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Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

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Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#181

Post by rebeccaskinner »

vlovich123 wrote: post #108

To me this suggests that theater’s are at least partially incorrectly pricing things which explains why they are struggling.

I don’t think pricing is the only problem with theaters. Especially over the last 15 years or so they’ve been increasingly competing with alternative ways of watching movies, and for a lot of people watching at home wins at any price.

Fancier theaters like the Alamo draft house seem to be trying to complete with watching at home in some ways, but for the most part theaters seem to just be doubling down on the parts if the experience that were already decisive- namely getting louder and adding bigger screens. That might tempt the people who already like what theaters have to offer into going slightly more often, but I think it’s made even more people stop going at all.

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#183

Post by izzydata »

fg137 wrote: post #154

Makes me wonder -- does it make any economic sense for a theater to have screenings before 2pm on a Tuesday? I get that some people can afford the leisure, but I'm almost certain the theater loses money on that

How much extra does it cost to show an extra movie that nobody shows up to? It seems like the majority of the cost is rent of the building and salary. If employees are already working to operate the few movies that are expected to have people and the building is already being paid for then they may as well use up all their theaters just in case since the extra cost would be low.

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#184

Post by vlovich123 »

jonners00 wrote: post #152
Frieren wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> To me this suggests that theater’s are at least partially incorrectly pricing things which explains why they are struggling. Theaters are struggling because they need the working class to attend, and the working class has no money. This is true for any non-essential business that depends on 90% of the people. To find new ways of extract money may help a little, but in the end the basic economics do not add up.

A couple of years ago Odeon turned our nearest theatre into a 'luxe' theatre (adult tickets £20), and the next nearest theatre was left as it was, but all tickets £5 each (tickets at both theatres where about £14 previously). I think it was an experiment to see which model was most economic: major investment in tech and comfort/£100+ for a family of four to watch a film with snacks and beverages/fewer tickets sold as…

For all tickets is similarly insane. It needs to be demand driven - sold out show? Prices too low. Can’t get butts in seats? prices too high.

You want prices set such that it’s almost but not quite at capacity. This gives you slack to accept stragglers while optimizing your profit on the price demand curve.

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#185

Post by vlovich123 »

Frieren wrote: post #124
vlovich123 wrote: post #108

To me this suggests that theater’s are at least partially incorrectly pricing things which explains why they are struggling.

> To me this suggests that theater’s are at least partially incorrectly pricing things which explains why they are struggling. Theaters are struggling because they need the working class to attend, and the working class has no money. This is true for any non-essential business that depends on 90% of the people. To find new ways of extract money may help a little, but in the end the basic economics do not add up.

That may be, but people are still paying to go to theaters. Prices are simultaneously too low off peak and too high during peak. This used to be ok when it averaged out but the marketplace has a lot less slack due to baby reasons including the ones you mentioned

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#186

Post by dsr_ »

2ndorderthought wrote: post #122
blintz wrote: post #7

This is cool. Something about dropping everything to go see a movie in an empty theater is sort of tempting.

People used to buy out theaters to have that privilege on blockbuster opening nights.

It's usually quite possible. Movie theaters make their money on food and drink, so arranging an extra screening for the cost of 50% of the seats in a given room is nicely profitable.

Depending on the theater's manager, they'll either want someone to guarantee a minimum or to have a single fee paid up front.

There's nothing quite like knowing that everyone in the theater is a friend.

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#188

Post by doctorhandshake »

Tangurena2 wrote: post #163
fg137 wrote: post #154

Makes me wonder -- does it make any economic sense for a theater to have screenings before 2pm on a Tuesday? I get that some people can afford the leisure, but I'm almost certain the theater loses money on that

For the first few weeks of a film's release, all of the ticket sales goes to the studio. Pretty much the only revenue for the theatre is popcorn, candy and soda. Since most theatres have gone full digital, the "projector" won't show the film if there have been no tickets sold. That eliminated the game of buying one ticket and then sneaking in to see a few more movies.

Why do you have projector in scare quotes? And what makes you think they don't screen the movie? Exhibitors have a contractual obligation to show movies a certain number of times a week, and the media players that run them show receipts to the studios ... it would be surprising if they didn't actually do that simply because nobody bought a ticket.

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#189

Post by pimlottc »

k2xl wrote: post #169

I wonder if movie theaters ever thought to have "Free" movie tickets before a certain time on certain days. They would probably make money just on the popcorn sales since most of these theaters are empty during the day.

Matinees are normally cheaper. I could see potential abuse if it was truly free

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#190

Post by cm2012 »

Frieren wrote: post #124
vlovich123 wrote: post #108

To me this suggests that theater’s are at least partially incorrectly pricing things which explains why they are struggling.

> To me this suggests that theater’s are at least partially incorrectly pricing things which explains why they are struggling. Theaters are struggling because they need the working class to attend, and the working class has no money. This is true for any non-essential business that depends on 90% of the people. To find new ways of extract money may help a little, but in the end the basic economics do not add up.

At least in America the working class has the highest inflation adjusted income in history. The bottom quartile of incomes went up 30% in the last 5 years. Its one reason why services have gotten more expensive
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