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Location: where the moss is taking over the villages
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I thought, about 5 years or so ago, that I'd read an article about a mother who won a lawsuit to allow parents to bring in healthy snacks for their children, hence overturning the "no outside snack rules" - but I can't find any citation... Or maybe I remember the instance incorrectly.
I always bring in things. Water is extremely expensive, so I try to bring that. Last time, I bought popcorn & took it back, demanding a refund. It was so awful, I couldn't bear trying to eat a replacement bag. Somehow, it was the worst ever.
You can get the movie sized candy at the dollar store: so that's where to snag those sneaky treats at a discount!
I realize that movie theaters must make a profit in order to stay in business, but with ticket prices rising rapidly, about $10 per person now, and a coke and popcorn costing about $8, where it would cost about $3 or $4 anywhere else, some people would rather wait a few months until it comes to dvd and let the whole family watch it for a rental fee of $3.
At what point do movie theaters price themselves out of business?
Almost forgot, to answer the question, I never sneak candy in and rarely buy candy at the theater.
They have to overcharge for the concession stand items, because those sales subsidize the movie ticket price, which is artificially low, even at $10. And simple movies ticket price subsidize the ticket price of the high tech, mega-star blockbuster, whose ticket price is too low. Why is it too low? Check out the salaries of the stars, and the production costs. Live action and computer generated graphics costs are what they are, but actors salaries are not fixed. I'd like to see tickets reflect the cost of the movie. No special effects, or minimal? That's less cost, so less charge less, or more appropriately, charge more for the movie that cost more to make. Might mean the end of mega salaries for movie stars, and replacements for them would be plentiful, good actors willing to work for $200k for six months, instead of $20 milllion.
Rant over.
Who is they exactly? I've been to plenty of movies and have never seen someone count seats. Obviously, different theaters will have different policies. The sort of price discrimination I'm talking about is well known...that of course does not mean every theater practices it. The effectiveness of the strategy details of the individual theater.
I worked for several years for a third-party contractor and counted seats on first-run movies. This was a covert assignment which meant that I was NOT to contact the theatre management and I was to sit in the back row and count the people that watched the movie. At the end of the day, I would fax in the numbers to my employer.
The studio would compare the numbers that we counted to the numbers provided by the theatre chain.
Yes, the first few weeks can be 90% of ticket sales going to the distributor, with a stipend to the theatre for expenses. On that first week especially, the theatre may ONLY make money on concession sales. If you didn't know that, it certainly tells me how little you know about the business.
Whether the theater is paying a percentage of ticket sales, a flat rate or whatever else does not matter in what I'm describing. What is important is that the marginal cost to have an extra "unofficial" body in non-full theater is near zero.
<sigh> No. Not if the theatre is being checked. You are just plain wrong.
Who is they exactly?
That would be the film distributors, often at the behest of the production companies. Again, you show a lack of understanding of how the industry works.
I've been to plenty of movies and have never seen someone count seats.
On a "blind" check, you wouldn't, by design. Literally, a shill buys a ticket, goes in, and does a head count and reports on the condition of the theatre. I have file drawers full of reports like that. If the head count doesn't match the ticket sales, there are often MORE checks and a checker that comes in, stands in the lobby or by the entrance to the auditorium with a clicker, and clicks off every person who passes through the door. I have file drawers full of those reports as well. Then there are the "mystery shoppers" who don't work directly for a detective agency or the film company. Do a web search, fill out an application, and you may be able to get a job as one. Pay is the cost of the ticket and a few bucks.
Obviously, different theaters will have different policies. The sort of price discrimination I'm talking about is well known...that of course does not mean every theater practices it. The effectiveness of the strategy details of the individual theater.
What price discrimination is that? Do you mean theft of services? That is what movie hopping is, and it is something that can get you pulled out of a theatre, where you stand in front of a manager and policeman (off-duty cops are commonly employed by larger theatres) and try to hmm and haw your way out of going doing to the station. There are few times that has to be done, but there were a couple of times where I told the off-duty officer to call for a car to take a recalcitrant thief downtown, to be picked up by parents or friends there, and out of our hair.
Tell me, why does a theater care whether someone movie hops or not?
For those who really want to know - (you are asking a rhetorical question and likely don't care anyway) - there are a number of reasons.
1. Movie hoppers take seats away from paying customers.
At the --- Theatre in Miami, the problem was so bad from previous poor management that we would try to sell out an auditorium, leaving twenty seats empty for the inevitable last minute whiners, and yet ten minutes before the film start, with fifty tickets left to sell, the auditorium would be full and people would be coming out complaining they couldn't find a seat. The distributor, the corporate office, the manager, and I were livid. In that particular case, I had to reschedule showtimes and COMPLETELY empty the theatre for twenty minutes between show sets. I've done that in a few other theatres as well, for similar reasons.
2. Hoppers create discrepancies between the reported tickets sold and the head counts. If a theatre has repeated discrepancies one of two things usually happens. The theatre is quietly refused product, or it has to pay for the estimated loss. FWIW, generally - a theatre will refund and replace a ticket if within the first twenty minutes of the start of a feature, the customer comes out and asks to go to a different movie. If the manager and cashier are smart, the ticket will be voided and a new one issued. A lot of assistant managers and cashiers are not all that smart.
3. Hopping is illegal and a theft of service. You pay for one ticket to one showtime of one movie. Film contracts with the theatres are based on that. (It didn't use to be that way when a theatre had one auditorium, and you could stay all day on your one ticket.) Your ticket usually has the rules spelled out on the ticket. Seeing what you didn't pay for is just as illegal as a bar showing a football game on tv without paying and violating the NFL broadcast rules.
