Movie Going Experiences

[RealHousewife]

On 11/27/2021 at 7:06 AM, Browncoat said:

I might have posted this before, but I still can't decide whether it's a good thing or a bad thing that the ticket sellers assume that I'm a senior citizen.  I mean, on the one hand, I get a discount, but on the other, I'm several years from actually qualifying for that discount.  I suppose it's more difficult with the masking situation, and they're just going by my salt-and-pepper hair, but I've had that since my early 30s.  They gave me the discount twice in the last week.

 

Aw don't take it to heart. I agree that they probably just go by your hair with that mask on.  Some people are really horrible guessing ages, and the masks don't help with that. The people who work at movie theaters are also often teenagers. Most folks probably look like senior citizens to them. 

I've lost interest going to movies lately. I'll still go now and then, but I used to go frequently. My friends are into different types of movies than I am, and the times we're free don't always match up either. It's just as well because if I'm being honest with myself, I really like a movie to be worth my time, otherwise it's hard to sit still.

[StatisticalOutlier]

Well this takes the cake.  I went to an independent theater today and showed my vaccination card on my flip phone (the kid checking it loved it), and when I turned to buy my ticket, the girl asked if I was a senior and I said I was, and she rang up my ticket and there was no discount.  So I got insulted AND didn't get a discount. 

[Bookish Jen]

15 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Well this takes the cake.  I went to an independent theater today and showed my vaccination card on my flip phone (the kid checking it loved it), and when I turned to buy my ticket, the girl asked if I was a senior and I said I was, and she rang up my ticket and there was no discount.  So I got insulted AND didn't get a discount. 

Well, that's a bummer. I turn 55 in March, and that's when senior citizen discounts start at some places. I hope I can get them.

One of my favorite movie theaters opened up after being closed due to Covid and some refurbishing. Unfortunately, they haven't been showing movies I actually want to see. I hope that changes in the new year. 

 

[StatisticalOutlier]

7 hours ago, Bookish Jen said:

Well, that's a bummer. I turn 55 in March, and that's when senior citizen discounts start at some places. I hope I can get them.

Unfortunately for you, movie theaters are usually 60 (AMC, Regal) or 62 (Cinemark).  I've seen some art houses hold firm at 65. 

If I were 55, I'd buy my ticket from a person at the box office and show vaccination status on a flip phone, and say, "One for X Movie," and leave it up to them to determine how decrepit you seem.  But remember the warning "Watch out what you ask for" if you're trying to wahoo your way into a senior discount; they don't mean to hurt your feelings.

7 hours ago, Bookish Jen said:

One of my favorite movie theaters opened up after being closed due to Covid and some refurbishing. Unfortunately, they haven't been showing movies I actually want to see. I hope that changes in the new year. 

I've been loving going to the show during the pandemic.  I had the foresight to write down the number of people who were in the theater when I went.  Since theaters reopened in August 2020, I've been to 25 shows where I was the only one in the theater.

That's almost half of all the shows I went to, and the vast majority of the rest had either 2, 3, or 4 other people. 

The most crowded "regular" movies were Nightmare Alley on opening day (7 others), and the first Monday of The French Dispatch, in the evening (9 others).  When I went back a couple of days later to an earlier matinee of The French Dispatch, there were 2 people there.  That's more like it.

The biggest crowd was for a one-time-only showing of Bo Burnham: Inside, where there were 15 people in an enormous theater.

Admittedly, early in the reopening they were showing "old" movies, but I loved seeing some Clint Eastwood westerns on the big screen.  And my private screenings did include current releases like Nobody, News of the World, Ammonite, Judas and the Black Messiah. 

And now we have...yesterday.  I went to see the 3-hour Japanese film Drive My Car at the Music Box in Chicago.  Holy hell.  It was in the smaller theater, which holds I'd guess 75 people and it was at least half full.  And these are regular seats, not recliners that are spaced way apart, so we were close. 

Normally I'd turn around and leave, but I'd driven two hours to get there, and it's showing only once a day and this was a Tuesday at 4:15 and I doubt other screenings are going to be less populated.  So I pulled out a second mask, made a semi-burka with my muffler, was glad don't mind sitting in the front row and therefore didn't have anyone next to me (although there were people in every other seat even in the front row, and there were people two feet from the back of my head), and hoped for the best.

