The price of a cinema ticket in this day and age. No wonder people aren't going to the cinema anymore.

CONVENIENCE FEES HAHAHAHA
God what a scam that shit is
- "Hey, we saved money by computerization, so we're gonna pass that cost onto you!"
  "Don't you mean 'pass the savings onto us?'"
  :D "Nope!"
  
  Honestly they probably spend so much on devs to maintain their website that they don't break even lmao
- What you don't find paying extra money convenient?
- It's a convenient way for them to rip you off

Question from an European: What is that convenience fee? Which costs does it cover?
- Nothing, it's just an extra charge so that the company can make more money.
- Nothing for the customer. It's just convenient for the theater to charge more for the ticket.
- Answer from another: nothing. We also have them in various places, like parking, or highway vignettes - you are not using their facilities, you save them money, so they charge you some extra

- Convenience fee is the best name they can apply to soften a fee, which is really just a way for them to charge more than the list price.
  Fees should be universally folded into the list price by default.

... and on top of that you have to watch like ten minutes' worth of ads at the beginning. Ugh.
- I quit going to movies when they started blaring loud obnoxious commercials under the guise of "entertainment" prior to the movies supposed start time. Going to a movie used to be a social thing you did with friends, but now with them blasting that shit at you at a volume that makes talking impossible what the fuck is even the point? The fact that ticket prices are climbing to this level with this kind of jack assery is ludicrous. And don't get me started on the 20-30 minutes of previews they show after a movies supposed start time. Just fuck this shit.

Tickets at my local theater is still lik $8. Wtf do you live?

I saw Indiana Jones today it had 25 minutes of trailers, an admonishment to not ruin the movie, Nicole Kidman telling me how great going to the movies is, and a commercial for the projector. So a movie listed to start at 11 started at 11:28. it’s fucking ridiculous.
- I find that pretty consistent for AMC. What ever the listed time is the film will play after 30min of trailers/promos. Its annoying but easy to plan around.

I bought a 65" TV for $300 and good speakers. Never been to a cinema after that
- I got a $600 projector and have about 90 inch display ( can hit 120 if my apartment was bigger). No need to go to a cinema, overpay for drinks and snacks, and I can pause and pee whenever I want.
  
  LEGEND!
- I have a very good setup at home but we still like going to the cinema once in a while, it's more of an event and we don't spend the movie with our nose in our phones.
  We do select movies where it's worth it, big action, etc. Last one was the new avatar in "4D" where they splash you with sprays, the seats move and you feel the wind, pretty cool.
  
  Maybe you should have a no phones rule when you watch a movie at home? Seems like a good idea otherwise what's the point of watching

I work at a pretty high end movie theater. All seats are recliners with tables, there's a full wet bar and restaurant quality food, and we do events and shit too. Tickets typically run $10-$15. This is ridiculous.
- What area of the world if you don't mind answering? I used to love going to the cinema but its been too pricey for the past decade here.
  
  I live in Vancouver and we have theatres similar to that here

The hell is a “convenience fee”?

I go to the movies at least once a week. This is one of the few cases where the subscription is where it's at. 25 dollars a month gets me three movies a week. I usually only see one but that nearly pays for itself the first week. It's great!

For a family of 4 which includes 2 adults and 2 children, we’re looking at $100 for tickets and snacks easily. It’s crazy how expensive going to the movies have become. That said, I really like recliner seats + Dolby Atmos without having to worry about “getting the best seats”, so some of the hike is a little more digestible. Movie theater snacks though, now that’s highway robbery.

This is why you should support any surviving local theaters that aren't chains. Monopolies aren't created solely by the companies but with the help of the consumers too

Have to hit the matinees. I take my son to a nearby movie theatre that has a full bar/menu and the tickets for he and I to go are around or under $20 for both of us. It's like $9.25 per person.

