# Would you pay 50 bucks for a movie ticket? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 5, 2018, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625 "2018-12-05T18:39:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2018, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625/21 "2018-12-05T21:49:24Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > It sounds like they are almost going to the airline ticket price model. I hope this fails, and they return to more conventional pricing. I would hate to see this model becoming more widespread. What’s next? McDonald’s charging twice as much for a burger at lunch because they are busier? BAH! > > So, if I could avoid the highest price by choosing a different time, date, or seat, then I certainly would. More likely I would take my business elsewhere. This is really the main thing. I’ve heard rumbles about this sort of thing for a few years. I hope it fails quickly, but I suppose we’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2018, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625/22 "2018-12-05T22:14:18Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > only if they gave me $40 worth of food with the ticket . This, and if there were no advertisements. I stopped going to movies when they began showing ads. Haven’t seen one in a theater in years. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2018, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625/23 "2018-12-05T22:14:38Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > If you’re referring to the seatmap in the article, Im assuming the priciest seats are on a balcony, so you’re eye level to the center of the large screen. I haven’t seen a movie theater with a balcony in decades. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2018, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625/24 "2018-12-05T22:18:55Z")
I wouldn’t pay fifty bucks to see the Second Coming of Jesus live. It’ll be on TV eventually. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2018, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625/25 "2018-12-05T22:35:46Z")
I understand the desire theaters have to raise the price of movie tickets, but one of the many wonderful things about movies is that they are cheap (especially compared to live theater, concerts and sports) and that the same artistic experience exists for everyone. People praise the Broadway show _Hamilton_, but I can easily see a hundred films in the theater for the price of one ticket to that show. Oh, and I see a hundred or more movies in the theater every year, and have had only two unpleasant encounters over the past decade. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2018, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625/26 "2018-12-05T23:09:50Z")
Wow, this is the most one-sided poll I’ve ever seen on the Dope: 53 No votes, and zero Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2018, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625/27 "2018-12-05T23:15:56Z")
C’mon, guys. George Harrison paid about $4 million to see a [movie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python%27s_Life_of_Brian). You can’t spring for a measly 50 bucks? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2018, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625/28 "2018-12-05T23:43:58Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > My rule of thumb is that I won’t pay more per hour for entertainment than I make per hour working. I’ll make occasional exceptions to that rule, but it has to be extremely high-quality entertainment. And most of my entertainment is far cheaper. > > When you consider that there are still plenty of other theaters where I can still see a movie for a fifth of that, it’s a no-brainer. So seeing a 2-hour movie would break down to $25/hour. It’s not minimum wage, I grant you, but 25 per hour ain’t exactly Thurston Howell III territory either. mmm ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625/29 "2018-12-06T14:39:19Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I haven’t seen a movie theater with a balcony in decades. I was in [one a few months ago](https://somervilletheatre.com/). And apparently the theater in question does [have a balcony](http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/841). ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625/30 "2018-12-06T14:42:12Z")
I haven’t voted yet, because my answer is _maybe_, depends. I don’t often go to movies because my flat screen and 5.1 sound and pause button give me an excellent experience at home. The cinema has to compete with that. When I lived in Mexico, there was a chain of cinemas that _did_ offer a better experience (Cinepolis VIP). The standard theaters were $20 mn, and the VIP were $60 mn, if I recall correctly. Sixty pesos gave us reserved seats, a call button for the waiter, beer and mixed drinks, full-sized side tables, high quality food choices, and importantly, kept most of the poorly behaved people out of the screening room. So at three times the basic price, $12 usd gets me to $36 here… that’s not _too_ far from $50, and maybe justifiable if the service an accommodations are even better. Some cinemas here are getting better. For $12, I can reserve a seat in some places. I can get up and get a beer, but I need an arm band and there’s a two drink limit. There’s no waiter. And since the going rate is $12, every class of person gets in (“class” in the “classy” sense; not social class; I’m not a Venderbilt). I also pay more than $50 for a live show in Stratford or Toronto, and those are crappy, uncomfortable seats in poor locations. If the film is something that I highly anticipate, why should it matter if it’s live or recorded? But, mostly, I wouldn’t be paying $50 to see the film; I’d want to know what $50 gives me in terms of the overall experience. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625/31 "2018-12-06T15:15:53Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > When I lived in Mexico, there was a chain of cinemas that _did_ offer a better experience (Cinepolis VIP). The standard theaters were $20 mn, and the VIP were $60 mn, if I recall correctly. Sixty pesos gave us reserved seats, a call button for the waiter, beer and mixed drinks, full-sized side tables, high quality food choices, and importantly, kept most of the poorly behaved people out of the screening room. I know people have different preferences, and all that, but for me I go to see a movie in a theatre so that I can, you know, see the movie. I would pay extra to not have people chowing and drinking and calling the waiter, which is my definition of poorly behaved. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625/32 "2018-12-06T16:57:49Z")