And as if that wasn't enough, when my movie ended, the other movie showing was also ending, and the lobby (tiny, because it's an historic single-screen theater) was mobbed.  They had shown It's a Wonderful Life in the main theater, which has to have like 700 seats, and there were hundreds of people there, and it was preceded by singing Christmas carols.  Do we still have super spreader events?  Although it was probably safer than our little theater, if you calculate cubic feet per person. 

I know my having private screenings wasn't a sustainable business model for the theaters, but dang.

 

 

[Browncoat]

I just got back from the new Jurassic Park movie.  Shortly after I sat down, this couple with a three-year-old (probably -- I know he wasn't much more than three) sat down in the seats immediately next to me.  Now, in this theater, you pick your seats, and I know when I picked mine, there were plenty left that wouldn't have had them jammed next to me. (And even after the movie started, there were plenty of empty seats.)  I was able to move over one so there was an empty seat between us.  And I'm glad I did!  This theater also has little tray tables (and fabulous reclining seats), and the kid was all over the one that was mine until I moved.

But really, that movie is nearly 2.5 hours long, plus previews, and it's dark and a little scary/gruesome.  Who brings a three-year-old to a movie like that?  The kid did not last.  He started crying, and they left about an hour into the actual movie.  Props to them for leaving, but still.  

[Shannon L.]

58 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I just got back from the new Jurassic Park movie.  Shortly after I sat down, this couple with a three-year-old (probably -- I know he wasn't much more than three) sat down in the seats immediately next to me.  Now, in this theater, you pick your seats, and I know when I picked mine, there were plenty left that wouldn't have had them jammed next to me. (And even after the movie started, there were plenty of empty seats.)  I was able to move over one so there was an empty seat between us.  And I'm glad I did!  This theater also has little tray tables (and fabulous reclining seats), and the kid was all over the one that was mine until I moved.

But really, that movie is nearly 2.5 hours long, plus previews, and it's dark and a little scary/gruesome.  Who brings a three-year-old to a movie like that?  The kid did not last.  He started crying, and they left about an hour into the actual movie.  Props to them for leaving, but still.  

I know, I don't get people.  IIRC, Steven Spielberg wouldn't let his own kids watch Jurassic Park until they were older because it was scary.

[magicdog]

On 6/11/2022 at 11:46 AM, Browncoat said:

Who brings a three-year-old to a movie like that?  The kid did not last.  He started crying, and they left about an hour into the actual movie.  Props to them for leaving, but still.  

At least they had the decency to leave.  I don't understand why people don't get babysitters anymore if they want an adult night out.  It used to be a thing with parents who wanted a few hours away from the kids.

[GHScorpiosRule]

So after over two years, I finally go to the theatre to see Jurassic World Dominion and I thought there would remain two empty seats on each side. But nope. No problem, I masked up.

But what was most infuriating was having the two twits on both sides of me texting during the whole movie . WHY bother coming if you’re going to barely watch or try to sneak pictures? Because that’s what the twit on my right did, and I’m not a confrontational person so I ended up just holding my hand to my face for the last half hour? But I wanted to say something to her. Both had to be in their mid teens.

Just rude and obnoxious. Even dimmed, the light from the phones was distracting.

Edited June 19, 2022 by GHScorpiosRule

[magicdog]

On 6/18/2022 at 9:39 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

But what was most infuriating was having the two twits on both sides of me texting during the whole movie . WHY bother coming if you’re going to barely watch or try to sneak pictures? Because that’s what the twit on my right did, and I’m not a confrontational person so I ended up just holding my hand to my face for the last half hour? But I wanted to say something to her. Both had to be in their mid teens.

Just rude and obnoxious. Even dimmed, the light from the phones was distracting.

Yes, it was the height of movie rudeness!  Confronting them directly wouldn't have gotten you anywhere, they likely would have ignored you (worst case scenario, perhaps physically attacked you).  You could have gone to get an usher or report it to the management.  An usher could have either given a warning to the two twerps or ejected them from the theater.  You could have even tried asking for your money back since your experience was ruined.  When money is involved, management may take more care.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

My out-of-state sister gifted me an e-ticket for Downton at AMC which also included credits for popcorn, soda, and ice cream.    

