Going to the movies is one of my favorite recreational activities. When my son was born, I envisioned us going together to see the latest action or sci-fi blockbuster. As soon as he was old enough we have been taking him to see the G movies, then the PG, and now moving into some PG-13. He enjoys the big screen atmosphere, so its easy for us to share this activity. We watch the previews online, read every word of the NY Times summer movie section, and await the first week opening. Lately there has been a trend to make kids movies in 3-D. The theater experience of the 3-D movie can not be duplicated on DVD. It needs to be witnessed in the big screen setting. Studios realize this and ramp up production of 3-D pictures. The studios, forecasting huge gains in revenue, are willing to spend the extra millions to convert regular movies to 3-D format. How does this translate to the movie goer, in a tremendous increase in ticket prices.
Here is a list of movies now playing and the cost of the ticket:
(prices at Manhattan Theaters)
Movie Name, Adult , Children prices
How to train your Dragon-2D $13.00 $9.00
How to train your Dragon-3D $17.50 $14.00
How to train your Dragon- Imax 3-D $19.50 $16.00
Alice in Wonderland-2D $13.00 $9.00
Alice in Wonderland-3D $17.50 $14.00
Alice in Wonderland- Imax 3-D $19.50 $16.00
Clash of the Titans-2D $12.50 $9.00
Clash of the Titans-3D $17.50 $14.00
So lets recap, if I wanted to take my wife, my son, and his friend, to see How to train your Dragon in 3D that would cost me $63 for the four of us. Add another $25 for popcorn and drinks and I just spent $88 Dollars on a 98 minute film. That is almost a dollar a minute.
Listed below are the 3-D kids movies being released in the next few months:
Shrek Forever After
Toy Story 3
Despicable Me
Cats & Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore
Step Up 3D
Guardians of Ga'Hoole
Alpha and Omega
OoberMind
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1
Rapunzel
The Smurfs
Yogi Bear
Tron Legacy
Beauty and the Beast
Kung Fu Panda 2
Green Lantern
Cars 2
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2
Spy Kids 4
Plus about 20 more
I do love the experience of watching a big summer movie with my son next to me, but where is the pricing threshold? Do I need to go to my bank to start a summer movie savings fund?
What are your comments regarding the ticket prices in the 3-D era?
2 comments:
Dear TDT,
I hear you loud and clear. I took my daughter and her friend to the movies today and it was going to be $45. It was an 11AM show and I expected to pay $6 each. I actually said "no", took them to the park...and then went home and created a "National Boycott the Movie Theater Day" group on facebook. Saturday May 15th...don't go to the movies!
Way to make a stand JerryD!. I did a follow up and included the link to your page.
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