If the theater is no where near sold out, how much does it cost them to have an extra body in the theater? Near zero.
This is so wrong it is stupid wrong. You are talking out of your hat and your hat has holes in it.
Now, how many of the people that movie hop would simply not to go the theater if they were not able to do so? If it is a decent percentage, then the theater is benefited by allowing movie hopping even in terms of pure ticket sales.
These are also people who won't be coming back to see a movie and buying a ticket for it, because they were able to steal a show of it. Customers like that are NOT needed. That brings up reason #4. People who switch films and see multiple films on one ticket are the ones who disrupt the regular paying customers, and are more often than not the ones who cut up seat cushions, toss crap at the screens, and trash restrooms. They have no sense of right or wrong and make life miserable for the staff and management. Remember the location in Miami and the other theatres I mentioned? The situation was so bad in a few of those situations that the managers were carrying, and extra security had to be bought to deal with the worst offenders. The hoppers bring their friends, the front exits to auditoriums are opened for gangs of kids, and safety goes down the tubes.
But these people often purchase food, after all they are in the theater for many hours. Thus the effectiveness of this pricing strategy will depend on the this question and the percentage could be rather different depending on the area.
What a load of unmitigated self-serving lying BS. What you are saying is that you don't like the price, so you advocate stealing services, and this is somehow supposed to be good for the theatre. That is a totally warped viewpoint. Why not suggest that people go into a store and steal an item for every item that they buy, because it will be good for the store? Look on the floor. Your sense of morals is down there somewhere.
But apparently you believe that theaters are going to leave money on the table and actively restrict movie hopping out of principle. And its me that has no idea what I'm talking about...
It isn't out of principle. It is out of pure economics and survival. There is only ONE case where the economics you describe sometimes works. If a theatre circuit or independent has a location that will be closing (often due to lack of business because the reputation of the theatre has been trashed) within about 18 months, staffing may be cut to the point that the teens and hoppers take over the theatre on Friday and Saturday nights. The owners know it will be closing, and don't much care if the distributors take them off service. The gamble is that the mobs won't get out of hand and someone get hurt before the theatre is shuttered.
You really don't have the slightest clue what you are talking about, and you want to justify your illegal activity. I don't say that in an argumentative way, I merely state it as a fact after having been in the industry for probably more years than you have been alive.
Theatre owners are willing to flex and look the other way from time to time, but most of them sorta frown on outright theft of services for some reason, and take a dim view of people who promote it.
You have a choice - try to argue your way out of this and dig yourself deeper (you can't win) - or wise up and fly straight. It makes no difference to me which you choose. You may not have had the full story before, but if you read to comprehend rather than argue, you now have a better idea of how things work.
All theaters officially disallow movie hopping, the point is many allow it because it makes them money. Are you suggesting they won't do it because the film distributors don't like it? Right...
Quote:
Originally Posted by harry chickpea
On a "blind" check, you wouldn't, by design. Literally, a shill buys a ticket, goes in, and does a head count and reports on the condition of the theatre.
I'm talking about people that are actually kicking people out of movies, not someone that is collecting data. The movie theater needs good data, the pricing strategy I described will not always be effective.
Quote:
Originally Posted by harry chickpea
What price discrimination is that? Do you mean theft of services? That is what movie hopping is, and it is something that can get you pulled out of a theatre...
Ugh, right so you don't know what price discrimination is and did not bother to look it up. Price discrimination is something the theater does to gain higher profits, I explicitly stated how it works in the case of a theater. Having lower prices for seniors and students is another case of price discrimination.
Quote:
Originally Posted by harry chickpea
This is so wrong it is stupid wrong. You are talking out of your hat and your hat has holes in it.
How about showing that the marginal costs for having an extra unofficial body in a theater is not near zero? Remember, I'm talking about theaters that are not full.
Quote:
Originally Posted by harry chickpea
These are also people who won't be coming back to see a movie and buying a ticket for it, because they were able to steal a show of it. Customers like that are NOT needed.
You're completely ignoring the point. The theater can make more money by allowing movie hopping (excluding sold out/near sold out shows) in some cases. The key question is how many of the people movie hopping would refuse to purchase any ticket at all if the theater more rigidly restricted movie hopping. You are trying to make this into something moral, but its irrelevant. The business is going to care about their profits.
Quote:
Originally Posted by harry chickpea
Why not suggest that people go into a store and steal an item for every item that they buy, because it will be good for the store? Look on the floor. Your sense of morals is down there somewhere.
Because stealing a product from a store rarely if ever benefits the store, but unofficially allowing movie hopping can benefit a theater.
To say it again, I don't care about the moral issue. I'm talking about business.
Quote:
Originally Posted by harry chickpea
You have a choice - try to argue your way out of this and dig yourself deeper (you can't win) - or wise up and fly straight.
Like I said, the price discrimination I'm describing here is well known. Not only does more rigorously checking tickets cost the theater money, but allowing movie hopping can make them more money. The moral issue is irrelevant, what is important is the data. In some communities it may not work, in others it can work rather well. But in each case its the data that matters, not some moralistic nonsense.
I worked for several years for a third-party contractor and counted seats on first-run movies....
Sure, but I'm not talking about sold out shows (usually the "first-run movies"). In that case the theater is not benefited by allowing movie hoppers, both in terms of profit and the studios breathing down their neck.
You do what you want. Doesn't matter in the slightest to me. Just skip the BS justifications, because you have no chance of anyone taking them seriously. Like I said, you can't win the argument.
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