Note to Theater Owners

[Metron]

One way to increase demand (and ultimately revenue) is to lower prices.

I have a price sensitivity at the $10 price point. Back when tickets were under $5, I was much more willing to spend my money and time going to a movie. Now that tickets are almost $10 each, I'd rather buy the DVD and watch it at home.

 

[robothouse77]

brilliant! :beer:

 

[JRich]

5/10 It was weak, but so true.

 

[Ryan]

7.50 for normal shows here, 5 bucks for Matinees and with my Military discount

 

[Schadenfreude]

But what if the overall trend is lower theater attendence overall coupled with the higher price of film + new equipment? So if attendence is down, wouldn't lowering ticket prices be too much of a risk?

 

[EMPshockwave82]

it's weak due to the fact that the only theatres that have $10 ticket prices are in larger cities. There is only so much of a supply (seats in the theatres) and the demand is high (large population)


High demand, low supply = charge whatever they want

 

[bobbybe01]

You have to remember that there will be some people that will go to see a movie no matter what the cost is (that's an exaggeration, but you get my point). So even if there are less people attending, the higher price will help.

 

[Metron]

Currently they risk losing their entire audience to other media outlets (home theater, On-Demand over Cable, FIOS/TV).

I would contend they need to make bold moves now in order to survive.

Assuming they can find the right price point, they could actually increase revenue by dropping the price to exponentially increase demand.

 

[kamranziadar]

Good point.

 

[mugs]

I wonder how the increase in ticket prices compares to the rate of inlation? When I was a kid it was like $5, now it's $8. Not that big a jump. And the experience you got back then doesn't even compare to what you get now with the better equipment. That is, if the movie is good.

It's not the prices that keep me out of theaters, it's the kids.

 

[dullard]

ECON 101:

Everyone get out a piece of paper to draw a graph of ticket price on the x-axis and revenue on the y-axis.
[*]At $0/ticket, the theater has $0 revenue. Put a dot at the graph origin.
[*]At $1000/ticket, the theater has $0 revenue, no one will pay that when they can rent a movie or go elsewhere. Put a dot at that point.
[*]Put a dot anwhere between $0 and $1000 and in positive revenue. I'll let you choose where to do it.
[*]Connect the dots with a smooth line. It'll look somewhat like an upside down "u".
[*]Look at the graph. Near $1000, revenue goes up by LOWERING ticket prices!
[*]But look again, near $0, revene goes up by RAISING ticket prices!

Hmm, Metron, do you have actual economic data showing which region are we in? If not, shut up until you do.

 

[GTaudiophile]

$6.50 w/ student ID

 

[EMPshockwave82]

Originally posted by: Metron
Currently they risk losing their entire audience to other media outlets (home theater, On-Demand over Cable, FIOS/TV).

I would contend they need to make bold moves now in order to survive.

Assuming they can find the right price point, they could actually increase revenue by dropping the price to exponentially increase demand.

I dont know where you are living but On demand in my area only works for movies that are already out on video. That's at least 2-3 months after theater relase. Theaters are fine and so are their prices imo.

 

[Metron]

Originally posted by: dullard

Hmm, Metron, do you have actual economic data showing which region are we in? If not, shut up until you do.

Declining Attendance and Revenues documented here...

The industry is in severe trouble, I'm just making a suggestion. No need to be a jerk about it Dullard.

 

[redgtxdi]

Originally posted by: dullard
ECON 101:

Everyone get out a piece of paper to draw a graph of ticket price on the x-axis and revenue on the y-axis.
[*]At $0/ticket, the theater has $0 revenue. Put a dot at the graph origin.
[*]At $1000/ticket, the theater has $0 revenue, no one will pay that when they can rent a movie or go elsewhere. Put a dot at that point.
[*]Put a dot anwhere between $0 and $1000 and in positive revenue. I'll let you choose where to do it.
[*]Connect the dots with a smooth line. It'll look somewhat like an upside down "u".
[*]Look at the graph. Near $1000, revenue goes up by LOWERING ticket prices!
[*]But look again, near $0, revene goes up by RAISING ticket prices!

Hmm, Metron, do you have actual economic data showing which region are we in? If not, shut up until you do.

Ahhhh..........nice & quick on the edit there Dullard!!!

