Why is movie theater popcorn so expensive?

https://thehustle.co/why-is-movie-theater-popcorn-so-outrageously-expensive/

21 22 6 years ago

As a teen, I used to go see movies for a buck. The movies were months old by the time they got to the dollar theater. I always wondered how they made their money. Eventually, I found out that they paid very little to the distributor but they were able to make a big profit from the snack so it was worth it for them to do it.

cwyers• 6 years ago

The distributor charged very little because they were film reels that were returned to the distributor after the film's opening few weekends, as movies left theaters to make room for new movies. So all the money made on those reels was gravy before they were destroyed. (Some of those reels ended up overseas instead, I think.) It's a different world now with digital exhibition.

pattusk• 6 years ago

In fact, the price of a movie ticket hasn’t gone up much in the last 90 years. In 1929, a ticket was $0.35; today, it’s $9. Adjusted for inflation, that’s a fairly reasonable price increase of 108%.

I'm sorry but how is a 100% price increase considered "reasonable"? Inflation is already meant to account for the reasonable price increase. I don't think the rest of the moviegoing experience has changed enough to justify a 100% premium compared to 1925.

hombre_fatal• 6 years ago

Between resolution, sound, comfort, quality, and selection, it's not hard for me to imagine that the modern movie theater experience is at least 2x the value of what people had in 1925.

I pay 2x the cost of matinee tickets just to attend in the evening, and almost 2x of that to get a reclining seat as a "VIP" ticket.

I can't even imagine how much someone's mind would be blown if you showed them what we had in 2020.

1925-guy would have his mind blown in 2020 where you can watch any movie you want on a screen that fits in your pocket and only pay a whole 2x more than he has to pay for the ritzy experience of watching it in a modern movie theater.

Claiming injustice over a 108% price increase over the period of a century for a movie ticket in an HN thread is actually cracking me up.

Simon_says• 6 years ago

Have you seen movies from the 1930s? Not the few classics, but typical movies? Ponderous slow messes, by modern standards. Movies of the 2010s are more than 108% better.

herostratus1013• 6 years ago

No, they're mostly plotless, capeshit, superhero garbage flicks that pander to international audiences. To be clear though, 1930s movies are also bad. But the golden era was not the last decade.

ken• 6 years ago

The full crew list (per IMDB) for any 1929 movie I've found fits entirely on one screen. The full crew list for a current day movie takes many dozens of screens, often well over 1000 people in all.

The first 2019 movie I picked has more stunt performers than the top-rated 1929 movie has total cast and crew. I think it's incredible if we're putting 100x as many people to work (some risking serious injury) and only doubling the cost of the end product.

Economies of scale are great.

catalogia• 6 years ago

Spoilers: it's precisely the reason everybody already knows. This article was a waste of time, it might as well say that water is wet.

herostratus1013• 6 years ago

Exactly. The article never should have been written.

dvfjsdhgfv• 6 years ago

There could be a reason we don't know about - maybe it's for SEO or someone ordered it.

anonsivalley652• 6 years ago

I guess they get paid by the keystroke. ;)

On the article: I don't go to the movies much at all anymore, but if I do, I throughly enjoy sneaking in my own snacks, or even lunch if it's a long movie in the middle of the day on a weekend. Only suckers pay for the giant popcorn and the barrel-sized HFCS-delivery system the size of an Ajit Pai's coffee mug. Although, I must admit I am a sucker for movie pretzel cheese bites once every few months.

teh_klev• 6 years ago

You know, you don't need to buy the theatre's popcorn, just stuff your drinks and snacks into a smallish rucksack. At least you know what you're stuffing into your face.

Also, I'm guessing the reason theatres charge so much is because of the mess left after a screening which needs to be cleaned up. Theatre goers are a pretty messy lot in my experience...tipped over half eaten popcorn tubs, same with half drunk beverages, mashed into carpet unfinished hotdogs. I can sorta see why they charge a premium.

chongli• 6 years ago

The reason movie theatres charge so much is because all of the commissions on ticket sales go to the studios. If everyone brought their own food then movie theatres would lose money and go out of business.

tartoran• 6 years ago

If movie theaters go out of business the studios fail too. Maybe movie theaters need to go out of business, perhaps temporarily, so the studios are pressed to cough up more money. Well, that’s a naive thought, I know. Things will improve once they can’t get any worse. I feel it’s getting closer. The Oscars audience is in decline, studios are coming out with mostly crappy movies and the popcorn’s quietly going up in price:)

millstone• 6 years ago

Hey invert the question. Why is movie theater food so junky?

AMC has some "dine-in theaters" where you can order burgers, beer, other casual sit-down dining fare (think Applebees) at mildly inflated prices. You can order at the counter and also at an in-seat kiosk, and either way they bring it right to your seat, during the movie, in a hunched-down whisper-scramble.

It's great! It fixes the "popcorn-only-lasted-the-credits" problem, and also it's a meal: lunch or dinner, no mindless shoveling popcorn into your mouth.

Just a happy customer, but this seems like a new model. If concessions are the money-maker, start climbing the quality ladder.

ta999999171• 6 years ago

New to us (US). Very common in EU.

BrandoElFollito• 6 years ago

Where can you find it in the EU?

I am French and never seen that in any cinema (Pathé, UGC). Neither in Germany nor in Poland.

altmind• 6 years ago

no answer in the article. because this is the maximized value for items bought * avg paid?

also, popcorn COGS is nowhere near $0.90, if we are talking about goods only and packaging(as in COGS), its less than 10 cents, throwing markups numbers in completely different tier.

RickJWagner• 6 years ago

I suppose it's a beneficial model.

The price of the ticket is kept artificially low, so the movie itself is accessible to more people.

A lot of the profit comes from the snacks, which are not a necessity. You can choose to pay this 'voluntary tax' or not.

I like things like this.

Why is movie theater popcorn so expensive?

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