Post AibeympTDJoxOS9fH6 by PythonLinks@mastodon.social
(DIR) More posts by PythonLinks@mastodon.social
(DIR) Post #AibUERgqTeSay9NveK by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-06-05T02:38:11Z
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Thinking about movie theaters again. Going to the movies should be cheaper. Movie snacks should be cheaper. Going to the movies, getting drinks and snacks and popcorn, should be like $25 for two people, tops. I should really start that movie theater I can't afford and don't have space for.
(DIR) Post #AibUb9nFBQBg7jCv6O by ojala@mastodon.nz
2024-06-05T02:42:10Z
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@ajroach42 Theatres make more money from the drinks and snacks than from the actual movie tickets.
(DIR) Post #AibUjJL3ZsIS2puYPw by alcinnz@floss.social
2024-06-05T02:43:44Z
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@ajroach42 You could premier your DIY movies there!
(DIR) Post #AibVd9wJi5A36vyC8m by rose_alibi@post.lurk.org
2024-06-05T02:53:50Z
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@ajroach42 i can't remember a time when it was that cheap, snacks have always been too much money even when tickets were cheap,except when i lived in a town with a 3rd run theater that had $2 tickets and employed teenagers who did not gaf what you brought in in your backpack...
(DIR) Post #AibbsPHNYijikrTWkq by morganth@social.tchncs.de
2024-06-05T04:03:49Z
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@ajroach42 That is a fantasy of mine, if I had the money to the point where it didn’t matter if I took losses every year. I’d open a single-screen theater running old movies, art movies, obscure movies that deserved more attention…basically whatever I felt like.
(DIR) Post #AibeympTDJoxOS9fH6 by PythonLinks@mastodon.social
2024-06-05T04:38:37Z
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@ajroach42 For 44 Zloty here in Poland, about $12 a month I have an unlimited movie pass. They are currently showing about 10 films. Foreign language movies I will watch multiple times. In the US, that would not buy 1 film ticket.
(DIR) Post #AicIJtt83mzpa1vPlo by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-06-05T11:44:51Z
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@morganth I've been researching how to do it, and what it would take to look good.I could pull it off in our cafe as an installation for $3-4k up front, plus a few hundred per film to license them (less/free if we got Public Domain or indie releases.) I think I need to just start doing it.
(DIR) Post #AicJ8vFUlDHoZLiRGa by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-06-05T11:56:33Z
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@morganth I've been trying to figure out how to do it without it being a loss every year.
(DIR) Post #AicJzG68UOvEI1IHhI by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-06-05T12:04:21Z
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@ojala indeed, although at this point it can be prohibitively expensive to attend regardless.
(DIR) Post #AicK3LuCq4IlSZfLMm by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-06-05T12:06:48Z
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@rose_alibi Yeah... I mean, when I was a teenager, we could go to the 2nd run theater for like $15 or $20 with popcorn and drinks, but you were watching second or third run films in a room that was rarely cleaned. The normal theater was $8/ticket and $15+ for snacks.But I went to the movies a few weeks ago and two tickets, popcorn and drinks was almost $50.
(DIR) Post #AicKDhPDkwyv2O6fCa by jeremy_list@hachyderm.io
2024-06-05T10:28:21Z
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@ajroach42 the year that I spent most time in cinemas it was only $8 for a ticket. My usual movie theatre ended up closing when engineers determined it had accumulated too much earthquake damage to be safe.
(DIR) Post #AicWzrljjDfgWoN91s by rose_alibi@post.lurk.org
2024-06-05T14:43:47Z
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@ajroach42 yeah. it's gotten obscene. i like the alamo drafthouse season pass, but it's only worth it if you see movies at the rate I do (1-4 per week) (also i live a block from the theater).
(DIR) Post #AicZALb3srQTqFVLzk by cainmark@mstdn.social
2024-06-05T15:08:08Z
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@ajroach42 @morganth Starting to think movie theaters should be considered "losss leaders" like the Costco $1.50 hot dog.But what's the product? Commentaries, merchandise (t-shirts, cds)? The thing that keep the theater going? Overhead for space is expensive. So is maintenance. Snack expenses aren't enough and the movies themselves aren't enough anymore. It has to be a special experience that isn't duplicated easily at home.How to figure out what's valuable is hard because it changes.
(DIR) Post #AicjzvsRkju4fpsAtc by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-06-05T17:09:30Z
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@cainmark @morganth there is something remarkable to be said for shared experiences.People are desperate for something that makes them Feel, but terified of the ordeal of being perceived.
(DIR) Post #Aicsl1tlyyHGanSgoC by morganth@social.tchncs.de
2024-06-05T18:47:39Z
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@ajroach42 @cainmark Completely. I have a nice TV at home but greatly prefer the theater experience when I can get to one. "Shared joy is enhanced", as Callahan's Law says.
