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When seeing the latest blockbuster is out of your budget

The price you pay for a night at the movies

By Allie Davison, Staff Writer

used to love going to the
[=== Popcorn, comfy(ish)

seats, and a giant screen playing
your soon-to-be favourite flick all
add up for a good time. But it seems
like the days are over where I could
throw down a 10-dollar bill and
get my ticket, plus snacks. Now,
it’s over $10 for the movie alone
and even more for the popcorn and
drink! It’s ridiculous.

Growing up, there was a local
movie theatre in Lougheed Mall
called A Theatre Near You. It wasn’t
the fanciest place around, but it had
big screens, the newest movies, an
arcade inside, and best of all: cheap
tickets. It closed down back in
2002, something I personally blame
on the fancy, shiny new theatres
owned by Cineplex.

Cineplex is the big box movie
guys, the Walmart of the theatre
world. They open up enormous,
glamorous theatres and then take

away business from the little guys.
Several smaller theatres, other than
the Lougheed one, have closed
down in recent years—meaning
when you're choosing a theatre to
go to, it’s pretty much Cineplex or
nothing.

Sadly, I cannot say I've
boycotted movie-date nights
altogether. Last time my boyfriend

popcorn and drink (to share) then I
was going to be paying upwards of
$20. The price tag for the night was
approximately $50—and then we
went out for drinks to bitch about
how expensive the movies were
these days.

And it just keeps getting worse.
With the introduction of UltraAVX
theatres inside Cineplex theatres,

“Last time my boyfriend and | decided to go see a movie, we chose to be
fair and split the cost... The price tag for the night was approximately
$50—and then we went out for drinks to bitch about how expensive the
movies were these days.’

and I decided to go see a movie, we
chose to be fair and split the cost—I
would buy the snacks and he would
buy the ticket. I secretly thought

I was getting off easy, especially
when I saw the price for both our
tickets was $25. However, the joke
was on me when we stepped up

to the concession and I surveyed
our options. Unless I wanted to

get us the kids combo, or a small

movie goers will pay $15.99 a pop.
The perks, as listed on the Cineplex
website, are as follows: “Reserved
Seating, Giant Wall-To-Wall Screen,
Crystal Clear Digital Projection,
Immersive Sound System, Larger
Rocker Seats.” Hardly worth the
cost. But if you thought that was

a steal of a deal (or maybe just a
steal), then you'll love this: for a
mere $19.50, you can have access

to the VIP theatres. These theatres
have all the same “benefits” of

the UltraAVX ones, but you also
have access to the licensed lounge.
People have been sneaking alcohol
into theatres since the beginning of
time, and now they want to charge
you for it? I’ll take a smuggled beer
in my purse any day.

Thanks anyways Cineplex, but
you're just making staying home
and pirating movies seem all the
more appealing.

 

 

Justifying the high cost of movie theatres

By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor

oing to the movies is

an unreasonably pricy

investment. The average
“general” movie ticket in Canada
costs $12.50, with regular-sized
popcorn and drink running an
additional $5.50 each. That means
to see a film alone would cost you
just under $25 total every time. But
as much as we like to moan and
groan about the pricing at movie
theatres, we continue to see movie
after movie; the bigger the hype, the
sooner we line up for a ticket.

Take this year for example:
despite the fact that they’ve been
adjusted for inflation, movie tickets
have never cost more. However,
you'd be lying to yourself if you
said you weren’t banking on
checking out both The Avengers and
The Dark Knight Rises this summer.
The Avengers will also have a 3-D
release, which adds another $3 to
your ticket price—and both films
will of course be showing at every

IMAX and UltraAVX theatre in
North America, so there are those
additional costs as well.

Most have accepted that the
high price of this sort of outing goes
towards one’s overall experience.
At best, you're going to have a
fun action-packed evening with
your buddies. But at its worst, and
more realistically, you're going to
be surrounded by rude families,

The next Twilight film may break
box office records, but more people
than ever will know to save their
money for a film they themselves
might actually enjoy (particularly
one that doesn’t suck). If you’re
really money conscious, you'll also
note that all theatres operate on
Tuesdays with ticket prices slashed
by roughly 40 per cent of their

" regular cost.

“If you're going to see the right movie, whether that film and audience
is for something like The Muppets or even Transformers 2, only you can
judge if you're going to have a good time.”

inhaling stale popcorn, and sitting
through 120 minutes of absolute
garbage. In our somewhat more
astute society though, more and
more of us are coming to realize
that no person in the right mind
would actually throw money at that
sort of experience—a one per cent
of moviegoers, if you will.

In turn, we're actually
becoming savvier with our money.

As much as we hate paying
ticket prices, we still go. If you’re
going to see the right movie,
whether that film and audience is
for something like The Muppets or
even Transformers 2, only you can
judge if you're going to have a good
time. Really, mindless spending
on movie tickets hurts everyone
except major film companies; your
average movie theatre, Cineplex-

operated or independent, sees only
pennies from every ticket sale,
as the majority of that cost goes
straight to the filmmakers. If you’ve
ever found yourself questioning
why some rundown, dingy little
bat cave of a two-screen theatre is
showing the latest major release,
it’s because they’re pouring all their
cash into the hopes that we'll buy
concession snacks with our ticket.
All concession costs go right back
to the theatre; technically speaking,
popcorn and soda is their bread and
butter.

So while price gouging does
emit a universal sigh from all of
us, it is necessary. Whether it’s the
big, mean corporation or the little,
honourable theatre, gouging is
necessary for both to survive. And
in the end, if you truly despise the
thought of paying any amount
for something at the theatre, then
to quote one Jay Sherman, “If the
movie stinks, just don’t go.”

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