Movie Ticket Prices Go Up During the Biggest Recession Since the Great Depression, Seriously?
by Jaden
Have you heard: the major U.S. movie-theater chains (AMC, Regal, etc) have majorly raised movie ticket prices?
9.7% of Americans are officially filing for unemployment and probably over 20% are unemployed in reality; that’s a lot of movie goers with free time on their hands who are looking for something cheap to do to lift their spirits; that’s also a lot of people who are not going to pay the new higher movie ticket prices.
When every dollar is the difference between how much an unemployed person can afford to eat versus how much he is willing to pay for some entertainment and levity in his life, a $2 to $5 jump in ticket price is too much — that in itself is a meal or two at home to most unemployed people, $15 – $19 for one movie ticket equals a loss of five meals! This is a perspective those at the top do not understand at all.
Get ready to watch a major decline in ticket sales, Hollywood. The announcement of a ticket price hike alone is enough to turn away a large percentage of customers from the theaters.
The results are already in: I have heard far more people excited to go see How to Train Your Dragon, than I did about Avatar, yet for their opening weekends Avatar took $77 million and Dragon took $43 million.
And guess what, people are going to see Dragon only once, whereas they went multiple times to see Avatar and brought new customers each time they went.
Whoever made the decision to raise prices is completely out of touch with the common American and has far too much money to understand them. They also do not seem to understand basic marketing: supply and demand, quality versus quantity, knowing your customer, and pricing.
When 12.5% of Californians are claiming unemployment, I think it is safe to assume that another 12.5% either did not qualify for unemployment or have timed out of their 6 month share of it, and are also unemployed. That being 1 out of 4 Californians without an income and probably 1 out of 5 in the United States, how on earth does this seem like a good time to raise ticket prices?
When you are down and out, sure, you can scrape together $10 bucks for a movie and stuff your pockets with some homemade cookies and tap water in a recycled bottle. But $15, $19, no can do — it’s too much.
Now let’s consider our romantic date… Our poor guy who has a crush on a girl and wants to take her to the movies. $20 is one thing — forget the pricey popcorn and candy — but two $15 tickets for $30? Not going to happen. Boy’s going to get creative and sing a song with the guitar or something instead; anyway, he can get more action at home — might as well watch a DVD.
How about our financially teetering families, two adults and three children, for something like $60 to $80 to go to the movies? Plus children screaming crying for the $5 candy they want? No way. Poor folks will stay home and watch free TV when every dollar counts and eventually just buy a 3D TV on credit or at a seriously discounted rate from some house-thief on Craigslist.
Personally, I was going to see all of the new 3D movies coming out at $11 a pop at my local theater, but at $15 to $19, I wouldn’t go to see any of them except for Clash of the Titans because I have a personal childhood connection to it, having watched it on television countless times and my brother calling me Medusa, the snake-haired woman who turns men to stone.
“It’s just not worth it,” people say about going to see movies at the new prices. From everyone I have talked to, the story is the same. People who went to see Avatar several times in the theater are being selective about which of the new 3D movies they are going to see.
The $43 million for Dragon opening weekend were probably mostly the employed people’s ticket sales; the $34 million worth of people that did not go to see Dragon are probably the 20% of unemployed people who have time on their hands to go to the movies but aren’t going to pay the new ticket prices.
$15 to $19 is too big of a gamble for a movie that may not impress or for people who have no personal connection to the story.
With a lower price, you get more people risking to go see the movie. With good word of mouth and repeat customers, you can make $20 to $40 per person.
I remember with Titanic, one of my best friends saw it 14 times in the theater and so did lots of her friends and family see it multiple times. No one is going to see a movie 14 times when the ticket price is too high, especially if they never saw it the first time. $140 for one customer because the price was right? Or zero dollars because you tried to pinch a few more bucks out of a person who decided not to see the movie, wait and buy it online used for a third of the price.
