Going to the cinema used to be a good value but in recent years the prices have steady increased.
I was planning to see Star Trek Into Darkness went on the Vue website to book seats only to find that it would cost me over £19 to see it at the Vue Finchley Road if I brought the special VIP seats how going to the cinema can possibly be seen as a cheap night out now with those prices?
The cinemas in Leicester Square used to be almost double the price of locals their prices have increased but not to the same amounts as local cinemas.
I could see Iron Man 3 at the Odeon Leicester Square cheapest price £18.50 or for the Royal circle £24.50.
The top price seats at the Empire Leicester Square £18.95
At the BFI IMAX £20 ( IMAX)
Or £17.50 @ Odeon Swiss Cottage Digital IMAX
Digital IMAX is very different real IMAX as it is a format that can be retrofitted in regular cinemas. As
The cinema screens aren’t built to handle proper IMAX but IMAX wanted to expand their format into mainstream cinemas they created IMAX Digital which is a scaled down version of IMAX that could be retrofitted into cinemas which would allow exhibitors to sell it as IMAX and be able to sell the tickets at a premium.
Most people aren’t aware that there is any difference between the IMAX formats the public are being sold short and it is a way for exhibitors to charge more.
It would cost me £19.40 for the top price tickets at the Vue Finchley Road on their own brand large screen format Vue Xtreme.
I believe exhibitors are pricing cinemagoers from going to the cinema as regularly as before. There has been a decline in the last couple of years to 3D I’m sure this is more because people are waking up to the fact that exhibitors are charging them a third more to see a film in that format.
Film studios don’t help by also trying to cash in retrofitting their films into 3D as they can enjoy the boost in ticket box office.
Star Trek into Darkness opened this weekend taking £8.6m over its four day weekend The box office might be increasing but the actual number for people going to see it is probably down on Star Trek that was released in 2009.
I’m sure most even screenings of Star Trek into Darkness were sold out across the country as will cinemas on Orange Wednesday but the rest of the time cinemas will be playing to half-filled or less audiences.
The 1330 seat Empire Leicester Square will be half empty with people paying out £19 each. I’m sure if cinemas were to cut down the prices more people would come back to seeing films at the cinema and would also increase the money made.
What would make more money to the exhibitor?
(a) 500 people watched Star Trek into Darkness paying £19
(b) 1000 people were to see it paying £10?
The answer is (b) and you would have twice the amount of people more likely to spend on concessions which are the area exhibitors often make more money on than ticket sales.
