The whole fam damily went to see The Skulls today. I give it 2.5 stars. It was Hollywood at its most average. But we went to the afternoon matinee and only paid two bucks each…a real savings.
But once inside:
Let’s see…three buttered popcorns, 2 medium cokes, two small cokes and a pickle.
SEVENTEEN FUCKING DOLLARS!
Like a dumbass I didn’t bother looking at prices or even asking until all the family had their stuff and were ready to sit down.
It’s not like I didn’t know that prices were inflated at the movies but holy shit… I mean come on…just how fucking bad are these cinema concession stands allowed to gouge us??? Doesn’t any regulation apply here?? Is it just open season on thirsty movie goers??
Yah, yah I know I don’t have to buy anything and I could have popped my own popcorn and smuggled it in and I could have gone to eat before the movie, but dammit those are pretty stupid things to have to do. I, like millions of other people (including the owners and co-owners of these so called concession stands) enjoy a snack while watching something entertaining. That doesn’t mean that I am a fucking cash cow waiting to be butt slammed for a candy bar the minute I get into the lobby.
Yep that’s right, I have a right to make a choice and I am fucking making it. I may never go into another movie theatre again. If I do it better be a groundbreaking film. These fucking middle of the road movies all end up on PPV or HBO anyway.
And it’s not that I am cheap… but shit, I at least like to get a kiss or two while getting fucked!!
Look you bastards, I am not stupid. Charge me the normal fee at the door ok?? I will pay it!!! But don’t charge me two dollars at the door at advertised matinee prices and then $4.00 for a fucking measely assed coke ok???
Fuck all you mother fuckers… go burn in the furnaces of hell.
One of the few to be personally welcomed to this board by Ed Zotti.
My husband and I have not gone to the theater for freaking ages, because of the very thing you describe. We’ve been married for a little over four years, and have been to the show four times, six times if you count the twice we’ve been to the drive-in (yeah, we’ve still got drive-ins here).
It’s ludicrous. I can get a two-liter of Coke for less than a dollar at the party store on the corner. Why should I pay four bucks for a cup that’s not even half that size, and half-full of water to boot? Movie popcorn is good, yes. But not remortgage-the-house good.
I’m with ya, man. All the way.
Cristi, Slayer of Peeps
I made my husband join a bridge club. He jumps next Tuesday.
it only cost $17!!!
You’re a lucky bastard then because it costs $7 for a small popcorn and a med coke, so I’m guessing all that food here would cost:
$12 for the popcorn alone, $10 for the cokes(at least) so that’s $22. blah, icky. and that’s bare minimum at the AMC(frickin small town all by itself)
I’m a cheap bastard and take stuff from home to take to the movies.
Getting harder and harder to afford going to the movies
When he was ready, it was already far too late, to go back.
There will never be another.
He is lost to me, as surely as if he had died.
Standing alone, I stare into the flames trying
to remember what went wrong.
Little secret-
I worked at a movit theater for a while, and this is one of the things they just won’t talk about.
Movie theaters have to RENT the copies of the films they show, and film rental is just freaking outrageous. Most movie theaters make little or no money at the box office- sometimes the film rentals will put them in the hole. So they charge a buck or two for the ticket, basically to get your ass in the door then they soak you at the concession stand to make their profit. It’s not really the theater’s fault. It’s Hollywood. My advice- buy previously viewed movies at your video store- basically you’re getting a used video at a discount, and the greedy bastards in Hollywood don’t make money off the sale.
“Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side.” — Han Solo
I worked in a movie theater for about a year, and I learned this: movie studios make their money at the box office. Movie theaters, on the other hand, make their money at the concession stand. Yes, the prices are grossly inflated. The reason for the inflation is that the theater makes little, if any, money off ticket sales. The concession stand is what stands between the theater and bankruptcy.
Still, the prices are much more extreme than they oughtta be. Before you hit the theater, swing by your local cutrate store and snag a bag of mini peppermint patties (much better than Junior Mints) or whatever tickles your fancy and smuggle them in. Popcorn is so bulky, I don’t know of a good way to sneak it in shy of a backpack.
