Whats with the prices of movies !

[chiefalen]

Dropped the younger son off at the movie house, with a bunch of his friends.

So i walk him in cash in hand to pay for his ticket and give him a few bucks for popcorn and such.

Lady says 15 bucks, 15 BUCKS i must have shouted it, cause everyone on the line looked at me.

I paid her and amble over to the popcorn counter.

His buddies already had their popcorn, soda, and candy, so i look at the menu, i swear almost had another heart attack.

They had a special, 20 bucks popcorn, soda, and candy.

I wished him well and ran outta there before they started to charge me for breathing the air in there.

So gentle readers i ask you, cause i haven't stepped a foot in a movie theater, i guess longer then i should admit to, when did prices get so out of hand.

Me i wait for the movie till, it hits cable, or one of my kids bring it home from Blockbuster.

35 bucks not counting gas, i swear the heart attack is cheaper.

Really how people supposed to smooch for that kinda money in the back.

When i was a kid, 1 dollar was a date. 25 cents the movie x 2 plus 50 cents popcorn and soda.

And we walked to and from the theater.

Smooching was free.

Kids do have a tougher nowadays.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Whats with the prices of movies !

i haven't been in so long, could not tell you. if netflex doesn't have it yet, i wait. my recliner is more comfortable, and i can still put gas in the boat.

 

[JB]

Re: Whats with the prices of movies !

I remember $.25 allowance.

Saturday double feature $.08 ($.10 for adults), popcorn $.07 and a coke $.05. That left $.05 for some extravagant chunk of candy. A Snickers was about 1-1/2 times the size of the current version.

The other side of that coin is that a soda jerk's wage was $.15 and hour and mowing an average lawn (manual mower) earned about $.50.

 

[mthieme]

Re: Whats with the prices of movies !

JB - wrong thread!
Whenever my wife goes and usually takes a covey of pint-sized grandkids I give her #$40-50. This would be for matinees.
Prime time I've seen $12.
I agree with TD. My living room is much more comfy, convenient and cheaper.

 

[JustJason]

Re: Whats with the prices of movies !

Down my way we have a small chain called Chunkys. It's prettty cool actually.
You guys know me so this obviously isn't spam.

http://www.chunkys.com

5.50 for a matinee.... 7 bucks for primetime. They serve all sorts of pub food that's not the best stuff in the world... but fairly reasonable. And oh yeah.... Beers and mixed drinks

 

[Shizzy]

Re: Whats with the prices of movies !

last I paid full price for a movie it was about $8. there are a couple of "dollar theaters" the misses and I hit up. Tuesdays are half off night so its like $2 a person. we share a popcorn and soda so we can usually walk out for under $10. its usually last months movies, but we dont care. On top of it these theaters are usually Mom and Pop type one screens so I feel better handing $2 to them then $15 to a huge corperation.

 

[mphy98]

Re: Whats with the prices of movies !

I remember $.25 allowance.

Saturday double feature $.08 ($.10 for adults), popcorn $.07 and a coke $.05. That left $.05 for some extravagant chunk of candy. A Snickers was about 1-1/2 times the size of the current version.

The other side of that coin is that a soda jerk's wage was $.15 and hour and mowing an average lawn (manual mower) earned about $.50.

You and i must be the same age, prices of movies and such all the same when i was a kid. we caught a bus for 5 cents to downtown Racine WI and went to the rialto or venetian theater. they had candy machines and your candy bar was 5 cents as well. the good old days. life was much better then, less to worry about. The biggest worry was if we could DUCK AND COVER because of the commies! Nowadays kids (mine included) have way to much. I showed them a phone i had in the basement that had a cord attached to it, you would have died to see there faces. i am an older dad i have a 13year old and a 7 year old, and it is fun to show them things that i had when i was their age to play with. no video games, no ipods, no cell phones, no computers, just our imagination, and in the summer THE BOAT for skiing of course.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Whats with the prices of movies !

Wow, that is expensive. A regular priced ticket around here is $9. Have you tried going to Costco to buy tickets? If they have them there. Here you can buy a 4 pack of tickets at Costco that gets you the matinee price, but you can go anytime. Then if you're signed up for the cash back rewards, you save even more.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Whats with the prices of movies !

i remember when we save Pepsi caps, yes metal bottle caps, with 8 you got in the Saturday show, from 9:30 am till 2:00PM, it was a great baby sitter for Moms to do shopping etc. for less than a dollar you could get a hotdog and pepsi for lunch. they showed a movie and lots of cartoons, and newreels.

 

[chiefalen]

Re: Whats with the prices of movies !

We used to fill caps with wax and play with them to see who can knock the other guys out of a circle.

Then you got to keep it.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Whats with the prices of movies !

I paid $4.75 to see Gran Torino a couple of nights ago. That was a heck of a bargain compared to the $5.75 that I paid for a medium popcorn!

Most movies in my area are priced at $9.00, with the occassional bargain such as Gran Torino. I also saw Cadillac Records last week for the bargain price. The funny thing is that the less expensive movies, which I guess are priced that way because they are less popular, seem to be the best ones as far as I am concerned.

Not to pick on John Travolta at this time in his life but - really, a Boeing 707 parked in the "driveway?!!!!!" Seems to me that there is way too much money being made in the movie business, which explains some of the outrageous ticket prices.

Yup, I'm an old dog too, and I miss the days of penny candy that actually cost a penny. I miss the old time general store in my grandfather's southern Rhode Island town, with the gas station and repair shop attached to the side of the building. I miss the daily trips to that gas station during the summer, when the five gallon can that we brought cost a little over a buck to fill. Most of all, I'm sad that my three year old isn't likely to be able to do the things that we could afford to do, without being "rich."