I was the only one there when I arrived.  It took a lot of attempts for their system to finally accept the coding that was sent to my smart phone.  All the soft drinks were self serve in one of those machines with seemingly hundreds of choices.  They use really small packets of syrup which must be constantly checked and/or replaced.  Well, all I wanted was basic Coke Zero.  It was awful.  I then tried Diet Coke.   It was ghastly.  At the prices they extract, I was not a happy camper.  Nothing was done to rectify the situation.

Good to know AMC hasn't changed.

[magicdog]

5 hours ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

My out-of-state sister gifted me an e-ticket for Downton at AMC which also included credits for popcorn, soda, and ice cream.    

Your sister was very sweet to do that!  

Personally, I prefer to do what we did when we were kids:  smuggle our treats in our purses!

We used to go to the market, buy about a pound or so of chocolate covered raisins (or whatever we liked) and after buying them, put them in our purses.  We got 3X the treats for a fraction of the price!

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 7/1/2022 at 11:23 PM, Lonesome Rhodes said:

All the soft drinks were self serve in one of those machines with seemingly hundreds of choices.  They use really small packets of syrup which must be constantly checked and/or replaced.  Well, all I wanted was basic Coke Zero.  It was awful.  I then tried Diet Coke.   It was ghastly. 

Have you gotten diet drinks out of other Coke Freestyle machines and they tasted okay?  I ask because I can't speak to diet drinks because they all taste like shit to me, but the regular Coke in those Coke Freestyle machines doesn't taste like any other Coke, including Coke in bottles or cans or in "regular" soda machines.  It's not unpleasant like the acrid swill of diet drinks, but it's definitely different and in a blind taste test you'd never drink it and go, "That's Coke."

[xaxat]

On 7/2/2022 at 6:15 AM, magicdog said:

We used to go to the market, buy about a pound or so of chocolate covered raisins (or whatever we liked) and after buying them, put them in our purses.  We got 3X the treats for a fraction of the price!

When I was in high school, the local university had a second run movie theater in the student center. It was run by students, so they didn't care what you snuck in. Or what you did in the theater. So high school miscreants like me and my friends would drink beers from the six packs that we had smuggled in, and the college students would be smoking pot.

Fun times.

[Browncoat]

I smuggled Jack Daniels and Sprite into one of those college movies -- emptied a portion of a two-liter of Sprite and replaced it with Jack.  I think the movie was "A Clockwork Orange", so being a little drunk was a help.

[Shannon L.]

I guess a holiday weekend, a major heatwave, and $3 tickets is what it took to get people back to the theaters in droves.  The last time I saw our theater complex that busy was when Infinity War and Endgame were released. 

[BetterButter]

AMC Theatres to Change Movie Ticket Prices Based on Seat Location

[Shannon L.]

50 minutes ago, BetterButter said:

AMC Theatres to Change Movie Ticket Prices Based on Seat Location

Oh ffs.  I may just become a Tuesday only movie goer now, since AMC is the closest theater to me (by far).

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 12/21/2021 at 11:22 PM, StatisticalOutlier said:

Well this takes the cake.  I went to an independent theater today and showed my vaccination card on my flip phone (the kid checking it loved it), and when I turned to buy my ticket, the girl asked if I was a senior and I said I was, and she rang up my ticket and there was no discount.  So I got insulted AND didn't get a discount. 

I remember when I managed a theatre, the policy was that we NEVER asked. EVER.  Sometimes seniors (or supposed seniors) would get insulted that we didn't ask, but they have to declare it.  We did not ask it.

However, this was part of a huge franchise, so, it makes sense.

On 6/16/2022 at 2:15 AM, magicdog said:

At least they had the decency to leave.  I don't understand why people don't get babysitters anymore if they want an adult night out.  It used to be a thing with parents who wanted a few hours away from the kids.

I don't think this is a new phenomenon, unfortunately.  In my experience.