Just do the staff a favor and throw your trash away afterwards or carry it out with you. I can’t fathom the mind that can just leave boxes, napkins, beer cans, diapers (honest), or what have you on the floor of a movie theater. Honest spills are one thing; being too lazy to carry that empty popcorn bag to the trash can right by the door as you leave is quite another.
Simple Solution: Baggy Pants!!!
One oversized pair of dockers lets me take in a 1 litre bottle of diet pepsi and a large bag of honey sesame sticks. I save a bundle. If you go with a woman with a large purse, there’s no limit.
I was just considering opening a pit topic blasting posters who are unable to handle these simple UBB codes (“This isn’t brain surgery folks”). I would have felt pretty stupid. Anyway here’s the link I was alluding to.
The movie was ok…nothing special…the problem is that those concession stand hijackers are always gonna be there whatever happens to be playing at the time.
One of the few to be personally welcomed to this board by Ed Zotti.
The ex-g/f and I went to see a movie in Santa Monica a while ago. We wanted hot dogs, but the theatre didn’t sell them. The usher told us to go outside and just buy some dogs from the vendor on the street. Yes, we could bring drinks in as well. Weird, eh?
I don’t usually eat or drink when I go to see a film, so the concession stand isn’t a problem. I frequently ride my motorcycle to the show (bikes park free), so if I did want to take something in I could just stick it in my backpack.
“I must leave this planet, if only for an hour.” – Antoine de St. Exupéry
Several years back, I managed a small, old theatre for a while. That job title had me wearing several hats (projection, projector repair, ticket sales, popcorn jockey, and cleanup).
MaxTorque sez:
He is 100% correct. You pay a lot to get into a movie, but it costs the theatre a shitload to rent the film that you are watching. And christ on a crutch, does management ever push concession sales on its employees. You think upselling (“Would you like [a drink, a larger size, etc.] with that?”) is bad a fast food? It’s even worse in the seedy underworld of popcorn peddlers. You’d think the fucking world was ending if concession sales dropped for a given month. One nice thing was that I received an annual 2% commission check from the total gross of the snackbar. Sure, it was only about $2,500, but that’s a damn nice supplement when you’re only making $23k/year.
So, anywho, I think the OP summed up his whole debate. Yes, it’s fucking expensive to get food at a theatre. No, you sure as hell don’t hafta buy anything while you’re there.
That movie taught me some important lessons in life. 1. I can build a robot that loves me. 2. I can reanimate my dead girlfriend by jamming bits of metal and silicon into her skull. Both are lessons I use on a daily basis…
This is sounding like commie talk! Someone get the thought police!
It IS open season on thirsty moviegoers. Specifically stupid ones who don’t look at the prices even though they know it’s going to be ridiculous. They are allowed to gouge you as much as they like, and I wonder how far they can take it. I mean, they wouldn’t have the prices so high if nobody bought food, so there must be plenty of drines like you, buying without thinking. You have no right to complain about something like this. What is it, metaphorically? Consentual rape?
**
Uh oh. You’re making your choice. You know, you could always see the movie WITHOUT the food. If you were a theatre manager and people payed four bucks for a bag of popcorn, how much would you charge?**
You DO have the right to complain about this, but you AREN’T right to complain about it, since you endorsed it. Especially considering that this is a prime example of capitalism, from which, like me, you have most likely benefited overall. The whole horrific incident could have been avoided so easily…
This childless bachelor who has never taken children to the movies is against the idea of giving children whatever they demand while parents are bending over backwards and ignoring their own judgment. After all, should children parent themselves?
Well, of course parents should be parents. I guess the point you’re missing here is that for most kids in most families, “going to the movies” is a special thing and the various overpriced garbage is a necessary part of the whole experience.
Not buying kids soda and popcorn at the movies is like taking them to Disneyland and saying “No rides.”
