1y ago

The price of a cinema ticket in this day and age. No wonder people aren't going to the cinema anymore.

361 comments

CONVENIENCE FEES HAHAHAHA
God what a scam that shit is
- "Hey, we saved money by computerization, so we're gonna pass that cost onto you!"
  "Don't you mean 'pass the savings onto us?'"
  :D "Nope!"
  
  Honestly they probably spend so much on devs to maintain their website that they don't break even lmao
- What you don't find paying extra money convenient?
- It's a convenient way for them to rip you off

... and on top of that you have to watch like ten minutes' worth of ads at the beginning. Ugh.
- I quit going to movies when they started blaring loud obnoxious commercials under the guise of "entertainment" prior to the movies supposed start time. Going to a movie used to be a social thing you did with friends, but now with them blasting that shit at you at a volume that makes talking impossible what the fuck is even the point? The fact that ticket prices are climbing to this level with this kind of jack assery is ludicrous. And don't get me started on the 20-30 minutes of previews they show after a movies supposed start time. Just fuck this shit.
  
  So you haven't been to a movie theater in, like, 20 years? Because none of that is new.
  
  That's the thing that bugs me so much. Most movies have around 10 minutes of ads. That is ample time to promote some of the lesser known movies that company has made but instead we get ads for insurance companies pretending that they are green, banks gaslighting you into thinking they care about you, McDonalds trying to trick you into their food I synonymous with a happy family and Matt Damon pushing cryto currency on you. I would rather watch an ad for a good movie.
  
  i don't mind true previews, but seeing standard TV ad garbage in a theatre that loud legitimately pissed me off last few times I went. swear they got louder. i also age incrementally, unceasingly, which doesn't help
  
  lol what? you go to the movies to watch the movie… if you want to talk you can do it afterwards. also, it’s not like the ads take time off the actual movie
- Would be good if it was only 10 minutes. Where I'm from it's 15 minute ads (with horrible sound usually too), followed by 15 minutes of trailers.
  Though we don't have this bullshit with "convenience fees".
- More like 20 to 30 minutes 🙄

Question from an European: What is that convenience fee? Which costs does it cover?
- Nothing for the customer. It's just convenient for the theater to charge more for the ticket.
- Nothing, it's just an extra charge so that the company can make more money.
- Answer from another: nothing. We also have them in various places, like parking, or highway vignettes - you are not using their facilities, you save them money, so they charge you some extra
- In the early days of the internet in the US the convenience fee was what the 3rd part sales software charged for online transactions but I think now with the it mostly being first party sales or integrated to the vendors POS it's just a way to charge more money without advertising it on the sticker price.
- I think the "convenience" is referring to using a credit card. They charge businesses any time their card is used. This is the business passing that cost on to the consumer.
  
  We go to AMC quite a bit and I think it's actually the fee for buying tickets online or through the app. So probably even worse than passing CC fees on to customers lol. Always buy our tickets in person for that reason (and matinees).
  
  Adding to this for more context, in America, credit card fees on merchants are like 3-5% of the transaction. That’s why some places have started to pass them to consumers, especially in low-margin businesses like restaurants and movie theaters. If your margins are around 5% and Visa is taking 3.95%, that’s not super sustainable. Card network fees tend to be much lower in Europe. I’m not sure about elsewhere.
  
  Thing is...usually the "convenience fee" isn't there if you pay in person. It's usually done in online sales. It actually costs less for you to use their online portal because they don't have to staff more employees in house. But for some reason companies like to charge you extra for buying online and put it as a "convenience fee" instead of going inside to pay. You could theorize that it has something to do with credit cards, but then why don't they charge you for paying by a credit card in store?
- See, if you didn't pay that fee, then buying the tickets would be "inconvenient."
  Jokes aside, it's really just a way to pad profits. It should be called the "We want more of your money" fee.
  
  I'm paying added convenience fees left and right, but I'm not feeling the added convenience. Please send help.

I saw Indiana Jones today it had 25 minutes of trailers, an admonishment to not ruin the movie, Nicole Kidman telling me how great going to the movies is, and a commercial for the projector. So a movie listed to start at 11 started at 11:28. it’s fucking ridiculous.
- I find that pretty consistent for AMC. What ever the listed time is the film will play after 30min of trailers/promos. Its annoying but easy to plan around.
- I watched the new spiderverse. I liked the Dolby Atmos/HDR demo as I hadn't seen them before, but they'll need to shorten them a little bit going forward
  
  The first Dolby movie I saw Thor Ragnarok, and they ran that same damn ad for the projector then, so that’s like 5 and half years. But I do prefer the Dolby to imax, or at least the bullshit imax they run in amc theaters.

