Cost of movies
By anneeliz
@anneeliz (94)
United States
June 17, 2010 8:39am CST
It is summer time and the rush is on to go to the movies. But it is an expensive outing for our family of 5, especially if the kids want popcorn etc at the theater. I often think of the millions of dollars that the actors, directors, and producers make and wonder if it is really worth it. I have to admit that I do at times skip the theater and wait til it is out on dvd. Do you ever think we pay too much for the movies just so that we put millions of dollars in someone else's pocket?
2 people like this
4 responses
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
18 Jun 10
Our family rarely goes to the movies because it ends up costing us as much as dining out somewhere! I have an eight year old and I make the movies a special school holiday treat and she and I will go alone on a Tuesday because that is the day the pictures are half price where I live. I don’t mean to sound like a cheap skate but we just cannot afford to go on a regular basis. We have movie nights at home instead, we invite friends, have popcorn and rent some good DVDs.
@sid556 (30960)
• United States
18 Jun 10
Hi anneeliz,
So much so that I just stopped taking my kids to the movies a long time ago. I haven't stepped foot in a theater in so long. I can only imagine what the cost is now. My kids are grown. I used to rent movies and we'd have "movie night" at home with snacks and all. We'd all camp out in the living room. It was cheaper and way more fun than the movies. I also would take them to the drive-in a couple of times during the summer which was fun. It was costly but still cheaper than the theater and more fun.
@smileonstar (4007)
• United States
17 Jun 10
HI,
that's how they make money... it is business... u know, if everyone think like you do... we would save a lot of money and ppl will have no job to do and no more movie for us to watch... lolz....
well, I dont go to the theater that often.... cuz mostly I just rent a movie that I want to watch and enjoy it at home is a lot better than going to the theater... plus, my kids loves cartoon on Disney channel anyway, so I dont have to worry about going out at all
@anneeliz (94)
• United States
17 Jun 10
I understand, and am a supporter of the free market and capitalism; I respect everyone's right to earn what they can. I exercise my right to choose and don't go to the movies very much for the reasons I stated. Sometimes things just seem to be out of balance.
@thedailyclick (3017)
•
17 Jun 10
It's hard because if you think of what a standard mainstream movie costs to make which is usually anywhere between 30 and 100 million dollars, those who invest the money to make them are definitely wanting to see a decent return on their money and as such the cost of seeing them is quite high. I don't begrudge the financiers for this because they are the ones who take the financial risks although I do occassionaly question what some of the more average actors get paid.
If you look at what cinemas/ theaters actually make on the sale of a ticket it's in fact quite small and most of their money does come from the extra things like popcorn, sweets and drinks which ends up subsidising the small amount of money they make on ticket sales and covering most of the running costs.
As such I can see why it costs so much but it doesn't mean I like it and rarely bother watching new releases on the big screen preferring to wait till they come out on DVD.