With a high ticket price, lots of people will not go at all. You don’t get good word of mouth. You don’t get repeat customers. You don’t get customers falling in love with the movie in the theater and asking for the DVD for Christmas. You therefore make way less money in the end.
When products are cheap, people will buy more of it. When it is only a few dollars more and looks expensive, people will buy none of it. It’s just like why Americans have gravitated to manufacturing overseas. It’s a huge inconvenience and way more time and obstacles involved to manufacture overseas, but hey, it is a few dollars cheaper per product. Just a few dollars adds up!
Raising the ticket prices so drastically is a costly mistake. $1 or $2 max — ok, but $3, $4, $5 — forget it. It sounds like nothing to a wealthy person, just a few more dollars, but to people who have very little money, it is a lot — it is a meal. Multiply those few dollars for dates and family members and it’s a lot more money than just a meal, it’s new shoes.
The major distributors shot thousands of people in the foot — all those who work on the movies (including screenwriters) who get their percentages on the back-end, just got screwed by the greedy few at the top of the movie theater distribution chains.
As for the official 15 million unemployed Americans and all of their uncounted children, they won’t be enjoying quite as many movies this summer — they simply cannot afford it, which will be a costly disappointment to filmmakers and a sad loss to everyone.
It’s just like with the gas gouging — what did people do? They drove less! People figure out other things to do. We don’t need to drive everywhere and we certainly don’t need to see every single movie that comes out to the theaters.
Lucky for me, I just called my local theater that is independently owned, a theater that posts funny statements on its billboard like, “Impeach the Supreme Court” and stuff like that; they are keeping their prices low and offer free popcorn! I won’t mention their name because I don’t want AMC to give them the squeeze. Some good things must be protected. May they live long and prosper!
Support your local and independent businesses; they will treat you right and everyone will get what they need.
How do you feel about the movie ticket price hikes? Do a few dollars make a difference to you? Do you have the money to spare?
Screenwriting for Hollywood is 2 Years Old!
by Jaden
photo by dirtbag
Screenwriting for Hollywood is two years old; it’s hard to believe. 144 posts have been written, averaging 6 posts per month, about which 1,230 visitor comments were made.
“Most Famous PG Underwear Scenes in Cinema” is hands down the most popular post I have written with 21,930 page views as of today. Thank you to Melissa and Brett for their post theme idea.
March 30, 2008 was my busiest day with 1,033 page views in one day. The majority of those visitors went to this post: “Sunday Picture Post 4 / Tip: Focus.”
“Sexist America, Racist Hollywood” sparked the most discussion in the comments section.
From around the world, 68,613 absolutely unique visitors have come to Screenwriting for Hollywood looking for some information that I hopefully provided for them. 30% of those visitors come back regularly.
Today at SfH are visitors from Manila, Taipei, India, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Istanbul, Romania, Algeria, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Europe, Canada, Australia, and of course all over the USA. Imagine the stories these screenwriters have to tell!
The majority of my traffic comes from other referring sites, while search engines provide the bulk of the remainder. By the 728 individuals who came to SfH in search of “sigourney weaver underwear,” for example, we can see what are important world issues. I have the comfort in knowing that I satisfied their curiosity.
The best parts about launching Screenwriting for Hollywood are the friends I have made and the joys from reading their websites: Writing Forward, FreelanceSwitch, The Deep Friar, Understanding in a Car Crash, Ingenious Title, Indoob, Words for Hire, The Reel Ninja, The Movie Fanatic, and DailyActor, to name a few (for more, see my linkydinks).
Above all, it has been a profound pleasure working with screenwriters to help them take their unique stories and prepare sellable scripts for Hollywood. Live the dream!
Thank you all for your inspiration.
Happy New Year 2010!
May we reach our goals and have happy surprises.
For ways to help Haiti’s earthquake victims in Port-au-Prince, please click here.
