Complaining about the price of movie tickets is as American as, well, bitching about the weather.
We rarely go to the silver screen, but the kids were DYING to see Tangled 3D. We arrived at Town Center early, got to the front of the long line only to find the show was long since sold out (apparently to much more savvy parental units).
So we settled for an alternative, Megamind 3D. Total matinee price for two adults, two kids was a jaw dropping 53 bucks. For.the.tickets. I nearly passed out. Shaking, I coughed up the debit card only to be greeted by the dreaded concession stand. Total cost for tix, popcorn and a beverage? Nearly $70.
This, after slyly visiting the drug store for some sneaked-in, low price candy… and passing a $1 kiosk rental box.
Yeah, quite the savvy consumer.
Incidentally, Edwards Town Center was packed. Concession lines 7-8 people deep. All were working, even the auxiliary stand closer to the screens.
For your consideration:
- Folks aren’t buying DVD/Blu-Ray like they used to. 3D is clearly a means at recouping that revenue. Think it’ll work? For the long term?
- Given our sometimes foul weather, there has to be a better (cheaper?) way to spend a Sunday with the family when the elements don’t cooperate. Suggestions for some good SCV activities in those circumstances?
- What recession?
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Ice skating is a lot of fun at The Ice Station. We have inclement weather gear, so going hiking at Towsley Canyon is a favorite, especially when there is a running stream through the area.
The new 3D technology, which is much cheaper and allows the movies to be exhibited on pretty much any screen, has been a godsend for the industry since they can charge a 30 to 40% premium on tickets with much less marginal cost. I personally don’t like wearing the glasses and was relieved when we went to see Harry Potter and didn’t have to wear them.
I think that movies have done very well in the recession because of the substitution effect. While not inexpensive in absolute terms, it is less expensive than going on trips or theme parks.
“Tangled” was excellent by the way. Go see it!
Jeff
It is interesting that you bring this subject up. Just this weekend I had a similar conversation with my son. He is married with two children and was remarking about the cost of taking the family to see a movie. We also discussed and speculated, why entertainment industry profits are down when, as you observed, there are no shortage of people going to the movies. In past difficult economic times Movie Theaters prospered. Theaters were a place where families could escape their day to day problems and enjoy a day away from home. But in years past there were many more of them and they were larger. In addition, today’s technology of Large Screen TV, Surround Sound and DVDs give us almost the same experience at a much lower cost. It seems that Theaters are pricing themselves out of the market and may soon go the way of businesses that rent VHS tapes. When I was a youngster in New York, my parents would send me to the movies at least one a month. Today, I don’t think I go to a Movie Theater even once a year. We may be witnessing the passing of another iconic industry. Sad, isn’t it.
This is at least the 3rd go around for 3D (the first was in the 50s). Never stuck before, no reason to think it will stick this time. Best solution, at least until July1, 2011 is DVDs from the library.
We went to the Chargers MNF game against the Broncos last week. I took 300 in cash thinking that was more than enough. $30.00 PARKING $14.00 Domestic Beers $8.75 hot Dog, small bag of peanuts $5.00! Watching Chargers smoke Broncos $ Priceless
What I could not believe was 80% of the crowd was in their 20′s. Where did they get their money? When I was that age, I could not afford the gas to get me to the game.
I am getting old!
You think Chargers have enough to win the division?
Good question? I hope so but not a big fan of Norv. How can the start out 2-5 every single season? I love Rivers! But hell the Chargers punter throws better than anyone on the Broncos
Next two weeks will be the test. Oakland then KC. win those and I believe they will be in first.
This is why I will never go to an NFL game due to their pricing out families. I like the Dodgers because they give me a 2/3rd break on tickets being Active Duty military and will go support them, when they are playing Chicago teams that is hahaha. BTW, GO BEARS!
Try bowling, the Hart museum, the Nethercutt museum, a real live show at the Canyon Theater Guild (cheaper than the movies), a train ride into downtown LA, etc.
Thanks for plugging the CTG!
I know purchase the movie tickets from Costco! Two tickets for $15.99 good for anytime and any show….Also, we buy two large sodas and a large popcorn to split.
In addition, to me it has to be “movie ticket” worthy meaning special effects, action etc…if it’s a comedy or drama, I would rather wait for it become available on demand, sometimes during the trailers my wife and I rank the movies: “we need to see that,” to all the way to “basic cable.”
We purchase our tickets from the Auto Club. Big discount, but it is still rather expensive. Get the large popcorn with the unlimited refills, always fill up before going home. Feel like at least I get some more out of the high expense.
