Questions rise along with ticket prices

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:32:24 GMT

By Chelsea Dean and Wendy Owens

Chelsea Dean
Westview Movies

For $11.50, a student can buy a quarter tank of gas, two meals at Panda Express a CD, or, now, a single movie ticket. Regal Entertainment Group, the company that owns the most-frequented theater in Frederick, located on Buckeystown Pike, completed a ticket price increase in mid-January that has established a regular after-matinee ticket at $11.50 and left many dismayed. Most of Westview 16 theater’s ticket prices went up by 50 cents, with the biggest increase being $1 more for RealD 3D movies and discounted military tickets. According to ABC News 10, some big-city theaters, including AMC and Cinemark, saw as much as $3 increases overnight. Senior Omar Khan, a self-proclaimed movie connoisseur, said the prices won’t keep him from his one true love: good films. “I would pay any price to go,” he said. “I think a lot of movies are worth the cost of a ticket.” His girlfriend, senior Nicole Ringel, who frequently accompanies him on movie outings, is more concerned about the prices. “I think that it’s pointless to go to a movie when it costs $15,” she said. “I just don’t understand why it costs so much.” Most teens with jobs are not making more than minimum wage, meaning it takes more than an hour of labor for a matinee ticket, and almost two and a half for an IMAX ticket. On top of that, the matinee hours have been shortened, so ticket costs go up after 4 p.m. rather than after 6 p.m. Senior Hadyn Booth was also angry about the prices. “I won’t go,” he said. “That’s bologna.” Teenage moviegoers pack the promenade each Friday night, and any drop in attendance may have an impact on the theater’s financial wellbeing. The theater is already cutting back the hours it is open an attempt to save money—the first show is now around 1 p.m. instead of 12 p.m., and the last show is around 10:30 p.m. instead of 10:50 p.m. Of course, teens are not the only ones angered by the prices. For a show in the IMAX theater, which was opened in November, a family of four costs $70. With the expensive concessions items on top, an evening of family fun becomes a $100 night. However, most would be surprised to realize that movie theaters make almost no profits off of ticket sales. According to TheMovieBlog.com, movie theaters only keep about 20-25% of the profits, or about $2.40 to $3 of a $12 ticket, with the rest going back to the studios. The percentage increases the longer the movie is in theaters, but as attendance drops, the money brought in from the screenings decreases as well. Theaters make the majority of their profits off of concession items—the movies are just there to get customers to buy them. It seems that frustrated movie patrons are turning to home rentals more and more—a Redbox representative said, “The movie prices are going up, and it is definitely benefitting us.” Waiting for a movie to come out on DVD and renting it for a couple bucks seems like a much better option than paying an arm for a night out at the movies, and an additional leg to see it in IMAX.

The Lance

Questions rise along with ticket prices