I bought a 65" TV for $300 and good speakers. Never been to a cinema after that
- I got a $600 projector and have about 90 inch display ( can hit 120 if my apartment was bigger). No need to go to a cinema, overpay for drinks and snacks, and I can pause and pee whenever I want.
  
  LEGEND!
- I have a very good setup at home but we still like going to the cinema once in a while, it's more of an event and we don't spend the movie with our nose in our phones.
  We do select movies where it's worth it, big action, etc. Last one was the new avatar in "4D" where they splash you with sprays, the seats move and you feel the wind, pretty cool.
  
  Maybe you should have a no phones rule when you watch a movie at home? Seems like a good idea otherwise what's the point of watching

The hell is a “convenience fee”?
- That's when you pay extra because money is yucky
- Usually charged when you use a credit card online. Because “fees”. At least that’s what I’ve seen.
- Came here to ask the same thing. Whatever it is you expect it to be included in the ticket price already when they are this high

Find a new theater, you're being robbed.

I work at a pretty high end movie theater. All seats are recliners with tables, there's a full wet bar and restaurant quality food, and we do events and shit too. Tickets typically run $10-$15. This is ridiculous.
- What area of the world if you don't mind answering? I used to love going to the cinema but its been too pricey for the past decade here.
  
  I live in Vancouver and we have theatres similar to that here

What the fuck? A convenience fee??? They're just making shit up at this point
- AMC has this fee for choosing your seat and booking online ahead of time. It's a dumb fee that they waive for spending $15/yr on a stubs membership.
  I honestly just paid the $15 because it annoyingly makes things "cheaper"
  
  You don't need to pay for the stubs membership. Just sign up for the basic stubs which is free and the fee is waived. They get your email and can send you marketing materials but that's easy to unsubscribe.

I gave up on theaters a long time ago. I wanna watch a movie in my PJs, smoke pot, and pause it when I need to. Plus I get lots of kitty snuggles during the viewing as well.
- If you're stoned enough, a big screen and decent sound system is just as engrossing as a movie theater.
  I was so stoned the first time I smoked hash, I kept falling asleep to Inception in theater. The score would jolt me awake and I had no clue what the hell happened in that movie.
  I went back and watched it sober a few days later with another friend. After that, I had no clue what happened in that movie...
- That sounds very convenient, how much is the convenience fee?
  
  About a bag of cat food per month
- Kitty snuggles are priceless too. Win win.
- Nothing beats sitting on my own couch in my bathrobe with one kitty on my lap and another snuggled up to me at my side. Don't have to go out of the house, snacks are cheap. You'd have to pay me money to go to a theater, and a hefty amount at that.

An exterminator told me that a lot of cinemas have issues with bedbugs. Since then, I haven’t been able to set foot in one.
- That's horrifying to think about
- I've heard the same. They weren't enjoyable places even pre covid and now it's just not worth the trip or the risk. Better experience at home for less money.

Convenience fee? What does that even mean?!
- Convenience of driving to the cinema with kids and dealing with their shenanigans, then finally getting in the cinema where they sit and watch the film for 2 hours without disturbing you. You are paying for that convenience.
- For the convenience of the sticky floors and seats so you don't slide down the stairs - it's a safety meausure
- Convenience fee for the convenience of making that shit right up

I think you're going to the wrong place. That or the US is just insane.
I think I'd pay about £8 (approx $10.11) per ticket here in the UK. That is without buying food.
- Before the pandemic, the US wasn't too bad. Large cities got expensive, but most places a movie ticket ran around $10.
  Now, to make up for lost money, some chains are trying to charge extra for getting "a good seat" or other perks that used to be just part of the price of the ticket.
  I think they overestimate demand. I haven't been to a movie since 2019. I don't think I'm missing out. Home TVs are just so big now.
  
  It's crazy these days, it makes no sense to go pay $20+ each to see a movie when I can wait a month and stream it on an 80 inch OLED at my buddy's place if it doesn't break any records at the box office. Color quality is better, couch is more comfortable and I don't have to worry about anyone dragging their screaming kids in.
  