Hollywood Chinese News
Hollywood Chinese
Museum Exhibit Opens
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Hollywood Chinese: The Arthur Dong Collection premiered at the Los Angeles Chinese American Museum with over 350 guests attending the red carpet gala. Visit our new museum exhibition web page for slideshows of the galleries and opening night ceremonies, streaming video, media coverage, and more.
CURATOR’S TALK: Visit the Museum, See the Film, Meet the Filmmaker
Join filmmaker Arthur Dong for a “Curator’s Talk,” including a screening of his award-winning film, Hollywood Chinese. Martin Wong, Giant Robot editor, hosts this special evening to lead a discussion on movie memorabilia research and the creative challenges of transforming a documentary film into a landmark museum exhibition.
FREE. December 3, 6–8pm. RVSP at rsvp@camla.org, with the subject heading, “Curator Talk”, or call 213/485-8567.
Museum hours extended for this event, 5–9pm. Visit the exhibition before or after the “Curator’s Talk.”
Chinese American Museum
425 N. Los Angeles Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
www.camla.org
Click here for directions
Annual Holiday Sale
25% off all home use DVDs and Videos!*
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Hollywood ChineseRegular price $29.95 Holiday Sale Price $22.46 |
Stories From the War on Homosexuality3-DVD Set includes Coming Out Under Fire, Licensed to Kill, Family Fundamentals Regular price $69.95 Sale price $44.95 |
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Enter Promo Code “Sale2009” at checkout.
25% discount will be subtracted from your total purchase. Order by December 14 for delivery by December 24.
Sale ends December 31, 2009.
*Holiday Sale applies to online purchases of Home Use Editions only, and limited to stock on hand. Educational and institutional editions available at regular prices.
Patrick Fogarty: Video Wiz for The Careerers
Rapidly churning out entertaining videos for The Careerers and other groundbreaking new musicians is director and cinematographer Patrick Fogarty.
INTERVIEW with PATRICK FOGARTY
Did you study film and video?
Yes and I still do.
Where?
I learned how to edit on a vhs to vhs linear editing bay at a public access station in Excelsior, Minnesota in 1995.
I’ve been studying to a fault ever since. I attended classes at Columbia College in Chicago.
Where did you grow up?
Age 0-3 Naknek Alaska
3-11 Concord, NH
11-18 Minneapolis MN
What were your life influences that lead you down this path?
The need to show and tell.
Which filmmakers influence you?
Werner Herzog
Sam Peckinpah
Alejandro Jodorowsky
How do you crank out such amazing work so fast?
I get very little sleep and I’ve got a lot of post production experience.
Your videos are mind-blowing; what inspires you?
Watching someone’s face as they react to what they are seeing and trying to see if I can predict their expressions.
What is your next project?
I’m going on tour with the band Saything and filming a tour documentary.
Where would you ultimately like to take your career?
I’d like to make one or two movies per year and make videos in between.
Which is your favorite video that you made?
I think my personal favorite would be “Streets” by Careerers.
Thank you, Patrick. I love your work and look forward to watching so much more of it.
TONIGHT in Los Angeles you can catch Careerers from Oakland, California with Private Dancer from St. Paul, Minnesota at Redwood (316 W 2nd St, 90012) and tomorrow night October 8th at Synchronicity (4306 Melrose Ave., 90029).
Cannes Film Festival Wanderlust
by Euro Geezer
photo credit: Philippe sergent
Wandered over to Cannes Film Festival today…
Though the papers say attendance is down and everybody is on a tight budget, the old magic is still there with fans, stars, red carpet, hoopla, and screenings. The streets are full of Limos, harbor full of yachts, and the airport full of private jets. To me, the crowds look the same size as ever. Enthusiasm of prior years is there too. Ahhh, so many gorgeous sexy girls on parade, dressed to be noticed!
Years ago, I always engineered a few party invitations for myself and girlfriend(s) of the day, but these days I can’t be bothered.
Just a “has been” I guess.
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