Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: What will the market bear

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Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 04-29-2017, 09:00 AM:

The highest grossing movie in Montgomery last night was Baahubali 2 at the Carmike/AMC/NewVision Festival Plaza.
I've got no idea what the Indian population of Montgomery is (though we only have two Indian restaurants), and maybe they all came on the same night.
What's weird is the pricing structure for the movie.
Regular prices at the Festival Plaza are $7 matinee, $10.25 evening (no 3D or BigD).
Here's the set up for this film:
10am: Hindi all seats $16.50
2pm: Tamil $22.50 adults/ $16.50 kids
5:45pm & 9:30pm Telugu: $25.30 adults/ $16.50 kids

3 languages, three overpriced ticket levels. I guess with digital it is easy to set up. Is this the future of movies? Will art houses start charging more to see an anime in Japanese than dubbed in English?
Outside of the very specialized Bollywood market, anyone else seeing attempts to gouge a niche market like this?
I presume there are places with heavy Spanish speaking populations that may show something in Spanish and English. Do they charge more for one?
It would be illegal to do this with open captions, wouldn't it? I certainly wouldn't put it past someone to try.

Posted by Justin West (Member # 920) on 04-29-2017, 11:21 AM:

Martin: Maybe they raised the rates for Tamil and Telegu because the shows are later and more limited in audience/market size? Sorta like renting a theatre for your own private use may average out to cost more than just buying tickets to a typical show? I have heard that Indians don't buy much at the snack bar so, maybe this is a consideration affecting admission prices as well?

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 04-29-2017, 03:05 PM:

Was this a rental or are the ticket prices set by the cinema?

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 04-29-2017, 03:42 PM:

I don't know. It is playing at various AMC and NewVision theaters around the country. It is also a full week, four show a day presentation. So unless it's a four-wall, it seems to be the theatre's call.

FWIW: AMC just ran a Fathom event of what I think is a Christian Comedienne at $25 a ticket. Most of their Fathom events are in the $12.50 to $15 range.

Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 04-29-2017, 04:41 PM:

A theatre in Regina is playing this right now; I just checked their website and found this:

quote:
Baahubali 2 The Conclusion (14A)
Violence | 171 Min
Tickets
Adults $15.00
Children $10.00
Cash sales only.
No Passes or Coupons

It looks like their regular adult price is $10 and child price is $7.50, so this is priced higher than their regular movies.

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 04-30-2017, 12:28 PM:

It's apparently working in any case. Box Office Mojo is reporting it's the
#3 domestic box office winner this weekend.

quote:
In third is the mammoth release of the Tollywood sensation, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion distributed by Great India Films in North America. Playing in a mere 425 theaters the film brought in an estimated $10.1 million, a whopping $23,855 per theater average and nearly three times as much as the opening for the 2015 original. This is the largest opening for an Indian film dome

Posted by Paul Linfesty (Member # 214) on 04-30-2017, 01:23 PM:

I just checked the Bakersfield Regal prices for this. REGULAR Prices are $6.95 matinees, $9.95 evenings. Prices for this film are $15 matinees and $23 evenings.

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 04-30-2017, 04:21 PM:

So, do we think we see $25 tickets for say, a new Star Wars film? The return of the "Road Show"?
That would sure make the new $50 prime TV system look more enticing.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-30-2017, 10:06 PM:

Well, we ARE the only entertainment industry that prices brand new super-desirable products the same as nobody-cares products.

Considering all the options with computerization available now, I would guess it's just a matter of time until we see more popular movies being priced higher than flops.

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 04-30-2017, 10:16 PM:

I remember someone trying to do this many years ago (pre-digital). I'm not sure how it ended, put pretty sure the studios disapproved.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-01-2017, 11:39 AM:

Well yeah, because they don't want to see their brand new $175 million would-be blockbuster going directly to the bargain bin, even though that's where some of them deserve to go.

Posted by Mark Campbell (Member # 4411) on 05-01-2017, 12:24 PM:

Regal Parkway Plaza in Tukwila WA has all seats at $15.75 including kids. Their regular adult evening admission is $12.80.

Way back in the day the SRO Tacoma Mall Twin charged $5 instead of the usual $4.50 for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. They made a note of it in their newspaper ad.

Posted by Eric Hooper (Member # 1730) on 05-02-2017, 01:18 PM:

Could this be the beginning of higher-priced tickets on the first weekend, then a price decrease during the first weekdays through the second weekend, and then another price drop on the second week's weekdays?

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 05-02-2017, 03:27 PM:

AMC here has been doing that with some of the blockbuster films, but that theatre is a discount theatre anyway. The bigger films start out at the higher rate and work their way down. Non-blockbusters are just at the discount rate from the beginning.

Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 05-02-2017, 07:17 PM:

quote: Martin McCaffery
So, do we think we see $25 tickets for say, a new Star Wars film?

I would not pay $25 to see a new Star Wars movie at the cinema.

I would happily pay $25 to see the original Star Wars film at the cinema.*

I am thinking about paying $25 (per ticket) to take my daughter to see Titanic at the Littleton Alamo Drafthouse this summer. (The price includes brunch and drinks) I'm on the fence, but if it's the only way I can show her that film on the Big Screen, I may do it.

There are actually a number of movies I would pay ~$25 to see on the Big Screen, especially to take my kids to see them for the first time.

Geoff

*Not the Special Edition. I would not watch those even if you paid me $25.

Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 05-03-2017, 12:44 PM:

Baahubali 2 is considered a "tent pole" movie in India, and the movie was highly anticipated as we were getting calls for it well over a month ago.
The pricing for these titles have usually been high, but the number of screenings have been low. We have often only ran three showings total for a whole weekend. usually the Telugu version in my market.
Odd thing is we have ran a few of these titles an entire week on full schedule with regular admission, including discounts for seniors and matinees, only to play it to an empty house.

Posted by Mike Rivest (Member # 5500) on 05-03-2017, 07:10 PM:

$23 for a movie in Montgomery, AL, Do they think this is New York?

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-03-2017, 08:57 PM:

I was just thinking, when I first went to work at this theater the adult price was $1.75. It went to $2 and that's where it was when we bought the place. Today we're at $7.75. I used this inflation calculator and it said $2 in 1979 is worth $7.36 today...but today we have 5.1 sound, digital projection, newer seats, and we get movies much sooner than we did back then, so I think a ticket here is worth the extra 39¢.

Posted by Martin Brooks (Member # 1269) on 05-03-2017, 09:04 PM:

quote: Geoff Jones
I would not pay $25 to see a new Star Wars movie at the cinema.

I would happily pay $25 to see the original Star Wars film at the cinema.*

I am thinking about paying $25 (per ticket) to take my daughter to see Titanic at the Littleton Alamo Drafthouse this summer. (The price includes brunch and drinks) I'm on the fence, but if it's the only way I can show her that film on the Big Screen, I may do it.

There are actually a number of movies I would pay ~$25 to see on the Big Screen, especially to take my kids to see them for the first time.

Geoff

*Not the Special Edition. I would not watch those even if you paid me $25.

Kids don't give a crap which edit of Star Wars they see. In fact, they even like the prequel trilogy AND they even like Jar Jar. My 8-year-old grandson is a big Star Wars fan, but he read kid versions of the stories before his parents would let him see the films. He knows every character no matter how minor and every plot line and he's very into building Lego models of all the ships.

He watched the Blu-ray of Episode I at my place and loved it. Every time JarJar did something really stupid that made me cringe, he cracked up laughing. Personally, I think the prequels had miserable writing and character development and at the same time they had this story about a little boy and an inane Jar Jar, you had political complexities and trade federation machinations that most young kids couldn't possibly understand. Which leads one to wonder who Lucas thought he was writing this for. And then there was the acting.

Since then, he's seen all the first six films, but his reactions prove to me that all the trivialities that the fanboys and geeks complain about really don't matter one iota with the possible exception of the Han shooting first change.

The originals probably won't be released in Lucas' lifetime, but even if they were, I guarantee you the geeks will complain anyway. Something will be slightly different than the way they remember it (even though most of them never saw the films before the special editions) or they'll claim the color timing is different than the way they remember seeing it in the theatre 40 years ago. Or, they'll complain that the surrounds are mono, since the original films were never mixed for split surround. Etc.
---
The AMC Empire in NYC charges about $25 for the Dolby Vision screen (not including any food or drink, which are also at NYC prices). Regular theaters are around $15-$16 now. There is a small arthouse near where I live outside of Manhattan that charges around $8 before 5pm weekdays and I think $10 or $11 otherwise.

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 05-03-2017, 10:44 PM:

quote: Mike Rivest
$23 for a movie in Montgomery, AL, Do they think this is New York?

Dropping down to $16.50 adults and $11.00 for children all shows starting Friday.

Only $10.25 adults, $9.00 seniors and $7.25 children for the non-3D non-Big D version of Guardians of the Galaxy.

Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 05-17-2017, 03:31 PM:

Justin, the reason the Telugu and Tamil versions are priced higher is because the movie is South Indian. The filmmaker and the main actors are Telugu. It was filmed simultaneously in Tamil. And then dubbed prints are available for Hindi audiences. Also, a lot of the young engineers and IT people who come here are South Indian in origin and probably more willing to put up money for this movie. I have had some relatives go see this movie at those prices in atlanta. (The original Telugu version).