(DIR) Post #AiczL5yqsn9pP0PzFI by DapperDinobot@dice.camp
2024-06-05T17:24:36Z
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@cainmark @ajroach42 @morganth The general trend (at least that I've seen in the Midwest/Southwest) is "get a liquor license." Get people in the door with the movies, and then they can have a beer while they do it. The full service-at-your-seat Alamo Drafthouse model is just the next step, though it's a lot more labor intensive, obviously. You can also combine this with "show weird obscure movies that draw in the film weirdos," but that requires having an audience to begin with.
(DIR) Post #AiczL7MHl9UpfyODPU by cainmark@mstdn.social
2024-06-05T19:40:39Z
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@DapperDinobot @ajroach42 @morganth There's an audience. But an audience that can and is willing to pay consistently is a real issue.
(DIR) Post #AiczL8O5vuXOrsFArw by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-06-05T20:01:25Z
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@cainmark @DapperDinobot @morganth running a retail establishment has taught me that people will pay for the things they value, and will almost never pay for the things they do not no matter the price.(Notice I said "value" not "want". People often want things they do not value, people can be convinced to value something but it is harder than making them want the thing.)
(DIR) Post #Aid2V0s720IkJfgcfQ by billyjoebowers@mastodon.online
2024-06-05T20:36:49Z
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@ajroach42 "Drinks and snacks and popcorn" is doing a lot in that sentence. I don't know about that being realistic. I can barely get 2 small sandwiches to go for $25, no drinks.
(DIR) Post #Aid2aJpfxmq2ZO4p2u by danielittlewood@fosstodon.org
2024-06-05T20:37:50Z
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@ajroach42 Sometimes it is! In the UK at least, most movie tickets are ~£15 nowadays. But PeckhamPlex in London is consistently around £5 for a ticket. That's comfortably under your limit.I assume the buildings are rented, and the rent is extortionate. Overheads are obviously not trivial either.
(DIR) Post #Aid2rQrT5DhRIC4jdw by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-06-05T20:40:53Z
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@billyjoebowers right, that's the deal. I wanna go out and do the thing but also be comfortable, you know? I want to show my date a good time, and not have to worry about being extorted for popcorn money. Popcorn is so cheap to produce! At retail, I can buy two boxes of candy, two reasonably sized sodas, and a bag of popcorn for under $10. At a theater, it might be 20+
(DIR) Post #Aid3EBi1aLXMxVVcJs by billyjoebowers@mastodon.online
2024-06-05T20:44:54Z
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@ajroach42 They're selling the snacks, that's their business. That's what pays for the building and equipment. It's like saying "Why is this restaurant charging me so much for a sandwich, I can make it cheaper at home?"We have non profit theaters here in town. The snacks are not cheap there either.
(DIR) Post #Aid4028qSZKvBaruuO by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-06-05T20:53:40Z
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@billyjoebowers right. I run a cafe, I understand how the margins work. What I'm saying is that the economics of going to the movie have priced out their target market, and we need a return to smaller, cheaper theaters. I could get the items I listed in the last post wholesale much cheaper than I could get them at retail (and I do! And I sell them at retail rates at the shows I host at our local theater, and I make a profit without overcharging our customers.) Why are you so invested in defending $30 popcorn combos?
(DIR) Post #Aid45lFs9mtOYBt2eG by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-06-05T20:54:42Z
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@johntimaeus @cainmark sure, but the cost of food has gone up to the point that most folks don't have a spare 1.5 hours of labor.
(DIR) Post #Aid4dP1pIj7bShMHMe by billyjoebowers@mastodon.online
2024-06-05T21:00:46Z
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@ajroach42 Ha, I'm not. I didn't say anything about $30 popcorn combos. I said "Going to the movies, getting drinks and snacks and popcorn, should be like $25 for two people, tops." seems unrealistic. I could be way off. You should do it if you think it would work. People would love it.
(DIR) Post #AiePiyx5SS26WJbSXA by j_feral@digipres.club
2024-06-06T11:08:07Z
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@ajroach42The main reason movie theaters are so expensive is the royalties they have to pay to show the film. And space as mentioned. No idea how showing older movies would affect that price, maybe it's much better. The cost of the movie ticket barely covers royalties and space, so almost all profit is made from concessions alone. At least, that was the business model at the 1 screen theater I worked at for many years!
(DIR) Post #AieQBSstlO0bSjE3Bg by ajroach42@retro.social
2024-06-06T12:33:11Z
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@j_feral Indeed! The fault lies mostly with realestate developers and movie studios, not theater operators.