Upcoming 2017 films

Quote: Pacomartin

Wanda Group by buying AMC corporation may end up controlling all the movies that end up in China.

Anyone in Hollywood want to make a movie about Tienamin Square? Or the Gang of Four? Or The South China Sea?

In the 30's and 40's you could see
a movie for a dime. But in those
days, before TV, 80% of the
population saw one movie a
week, like 50% saw more than
one. Theaters were always packed,
in the summer after air was
installed, people in big cities
practically lived there. Get in the
top row of the triple balcony and
for a dime you could spend the
night if you slept on the floor.

Quote: Pacomartin

Before Carmike theaters were sold, they used to state that 800% was there average markup for concessions.

Last week a cappuccino at a premium theater sold for 65 pesos. For comparison, at Starbucks one would go for 45 pesos. According to my math, that's 44.5% more. Pricing popcorn is far harder to do, but I could take a look at candy bars and such and see what comes up.

The premium theaters pretty much offer dining options in their concession stands, with complimentary seat-side service. My usual offers crepes, sushi, sandwiches, burgers and deserts. Another chain is advertising a premium menu for its theaters.

IT's all academic for me, since I tend not to eat or drink while at the movies. I used to, until they removed intermissions. I mean, can you drink a large soda (with free refills!) and not have to leave midway through the movie to use the bathroom? Neither can I. And since eating popcorn makes me thirsty, I don't get popcorn any more.

Quote: Nareed

Last week a cappuccino at a premium theater sold for 65 pesos. For comparison, at Starbucks one would go for 45 pesos. According to my math, that's 44.5% more. Pricing popcorn is far harder to do, but I could take a look at candy bars and such and see what comes up.

See, I don't consider 44.5% markup to be extreme for service at the movies. Cappuccino still has to be brewed and served. They don't have to prepare candy; they just give you a box.


Carmike's final quarterly report before they were sold to AMC
Average theatres 272
Average screens 2,928
Average attendance per screen 65 people per day
Average admission per patron $7.30
Average concessions/other sales per patron $4.85

I don't know how many chairs are in an average movie theater, but I have to guess at least 100-150. So if they screen a movie 4-5 times a day, and only sell 65 tickets per screen day, that is a tiny fraction of the seats. Carmike is only in small cities, so AMC and Regal (the major chains) average more than 65 admissions per screen But I don't think any of them average over 100. Theaters are much more crowded in Mexico.

But the circuit only gets about half of the admission price. The other half goes to the studio. But the concessions they get to keep over 85%.

Quote: Pacomartin

See, I don't consider 44.5% markup to be extreme for service at the movies.

Well, it's Nespresso, so I consider it highway robbery, even though their markup is probably less than what Sbucks charges.

Quote:

I don't know how many chairs are in an average movie theater, but I have to guess at least 100-150. So if they screen a movie 4-5 times a day, and only sell 65 tickets per screen day, that is a tiny fraction of the seats.

These days many theaters are all-digital, and even before then projectionists typically only inserted the strips into the projector and pickup reel. Everything's automated now. The movies run at set times, probably even if no tickets are sold (though many people arrive and buy tickets after the previews are already running, some after the movie itself ahs begun).

I hope Rogue One will still be at the old VIP theater next weekend. I forgot to go see it again on Jan 1st.

Quote: Nareed

These days many theaters are all-digital, and even before then projectionists typically only inserted the strips into the projector and pickup reel. Everything's automated now. The movies run at set times, probably even if no tickets are sold (though many people arrive and buy tickets after the previews are already running, some after the movie itself has begun).

We went to a Carmike theater (they own 2 of the 4 theaters in my area) the other day to watch Doctor Strange and there was about 5 of us in there for the screening. We watched all of the commercials without any sound, until my brother went out to tell someone. He said there are so few live people in a theater anymore that it was difficult to find someone that the room had no audio.

Quote: Pacomartin

We went to a Carmike theater (they own 2 of the 4 theaters in my area) the other day to watch Doctor Strange and there was about 5 of us in there for the screening. We watched all of the commercials without any sound, until my brother went out to tell someone. He said there are so few live people in a theater anymore that it was difficult to find someone that the room had no audio.

In the old days when One Big Theater with One Screen was the norm, any defect in the show was met with loud whistling and shouts of "¡´cacaro!" (no idea what that means, I'm told it's slang for the projectionist and/or the projection booth), which let on only when it was fixed.

Back then, there were multiplexes, but the biggest one had a whopping 5 (that's five(5)) theaters!

Concessions were terrible. There was one union representing all theater workers nationally, and they feather-bedded things to a ridiculous degree. How ridiculous? This ridiculous: there was one counter for each item. One for popcorn, one for candy, one for ice cream, one for soda.

But some of those theaters were beautiful.

In the 50's, the movie theaters were
all 1930's palaces and were all downtown.
They had red plush seats and uniformed
ushers with flashlights and tiered balconies
and carpet so thick you could feel it squish
under your shoes.

The concession stands where huge. Oak
and plate glass, everything smelled of
popcorn. We went to the Sat matinees
all the time because parents could dump
kids off at noon, unchaperoned, and
pick them up 5 hours later. It was a madhouse
of screaming kids, we loved it.

Can you imagine that these days? A parent
dropping off 7-8-9 year old kids to fend for
themselves for 5 hours? A least an hour of
cartoons, the good ones, and 4 hours of
westerns, Jerry Lewis, Lewis and Martin,
or Abbot and Costello. And at least 30min
of previews, of course. We loved all of it,
sitting way up in the balcony. We'll never
see those days again, what a shame.

Quote: Pacomartin

See, I don't consider 44.5% markup to be extreme for service at the movies.

I mentioned the price of the coffee to a coworker and fellow coffee addict. His eyes I swear expanded to twice their normal size in surprise ;)

Anyway, he asked me how it was. He seemed disappointed when I told him I didn't get one.

And I was reminded of the Seinfeld ep where Kramer burns himself trying to sneak in a café latte to the movies.

https://www.amctheatres.com/food-specials

$12 for Chipotle chicken meal


$3.79 for coffee (=80 pesos)