Would you pay $50 to watch first-run movies at home the day they're released in theaters?

Meat, they've been saying that about movie theaters for at least 20 years, yet prices never seem to go down and big releases still sell out.

Theaters could very well cut their ticket prices to boost business. They make almost all of their money on concessions anyway.

Now back to our Riptide-Dick feud. Would you pay $50 to see that live?

 

It's not a given that lower ticket prices would be made up by concessions. People coming in for cheap tickets aren't necessarily going to spend the money they saved on concessions. You need to know what the demand curves look like. Plus, the money lost on a ticket is pretty much dollar for dollar a loss of net income. The dollars spent on concessions aren't close to that.

 

OK, I misstated "almost all of their money." What they do make is an 85 percent profit margin on concessions, I erroneously read that as they make 85 percent of their profits.

But here's a study that says while concessions only account for 20 percent of revenues, they account for 40 percent of profits. It's from 2009 but I can't see why that would be any different today.

Why Does Movie Popcorn Cost So Much?

In any case, I'll believe theaters are in trouble when I start to see prices go down or 2-for-1 deals spring up.

 

20 bucks maybe but 50? Please. That's absurd.

 

I don't think 50 would be that bad if you had a few people. I asked our 18 year old daughter and even though we have a decent home theatre set up, she said she would rather go to the movie.

I haven't been to a movie in a theatre, especially a non kids movie in so long that I would probably pay it.

By the time we pay for tickets and a baby sitter we are at 50 bucks anyway.

I do enjoy the communal act of watching a movie, especially a comedy, in a crowded theatre.

 

The fact that anyone would even consider a "yes" answer refutes Ragu's claim that we're in an economic depression.

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If you are in your basement, the dick in the popcorn bucket just isn't the same.