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Price increases for 3-D movies in effect today
posted by
moviebuff82
on
March 26, 2010 at 2:40 pm
According to a Wall Street Journal article, 3-D ticket prices at the top three theater chains, AMC, Cinemark, and Regal, will take effect today. The increases will be very large, up by 26% in most theaters. This comes as the success of movies such as Avatar and Alice turned things around for the morbund 3D genre. As more and more movies come out in 3D and theaters get more 3D screens installed, higher grosses for 3D versions of regular movies will pump some much needed cash in Hollywood’s banks.
Comments (17)
Wow..given the fact that 3D will be an IN-HOME feature in the very near future (tested the 3D TV’s at the Sony Store & they look GREAT!..almost as good as Real 3D), not sure if that was the wisest decision. I am dissapointed Hollywood has become such greedy bas***s! Glad I kept about 6+ Real 3D glasses to “recycle” whenever I want to sneak into a 3D movie!
Makes buying a 3D tv more attractive. I don’t go to many films because of the cost, 3D films being an exception. But I’m not willing to pay one penny more than I currently paid. They just priced themselves out of business as far as I’m concerned.
I noticed this last night on the AMC site. I paid $15 for Alice in Wonderland in IMAX-lite 3D. Today, How to Train Your Dragon in the same format is now, $16. First show matinees were $10, are now $13!! I could see paying $10, maybe $11, but now $13 or $16?????
If any 3-D movie I want to see is presented with Real-D glasses, I’ll be sneaking into them (I have Real-D glasses). $16.00? **** that.
On a side note, anybody NOT seeing Clash of the Titans in 3-D? I know I’m not, because it was shot in 35mm Panavision Anamorphic. And they’re releasing it in 3-D to make money off us.
This kind of news makes me want to change my name to LOVE MOVIES-NOW I REALLY, REALLY HATE GOING!!!
This will really put a dent in people paying top dollar for a movie they want to see. Grosses for 3-D films will fall off more than Avatar and Alice combined, and 3-D will start to lose its peak by the time 3-D tvs get affordable.
This seems to be on the heels of the DCIP agreement with the “Big 3.” Are the smaller chains raising prices too?
Unfortunately, I do think the market can bare this increase as many megaplexes in the big cities are at capacity on most weekends for all things 3-D, popular or not. Dating back to Monsters vs Aliens and My Bloody Valentine, consumers have proven that most want to watch a presentation in 3D vs the alternative.
And given the fact that the theaters still aren’t making the profits that most people think, unfortunately things like this have to be done in order to stay afloat. IMAX gets a huge cut of every ticket, a ticket that is already split with the film company. So while a thicket may cost $14, the theater is lucky to take home $3 bucks.
And on what was to many theaters, the busiest week in the industry (Dec 25-31), the split was so in favor of James Cameron, that many theaters were in the hole that week, despite all of their efforts and hard work.
So while I agree that these prices are becoming far too steep, people need to understand that the film companies are creating this mayhem with their horrible film splits. Avatar broke tons of records but the theaters barely saw a dime of that, even over time…
Cities need to bring back the second run $3 houses again. Many movies are pushed out of the multiplex’s after a few weeks and are gone to DVD. A nice big screen theatre with good stereo sound and cheap refreshments can make it with family groups. I miss the seedy downtown B film houses. Three films for $3 what a bargin. Wait till a big family goes to AMC and they see the new prices. Most will cut back and wait for 3D DVD. Why spend extra for the 3D glasses in the cinema when they have there own at home and cheap drinks & candy. Wait till some cheap second run 3D movie theatres open up and serve food at a decent price with free glasses.
Technocolor’s 3-D would be great for the discount houses. I do think this $5 upgrade fee is essentially price gouging and a very bad thing, but if people pay it then they’ll get away with charging it. I like how AMC is charging a $5 for Real D shows, but $3 for Alice in Wonderland.
Alice of coarse wasn’t an innovative use of 3-D. Filmmakers aren’t using the medium the way that Avatar and Coraline did and its boring. I felt ripped off with Alice and the brightness issues are still a factor, I saw it in the Dolby Digital 3-D process (that doesn’t use a silver screen) and I wasn’t impressed. Not to mention Clash of the Titans (never intended for 3-D) has negative buzz around it. I don’t get the big deal around 3-D, a movie still has to be good. I think 3-D is a tool that’s just developing, filmmakers need to reconcile it and consider it as another tool, instead studios are going to cannibalize the format by turning out crappy product like Alice and Monsters Vs. Aliens.
$13 for an AM matinee? I’ll more likely switch to the $6 2D screen.
Today in front of the outside part of the AMC Van Ness Theatre in San Francisco I saw two guys with signs telling people to boycot the AMC chain for the BIG price increase!!!!!!!If this catches on around the USA you will see the prices go back down. The public is now hearing about this thru the media and friends. Maybe they can sell the 3D glases and you can use them again without being charged each time for new ones.Or they can give you a refund for the glases once they are returned at the exit.You will have to keep them extra clean plus there are different 3D formats. The Price Theatre Wars are about to start.
This is a bad economy in which to raise ticket prices. 3D has had a burst of interest but once the novelty wears off moviegoers may return to 2D movies. These price increases may hasten that development. Consumers are not stupid.
I took my two young sons to see “How To Train Your Dragon” in
3-D just yesterday, paid $34.00 for three tickets (plus $14.00 for popcorn and drinks and a shipload of TV commercials before the previews, so I think the theater owners are finding a way to take care of themselves,) and got a movie that put me to sleep in about 20 minutes. The kids liked it, but the whole experience left me in a really foul mood. The next time I take the kids to the movies, I’m sticking to good old 2-D so I can sleep more cheaply.
The new craze of 3-D really stinks. So far I have seen Avitar and Alicce In Wonderland in 3-d and neither were anything worth paying the extra money for. The 3-D that I remember as a kid was true 3-d where thigns came out to you right in your face. I say dump this 3-D craze and bring back the good old 70mm films.If 3-D is back maybe one day 70 MM will be too.
when it comes to the 3d technolgy Vicksburg Wilcox theatres is left out in the cold. The locals have to go to Metro jackson to experince 3d films. By the Alice in Wonderland didn’t open here nor the dragon 3d didn’t open at all. I have a feeling 3d tech is going to shut out some cinema operators before its over with.
Maybe they will price themselves out of business,it has happened before.
Avatar is almost near $750 million.