]

I wouldn't pay $37 but you can go to the ArcLight in LA and the tickets have assigned stadium seating. The food at the snack bar is nicer too (like 'homemade' caramel corn). I think the tickets were like $15. For someone who gets really annoyed with bad or no seats and dumb patrons, I would swing for a "Gold Class" theatre once in a while.

 

[K1052]

Gold Class is opening one here in the an affluent western suburb so we'll see in the next few months.

Premium theaters are incredibly location dependent (much more so than normal theaters) and the costs are substantial to operate. Muvico for example has a lot of hit and miss with their locations.

 

[HannibalX]

I would pay $37 not to have children of any age in the theater (21 and up basically) and anyone using a cell phone removed immediately.

 

[ChaoZ]

It better provide free food.

 

[lokiju]

There's a Muvico theaters in Boca Raton, FL that has an upstairs 21 and up only section called "The Premiere" that cost about $20 and included, free popcorn, valet and reserved seating in huge over sized love seats.

They have a full bar and 5 star restaurant as well as live music and lounge areas.

When I used to live in Boca, I pretty much every time did that. Nothing beat reserving a ticket for the really big movies way in advance and knowing that I could show up 10 mins before the movie started, pull up to valet and go upstairs and get my reserved seat location.

 

[ObiDon]

i wonder if they still show 15 minutes of commercials before the movies actually starts

 

[HannibalX]

Originally posted by: lokiju
There's a Muvico theaters in Boca Raton, FL that has an upstairs 21 and up only section called "The Premiere" that cost about $20 and included, free popcorn, valet and reserved seating in huge over sized love seats.

They have a full bar and 5 star restaurant as well as live music and lounge areas.

When I used to live in Boca, I pretty much every time did that. Nothing beat reserving a ticket for the really big movies way in advance and knowing that I could show up 10 mins before the movie started, pull up to valet and go upstairs and get my reserved seat location.

Yeah, I have been there once while I still lived in FL. Pretty slick.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Meh, looks lame, all the introverts that hate theaters can do so, I for one love packed theaters on an opening night with a unanimous buzz of excitement that is extremely contagious. I'll take my much larger theater with stadium seating, huge digital screens or even potential IMAX (was absolutely blown away by Batman Begins in IMAX, and I can't wait for The Dark Knight with the several scenes actually shot on IMAX film...) over this. However this might actually make for a movie date experience that is actually nice...

 

[GenHoth]

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles
However this might actually make for a movie date experience that is actually nice...

QFT. On a date, sure. Otherwise? $37 is way too much!

 

[GagHalfrunt]

There used to be a lower scale place around here. It played 2nd run movies and was pretty cheap, like $5 a ticket. They served drinks and a typical bar food menu like nachos, wings, potato skins, etc. Rather than theater seats they were much closer to easy chairs and there were little tables between each so there was room for the food. I loved the place, the food was good, the prices were okay and it was far better to go there instead of a regular theater. The place didn't make it because the location sucked. Once the major anchor store in the mall went under every other store in the mall went down too. They could have been successful in a different location and the same business model does indeed work very well in many locations.

The $37 per ticket model would be a much tougher sell. It could be a winner in VERY small market segments where there's plenty of money. It sure wouldn't work in 99% of the country, it might have a chance in the other 1%.

 

[HannibalX]

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles
Meh, looks lame, all the introverts that hate theaters can do so, I for one love packed theaters on an opening night with a unanimous buzz of excitement that is extremely contagious. I'll take my much larger theater with stadium seating, huge digital screens or even potential IMAX (was absolutely blown away by Batman Begins in IMAX, and I can't wait for The Dark Knight with the several scenes actually shot on IMAX film...) over this. However this might actually make for a movie date experience that is actually nice...

Now do you see how your reasoning is stupid?

 

[Kabrinski]

I wouldn't waste my money on a theater like this (except as other people have said, maybe for a date). I would however pay $37 to guarantee I won't have idiot people who talk or get up during the movie. I pay to see/hear the movie not you and your idiot friends or your kid.

 

[sjwaste]

There's a place called The Bridge in Philly, near Penn's campus, which is just about this, except a movie's under $15. Seating is assigned, there's a full bar there, and a restaurant. It's not over the top, but it's definitely worth the price.

 

[MrWizzard]

The woman in the tour movie is wearing like 100k of diamonds. lol

 

[Atomic Playboy]

There's a place here in Portland called Living Room Theaters, it has a full bar and tapas plates, and comfortable chairs so you can eat and drink and watch your movie in comfort. If only they showed some movies I actually wanted to see as opposed to just art house nonsense... We also have McMenamins, which operates a series of cheap movie houses where you can get beer/wine/liquor, not to mention the Laurelhurst theater which shows movies a couple months after they come out (again, cheap tickets and beer). I can't see a place like Gold Class surviving in Portland because there are so many movie places here that serve beer and tickets are $3.

 

[RESmonkey]

Originally posted by: MrWizzard
The woman in the tour movie is wearing like 100k of diamonds. lol

really? That blonde woman with he diamonds on her neck?

 

[conehead433]

Since building a dedicated Home Theater I have not paid to see a movie in a theater and probably never will again. They would need much cheaper ticket prices to get moviegoers to come in and buy the high priced food and drinks.

 

[MrWizzard]

Originally posted by: RESmonkey

Originally posted by: MrWizzard
The woman in the tour movie is wearing like 100k of diamonds. lol

really? That blonde woman with he diamonds on her neck?

Yea, if they are real. Neck, back, ears, finger, huge ones on here feet.

Had to watch most of the tour to notice them though.

Who knows where else she has em.

 

[waffleironhead]

You are late to the show.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com...s.pl?id=26756&seenIt=1

http://www.cinemablend.com/new...ovie-Tickets-8291.html

 

[wetcat007]

Does it mean I don't have any previews or advertisements either?

 

[rezinn]

I would go to that before I'd go to a normal theater.

edit: Nevermind, probably more annoying having people making dinner orders during the movie than some idiot playing on their cell phone. That'd probably happen there too.