The Official Cost Rant Thread

[Marlow]

What now costs a ridiculous amount for you?

My sticker-shock epiphany came today at the movie theater. Tickets (matinee) were only $6.50 a pop, which I'm used to, but then I went to the concession stand for the obligatory popcorn and soda. I noticed there was a snazzily colorful menu, but no prices. ('Hmmm', I thought foreshadowingly.)

I saw that one of the 'combo packs' was a medium popcorn and medium soda (approx 24 oz), so I ordered it and pulled out a $10-spot, figuring I'd get $3 change ($7 for it is still highway robbery, but ya gotta have pc and coke at the flix!).

So the girl gives it to me and says '$12, please.' I stared at her like she was from Mars and honestly, I couldn't figure out what she had said, because my brain could not wrap itself around that amount. I tried to stammer out a protest, but all I could do was fish into my wallet for a 20.

I walked away from the counter in a daze. That popcorn cost them . . . 25 cents - tops! . . . the Coke, another 25 cents. They just ripped me off $11.50!!!

I will NEVER but PC and a soda at that theater again! :shock:

[BisonHurdler]

Re: The Official Cost Rant Thread

I will NEVER but PC and a soda at that theater again! :shock:

With all due respect, I thought this was something everyone figured out many years ago.

Going to the movies in the winter is ideal, because it's easier to sneak in food that you didn't have to take out a second mortgage for.

[TrackDaddy]

I agree, BH.

If your wife goes and she takes a big purse is makes bringing in food easier.

Besides they dont check.

We bring the Orville Redenbacher 98% fat free popcorn with the bootleg butter sprayed on it. Parkay o calorie stuff. Delicious combo although it doesnt sound like it.

Anyway...I get sticker shock from...

Breakfast cereal. The cold variety.

By the pound its more expensive than meat.

And all it is for the most part are (whole) grains.

[lonewolf]

I have boycotted movie concessions for a long time. Not only are the prices usurious, if I don't drink anything I can usually make it through a movie without going to the restroom.
I have noticed the escalation of cold cereal prices too. They also seem to be trying to disguise the inflation by decreasing the amount of cereal in the box while maintaining box size..

[Daisy]

Re: The Official Cost Rant Thread

My sticker-shock epiphany came today at the movie theater.

It sounds like you always buy a popcorn and drink so why the shock this time? Prices really increased that much?

[Marlow]

Re: The Official Cost Rant Thread

My sticker-shock epiphany came today at the movie theater.

It sounds like you always buy a popcorn and drink so why the shock this time? Prices really increased that much?

I rarely go on the weekend. Going in the evening after supper, we don't get anything to eat. It's probably been a couple of months and yes, last time it was about $7, so they musta really yanked up the prices. I shoulda been suspicious when I saw the new menu with no prices!

[Jack Slocombe]

Re: The Official Cost Rant Thread

My sticker-shock epiphany came today at the movie theater.

It sounds like you always buy a popcorn and drink so why the shock this time? Prices really increased that much?

I rarely go on the weekend. Going in the evening after supper, we don't get anything to eat. It's probably been a couple of months and yes, last time it was about $7, so they musta really yanked up the prices. I shoulda been suspicious when I saw the new menu with no prices!

This is part of the bailout program. Theater owners have to eat too. Think also of the quality jobs for our youth. Sneak food in.....the kid loses his job. No money, no college! Schesch.

[tandfman]

Re: The Official Cost Rant Thread

Think also of the quality jobs for our youth. Sneak food in.....the kid loses his job. No money, no college! Schesch.

The kid who sells the popcorn loses his job only if everyone sneaks food in. And even then, it would just be re-distributing the wealth. He/she may lose income, but the sneaker (or the sneaker's parent) saves money that can be applied to college tuition.

Of course, there are also impacts on the theater owner and the people involved in the popcorn distribution process (manufacturer, distributor, sales person), as well as those who derive income from such ancillary items as cups and butter.

Balancing that are the people who are involved in the manufacture and distribution of whatever is sneaked into the theater, including paper or plastic containers that they're placed in.

Nobody ever said economics is simple.

[lonewolf]

In the 1950s, I had a friend whose father owned and operated a one screen theatre ( I guess they were all one screen in those days) in a small Kansas town from circa 1920 to 1960. Ticket prices were 10 cents for children, 25 cents for adults. Pop corn and coke 15 cents, candy 5 cents. Although movie attendance actually held up well during the depression, he said that after paying royalties and overhead the theatre made little to no profit on ticket sales and he supported his family ( in a relatively comfortable manner) from concession sales.
Still to put this in perspective, two adults could see a movie and have popcorn and a coke for 80 cents. The sobering thought is, in the mid 1930s, many men worked 12 hour days at manual labor for one dollar. (if they could find a job)

[Marlow]

Indeed. According to my inside source, theater owners break even (or even lose a little) on ticket sales, so concession sales are where it's at. But $12 for pc and a soda??!!

[tandfman]

I am told that there are hotels that break even on the rooms and the food service and make all their money on the sale of alcoholic beverages.

[Cooter Brown]

Indeed. According to my inside source, theater owners break even (or even lose a little) on ticket sales, so concession sales are where it's at. But $12 for pc and a soda??!!

I used to know a projectionist in college and he told me that for most films, 100% of ticket sales the first 2 weeks go to the distributor, weeks 3-4 90% to the distributor/10% to the theater, and so on. If a movie is a bomb the only money the theater makes is on concessions. However, when there's a movie like Titanic that stays in the theater for 4+ months, then they do really well on ticket sales also.

[TrackDaddy]

I can sympathize I guess with the need to sell food at the concession stand, but not at those prices.

And it seems they've missed the 'offer healthier options' boat too.

[bad hammy]

Thanks to the Big Kahuna plasma and accompanying BK sound system, I have not been to a movie theater in years and if I was, popcorn would be the last thing I ordered. But in the spirit of this thread, last week I went to the local baseball yard. They took my partially consumed bottle of water at the door, so when I went to buy one inside they wanted $4.75. An $8.50 Sierra Nevada was a better deal (while still a rip off of major proportions).

[AthleticsInBritain]

I can sympathize I guess with the need to sell food at the concession stand, but not at those prices.

And it seems they've missed the 'offer healthier options' boat too.

Billy Connolly had a good healthy eating tip when it came to visiting the cinema: "Don't eat anything that comes in a bucket. It is the eating utensil of the farmyard."