Edited February 6, 2023 by Ms Blue Jay

[AimingforYoko]

3 hours ago, BetterButter said:

AMC Theatres to Change Movie Ticket Prices Based on Seat Location

Here's the important part to me:

Quote

AMC Stubs A-List members will be able to reserve seats in the Preferred Sightline Section at no additional cost.

The way they're pricing tickets, if you go to two movies a month, it's worth the subscription.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 2/6/2023 at 2:31 PM, BetterButter said:

AMC Theatres to Change Movie Ticket Prices Based on Seat Location

AMC was doing this at a theater in Indianapolis a few years ago; it was called "zoned seating."  I was in town for only a couple of weeks, but went to the show several times and made a point not to go to that theater.  I choose to sit in "bad" seats just to keep people away from me, and the last thing I want is cheapskates filling up seats around me instead of paying to sit in better ones that might remain empty.

Here's AMC's Investor Day document from 2019:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1411579/000155837019003050/ex-99d1.htm

If you go to page 48, you'll see that "future initiatives" are tentpole pricing and zone pricing.  I remember some blockbuster a year or so ago that had a higher ticket price for regular (not 3D or Imax or whatever) screenings, but can't remember what it was.  And I don't know if it was at AMC or all theaters.  But that's tentpole pricing, which has happened, and now we have zone pricing being rolled out in the U.S.

When digging around, I ran across these two tidbits from 2019, both from the CEO of AMC.  This is from the Earnings Call transcript, about $5 Tuesdays:

Quote

Actually, when we launched the program last year, we called it $5 Tuesdays. We renamed it Discount Tuesdays at the beginning of 2019, because very quietly we've been taking price increases on Tuesday, pushing Tuesday from $5 to anywhere between $5 and $7 depending upon the theater.

This is from the Investor Day transcript:

Quote

So, we've already quietly introduced weekend surcharges, I bet very few consumers actually realize that we've got $1 surcharges at probably two thirds of our US theatres, branded AMC, across the United States on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

I'm sure the only reason they're not implementing zoned pricing quietly is that they couldn't get away with it.

Edited February 8, 2023 by StatisticalOutlier

[chitowngirl]

Just another reason to stay home and wait for the movie to stream….

[Shannon L.]

An actor (I can't remember who) tweeted that this policy is also unfair to lower income people who will now get stuck in the less appealing seats if they can't afford the extra money.

 

ETA: I found it: "Actor Elijah Wood has slammed a new ticket price plan from AMC Theaters, claiming lower income earners will be penalized with poorer seats"

Edited February 8, 2023 by Shannon L.

[Browncoat]

The seats at the movie theater I went to in Edinburgh, Scotland had tiered pricing.  The less expensive seats were generally the ones toward the front and on the sides, and mid-range priced seats were toward the back (where I generally like to sit).  The most expensive were exactly in the middle.  It didn't seem to bother anyone, and my "cheap" seats were fine.

I would not have minded in the slightest if I'd gotten a bargain price for my front-section seat for "80 for Brady" this past weekend. (All the upper section was sold out!)

[proserpina65]

13 hours ago, Browncoat said:

The seats at the movie theater I went to in Edinburgh, Scotland had tiered pricing.  The less expensive seats were generally the ones toward the front and on the sides, and mid-range priced seats were toward the back (where I generally like to sit).  The most expensive were exactly in the middle.  It didn't seem to bother anyone, and my "cheap" seats were fine.

I would not have minded in the slightest if I'd gotten a bargain price for my front-section seat for "80 for Brady" this past weekend. (All the upper section was sold out!)

That's because they're used to it.  Honestly, I don't like seats in the middle, but I do think it's shitty of AMC to charge more for them.  I can see the argument for making the front couple of rows cheaper, though, because they are really terrible seats.  I felt like I was looking up Gary Oldman's nose when I saw The Darkest Hour and got stuck with the front row.

[Browncoat]

Perhaps, and I suspect in time we'd get used to it, just like we are used to tiered pricing for concerts and plays.

[millennium]

I say everybody should throw Jujubes at the people in the middle seats.  

