What's the average ticket price for a 3D movie?

[Little Nemo]

I go to the movies on a relatively regular basis, but I'm cheap - I go to a second-run theatre where you see movies about a month or so after their release. The advantage is all tickets are only two dollars (except for dollar Tuesdays).

But one big disadvantage is that they do not have the new 3D technology. And I've been hearing a lot about that and have been thinking about checking it out.

So yesterday I was driving by the Regal in Buffalo and I saw they had Toy Story 3 in 3D. And I thought "This is a perfect opportunity. It's a movie I want to see. Pixar undoubtedly did a good job on the 3D. And it's a Saturday afternoon so I can catch a cheap matinee show."

So I went in to see when the next show was. Which turned out not to matter because I saw the ticket price. The discount matinee price for a 3D movie was $11.50.

Seriously? Is $11.50 a typical price for a ticket to a 3D movie? Or - og forbid - is it actually a cheap price? Are people really spending fifty or sixty dollars to take their family to a movie?

[Mahaloth]

I think it might be the cheap price. They are about $13 - $13.50 here, regular.

[Ike Witt]

Avatar is the only 3D movie I have seen in a theater and the ticket was either $14.99 or $15.99. This is in Toronto.

[Tangent]

$9 here, or $7 for a matinee.

[Kythereia]

Avatar is the only 3D movie I have seen in a theater and the ticket was either $14.99 or $15.99. This is in Toronto.

Yup. $15.75 for 3D at my local theatre.

Toy Story 3 is most likely worth every penny, but I really feel for the families that bring two or three kids expecting popcorn and snacks. Apparently the upcoming Harry Potter's going to be released in 3D, too...

[kittenblue]

$11.50 for a matinee, $13 for evening shows.

[AmunRa]

I'm in So Cal. I think it is about 9 dollars for a regular matinee, $10.50 for a regular ticket, and $14.50 or so for anything 3D. The only theaters within 30 minutes of me are Regal owned though, and I just buy tickets from Costco for $7.50, but you have to pay the extra 4 bucks to use them for 3D.

[dalej42]

$8 in Phoenix at the AMC in a very nice part of Phoenix. Camelback road and 24th street. This is for a matinee during the week. I think it is around $15 for a weekend film.

[ProudlyDefiant]

Generally $3 more than the cost of a regular ticket. So on Movie Madness night I can see a regular movie for $5 or a 3D movie for $8, PLUS free popcorn. The matinee price is more expensive than that.

Small town Ohio. The theatre in town is the only option for three counties unless you want to drive 45 minutes.

[Exapno Mapcase]

3D is the Hot New Thing, so of course theater owners are happily charging whatever the traffic will bear.

Most industry analysts have been jumping up and down saying that the prices are way too high and that the lesser movies that have come out in hastily reformated 3D are going to kill the golden goose.

But they also say that prices for 3D won't come down. The best to hope for is that they'll stay at this level for a long time, even when the price of 2D movies start creeping up to match them over the next few years.

Families have been paying huge amounts for movies for years. The concession buy for a family can be equal to the movie ticket. $50 or $60 total wouldn't be out of line for a regular 2D movie.

It's not going to get better. 3D does seem to work for a lot of animated movies, which are primarily kid-oriented, though, so it's a gimmick that works and keeps families going to theaters and away from their DVDs.

[HazelNutCoffee]

About $13 in Seoul, last time I was there (last week to see Piranhas 3D).

[Little Nemo]

3D is the Hot New Thing, so of course theater owners are happily charging whatever the traffic will bear.

Most industry analysts have been jumping up and down saying that the prices are way too high and that the lesser movies that have come out in hastily reformated 3D are going to kill the golden goose.

But they also say that prices for 3D won't come down. The best to hope for is that they'll stay at this level for a long time, even when the price of 2D movies start creeping up to match them over the next few years.

Families have been paying huge amounts for movies for years. The concession buy for a family can be equal to the movie ticket. $50 or $60 total wouldn't be out of line for a regular 2D movie.

It's not going to get better. 3D does seem to work for a lot of animated movies, which are primarily kid-oriented, though, so it's a gimmick that works and keeps families going to theaters and away from their DVDs.Except that the market won't bear these prices. I read an article in Entertainment Weekly last week that said that the majority of 3D movies haven't sold enough tickets to earn back their production and marketing cost. If you're charging so much for tickets that most people aren't buying them, then you're charging too much.

[Sodalite]

Some friends invited me to see How to Train Your Dragon with them a few months ago. I was really glad I wasn't paying because the tickets were $17.00. It was in 3D, but maybe there was something else special about it that cost so much.

It didn't matter to me anyway. To my eyes it just looked like I was sitting too close to the screen. Everything seemed to be mashed up against my face and I had to turn my head at an odd angle or the image was blurred. I couldn't see any of the special effects that people say are so great about 3D. I guess it's just not for me.