What the fuck? A convenience fee??? They're just making shit up at this point

As a producer who aims to make 2-10 million dollar genre flicks, I don't see why ticket prices shouldn't be scaled to budgets. Don't want to pay 25 bucks to see Avengers 16? Pay 10 to see a low to mid budget crime or horror flick instead.
To keep profits up, theaters should bring back double features, intermissions, and sell popcorn with THC butter. Snack sales will explode.
- I agree with you that this summer of 300 million dollar studio flops is well deserved and that the unholy fusion of Big Tech and Hollywood has destroyed our industry. Unfortunately for TV buffs, the era of big budget streaming is now also coming to a close due to a mixture of labor actions, rising interest rates, and the simple fact that there are too many apps and none of them make money.
  The reason I prefer watching movies in theaters is because I enjoy communal experiences and feel good movies are enhanced by leaving home and joining a crowd. It's the same reason I go to concerts, sporting events, and plays and comedy shows. Plus I am required to turn off my phone.
- and sell popcorn with THC butter.
  Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
- Theatres were dying before covid. People can get a better experience from home for less money. This is one of those things covid helped speed the death of up. Just like distributed working for those who have jobs that can be done remote offers better productivity with lower costs to employers and workers. Those businesses that fail to adapt will be brought into the future kicking and screaming or just fail to adapt and die off.
- Why don't you all get togther and make a kickstarter for films, to go around the big corporate structure. Some sort of non-profit film studio that's devoted to creating creating great scripts and funding their production.
  
  Crowdfunding has been great for small indie video games and products and historically awful for film. Remember the Veronica Mars movie on Kickstarter? They raised a shitload of money from fans and then sold it to WB. We haven't seen a high profile film crowdfunded since. WeFundr exists, but isn't particularly killing it.
  To make a real movie with wide theatrical potential, you need people willing to put six and seven figures in. Investors in movies want equity and access. They want a piece of the potential profit, they want to visit sets, meet movie stars and directors, and come to premieres and festivals. They want to have a cameo in the movie or give their kid a job on set. They want to see their names on a screen. They want to give notes. They want to tell their friends they made a movie. They want to be a part of the show. It's my job to facilitate these investments while protecting my filmmakers from interference.

20$ is a joke.
I remember when Tickets were 5-10$ at most not even that long ago, wtf happened
- They still are. I have no idea what this price is from, tickets where I live at normal theaters are still under $10 at most
  
  It’s most likely a 3D or IMAX movie. Could not see why else it is so expensive.

I'd rather buy some kind of AAA game.
- I would settle for an AA game. I drink too much.

We have some cinemas around here that offer an unlimited option. For a set monthly fee, you can go to the cinema as much as you want. Obviously you have to pay for all the extras (3D, popcorn and stuff). I have one and I go to the movies like 3 times a month on average.
- Yeah AMC the one in the picture has a plan where you get 3 movies a week for like $25/month
- Yeah AMC the one in the picture has a plan where you get 3 movies a week for like $25/month

They are falling for the same logical missteps that cable took. Losing customers = rate hikes. Pushing more away leading to more rate hikes. Instead they should be lowering costs and finding ways to encourage people to come back
- Don't forget the shitty product too. TV and movies are mind numbingly bad these days. Sure there's the occasional good/great show or movie, but the vast majority are just shit. Add that to everything else you pointed out and it's no wonder they're in trouble and keep hiking the fees.

It’s not the best theater experience in the world but tickets to a standard screening near me are $8 for regular or $5 for matinee. Much better than the $26 per ticket I spent elsewhere for Avatar…

Man. I stopped going to movies when they started showing ads before them. If I pay you, you don't get to double dip with advertising imo. To see this is ludicrous, and I hope they all fail.
- That's a humorous take, because I've known so many people who went to see crappy movies because of the movie previews for something they liked. This was way before the internet took over as a way to see videos, but still, interesting to note the opposite.
  
  Previews are one thing. I remember the very first time I saw an ad being shown in a movie. People BOOED.
  And rightly so.
  Now it's considered normal to advertise sugar water and so on....It's shameful.
- I've never known the movies to not have ads before them and I was born in 1970. How old are you? lol
  
  Then you have a bad memory. This wasn't common until the 90's.

Same thing going on here in Finland. Movie tickets are often 20-25 € for "normal" movies, shit ton of ads to go through and rude customers scrolling Insta or talking through out the movie.