Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: going to court over price of food & drink

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Posted by Alan Plester (Member # 852) on 09-06-2012, 02:26 PM:

.

Have just found this on bbc news website, cant wait for the outcome

Cinema food and drink

On 14 September, film fan Joshua Thompson will go to court to sue US cinema chain AMC Entertainment.

He is arguing that a Michigan law which prohibits "charging the consumer a price that is grossly in excess of the price at which similar property or services are sold", was violated by charging him $8 for a Coke and box of Goobers (chocolate covered peanuts). He says the exact same items are available within a mile of the theatre for $2.73.

AMC is not alone in selling expensive food - so why do cinema snacks cost so much?

Vue Cinemas, where a regular popcorn and soft drink costs £8.25, say food and drink is an optional extra and customers are free to take their own snacks in.

A spokesman adds: "Vue's pricing of retail items is in line with other out-of-home entertainment venues."

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 09-06-2012, 08:58 PM:

quote: Alan Plester
He is arguing that a Michigan law which prohibits "charging the consumer a price that is grossly in excess of the price at which similar property or services are sold", was violated

It could be argued that one has to consider the context -- that's how much you can expect to pay for those items at just about any movie theatre... or in an airport... etc.

To my knowledge, AMC does not permit "outside" food and drink, but the point still remains that the snacks *are* an optional part of the experience. He did not *need* the snacks in order to watch the movie.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 09-07-2012, 02:03 AM:

quote: Alan Plester
On 14 September, film fan Joshua Thompson will go to court to sue US cinema chain AMC Entertainment.

Would that be a court in Beijing, given recent developments?

quote:
MC is not alone in selling expensive food - so why do cinema snacks cost so much?

Does the story make any attempt actually to answer that question? In order to do so, the journalist would only have had to ring up the manager of his or her local fleapit. If it doesn't mention the fact that most privately owned theatres showing mainstream films without any sort of subsidy simply couldn't cover their operating costs from box office revenue alone (hence concession sales making a crucial contribution to the bottom line), it's a very poorly researched article.

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 09-07-2012, 02:45 AM:

quote: Manny Knowles
To my knowledge, AMC does not permit "outside" food and drink

Well, this might be exactly the point where a judge could be convinced that they're sort of exploiting a monopoly here. Additionally, most chains do not publicly advertise their menu pricing. So, hypothetically you could claim that, as a consumer, you could not make a balanced choice. "I didn't know that my Coke and Popcorn would be so expensive when I bought my ticket..."

quote: Manny Knowles
He did not *need* the snacks in order to watch the movie.

You also do not *need* to eat or drink at a certain restaurant or bar. Yet if the law states that you cannot horrendously overcharge, compared with other, similar venues, then that's the law.

Obviously, those things are often open for multiple interpretations. What would be a similar venue for example? It is generally accepted that a glass of Coke in a bar will cost me several times the amount compared to that same glass of Coke from my fridge. Surely, that's because of the service that's being offered, the operational costs of running said "venue" and because of this little thing called profit. I guess it isn't generally accepted that many cinemas use their snacks and drinks to cover some of their operational costs not linked to F&B as well.

I didn't read the law personally, so it is all just speculation. I did a quick Google and all I found was an "Item Pricing Act" together with a 2011 revision, but that law does only seem to cover pricing advertisement.

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 09-07-2012, 09:19 AM:

I think you will find that freedom rules.

You are free to go or not to go to a film.
Same for buying anything while you are there.
Same for the theatre allowing outside food and drink (or not)

Customer has the freedom to stay home or use another cinema.

This will die in the courts. (Could be successful if you weren't allowed to leave the cinema by choice.) Louis

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 09-07-2012, 02:10 PM:

quote: Marcel Birgelen
if the law states that you cannot horrendously overcharge, compared with other, similar venues, then that's the law.

You're actually re-stating my point, which is that all movie theatres charge pretty much the same amount for their concessions, so "compared with other, similar venues" AMC is normal and not overcharging. In other words, if other, similar venues are overcharging, then you can too.

Exception -- the highly overrated and overpriced Arclight in Hollywood, CA. They go too far.