Historically don’t movies fare well in a poor economy? People escaping their troubles. And honestly, IMO our city is ‘underserved’ in the movie theater dept and that probably contributes to the crowds.
On tickets, did you know you can get them at a discount through Costco (or COC if you’re a student, or 25 score) for about $7-$7.50 a ticket. We buy them through my husbands employer for a bit less than that. — On crowds, I find Canyon Country to be far less crowded. The theater itself isn’t as nice, but if we want to go on a typically crowded day/night, we don’t even try Valencia because of the crowds.
This summer we visited a theater in UT that had assigned seating (like Arclight), meaning no need to come early and stake out seats. The concession was an actual food court (Mexican, a deli, a hamburger joint, pizza, and a traditional concession). FULL PRICE tickets for myself and two kids, $18. I was shocked. They also had reusable popcorn and drink cups. Not sure what the initial fee is, but it was only $1 to fill them up! Oh, which reminds me, I noticed earlier this month (Harry Potter, woot!) that Regal now allows only one refill of their mondo popcorn and drinks. Not a huge deal since I don’t think I’ve ever refilled them more than once (we share…so we do refill once), but I did notice it.
Okay. As to fun indoor things to do within the SCV….if they’re open, Scooters Jungle or Sky City (we’ve never been to SC…I think it caters to a younger crowd??). The library, bowling, CEC, painting places (paint a dream, color me mine), Mountasia (though your boys might be too little to enjoy the indoor things w/out begging for the outdoor things??), the Glow Zone (if they’re still open??).
College of the Canyons has a film program every Friday night where you can, for FREE, see recently run movies. A few weeks ago they screened The Secret In Their Eyes, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film last year. All are welcome – at the last showing, the moderator asked the audience to “spread the word” about the program. I don’t know if they are shutting down for the holidays, but they are running a movie this Friday.
Here’s the link to the info page: http://events.canyons.edu/calendar/EventList.aspx?view=EventDetails&eventidn=1787&information_id=4574&type=
13 bucks for a child mantinee? WRONG!
I’m sure the $13 matinee was because it was in 3-D. Regular child matinees at Edwards is in the $8 range
Agree – but note the 3D shows were sold out or nearly sold out. And it’s part of the theater “experience” that isn’t easily replicable at home.
When I took my kids to see Megamind, it was only in 3D…Also, if you keep your glasses, does that mean next time you would be required to purchase another pair, or can you decline and bring in your used pair?
I enjoy going to the movies. Part of that enjoyment is getting away from the house and rubbing shoulders with the rest of humanity. But you’re right — it isn’t cheap, so we don’t go very often. When we do, we always go to a matinee and if we do buy snacks (rarely), we share.
The Natural History Museum and the La Brea Tar Pits are fun but do involve driving a ways. Magic Mountain season passes can be a good investment if your family enjoys it — just eat before or after because eating there is expensive.
Next time, leave the kids at home. Don’t hit the concession stand, and demand a reimbursement with the guy who can’t stop texting in the middle of the movie.
Can you tell CC is childless?
-kids hot chocolates at Starbuck’s ($1/ea), then drive and look at Chistmas lights
- ice cream cones at Rite Aid, then rent a DVD from Video Depot
- check the community calendar
- board games at home
- Vincenzo’s on Lyons has family friendly karaoke on Friday nights; wait, you just want for Sunday, right?
- a family membership at the LA Zoo offers holiday events for members, plus bird walks and more
In addition to suggestions above, we also like to peruse aisles of home improvement/hardware stores. The stuff is pretty cool, but the bonus is getting some random stuff and then going home to make something. We also like the museums–if you have kids, sign them up for LACMA’s NextGen program. No cost. And this means until your kids are 18, they are free…and so is one adult that accompanies each child. Unfortunately, food trucks aren’t in front of the museums on Sundays. Also, we scored a membership of Groupon for a family of 4 to Skirball, just over the 405. For little kids, the Ark is very cool. And the rest of the museum’s exhibits are fun for all. I second the train idea, especially because there’s lots of fun to be had in Downtown–all the museums (MoCA, Japanese Museum), plus the top floor of City Hall has an amazing view of the city plus old timey photographs of Los Angeles and another art gallery, and fun places for the family to eat. And in Culver City, there’s this really crazy museum that is hard to find–it’s an unmarked door (or at least it has a very tiny sign) to a place called the Museum of Jurassic Technology. I can’t describe it; you just have to go. Getty is free, too, just the $15 for parking, though, unless you take the bus (which drops you off right in front) and then it’s free, free, free!