This is the last entry you can comment on for January.
How important is going to the cinema to you? If it is, what can be done to save cinemas in the age of DVD's and downloading from the net? Are cheaper prices a way to get people coming back to see films? What would be good criteria for deciding which films would be cheaper? Feel free to follow the links to the articles which this article is responding to.
In the age of internet where films are easily downloaded without any effort, it is no wonder that cinema is having problems. Many people prefer comfort of home to a cinema hall. The cost of the tickets is probably also a reason to stay home.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the article that the movies that are expected to make less money are in smaller cinema halls and so, should have a cheaper ticket. It seems reasonable and may attract more people. I do not think that if a movie is cheaper, people will assume that it is not good.
However, even if the movie tickets are expensive, going to cinema is a tradition. I go to cinema with my friends at least once every 2 or 3 months. I have noticed that it is mostly young people that go to cinema. Maybe because a family that has 4 or 5 people finds it too expensive.
So, if the cost of some movies was cheaper, maybe people would be more interested in going to cinema.
It might be surprising, but I have never realized that the prices of all films are the same, maybe it’s because I don’t go to the cinema that often. Yet I do enjoy visiting it with a couple of friends every now and then. I can only say what the situation is in Slovakia as I have never been to a foreign cinema. Slovak cinemas have really high quality theatres which have rather good technology. Bratislava has one major and leading company called Cinema City (previously known as Palace Cinemas) which has a total of 3 cinema complexes throughout the city, each of these complexes have about a dozen of theatres ranging from large to small sizes, but I have to say, even the smallest theatre is fairly good quality; the chairs might be different, the projecting canvas might be smaller, but it still is at a certain level. The thing with Slovak cinemas is that there is only Cinema City as a leading company, making it a monopoly. Their prices range from 4 to 10 euros depending on the seat, date (Opening Weekends), 3D or 2D and the age of the person buying it. Some might say that it is expensive; I would say that they need some competition because they can easily increase the price and still have customers.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion is strictly against on this idea of variable prices. The article mentions that less people are visiting the cinemas. I am not sure what the case is in the US, but in Slovakia when I visit a cinema to watch a movie it sometimes happens that the tickets are sold out. I don’t think the amount of people visiting cinemas has declined by a large amount during the last decade this is because people visit cinemas to watch movies with friends and relatives; not to watch them by themselves. They can do that at home if they wish to do so. I’m afraid of the fact that was already pointed out on the article; people would find the price a sort of rating for the movie and then low budget movies would get fewer customers. I think the price is good as it is. The only thing I would change here in Slovakia is some bring in some serious competition, which could possibly even lower today’s price in Slovak cinemas.
This comment on comment is a response to both Janka’s and Andrej’s comment.
ReplyDeleteGoing to the movies seems like a special occasion or reward to me, to which I do not treat myself often. Although when I was younger I used to go to the movies at least once a month, I have now realized that since it is possible to easily download movies via torrents, going to the cinema seems like a waste of money. Nowadays, I only go to the movie theatre with my friends when some movie that I have been dying to see is coming out.
I agree with Janka in her point that many people prefer the comfort of home (like being able to pause the movie, legally have your own food with you, put your feet up without being rude or comment on what is happening without being inconsiderate toward strangers) to that of the cinema, but to me it seems that the movie theatre company in Slovakia, Cinema City, definitely doesn’t have any problems with the demand. Similarly to Andrej, most of the times I have gone to the movies there are long queues for each counter and the theatre itself is usually full.
Although there could be advantages to the tickets for diverse movies not costing the same amount, I agree with Andrej that it would not be a good idea to implement such a system, at least not in Slovakia. This is because, like Andrej said, Cinema City is a monopoly here and therefore I assume that it would charge very high prices for the bigger movies, and the prices would remain what they are now (ranging from €4.25 to €6.25 depending on one’s age) for the others. Ultimately, the movie tickets would become even more expensive than they are now and it would just be a way for the company to earn even more money.
@Janka
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree with Janka that people should be compensated for being forced to watch an indie movie in an inferior theatre hall, however, his compensation should definitely not be achieved through lowering the price of the ticket. Instead, the marketing campaign should take a more subliminal approach, like offering free refreshments to go with the ticket. This would seem more appealing to a broader array of people, without necessarily hinting that the movie they are about to watch could be rather subpar.
Like Andrej, I am also not too fond of the ticket price diversity. If the decrease of the ticket prices for indie films is merely an attempt to increase the demand for such films and in turn the earnings, I think their best shot at achieving this is to air the films some time before and after the premiere of a large blockbuster.
This is a comment on Andrej's comment.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Andrej that there is a monopoly on the movies. Even though, it creates some standard, the prices are quite expensive. Aside from Cinema city, there are some other independent movie theaters. These do not screen any blockbusters, they usually screen movies that are not aimed at general audience. They do it for a lower price than Cinema city.
So, even though one cinema does not have a difference in its prices, there is a difference between the cinemas. I think that the best solution would be if there were more cinema companies, but I am afraid that the demand is not big enough for this.
@Andrej
ReplyDeleteThe whole idea of different price ranges for different movies seems ridiculous. I certainly agree with Andrej, and I’m also against the idea of variable prices. All of Derek Thompson’s arguments mentioned in the article are quite reasonable. The idea would just harm the movie industry, preferring blockbusters against smaller movies. In my opinion, cutting of the prices after the opening weekend would do exactly what the author predicts. People would simply wait to get better deals on the tickets, destroying the purpose of the premieres. To do some good, and lower the prices in the cinemas in Slovakia, the Cinema City monopoly should be prevented as Andrej suggested.
Moreover, I love Lachezar’s idea to compensate the people watching smaller films in worse theaters by providing them with snacks and refreshments. It makes more sense than just to cut the price, and cause disinterest.