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?
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…
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.
$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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
