The wife and I decided we would go out on a date Friday afternoon. That is something that we just do not do often enough. We were all excited about it.
So we drive down to the Mall of Georgia in Buford, GA. I had a couple of passes good for a free movie that I have had since February and the wife had a movie gift card that still had $6.00 left on it from 2007.
We get there and there is not one single movie on that looks worth seeing. We had hoped to see the new one with Denzel Washington and John Travolta but it was not one of the choices we had.
So we flip a coin and decide to see Post Grad. It is what I guess most folks would call a “cute” movie. In other words a movie that you would wait to see when it is shown on the Lifetime channel on a Sunday afternoon sometime in the distant future.
Anyway, turns out the tickets were $21.00. Thank God for the free passes. So we get inside and decide to get a large popcorn and two medium drinks. Grand total was $17.50. And no, that is not a typo. Two medium diet cokes and a KFC-sized bucket of popcorn was $17.50.
Granted I was only out $11.50 in real wallet cash but godamighty. I could not help but wonder what teenagers do nowadays for fun and recreation.
$38.50 for an average movie and some stale popcorn.
I can remember when $38.50 would get you damn near 2 ounces of marijuana.
My wife and I laughed all afternoon about it. It is so funny how it seems that the world belongs to other folks and we are just living in it.
I have two more free passes that I think we will use to see a movie that we actually want to see. And believe me, I will sneak in my own goobers and raisinets.
So… was Inglorious Basterds just not at this place? Or sold out? Or you already saw it?
… Or you just didn’t want to see it?
I will never understand the movie industry in America.
The money for the drinks & popcorn is where the theatres “really” make their profits. It’s a lot like gas stations, where their “big” profit margins come from the impulse sales inside the store (the margin for gas is around 8%, IIRC), the theatres aren’t really making much on a per ticket basis since the distributors/studios already charge so much for the rights to show the films. I’m not saying there’s no profit, just not that much.
But, the cost is why I generally only go to matinees & bring my own snacks if I get hungry (< 50% of the time), but I always purchase a bottle of water & the full package of snacks for the kiddies for my own peace of mind since those folks running the place and working inside are just trying to make a living, too.
Many years of folks like Tom Cruise getting $20 mil has finally taken its bite into the profits of the folks down the line.
Inglorious Basterds? No way Jose. My wife sees Tarantino and gives me that “not in this lifetime” look. That is one that I will have to rent and then watch after I slip her a mickey.
And I understand that concessions is where they make their money and I have no problem with folks making money. Capitalism is the art of taking out more than you put in.
But gracious God have mercy. $17.50 for a dollars worth of popcorn and diet coke? I’d rather they just pass around a collection plate.