I was getting out my chainsaw to hack your graph up to bits!!!



As for my opinion..........I think theaters are fine. I live in So Cal (movie theater whore capital of the world).....and so long as I either do matinee or my wife's work discount, or newspaper discounts or......heck there are a bunch of ways to get discount tickets.........I'm fine. Even at $10........I don't wanna see something like Star Wars 3 in my living room & miss out on what a theater offers in audio/video perspective!

 

[waggy]

its really no surprise they are losing money.

1)crowded theaters
2)rude people in theater (cell phones, baby's, kids etc)
3)dirty floors etc.
4)$7.50 a ticket here. and outrageous prices on drinks (which i never buy)

add the fact that a NEW DVD is $15 and more people are buying home theaters its not a surprise.


I only go see in the theater if it something i really want to see. last movie i went to see was the new batman. Everything else looked OK but not good enough to put up with all the crap. I can wait until its on DVD and either rent (netflix) or buy it.

 

[jaedaliu]

do what i do, give some platelets to the local blood bank, and they give me movie tickets. Helps people, too.

I have so much fun taking my friends out to the movies and telling them that i'm paying for their movie with BLOOD MONEY. yeah, I'm a geek.

 

[DaShen]

Originally posted by: JRich
5/10 It was weak, but so true.

 

[BatmanNate]

I miss the local 1.50 B run with the Kmart next door.

 

[Kadarin]

Yes, there is also the fact that Hollywood has been putting out a lot of utter crap lately.

 

[electricJ]

Originally posted by: waggy
its really no surprise they are losing money.

1)crowded theaters
2)rude people in theater (cell phones, baby's, kids etc)
3)dirty floors etc.
4)$7.50 a ticket here. and outrageous prices on drinks (which i never buy)

add the fact that a NEW DVD is $15 and more people are buying home theaters its not a surprise.


I only go see in the theater if it something i really want to see. last movie i went to see was the new batman. Everything else looked OK but not good enough to put up with all the crap. I can wait until its on DVD and either rent (netflix) or buy it.

Along with the the quality of movies that have been coming out, I truly think that is a HUGE part of it. Just imagine in a few years when HD-DVD/Blu-ray (whichever makes it to the top) is dominating the scene. Movies on either format on decent equipment should look just as good as the theater display assuming the the film has been mastered well. Plus, equipment will become lower and price and better in picture quality.

Also, do they not consider the slowdown of the economy of the past 5 years? I know I've had to cut back on movie-going just for that fact... especially with the recent increases in the cost to heat a home.

 

[TGS]

Movies - Pros and Cons

Pros:

Larger Screens
Stadium Seating
Typically high quality sound systems

Cons:

High Ticket costs
High Concession Stand costs
Annoying people( IE Cellphones, kids, babies in R rated movies..., chatty cathies, people getting up for snacks/bathroom breaks)
Advertisements before the "previews", and that are part of the previews (CAN I F-ING ESCAPE COMMERCIALS!? This all started with Buddy Lee jeans, and got worse from then on)
Having to make a schedule to get to the movies(especially if you have kids)
Finding a sitter(If you have kids)

So for me, Home movies > Theatres.

 

[Kelemvor]

I don't remember the last time I went to a movie. Every so often I get free passes from people at work which I'll use. But I have no need to pay $9 to see a movie, $4 for a popcorn, $4 for a soda, etc. I'd rather go out to a nice restaurant and then go home and watch a movie.

Only things I see are things that you have to see on a big-ass screen which is mostly sci-fi movies.

 

[kranky]

The prices aren't yet high enough, since the theaters still are overrun with rude people who talk throughout the whole movie and/or chat on their cell phones. If they had a theater with $20 tickets, maybe it would yet be an enjoyable experience since those people might stay home.

The other approach might be to have a $3 theater, with no seats - just an open room. Talk all you want, scream, yell, run around... it's a free-for-all. That might lure the talkers away from the regular theaters.

Of course, I go about 3x/year, maybe the rude people go all the time, and that's their core customer base.

 

[Vic]

For first-run movies, the theater owners don't set the ticket prices, the movie distributors do. The distributors also get up to 100% of the box office for the first few weeks, depending on the popularity of the particular movie. The theaters make almost all their revenue at the concessions.