  Seems like the whole world became a lot more expensive after the pandemic. Same here in Germany and my family in Brazil tells no different story.
  Especially all kinds of recreational activities, day or night. I for myself can't afford many things i used to do before the pandemic.
- AMC is a huge multiplex chain, they seem to own about half of all theatres in the US, as a result they can overcharge to their heart's content because they might be the only one in town with the movie you want to see. They also attempt to pass their service off as a "premium" experience. In reality it just means larger seats. For this they've destroyed the movie-going experience. Not much love lost on my end, however, I'm not really a movie person. It mostly sucks when my child really wants to see something.
- You can still find more reasonably priced tickets. We go to a second-run theater that only charges like $8 a ticket for movies that have just left the main corporate theaters and even Regal offers discount days where ticket prices are more reasonable.
- We went for the first time in years a couple of weeks ago. Cost us £14.50 each only on the tickets. Just a regular Odeon.
- I almost never go to the theater but I just checked and here in the Netherlands it's €13,50 for 2D and €16,50 for imax. That's crazy. The last time I went to see a movie in the theater was somewhere at the end of 2019, and it was like €10. That's a 30% price increase in under 4 years, christ.

How is it legal to make up a fee then offer a paid membership to avoid the fee you just made up? How is that different from the mob guys that would collect your "insurance" membership so that you didn't incur a "business burned down" fee?
- Because our governments don't care about us because 40% of the country hates themselves.
- All of that kind of stuff is illegal and/or regulated in Europe. It's not perfect mind you, but it's trying to be better. Another good example are car rentals, they can offer you non-required add-ons but other than that, the price you see on the first screen is gonna be your final price.
  
  Biden is trying to implement that in the US, guess who's trying to block it?
- "Free market" is neither free not cheap.

This is why you should support any surviving local theaters that aren't chains. Monopolies aren't created solely by the companies but with the help of the consumers too

That's ridiculous. I can get recliner seats with tons of arm room and reserved seating for $15 CDN. $12 for a matinee showing.
- Same. For $9. Including a drink and popcorn. $11 for a ticket with a large drink and large popcorn.

This reminds me... AMC wanted to test selling tickets at a higher cost based on seat location... corporate greed will keep folks at home.

What the heck is a convenience fee?
- A convenient way to charge you for more
  
  But you can avoid our unreasonable fee by signing up for a monthly subscription!
- A convenient way to give the customer the finger.

Holy shit that's outrageous. Me, 2 other adults and 1 kid all saw Spider-Verse 2 at the fanciest theater I know the other week. It was like $7 a ticket. You're being robbed.
- Across the Spiderverse for $7 is money well, well spent.
  
  It was! Absolutely phenomenal movie. Shame to hear the rumors about the animators being under horrific crunch though.
- If you live in a city, movies are needlessly expensive. AMC does half price tickets on Tuesdays, so if you can schedule around that you can go see a movie for what people used to be able to pay. A group of us try to see IMAX movies on Tuesdays for 'only' $12 a ticket.
  Am I wrong about the city thing? Anyone in the burbs/more rural areas seeing prices like OP's?

There was a movie theater when I was a kid in the 80s and you could see movies that had already stopped being shown in the regular theaters for a while for $1. So, like, if you missed Return of the Jedi or Temple of Doom in its original run, you could catch it later on the big screen for $1.
- We had that here too. Tuesday and Wednesday was $1 for a ticket, $1 for a popcorn and $1 for a drink.
- We still have that in MA. And independent theaters with unique programming.
- We had one of those in the 2010s here in Texas, although it might have raised to $2
- Yup, second run theaters are (were?) awesome. Saw so many classic movies like Temple of Doom and Total Recall at my local one.

As a producer who aims to make 2-10 million dollar genre flicks, I don't see why ticket prices shouldn't be scaled to budgets. Don't want to pay 25 bucks to see Avengers 16? Pay 10 to see a low to mid budget crime or horror flick instead.
To keep profits up, theaters should bring back double features, intermissions, and sell popcorn with THC butter. Snack sales will explode.
- and sell popcorn with THC butter.
  Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
- Theatres were dying before covid. People can get a better experience from home for less money. This is one of those things covid helped speed the death of up. Just like distributed working for those who have jobs that can be done remote offers better productivity with lower costs to employers and workers. Those businesses that fail to adapt will be brought into the future kicking and screaming or just fail to adapt and die off.
  
