The Dawn of the $35 Movie Ticket
Are Luxury Theaters the Answer for Disappointing Ticket Sales?
Plans are in motion to bring a chain of luxury movie theaters to the US. But a new, flashy film-going experience will do little for the industry in the longterm.
Would you pay $35 to see a movie? What if there was a cocktail and a comfy armchair waiting for you? On the surface it may seem like a nice way for a movie lover to treat him or herself. But is making the movies like home - but better - the cure for the slack ticket sales that have plagued the industry over the last few years? While a luxury theater with all its amenities will no doubt generate interest initially, it does nothing to address the concerns theatergoers have with the current state of things.
Village Roadshow Gold Class Cinemas Come to the USA
On March 25 Variety reported that plans were in the works to bring Village Roadshow Gold Class Cinemas across the pond to the United States. Over the next five years it will cost a reported $200 million to build fifty luxury theaters across the country. The announcement comes at a peculiar time as the country seems headed for a recession and ticket sales continue to be down at less than a third of the proposed $35 ticket price. These theaters are set to include bars, sushi, valet parking and waiters that are summoned by a button on your reclining armchair. The idea is, as you may have guessed, is to attract a high income audience, not necessarily John Q. Public.
Problems With the Movie-Going Experience
And what about John Q. Pubic? You see, the common theater-goer has been, according to revenue figures, been going to the movies less and less. There are three easily identifiable problems that have driven attendance down. The first and perhaps the most notorious is the social factor. Sure nothing beats seeing a film on the big screen but that simple pleasure comes coupled with the company of strangers – rude, self-centered, strangers. Everyone has their story – the person who answered their cell phone in the theater, the two people behind you that asked annoying questions every five seconds, crying children – the list goes on and on. When a person pays ten dollars to see a film and the lights go out they feel both entitled and uninhibited. They paid good money and they deserve to enjoy what they paid for. Pair that up with the dark atmosphere that creates a feeling of being in your own world and you have a recipe for the destruction of everyone else’s good time.
So now you’ve paid ten dollars to see a movie (FYI price is qualm number 2). The lights go down, you settle in and your movie experience begins. But the question remains, how likely are you to enjoy the movie you’re about to see? The third issue movie-goers have is the quality of the films they go to see. The industry has been inundated with sequels, prequels, spoof films, reboots/remakes, spin-offs… it’s enough to make your head spin. And the fact is that for every successful reboot like Batman Begins, the public receives a handful of crummy, indiscernible horror remakes. For every expectation fufilling sequel like Bourne Ultimatum there’s a misfire like Spiderman 3.
Movie Industry Obsessed With Short Term Profit
What it all boils down to is this: the film industry, at this point in time at least, seems awfully short sighted. Movie-goers are hard pressed to spend ten dollars for a film if it means they have to sit through commercials, brought in to offset dwindling revenue, before they even get to the trailers. On top of it theaters have nixed simple amenities like the usher. Eliminating ushers from the equation leaves room for the social annoyances people dread so much. This all serves to maximize short term profits while alienating the audience.
A THIRTY FIVE DOLLAR BAND AID
In the end these new luxury theaters will be a treat to some. But one big elephant looms in the room – will the $35 price tag exacerbate the social irks of going to the movies? If you pay $35 plus however much you shell out for drinks and sushi, when you settle down into your snug armchair, recline and put your feet up are you really going to abide by all the good manners that are vital to everyone’s enjoyment of the movie? While these new theaters will no doubt be a treat for some they’ll be a gamble for others and it is ultimately just another way for the industry to ignore the issues keeping audiences out of theaters.
