Should movie theaters charge admission based on budgets?
Posted on February 25th, 2009 by Glenn Giangrande
With all the cutbacks that are going on everywhere right now, I think it would make sense for movies to adopt a pricing system based on individual films.
I was recently lying in bed listening to a caller on sports talk radio discuss the fiscal advantages of big market teams like New York, Boston, and Los Angeles. Since those are the markets that tend to have the highest ticket prices, their attendance figures translate into big bucks for the franchises. Nobody questions the sanity of teams like Kansas City and Pittsburgh charging less, even though prices for baseball games and sporting events in general can still be considered ridiculous.
So why can’t the big theater chains like Loews and United Artists consider charging less for flicks based on budgets? You’re generally charged a flat fee at the theater. Whether you go see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button or Prom Night, it’s usually something like $10.50 in evenings, $6 for a matinee. Given the budget behind the former, it would make sense for the film to need more money per ticket in order to make back its costs. Movies with smaller budgets could charge less, and if they happen to be clunkers, they might even draw more eyeballs. Who’d pay $10.50 to go see The Hottie and The Nottie? Not many people, unless they were really bored. I know there are discount theaters out there and other places that specifically focus on indie films with low price tags attached, but with everyone doing their part in today’s economic climate, maybe it’s time the big boys of cinema thought about following suit… not that I’d expect the powers that be to ever allow such a thing to happen.
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I think you’re on the right track, about the sliding scale, and it’s already happening in the form of people deciding that while Benjamin Button may be worth the full price, Rachel’s Getting Married can wait until Pay-Per-View, He’s Just Not That Into You can be added to the Netflix queue and forgotten about until it shows up, and The Hottie and the Nottie can be caught up on via the highlights on YouTube.
(The titles are, of course, arbitrary. Everyone has their own priorities.)