The oil companies aren’t the only corporations out of control. Apparently customer price gouging has taken hold in the theater industry as well. Remember all the whining a year or so ago about how theater owners just can’t make ends meet, and that’s why ticket prices keep rising? It’s all the fault of piracy and the failing dollar, right? Theater owners are losing money! Sorry, nope. It’s not true. At least not anymore.
Ticket prices are rising because theater owners, like oil barons and insurance companies, want to suck you dry. According to new data released by the Cinema Advertising Council to Variety, American movie theaters have shown a massive 18.5% gain in revenue from in-theater advertising last year. In 2006 they made $455.7 million and in 2007 $540 million. The Cinema Advertising Council represents a whopping 82% of all theaters in the United States, so this isn’t some minor statistical aberration. Meanwhile, ticket prices for moviegoers continue to rise. I can’t even keep track of how much it costs to see a movie anymore, it seems to go up every time I buy a ticket.
So what’s the deal cinema owners? When do you pass some of this on to your customers? Now might be a good time. With gas prices rising and the cost of just about every single other thing in our lives rising as a result, wouldn’t it be a glorious PR move if the nation’s theater chains got together and announced some sort of meaningful price reduction? Even a dollar would make a significant different to the struggling father who just wants something he can afford to do with his kids. With the world in turmoil and people stressing about the economy, why not stand up and tell people: hey, here’s one place you can go to get relief. For most people, that’s what the movies really are, an escape. Why not let your customers know you value them, by making that escape just a little easier now, when times are toughest?
Unfortunately, that’s probably not going to happen. The nation’s theater chains have watched their advertising revenue skyrocket for a year now, and ticket prices have continued to rise and concession prices have continued to explode, all while the theater experience continues to degrade in the name of piracy combating and revenue, drowning in more and more annoying advertisements and more bad presentation. I wonder if Cinemark has any ties to Haliburton? Note to the nation's theater owners: We can't live without oil and healthcare. We can live without movies.