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 05-17-2017, 03:54 PM:

quote: Martin McCaffery
It would be illegal to do this with open captions, wouldn't it? I certainly wouldn't put it past someone to try.

You mean the movie in one foreign languages with subtitles in another? Interesting question: if a customer who does not know either language came to the box office and asked for subtitles and/or audio description in English, would the theater be in breach of DDA regulations if it couldn't provide them?

The first movie theater I ever worked at was in a suburb of south London that had a large Tamil population. They rented our largest screen (824 seats) for their shows, either for a midnight show on Saturday, or mid-morning on Sunday, depending on whether the film was child-friendly or not. The place was always packed, and that rental frequently kept our heads above water when the regular Hollywood stuff playing that week was underperforming. The prints were all unsubtitled, and the organizer explained to me that the cost of having a three-hour movie in an obscure language subtitled into English was so high that it was never going to happen, given the number of native English speakers who would ever come to see it, sadly.

Not that you needed subtitles to follow the plot, though. They all went roughly like this:

- Pretty girl wants to marry inoffensive boy
- Pretty girl's father doesn't like inoffensive boy's family, and wants her to marry a gross and disgusting (and sometimes criminal) sleazeball from a family he does like.
- Pretty girl and inoffensive boy elope
- Father and sleazeball set off in pursuit
- EITHER father and sleazeball end up dead as the result of sleazeball's criminal connections, OR father realizes the error of his ways and relents.
- Boy and girl live happily ever after.

A lavish song-and-dance number usually intersperses most of these bullet points.

Posted by Harold Hallikainen (Member # 5405) on 05-17-2017, 05:39 PM:

On captions, in the US, a theater only has to provide captions that are delivered with the movie. If the DCP does not have captions, the theater does not have to provide them. Captions can be either closed or open. Open captions can run all the time or on request. More info at http://ftp.uslinc.com/ftp/MultiProduct/Accessibility/NewAccessibilityRequirements_170119.pdf .

Harold

Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 05-17-2017, 05:47 PM:

Telugu movies especially usually command higher than normal prices. For the Thursday night premiere shows on 4/27, theatres were getting as high as $43 for a IMAX ticket.

Posted by Allan Barnes (Member # 5178) on 05-18-2017, 06:20 PM:

I saw this trend 10 years in Toronto... second run discount Triplex begin showing Indian Films at $15-$20 per person AND selling out on weekends. They out grossed nearby Cineplex and Rainbow cinemas... today Cineplex saves two screens each week for the HIGHLY PROFITABLE Indian market.

Posted by Manny Montes (Member # 5639) on 05-18-2017, 08:34 PM:

From what I heard they basically knew that they could set the price and it would still sell out (and it did at most the theaters I checked). The production seemed actually quite impressive for this film and marks a new level in Indian filmmaking. I used to work at a theater that did bollywood film and any time a film in Telugu came out, it was insane. There is a die hard crowd for these films, we would have people who would drive 2 hours and bring their entire extended family to see the movie.

There was an article that talked about it and it had:
1 full year of preproduction
25 artists who created 15,000 storyboard sketches
380 shooting days over 3 years
2,000 stuntmen
Thousands of costumes, weapons and props

In some cinemas in india they were forcing guests to buy the ticket as part of a combo pack that included food and a drink, the ticket couldn't be bought separately.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 05-25-2017, 10:26 PM:

Wow, if an exhibitor tried that with a US studio's release, he'd find himself in shackles and a bevy of studio lawyers dismantling his theatre brick by brick and selling them to the highest bidder.

Posted by Timothy Eiler (Member # 383) on 05-26-2017, 12:32 PM:

quote: Manny Montes
In some cinemas in india they were forcing guests to buy the ticket as part of a combo pack that included food and a drink, the ticket couldn't be bought separately.

I think the studios would then want a cut of the entire sale. Not just the portion you allocate to the admission Unless you gave them separate tickets in the Combo

Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 05-26-2017, 01:45 PM:

"non-optional charge" is mentioned in the exhibition contracts. So if you have something like paid parking, you are supposed to share that revenue as well.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 05-27-2017, 11:43 PM:

The studios have always been pissed that they can't get a % of the concession sales. They salivate just at the thought of it, but they lost a lawsuit I believe around the time of the Paramount Consent Decrees trying to get a piece of that popcorn and soda pie. Their argument being, no one is coming to your theatre because you are selling junk food. The only reason they are there is because of our movie...we should get a piece of your concession profit. Actually, it seemed to be a fairly valid argument. I was surprised that the courts came down against the studios on this one (Disney, I believe was at the head of that pack...no surprise there) given how many of the studios vs. exhibitors court cases were won by the studios, even when the exhibitors seemed to have stronger positions.

Posted by Dave Bird (Member # 490) on 05-30-2017, 11:09 AM:

What are the distribs charging for these in this part of the world?