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Movie Ticket Prices Hit All-Time High

LONDON (Reuters) - The cost of going to the movies hit an all-time high last year as the construction boom in plush multiplex cinemas continued to push up ticket prices, according to research on Wednesday.
In its ninth annual worldwide survey on movie ticket prices, London-based media research group Screen Digest said average ticket prices rose in 40 of the 45 countries it tracks.

The global average ticket price in 2003 was $5.20, up 4.8 percent in local currency terms.

At 1,252 yen -- $10.80 in 2003 average currency terms -- Japanese ticket prices were the most dear. Rounding out the top five were Switzerland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Britain ranked tenth.

Screen Digest said a major culprit was construction of multiplexes, the state-of-the art cinema complexes that come equipped with air-conditioning, enhanced sound systems and sometimes shops and videogame arcades under a single roof.

Multiplex ticket prices tend to be higher than those charged at older, "arthouse" cinemas, the researchers note. For the past 15 years, multiplexes have been a common feature in more established cinema markets such as the U.S., UK and Germany. The construction boom has caught on over the past few years in other parts of Western and Eastern Europe, as well as in South America and Asia.

In the United States, the largest movie-going market, average ticket prices rose for a 10th straight year to $6.04, climbing 45 percent over the decade, Screen Digest said.

The economics of movie ticket prices is not easy to pinpoint. Screen Digest points out that in Germany a variety of factors from a poor economy to lackluster box office attendance forced movie ticket prices down 2.6 percent year-on-year.

© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.

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Apparently Sweden is second according to Swedish papers. Second to Japan and just ahead of Switzerland. The companies claim it´s the high quality of theatres. I wonder what that says about other countries theatres?
I couldn´t find the report on Screen Digest webpage, but I didn´t look extremly hard...
 

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Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 07-06-2004, 09:09 AM:
 
Well it's $10.50 for tickets in Manhattan at Loew's and AMC houses.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 07-06-2004, 01:06 PM:
 
Big deal. If the industry would educate the public on what it costs to build/operate a cinema, and what it costs to rent the film, the public would understand. All they see is people handing money to kids.

I cannot understand why people are more than willing to pay over a hundred (or two hundred) bucks to see a rock concert by a fading bunch of geezers, but they bitch about paying ten bucks to see a $150 million movie in a complex that costs $10 million or more to build.

When we were in Florida we took one of those 8-hour behind-the-scenes tours at Disney World, and I will never again complain about their ticket prices.
 

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Posted by Thomas Dieter (Member # 2507) on 07-06-2004, 01:16 PM:
 
I have to say that out of all the ticket prices that I have experienced, the theatre company that I am working for now in Chehalis Washington has the lowest prices that I have seen in a while.

Adult: $6.75
Senior: $5.00
Child: $5.00
Matinee: $5.00

Honestly you can't complain about that. But to make it just a little worse, the concessions are high. A 22 oz. drink is $3. but the 44 oz. drink is only $4. I guess bigger is better, and more affordable.

Yesterday, I heard the other person that was helping me in concessions talking to the customer that was complaining about the price of the concessions. His responce was "The price that you paid to get into the theatre for the movie, we only see about 25 to 50 cents of it." The customers face was funny to watch, and her comment was "No you don't, thats all profit isn't it?" His responce was, how do you think all the actors get paid when a movie grosses 75 million in one weekend?" The Customer didn't say a word after that.

Admitingly, that's not entirely the truth, but that is where alot of the money goes. It goes to the actors, producers, everyone else you see in the credits.
 

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 07-06-2004, 02:23 PM:
 
NATO data on ticket prices:

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Year
Price ($US)

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2003 $6.03
2002 5.80
2001 5.65
2000 5.39
1999 5.06
1998 4.69
1997 4.59
1996 4.42
1995 4.35
1994 4.08
1993 4.14
1992 4.15
1991 4.21
1990 4.22
1989 3.99
1988 4.11
1987 3.91
1986 3.71
1985 3.55
1984 3.36
1983 3.15
1982 2.94
1981 2.78
1980 2.69
1979 2.47
1978 2.34
1977 2.23
1976 2.13
1975 2.03
1974 1.89
1971 1.65
1967 1.22
1963 .86
1958 .68
1954 .49
1948 .36

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Posted by Nate Lehrke (Member # 1460) on 07-06-2004, 02:51 PM:
 
So, does anyone know what the most exspensive first-run ticket is in the US right now?

Here in Minneapolis, I think the high is $8.50-$9.00..
 

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Posted by Ray Kaufman (Member # 2351) on 07-06-2004, 04:11 PM:
 
In L.A., the average first-run G/A is around $9.50. The Arclight in Hollywood charges $14, (and easily gets it,) for Friday and Saturday night films, and $11 otherwise. The Arclight claims their "screening rooms" rather than theatres, surpass average presentations and that's likely the reason for the steeper prices. My vote's out on that one as I've only had a couple of visits to them.
 

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Posted by Eric Hooper (Member # 1730) on 07-06-2004, 05:50 PM:
 
Both AMC and Loews just raised their prices to the $10 mark here in SF.
 

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