Supply and Demand

I found out today that movie ticket prices have gone up another fifty cents since the last time I went to a movie this last summer.  Movie ticket prices are increasing faster than the price of gasoline, and unlike gasoline, the world isn't running out of movies.

 I love going to the theater to watch movies.  It's one of my favorite things in the world to do.  The whole experience, aside from price, is fantastic.  Even going to watch a lame movie in the theater can still be a lot of fun...

When I finished high school, about 14 years ago, I was going to watch upwards of around three movies in the theater a week.  I went to see so many movies in theaters I saw movies multiple times, and so many that I even went and to watch movies I didn't care about at all.  In some cases I went to watch movies I didn't even want to see out of boredom; simply because I loved watching movies in the theater.   

This year I went and saw four movies in theaters total...only four movies!  It's not for lack of desire either.  I really wanted to go see movies like Drive, Paranormal Activity 3, X-Men, and so on but I just can't afford it anymore.

Since 2008 nearly every industry in America has had to restructure completely while some still hold on to their same poor business models.  However I feel Hollywood will have to restructure eventually.  I'm reading more and more articles about how ticket revenue is down year after year.  Is anyone honestly surprised?

If you want to see a 3D movie your pockets are gouged even further, by requiring movie goers to pay an additional $3 for the exact same pair of 3D glasses over and over.  The theater even provides patrons with a "recycle" bin for these glasses, so the exact same glasses can be sold over and over again.  

Where is the financial incentive to see a movie in theaters?  Movie fans can either spend $10.50 (a piece) in theaters, or simply wait 4-6 months to rent the exact same movie for $1.25 from Redbox and have a whole group of people watch for the same price.   On top of that the quality of home theater systems are starting to rival the theater going experience with giant HD televisions, blu-ray, and surround sound.

Not only is the theater going experience incredibly over-priced, but is also a terrible value compared to it's competition. 

The bottom line is that the system will be forced to restructure eventually.  Unfortunately it will probably come in the form of slashed budgets to movies.  Projects like an Akira trilogy, a series of The Stand or Dark Tower movies are already being shelved.  More and more great movie ideas will ultimately be shelved, in large part to the ridiculous cost of going to see a movie. 

If Hollywood was smart they'd slash ticket prices instead of movie budgets.  Then maybe people could actually afford to go watch them.