[Short_Guy]

Here in Belgium, there's one theater complex which allows you to buy your 3D glasses. That means you pay €2 (about $2.5) once, and 3D films are actually regular price (€9.10, something like $11).

[DMark]

Here in Las Vegas, the Regal Theater chain posts:
"Add $3.50 for 3D."

So, depending on if you pay full price, senior or kid discount, or matinee discount - you simply add $3.50 to see it in 3D.

[Little Nemo]

Well my cheap theatre finally got a 3D projector a couple of weeks ago. So I saw my first new 3D movie tonight - and coincidentally it was Toy Story 3 which they brought back for their first 3D show.

The tickets only cost three dollars. It was worth that I guess but I wasn't very impressed by the 3D effect.

[Eyebrows 0f Doom]

$11.50 would be cheap. Here it's $17 for a 3D movie.

[JpnDude]

The cheapest price for a 3D film in the Tokyo Metro Area would be around 1,200yen (US$14.40). That would be for "First of the Month" cinema discount days. The usual price is around 2,000yen (US$23.97). If it's an IMAX 3D film, then add 200-300yen.

[GuanoLad]

:(

In Australia, it's AU$20. Which at the current exchange rate (http://www.x-rates.com/d/USD/AUD/graph120.html) is ~ US$20.

Suffering succotash.

[Equipoise]

Except that the market won't bear these prices. I read an article in Entertainment Weekly last week that said that the majority of 3D movies haven't sold enough tickets to earn back their production and marketing cost. If you're charging so much for tickets that most people aren't buying them, then you're charging too much.Yay! Oh that's wonderful to hear. As I've said before, it's disgusting that studios are using 3D as a way to raise ticket prices, with very little value in return. It's a gimmick and a fad that's in no way necessary for 99% of the movies released. Unlike many others, I can see 3D just fine, but I refuse to pay the extra, so I continue my boycott of all things 3D, of anything that doesn't have the word Avatar in its title. That's the only movie released so far that HAS to be seen in 3D to get the entire experience.

Fie on 3D. I hope it soon dies a nasty, expensive death. If enough producers and studios lose their shirt trying to cater to 3D for stupid movies like Phirana and Step Up, it'll soon be relegated to the scrap heap of movie history. Again.

[interface2x]

I'm not sure the exact prices, but I do know that the theater I go to charges a $3 premium on 3D movies.

[Markxxx]

I read an article in Entertainment Weekly last week that said that the majority of 3D movies haven't sold enough tickets to earn back their production and marketing cost. If you're charging so much for tickets that most people aren't buying them, then you're charging too much.

Movies often don't, they make it up with DVD, Blu Ray and release to foreign markets, TV/Cable release deals, rental agreements, etc

[control-z]

We went to see a movie during the afternoon and the tickets were $11 or $13 each, forget which. I asked why and the guy said it was because the movie was 3D. Well I didn't care about the 3D, I didn't even know it was in 3D. But of course if I was going to see it I had to pay.

All the more reason to stay home and watch Netflix, and use time outside the home for outdoor activities.

[Little Nemo]

Movies often don't, they make it up with DVD, Blu Ray and release to foreign markets, TV/Cable release deals, rental agreements, etcBut 3D movies won't make most of these sales. They may appear in foreign markets but they don't get released on home video or seen on TV.

You have to think of a movie like Despicable Me as essentially being two different movies - Despicable Me 2D and Despicable Me 3D. Despicable Me 2D will have $10 tickets and will sell 10,000,000 tickets and will later be sold to DVD and TV. Despicable Me 3D will have $15 tickets and will sell 2,000,000 tickets and won't have any secondary releases - it'll make or break its production costs just on how many tickets it sells. So the producers have to ask themselves if it's worth releasing Despicable Me 3D. If it's not going to sell enough tickets, they should just release Despicable Me 2D.

[Little Nemo]

Fie on 3D. I hope it soon dies a nasty, expensive death. If enough producers and studios lose their shirt trying to cater to 3D for stupid movies like Phirana and Step Up, it'll soon be relegated to the scrap heap of movie history. Again.That's the reason I said I saw my first new 3D movie. I missed the 3D wave of the fifties but I'm old enough to have caught the 3D wave of the eighties. I saw the 3D versions of Comin' at Ya! and Spacehunter.

[Larry Mudd]

Despicable Me 3D will have $15 tickets and will sell 2,000,000 tickets and won't have any secondary releases - it'll make or break its production costs just on how many tickets it sells. So the producers have to ask themselves if it's worth releasing Despicable Me 3D.It's still bleeding-edge, but anything made in 3D is going to be released in 3D for the home market as well - including Despicable Me (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Despicable-Me-3D-Blu-ray/16207/).

Personally, I think a good 3D presentation is worth the premium to see in the theatre and it will be a long while before 3D-at-home meets my expectations and price point. 3D looks best when it takes up your entire field of vision - I'm holding out for a 3D home theatre projector that uses passive polarized glasses which I won't have to sell any organs to afford. That said, 3D production costs will not be wasted for the home market, especially going forward.