Hollywood ticket prices raised again: Is it time for moviegoers to say 'Hell no!'?

If you go to the movies, you've probably noticed that movie ticket prices have been skyrocketing higher than the stock market during a bull run. And now, according to this new story from my colleague Richard Verrier, ticket prices are climbing even higher. Even though ticket prices in the first quarter of 2010 were up 8% from the same period last year--the biggest yearly increase since theater owners began tracking ticket data in 2001--they've already taken another leap upward.

Industry analyst Richard Greenfield found that if you go to see "Shrek Forever After" in 3-D at an AMC Imax theater in New York this weekend, you'd be paying an astounding $20 for an adult ticket, up from $16.50 in late March. (It now turns out that the ticket prices are closer to $19, though it's still unclear whether that was because of an error on Greenfield's part or because AMC quickly switched the prices after seeing how badly the price hike was playing with a leading industry analyst.) At any rate, here's what Greenfield had to say: "With the state of the economy remaining questionable, we worry pricing is simply moving up too quickly, especially kids' pricing, which is increasing at a faster rate than that of adult tickets." 

The latest price increases come less than eight weeks after theater owners instituted some of the steepest hikes in years--some of them upward of 25%--beginning with the late March debut of  DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon." The latest flurry of ticket price hikes, of course, comes with the release of DreamWorks' latest "Shrek" sequel, which seems to have a certain kind of poetic justice to it, since DreamWorks Animation czar Jeffrey Katzenberg has long been the most vocal proponent for charging higher prices for 3-D movies, perhaps because his business model revolves around the increased profit margins from 3-D releases.

It's no secret that increased 3-D ticket prices were largely responsible for the industry's 10% jump in domestic box office revenues last year. But projections for this year's numbers aren't as high, with analysts expecting attendance to actually dip a bit, which would translate into about a 6% revenue hike.

If I were a theater owner, I would take a close look at Major League Baseball to see how easy it is to kill the golden goose. 3-D movies have an undeniably attractive novelty factor, not unlike what happens in a city where the team opens a sparkling new high-tech, luxury-facility-laden new baseball stadium. The new ballpark is almost invariably accompanied by higher ticket prices. Attendance immediately skyrockets, boosted by the wow factor from the new ballpark's fancy amenities. It improves the owner's profit margins, but usually only for a brief period of time. If the team starts losing, fans start staying away in droves, complaining not only about the team's awful pitching staff but also about its steep ticket prices.

The same thing could happen to theater owners if moviegoers get stuck with a few lousy summer movies in a row. Bad buzz gets around faster today than ever before, thanks to texting and Twitter, but it really gets around fast if you take a family of four to see a summer movie and after paying more than $100 for tickets, parking and popcorn, you end up having to sit through a stinker. You'd think that theater owners would remember that once people get out of the habit of going to the movies, writing it off as an overpriced experience, it's harder than ever to get them to come back.

Photo: Journalists watching a 3-D trailer for the upcoming film "Empires of the Deep" in Beijing last month. Credit: Gemunu Amarasinghe / Associated Press

Comments

[jake]

Toby - concerts ARE overpriced. I might go to a show in Vegas this year and pay over $100 to see someone, but it's the first concert in decades I'll see in Vegas (or major concert anywhere). You used to be able to see decent upcoming bands for $10, that's impossible now, especially in LA which doesn't have small venues like other cities do, just crowded, overpriced, overrated ones.

For that matter, California Highway Guy, so is most theater that isn't indy theater. And even that (at about $30 a head, also can be). Yeah a theater may have a legit reason, but a movie chain? No... a bar? Especially NO.

[Sophie]

The Emperor's New Clothes, and all that. Raising the ticket prices perhaps is an attempt to obscure the fact of just how few people are actually going to the theatres these days. I find most films not worth the time and effort and $ of going to the cinema, unless they are *true* blockbusters like The Dark Knight, which delivered on everything. I'd rather check things out on video.

[Jon Chambers]

I see more and more people doing illegal downloading of movies or going to illegal streaming sites, simply because they don't like the high prices for movies. Beyond which, many resent paying so much to see movies that are OFTEN bad. Interesting- they don't mind paying $.99 to rent from Redbox, but they resent the $4.99 that cable TV charges...that $4.99 can add up FAST.

These theater owners just don't get it! Add the higher admission price; a drink; and a candy/popcorn/hotdog/nachoes - and it's bloody EXPENSIVE. They are DRIVING THE KIDS AWAY... TO THEIR COMPUTERS TO DO THE ILLEGAL DOWNLOADS. Kids today aren't dumb. They'll see your movie any way they can. Bukt price it out of their pocketbook - they'll take it off the web. Think of music downloading!- make the song cheap enough; people WILL pay. Raise it higher, and they'll download it illegally. Well, theater owners; what do you want? A lot of customers? Or fewer customers? it's the theater owners' choice, isn't it?

[Carlos]

Prices are high, but what really bothers me is the 15 minutes of advertising commercials before the movie starts.

(I don't mind the trailers for coming attractions.)

[Rita]

I won't pay a dime to see another Jennifer Aniston movie, that is for sure....also, most local libraries carry movies for free (10 DVD's signed out for a week), so why bother paying to see the same old plot, same old actors, same old story told over and over again and please, no more TV recycled stars making millions of dollars on nothing!!!

[Rita]

Enough of actors making so much money that the average moviegoer refuses to see such dribble and recycled plots...why bother and who cares?