  You are incorrect that the future of entertainment is an endless, perpetual feed of on-demand home video. It is completely unsustainable. The streaming model peaked during the global quarantine and is now in freefall. You will never have as many people watching TV at the same time again. There was literally almost nothing else to do. The reason why David Zaslav is butchering the MAX catalog, Netflix is cracking down on password sharing, Disney+ and Hulu are set to merge, Paramount is on the verge of a total shutdown, Apple and Prime are canceling shows left and right, and Peacock is seeking a lifeline is because these services existed to thrive during a pandemic. The shutdowns are over and people are going outside again.
  You are correct that the studios' major theatrical releases are flopping this summer and that multiplexes are suffering: The failure of Indiana Jones and The Flash are a testament to Hollywood's greed, bloat, and hubris. But spend some time in New York, LA, Portland, Chicago, and more and you will find dozens of repertory and revival theaters selling out classic movies every single night with enthusiastic crowds. People want affordability and quality. And they want to leave their homes and enjoy entertainment with their communities.
- Why don't you all get togther and make a kickstarter for films, to go around the big corporate structure. Some sort of non-profit film studio that's devoted to creating creating great scripts and funding their production.
  
  Crowdfunding has been great for small indie video games and products and historically awful for film. Remember the Veronica Mars movie on Kickstarter? They raised a shitload of money from fans and then sold it to WB. We haven't seen a high profile film crowdfunded since. WeFundr exists, but isn't particularly killing it.
  To make a real movie with wide theatrical potential, you need people willing to put six and seven figures in. Investors in movies want equity and access. They want a piece of the potential profit, they want to visit sets, meet movie stars and directors, and come to premieres and festivals. They want to have a cameo in the movie or give their kid a job on set. They want to see their names on a screen. They want to give notes. They want to tell their friends they made a movie. They want to be a part of the show. It's my job to facilitate these investments while protecting my filmmakers from interference.

Have to hit the matinees. I take my son to a nearby movie theatre that has a full bar/menu and the tickets for he and I to go are around or under $20 for both of us. It's like $9.25 per person.
- Yeah also a lot of places near me have $5 or $6 dollar Tuesday or whatever other special throughout the week

Don’t forget another $20-$30 for popcorn and drinks!
- That's why you take your own snacks or just do without. Tickets are very rarely these prices.
  
  It's hard to get away with taking your own popcorn. Especially if you also need a microwave.

For real. With just a short wait, I can spend less, own the movie permanently, and watch it without wearing pants. Wins all around.
- Once the lights are out, no one can see you aren't wearing pants 😏
  
  Yes we can. Please stop doing that in the theater.

I use AMC movie pass. It’s amazing.
- Yes, I have AMC's A-list and I only need to go for 2 movies (or 1 IMAX) a month for it be better value than paying for every individual ticket. One ticket is $16 and the A list membership is $25 a month
  
  Yes that’s what we have. So good!!
  
  Yes that’s what we have. So good!!
- I use Regal’s subscription service cause Regal is what I have near me. It’s pretty good but I much prefer A-List. Regardless, $20/month and I can see as many movies as I want. If not for that there’s no way I’d be going to the theater for anything.

JESUS FUCK. I can pay $20 a month for UNLIMITED movies.

You should find some small local cinemas. Sure screen is smaller, but so is the price and the atmosphere is great.

Tickets at my local theater is still lik $8. Wtf do you live?

Every day I realize what a good investment is was to build a screen into my unused basement room.
(picture simulated)
- That looks amazing! Did you put in a cool sound system, too, yet?
  
  Yes and no. I have a Velodyne 15HGS sub that is hidden in the corner to the right (got that baby in a mass buy in '01, still going strong), and picked up a 7 speaker Velodyne satellite-style surround set on clearance for this room (edit: orig installation was in ~2007). It's not amazing, per se (it's no M&K, that's for sure), but the effect in my small-ish room (15'x15'x7.5') along with the LFE from the sub is enveloping.

I actually went to a theater a couple of days ago after not going to one for a couple of years and I was shocked at the price. I’d much rather wait until I can just watch it from the comfort of my own home.
Also not worth it when others are talking and using their phone in the theatre.

