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Author Topic: The Annual Popcorn Rip Off Article Jarod Reddig Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 513 From: Hays, Ks Registered: Jun 2011 posted 09-25-2019 06:11 PM                     Honestly even though these articles piss me off I think they can do a lot of good, and Im glad this guy tried to get his facts right. It will help the average Joe understand a cinemas business model. And as we all know the average person knows very little about how a cinema is ran or operated.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-25-2019 09:06 PM                        Yes but these articles always focus way too much on the cost of the popcorn ingredients vs selling price, and not enough on what it really costs to run a theatre.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 09-25-2019 09:32 PM                     I wonder if Zachary Crockett (the guy who wrote the article) even gets out of the house. Most people already know why popcorn and other stuff at the movie theater is more expensive than buying the same shit at the grocery store. Has this guy ever compared what a six pack of beer costs at a grocery store versus what the same six beers cost at a night club or even a regular bar? Who is going to file lawsuits over any of that? No one is forcing anyone to buy popcorn at the theater. It's an optional purchase just like anything else at the snack counter. Hell, watching a movie in a commercial theater is optional. Lots of Americans don't go to commercial theaters at all because of the ticket prices. I've told friends of mine who only watch movies at home that movie studios would no longer make any big budget movies if there are no commercial theaters in which to showcase them. Regarding bottled water, I don't buy that stuff either. Long before Penn & Teller's episode of Bullshit, other programs have covered the myths about bottled water. The big one is bottled water is supposedly more clean. The stuff is mostly tap water! There's even labels on the bottles stating that some of the contents may come from "municipal water supply." Even if the stuff is 100% "spring water" it's not any more clean. I remember seeing one documentary about New York City's water supply system (Modern Marvels, I think) and its tap water would often beat most bottled water in taste tests. Then there's the whole pollution thing. A lot more than plastic water bottles contribute to it. Still, it seems like a pretty damned needless contribution to the amount of plastics going into landfills or our waterways and oceans. The broken down, micro particles are getting eaten by fish and birds. The stuff is working its way back up the food chain right on to our dinner plates.  |  IP: Logged James Wyrembelski Expert Film Handler Posts: 114 From: Beaverton, MI, USA Registered: Sep 2015 posted 09-25-2019 10:00 PM                     quote: Mike Blakesley focus way too much on the cost of the popcorn ingredients vs selling price, and not enough on what it really costs to run a theatre. That's where things can really sting too. Many people compare the cost of things at the snack counter vs grocery stores/gas stations. And some (not all) truly think you're ripping them off and rolling in it. I wish. It reminds me of the times just right before the financial crisis and the "great recession". I worked at the local restaurant and not only were we dealing with a slowing sales but all the extra stuff that started coming out of it. Fuel surcharges, rising food prices, and all this nickel and dime stuff was coming out of the woodwork. Of course, the only thing that could be done was to raise prices enough without scaring off everyone en masse. It was really hard as a long time employee to listen to countless claims of us ripping everyone off. Not to mention getting to see what it was doing to the owner who, at that point, was just trying to keep the place open. It was always nice to hear "guess that means you just get less of a tip" after prices went up and how they could make the same thing at home for a fraction of the price. Yes....yes you can...  |  IP: Logged Martin Brooks Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 900 From: Forest Hills, NY, USA Registered: May 2002 posted 09-25-2019 11:29 PM                        Yes, movie concessions are extraordinarily expensive and personally, I almost never purchase them because I can't stand being ripped off. But that's also true at arenas, convention centers, sports stadiums, amusement parks and almost anywhere where one is part of a "captive audience". And it happens because of the dogma of "maximizing revenue" pushed by finance types. What they don't take into consideration is the bad feelings it leaves which kills repeat business. But having said that, the high margins on concessions is keeping movie theaters in business. Looking at AMC, the largest movie chain, their gross margin on concessions was 84% and constituted 32% of revenue in the first two quarters of this year (their gross margin on films was 48%). But overall, AMC lost $487 million in 2017, made $110 million in 2018 and so far in 2019 has lost $81 million. So if we want theaters to survive, they have to do the concession ripoff. If you don't like it, don't buy. I don't. I've never understood why people can't get through 3 hours without eating crap. But obviously, there are many people who have the money and don't care. The question is if they charged half the price, would they sell twice as much? If they charged a quarter of the price, would they sell four times as much? Probably not.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 09-26-2019 11:31 AM                     One weird theory I have on concessions pricing: if the stuff was priced considerably lower (but still very profitable) there would be a hell of a lot more of it to clean off the floors in the auditoriums between shows.  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-26-2019 11:39 AM                     quote: Bobby Henderson ...there would be a hell of a lot more of it to clean off the floors in the auditoriums between shows. Are you going by the old saying, "Men value things that come at a cost." If popcorn was cheap then people wouldn't care as much?  |  IP: Logged Frank Cox Film God Posts: 2234 From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada Registered: Apr 2011 posted 09-26-2019 12:47 PM                        The first year after opening my theatre I did what became the annual free show for Santa Claus Day. And thinking I was going to be a really nice guy I gave away free popcorn. Free movie and free popcorn for everyone! After the show I had to get my snow shovel to clean up all of the popcorn on the floor. I've never seen that much popcorn wasted before. So there's never been a free movie with free popcorn here again.  |  IP: Logged Harold Hallikainen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 906 From: Denver, CO, USA Registered: Aug 2009 posted 09-26-2019 01:20 PM                        There's a theater around here (Denver area - I think it's a Landmark theater) that has free popcorn and drinks. Ticket prices seem about normal. I wonder how that's working. I have not seen it at other theaters, including Landmark theaters, in the area. As I mentioned previously, the high price of popcorn is not for the popcorn, but for paying someone to clean up the mess. Harold  |  IP: Logged Mitchell Dvoskin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1869 From: West Milford, NJ, USA Registered: Jan 2001 posted 09-26-2019 02:59 PM                     I posted the essence of this on another thread here before. AMC has a concession problem, and it is not really the cost. It is the paid Stubs member priority line. Having a fast lane for paying members is not necessarily a problem, but having only one server who never has time to server the non-member customers has to be costing them money. Me and my girlfriend went to see the Downton Abby preview at their Rockaway Square NJ location. I already knew that it was a waste of time to attempt to buy snacks/soda at AMC due to what I stated above, but my girlfriend actually wanted something. After 20 minutes of waiting in a not being served line, she too gave up along with about half the line. I was standing across the lobby from the concession stand chuckling. If the brain trust at AMC thinks this will make anyone want to signup for a paid Stubs level, they are wrong. What this does is make people skip the concessions altogether, and when possible, skip AMC altogether. There is no excuse for bad customer service, and this policy is bad customer service.  |  IP: Logged Jarod Reddig Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 513 From: Hays, Ks Registered: Jun 2011 posted 09-26-2019 04:39 PM                     Ya I agree Mike but better then them just saying the popcorns high just to screw the public while raking in the ticket sales. At least this makes some of the public understand that movie theaters have to pay back to the studios for ticket prices. Almost everybody I talk to has NO IDEA that theaters must do this.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 09-26-2019 10:49 PM                     quote: Randy Stankey Are you going by the old saying, "Men value things that come at a cost." Not quite like that. Cheaper popcorn prices would just make the stuff more affordable and accessible to more people. A certain portion of any theater audience are filthy pigs who don't care about spilling popcorn, candy and soft drinks. They'll upend the remains of a popcorn bag onto the floor. The numbers will vary by location. But it's a good bet that if movie theater popcorn was significantly cheaper it would result in even more people spilling the stuff all over the theater. quote: Mitchell Dvoskin I was standing across the lobby from the concession stand chuckling. If the brain trust at AMC thinks this will make anyone want to signup for a paid Stubs level, they are wrong. What this does is make people skip the concessions altogether, and when possible, skip AMC altogether. For me, signing up for a $15 per year AMC Stubs Premiere membership was 100% about avoiding high service charges when ordering tickets online. We're talking $5-$6 for convenience fees just for a couple of movie tickets. Ordering online is a pretty necessary thing when buying tickets in any reserved seat auditorium. That is unless someone doesn't mind getting really terrible seats when buying tickets in person at the box office shortly before the show begins. It doesn't take long at all for a Stubs Premiere membership to pay for itself. The snack counter line cutting thing is a small bonus, but it's not the big selling point for AMC Stubs at all. I will agree it's a bunch of bullshit AMC doesn't properly staff up its ticket/snacks counter to handle the two different lines of customers. Playing games with staffing and payroll seems to be a common problem for all big theater chains.  |  IP: Logged Jarod Reddig Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 513 From: Hays, Ks Registered: Jun 2011 posted 09-27-2019 06:36 PM                     Ya my local AMC Classic 8 never has more then one register open at the concession stand. It has 2 registers at the counter tho and another at the entrance for tickets only. Me and my buddies always joke about them not even having a AMC member line. When Im out of town I do everything I can to avoid an AMC unless it has a Dolby Cinema and Im in the area. Then I will go. I love nachos at the movies and I HATE how they just simply use Tostitos chips, salsa, and cheese. I have that at home. Before it was AMC it was Starplex and before that was Dickinson and they both used Ricos warmed chips and cheese which i always enjoyed. Ive since ordered some to make at home and enjoy them in my theater all time.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 09-27-2019 10:39 PM                     I'm certainly no advocate for watching movies at AMC's theaters, but here in Lawton, Oklahoma our AMC location (formerly the Carmike Cinemas Patriot 13 theater) is actually the good theater in town. I'd rather bludgeon my testicles with a hammer than pay to watch a movie at the tiny little 12-plex inside 70's era Central Mall. I can't even remember who owns that theater now ("Showplex Cinemas" I think). Edit: sorry, it's New Vision Theatres. Dickinson was the original operator when the theater opened nearly 20 years ago. Then Hollywood Theaters had it for some time. Then another company had it (Starplex?) before AMC bought the place. But AMC had to "divest" it when they bought out Carmike Cinemas. When that merger completed my late friend's old Carmike 8 theater was closed for good (it had been operating as a bargain/2nd run house before the AMC buy-out). Still, the staffing thing is bullshit. The (now) AMC Patriot 13 theater gets pretty busy, particularly on the weekends. It seems like AMC picked up on some of the penny pinching shit Carmike's higher ups did incessantly with staffing and carried that policy over. 300 people are in the lobby for the 1:00pm slate of shows? Let's staff two counter people for that. And that's with the two separate lines for "special" Stubs members and the other line for the rest of the, um, cattle.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-27-2019 11:31 PM                        Understaffing is so dumb. If I think we’re going to be at all busy I’ll schedule 2 people. And other employees are always a phone call away if we get unexpectedly slammed.  |  IP: Logged

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