 

[Guest]

Mostly I think AMC botched the announcement. If they had announced they were discounting the prices of less desirable seats the story would have had a completely different spin. Then when the prices eventually went up in the near future it wouldn’t have gotten much attention. 

On 2/7/2023 at 7:19 PM, Browncoat said:

The seats at the movie theater I went to in Edinburgh, Scotland had tiered pricing.  The less expensive seats were generally the ones toward the front and on the sides, and mid-range priced seats were toward the back (where I generally like to sit).  The most expensive were exactly in the middle.  It didn't seem to bother anyone, and my "cheap" seats were fine.

I’m sure it didn’t bother the people who decided to go knowing that’s the way it is but the bigger factor is how many people didn’t show up at all or go much less frequently. What the prices are also makes a huge difference. I’m not opposed to tiered pricing as a concept for movie theaters but AMC is using it to raise already high prices at a time when alternatives are abundant, the theatrical experience is diminishing and the exclusivity window is shrinking. 

[proserpina65]

On 2/8/2023 at 12:03 PM, Browncoat said:

Perhaps, and I suspect in time we'd get used to it, just like we are used to tiered pricing for concerts and plays.

Unless other chains follow suit, I'll just avoid AMC whenever possible.  Which, considering there hasn't been a movie I felt compelled to see in the theatre since covid, will be 99.99999% of the time for me.

[Anduin]

My cinema was having internet problems today, so I had to pay in cash. Always take a cash reserve. I suppose that goes for everywhere. Other than that, the experience was fine, apart from one absolutely terrible trailer. :(

[BetterButter]

AMC Theatres Drops Controversial Plan to Charge More Money Based on Seat Location

[methodwriter85]

I was an an 11 pm showing for Barbie and the audience was absolutely dead. No laughter, nothing. I enjoyed the movie but it took me out, to be honest. I need to see it again with a funnier crowd. 

[Anduin]

3 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

I was an an 11 pm showing for Barbie and the audience was absolutely dead. No laughter, nothing. I enjoyed the movie but it took me out, to be honest. I need to see it again with a funnier crowd. 

My local cinema is pretty quiet, from what I've noticed. It's just a regular suburban chain cinema, nothing fancy like the Alamo or similar. But as much as I want to laugh or cheer or whatever, I keep it bottled up because everyone else does. Maybe yours is the same, or maybe everyone was tired after work. I dunno.

[proserpina65]

6 hours ago, Anduin said:

My local cinema is pretty quiet, from what I've noticed. It's just a regular suburban chain cinema, nothing fancy like the Alamo or similar. But as much as I want to laugh or cheer or whatever, I keep it bottled up because everyone else does. Maybe yours is the same, or maybe everyone was tired after work. I dunno.

Or maybe they just didn't think the movie was funny.

17 hours ago, BetterButter said:

AMC Theatres Drops Controversial Plan to Charge More Money Based on Seat Location

The only thing which would make the front row the least bit acceptable to me is moving it several feet back.  Extra reclining seats would not do it.

[Trini]

Wasn't sure where to put this:

'National Cinema Day Returns With $4 Movie Tickets'

Quote

National Cinema Day will return this Sunday, August 27, for a second edition, the nonprofit Cinema Foundation announced today, with discounted admissions for all movies at over 3,000 participating theaters and 30,000 screens. ...

 

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 8/21/2023 at 5:34 PM, Trini said:

Wasn't sure where to put this:

'National Cinema Day Returns With $4 Movie Tickets'

I like to look at movie ticketing sites just to get a feel for how many people are seeing a particular movie, and people are massively taking advantage of this deal.  It's not all that compelling for me because I go to weekday matinees because they're cheaper and more importantly to me, have much lower attendance.

But if you're willing to brave the crowds, or even want the crowds, today is your day.  The $4 price even applies to Oppenheimer on 70mm at the AMC in downtown Chicago.  That's a hell of a deal, and the two showings later today have seats available only in the front rows (about 200 tickets already sold for each).

Shoot--they're showing Greta Gerwig's Ladybird in two theaters at about 2:00, and they've sold about 175 tickets total, with availability only in the front rows.  People are even buying tickets to Strays and Golda.  It's insane.