I prefer watching movies streamed to my iPad, where I can turn on closed captioning, pause the movie for a beer run, and check any texts I receive. If movie theaters offered free admission, I still wouldn’t go. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625/33 "2018-12-06T17:03:59Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > My rule of thumb is that I won’t pay more per hour for entertainment than I make per hour working. I’ll make occasional exceptions to that rule, but it has to be extremely high-quality entertainment. And most of my entertainment is far cheaper. > > When you consider that there are still plenty of other theaters where I can still see a movie for a fifth of that, it’s a no-brainer. This; but I think the poll should have a “maybe” option. If it were some kind of special event, a premiere screening _of a movie I want to see_, with an actual actor/director present to meet/greet fans, then sure, I’d go $50. But just a run-of-the-mill Night-Out-At-The-Movies? No. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625/34 "2018-12-06T17:26:22Z")
Hell no. In fact, I think charging that much is entirely stupid. The ENTIRE reason movie theaters have changed so much over recent years is to compete with home viewing, which is practically free! The ONLY thing you’re getting now is the ability to see the movie a bit sooner, and the experience of a large audience (which is arguably a worse experience depending on your POV). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625/35 "2018-12-06T17:50:01Z")
I said, “no.” And I haven’t seen a movie in the theatre since whenever that Borat movie came out in the mid-2000s. That said, after thinking about it some more, I could actually imagine a set of circumstances where I’d pay that much for that. Give me a private pod with reclining seats, an attendant should I decide on snacks or drinks, maybe a complimentary bag of popcorn, and, you know, I might be okay with that. I mean, I pay $50-$100 for concert tickets with all their associated fees these days, and they come with no comforts whatsoever (buy a beer at the bar for $7-$9 a pop), and last as long for the main act. So not completely crazy to me. But just enough that I wouldn’t pay for it. Gimme $35 and I’ll think about it. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625/36 "2018-12-06T20:13:52Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > I know people have different preferences, and all that, but for me I go to see a movie in a theatre so that I can, you know, see the movie. I would pay extra to not have people chowing and drinking and calling the waiter, which is my definition of poorly behaved. I should have added that there’s enough space that you don’t really notice what other people are doing. They could be eating their torta, and you’d never notice. You do have to be careful when communicating with the waiter though; whispering is good. And well behaved people generally don’t drink enough to become poorly behaved. Really, it was a much better experience that you get in a typical US cinema, despite your apprehensions. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625/37 "2018-12-06T20:35:15Z")
There’s a few of those “dine-in” theaters in Chicago now. Usually you only notice the waiters in the first few minutes as the remaining orders get field. Once the movie gets going they’re so infrequent you don’t notice it anymore than someone getting up to go to concession stand. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625/38 "2018-12-07T06:04:53Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I haven’t seen a movie theater with a balcony in decades. I just sat in one tonight. Lincoln Square AMC in NYC. They just renovated it to be a new Dolby Cinema theater. And to the question in the OP, oh \*hell \*no! With A-List I can see \*\*30 \*\*films for $50. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625/39 "2018-12-07T06:50:40Z")
No. Movie tickets where I live are around $20 for the busy nights. Even the cheap prices are no longer cheap, minimum $15 but more often $18 or higher, and that’s just regular cinemas on a regular day. Attendance is so low these days they are losing money otherwise. I was willing when they were $14 on tight-arse Tuesdays, but that’s not the deal anymore. I’ll just wait eight weeks (!!!) for home video, own the physical disc (no streaming for me), it’s about the same price as a ticket and ultimately better value. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625/40 "2018-12-07T07:37:34Z")
Not a chance, unless it were something insanely special and most of the money went to charity. I pay $22.34 (includes tax) a month for AMC’s A\*List, and I can see 12 movies a month. I can use it for IMAX (real IMAX, not just Lie-MAX), 3D, Dolby, Dine-In, anything except Fathom. I did pay $50.00 for a theater experience a few months ago, but that was for an all-access pass to a Marvel special at a Regal theater, where they showed 20 MCU movies over 7 days. I only caught 14 of them and it still only worked out to about $3.50 a movie. I see a crazy amount of movies every year, but I’m all about bargains. $50.00 for one regular movie. I can’t imagine! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-pay-50-bucks-for-a-movie-ticket/825625.md?page=3)