JimmySRU

{If wrong forum please move}

But I would like to hear some discussion.

It was my Birthday yesterday and Myself and my girlfriend My brother and his wife and my mom and dad went to see Fun With Dick and Jane. Kind of like a birthday tradition. Anyway my brother treated.
6 tickets 48.90
4 large pops-17.50
2 waters-5.50
two large popcorns. 10.50
grand total 82.40

And people are wondering why no one is going to the movies. In two months that night would have cost 24.00 with a dvd purchase I can actually keep and I would not have to deal with teenagers with cellphones and making out.

Cygnet74

i feel sorry for the guy that dropped $82 to see Fun with Dick and Jane.

awmurray

You're supposed to stay and watch two movies to average the price down...

I try to stick to the second string theaters ($1.50 for all seats). And I try to watch movies that I may want to purchase... but maybe not... That way it could save money later on because if I didn't care for the movie, I won't blind buy the disc.

Yes, the prices are outrageous. I did see Dick and Jane last night ($16.00 for two tickets). I thought it was so so. Nothing I'd want to ever watch again and I love Jim Carrey, too. Even the "Worlds Best Actor" (Alec Baldwin) couldn't save it.

I guess the ticket prices have to be high so that the stars can live like the greedy corporate types they were lampooning in Dick and Jane. Ironic.

JimmySRU

come on lets here some of these prices you guys pay.

Cygnet74

$14 at the ArcLight in Hollywood, but that gets me reserved seating and weeds out the chatty teens and lowlife scumbags that don't want to pay a premium.

SPiRAL

There's an older Edwards theater near me that charges $3.50 matinees and $5.50 evenings. They have 10 screens and show new movies. I usually go to a weekday afternoon show. If it wasn't for that and free popcorn tuesdays ( with their movie watcher card ), I probably would never go to the movies. Although, I don't mind paying for the art house theaters. Better movies, and more respectful movie-goers.

Joe Molotov

I never buy snacks at the theater, and tickets around here are about $6 ($4.50 for the matinee).

dadaluholla

At the Showcase I go to...
I think like $9.00-9.50 and then $6.25 matinee
Large Drink is around 3.50.
Large Popcorn is $5 or something.

Not too bad.

Orbi-Wan Techno

Matinee tickets 6.50. Evening tickets 8.00. It's no WONDER that I wait until things get to the second run theaters or the local navy base theater for .99.

Oh, yeah, plus my home theater setup.

Jaymole

tickets here in NY are $10.75...I always bring my own food & drink, they aren't getting any more of my money!

riley_dude

First of all. Who picked the movie???
With a pricetag like that no wonder movie theatre viewership is down.

Grimm1

I almost never buy anything at the snack bar if I can help it. Paying between $7-$9 a ticket for a family of four to see one movie is enough for me. I always try to make sure to leave early enough to stop by the 99 cent Only Store on the way to grab snacks and drinks.

Jackskeleton

I usually spend the 11-14 at arclight also. No snacks and no sodas. If I wanted to eat I would go outside to a chain store that would provide more food for the buck. So you really can't complain that the theater experience is expensive if you're making it expensive with your actions.

You always have to remember
+ = crazy delicious



Oh.. you completely forgot about:
case of sodas = $5.00
Box of popcorn = $3.00
Popcorn maker = $20.00 (cause really, who wants to settle with microwave crap?)
Box of candy =$3.00
other kinds of candy =$3.00
some kind of lobster dinner =$20.00
Big screen tv =$4,000
Monthly rent for the place =800

Wow, that 3 month wait really doesn't come to a cheaper price when you factor in all the useless items you really might not need like you did with the extra food and junk. And I wonder why people go the extra mile and act surprised when it cost them. You could have been a lot smarter and saved some cash if you just put a few minutes into thinking about it.

Grimm1

Agreed....but it's a little different when you are usually paying for one ticket compared to usually paying for four tickets. Even without the extras it costs a family of four about $32-$36 just in tickets to see a movie at the theater ($44-$56 if we were to go to the Arclight). When you compare that to waiting a few months and renting the DVD for $3-$5 or even buying it for $10-$15 and you can see why a lot of families aren't going to the theater as often as they used too.

Jackskeleton

Oh, I'm not complaining or telling you that ticket prices and the retail window of dvds these days aren't hurting the theaters. All that Im saying is you can't complain about spending an extra 20-30 bucks on food that would have cost you a third of that in the outside world.

You really have to decide if a film is worth the experience and the extra ticket price you pay to see it in theaters. Fun with dick and jane isn't one I would drop the money to see. But that's just me.

wendersfan

I hardly ever pay more than $4 for a movie. Maybe twice a year I'll pay more than $6.

tommyp007

just went to the local Carmike last night, so....

Ticket $7.75
Large popcorn $6.15 !!!
Large Soda $4.50.

I got a "combo" with large corn and soda, plus free candy bar for $10.50.

usually smuggle in some gummy bears and sunflower seeds, but it was a last minute decision to go.

kenbuzz

So they filmed FWD&J in Canada, then?

Tracer Bullet

No matinees, either.

fumanstan

It's about 10 bucks for an evening show, 7.50 for matinee here. Occasionally i'll pick up a small popcorn or icee to snack on. It's on the expensive side, but I don't mind since I don't go to the movies that often.

The Bus

I don't go to the movies that often. I treated my gf one day to King Kong and the next day my parents, brother, and sister (matinee).

Tickets for the first time were $18, plus $15 for two sodas and nachos.
Tickets for the second time were $32 plus $13 for a soda, nachos, and a bag of candy.

Grand total: about $75.

$75 buys a damned good dinner, or two good dinners out - or anywhere from 4 to 9 DVDs. I do OK and I just cannot imagine families constantly taking out their 2-3 kids who all need popcorn, etc.

Still, it's fun to go if you're only in charge of buying your own ticket and can sneak in food and drinks.

resinrats

I agree you can't complain about snack prices since nobody is making you eat during the movie. Either eat before or wait until the end to eat.

Even if the price of a few tickets=the DVD, I'd rather see a movie in the theater. That is what they are made for (on a board that freaks over FS not being what a director wanted) and the worst theater experience is better than sitting on you couch watching a TV. Plus, if you just buy the DVD and you hate it, you spent more on something you will probably not watch again.

tommyp007

I couldn't disagree more with this statement. I'm SO much more comfortable in my living room with my reclining sofa, my own food, big screen tv and surround system that I go to the theater MAYBE 3 times a year. Exactly 3 times this year. (Ep 3, Harry Potter, Kong). I've got room to stretch out, pause as I need to, maybe even talk to my wife about what is happening on the tv. Plus, all I spent was the cost of the dvd, which I can re-watch anytime I want.

I used to go to movies all the time, back when $20 got you dinner and a movie, not just the movie and some Twizzlers.

NatrlBornThrllr

A large soda is $4.38? How odd.

-JP

lmwong1977

With ticket prices rather steep in SF, I hardly ever buy concessions. Actually even when I was a kid, my dad would sneak in food & drinks.

Imax: no matinee (evening -15.00)
Loews: 8.00 (10.00)
AMC: 8.00 (10.00)
Landmark: 8.00 (10.00)
Cinearts: 6.75 (9.75)
Regal: 7.25 (9.50)

There's a bunch of one screen theaters that run indies with no distributers/ cult films/oldies. They go for about $5 for matinee to $8-$10 for evening. I dont think there is a bargin theatre in the city.

In Oakland, Parkway Theater has couches. And they have Pizza & beer. Just like being at home but not.