I like all the jokes about the fee. I’d say the price before that isn’t convenient either.

wow you guys are getting rinsed over there!
for a UK perspective, we have a cinema chain over here called Everyman, it's cinemas but every seat is a sofa/couch! and you can order food to the seats. unless it's a peak screening, you usually get a whole couch to yourself. matinée shows are roughly ~$17 for adult, ~$11 for child. what's pictured in the OP is no doubt one of those pull-down chairs with the itchy carpet material too. ouch!

I'd rather buy some kind of AAA game.
- I would settle for an AA game. I drink too much.

Where the F*** are you paying so much. Even with Canuck-bucks that's like double what it costs here

wtf, lol...I pay Regal like $22/mo for unlimited movies and discounts on snacks, which I actually end up using quite a bit.
- Same, I can't really go back to not having unlimited now, and I feel bad if I ever have to go to another theater
- You can do the same with AMC. Me and my wife pay like $25/month for 3 movies a week and it works for every AMC in the country. We go twice a month and I’m saving like $40

Funny, inEU we are around 10/11 € per ticket
- £6.99 here in London. That's it. No "convenience fee" either.
  
  And £5.99 outside of London (if bought online and in "Super Saver" seats). Gawd Bless Vue.
- 6.50€ in my country... Or maybe because I'm a student and my cinema is on a small town

just paid $3.97 to watch a movie on my TV at home with friends. that is ridiculous pricing

Not only that, but then the prices of all the food inside is unreal. I just wait until discounted ticket days at my local theater if I really wanna go see somethin

ItS ThE ExpERiEncE

AMC has $5 Tuesdays. It's the only day I go to the movies.

I think in the age of streaming saturation, going to movies still offer an experience for people vs watching Netflix on your couch. It should ultimately be something that's most of all, fun, and exciting.
Nobody should ever feel like they are getting ripped off for the money they paid, even if everything is getting more expensive, and having blatant tagged on fees, or request for tips for things that didn't use to ask for tips, just makes people feel bad that they got cheated out of their money. And that's not fun.
- I dont bother with theaters anymore. It will come out on a streaming platform eventually, its worth the wait to pay less.
  I used to like going to movies, when they were really well made and worth paying for a sticky theater seat and dealing with crowds.
  Now movies are mostly crap, remakes or rehashed story universes and not really worth the hassle or the cost.

That convenience fee is damn annoying. I usually just try to get the tickets in person.

You also have to go to a good theater, because a lot of the time you go and the picture is too dim and out of focus, and the sound system isn't balanced properly. That will be $60 dollars.

Imagine wanting some popcorn and candy to top it off... streaming from home is the way to go now and they did it to themselves.
It's a shame too, because there are some movies that just benefit from that large form factor viewing. I'd love to go see Oppenheimer on imax but I'll be damned if I have to spend 50 bucks to go watch it alone with some refreshments and snacks.

20$ a ticket whew plus the feel, this is almost as bad as doordash, like dang

Lol, hell no. Especially when the movie will be streaming in 3 months time. Haven’t been to a theater since Endgame.
- You also call COVID “Endgame”?
  
  Sorry, I should have been more clear. I meant the movie Avengers: Endgame.

I actually went to a theater a couple of days ago after not going to one for a couple of years and I was shocked at the price. I’d much rather wait until I can just watch it from the comfort of my own home.
Also not worth it when others are talking and using their phone in the theatre.

Our local theater has huge heated leather seats, a fantastic sound system, and you can go to a matinée for $6 with popcorn included. I love Marcus Theaters, they do it right. Good food and drinks, too, delivered to your seat.

What "convenience" was experienced this visit?
- They made your wallet thinner so it's more comfortable to sit on
- One of the biggest bullshit I have seen here in India is that airlines themselves will charge convenience fees for booking from their own website. Like it is not a third party website. It is their Fucking own website.

The problem is the opposite. People are still going to the cinema. If they didn't, cinemas wouldn't get away with this crap. They would either go away or knock it off.

Here in Italy cinema is priced around 9-10 euros and carnets are often priced 5-6 euros per ticket.
- What is a carnet?
  
  undefined> carnet
  Oh sorry! I was convinced carnet was also used in English! It is basically a set of usually five "coupons", they are basically free tickets that you can use for any movie within a year.

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