• Michigan man files lawsuit over high price of movie popcorn
    54 replies, posted
[quote]A Michigan man says the price of movie theater popcorn is ridiculously high. Same goes for the sodas and candies sold by movie concessionaires. So Joshua Thompson is taking the issue to a higher authority: He's filed a class-action lawsuit to end what he says is price gouging. Thompson, an avid moviegoer from Livonia, Mich., used to bypass the high prices charged for theater popcorn, soda and candy by bringing in his own treats, said his attorney, Kerry Morgan. But Thompson arrived at his local theater outside Detroit recently to find a new sign telling customers they were no longer allowed to bring in their own goodies. "He called me and said, 'Can they do that?' " Morgan told The Times. The attorney said his first reaction was, "Sure, they can do that, it's private property." But then he began doing a little legal research and came across the Michigan Consumer Protection Act, a statute designed to prevent price gouging.And a lawsuit was born. The suit, which seeks refunds in a class action on behalf of moviegoers who were overcharged, was filed last week in Wayne County Circuit Court [URL="http://www.amctheatres.com/"]against[/URL] AMC Theatres. A spokesman for AMC told The Times that he could not comment on pending litigation. While the lawsuit addresses alleged price gouging only in Michigan, you can bet that it will probably trigger copycat lawsuits elsewhere if successful. But don't hold your breath. Some legal experts [URL="http://www.freep.com/article/20120304/NEWS06/203040519/Filmgoer-takes-stand-on-costly-snacks-sues-AMC-Livonia-theater?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE"]told[/URL] the Detroit Free Press that businesses that are already regulated, like movie theaters, are exempt form the state's price-gouging statute. But Morgan says he's not so sure. "We're going to test the legal boundaries of that state law," he said. Morgan said consumers were willing to pay a fair premium for movie theater goodies. But they don't enjoy being charged three or four times the price of a box of Goobers. "Consumers by and large feel very strongly about this," Morgan said. As for Thompson, himself, Morgan says he prefers to stay out of the public eye and does not want to be interviewed by the media. But Morgan did offer up this tidbit about Thompson, which might explain why the plaintiff is paying careful attention to what flies out of his wallet: Thompson is newly engaged and getting married in just a few months.[/quote] [url]http://www.wtkr.com/entertainment/la-na-nn-popcorn-lawsuit-20120305,0,2858379.story[/url]
Good, that shit is fucking robbery.
Blame the movie studios that give theaters such a teeny tiny cut of ticket sales profits, concessions are about the only way they can make money with the tiny percentage the big movie companies give them.
[QUOTE=ratman_122;35016445]Blame the movie studios that give theaters such a teeny tiny cut of ticket sales profits, concessions are about the only way they can make money with the tiny percentage the big movie companies give them.[/QUOTE] I hear this a lot but have never seen proof, is there any? Plus I'm sure if they sold a higher volume at a lower price they'd not only be looked at more favourably by consumers, but surely at least make nearly the same amount of money.
[QUOTE=Shadaez;35016470]I hear this a lot but have never seen proof, is there any? Plus I'm sure if they sold a higher volume at a lower price they'd not only be looked at more favourably by consumers, but surely at least make nearly the same amount of money.[/QUOTE] Most of the time though if you're going to the movies and want popcorn or candy you're going to pay the high price, I feel like even if they did lower prices they wouldn't have near the sales volume increase they would actually need to maintain profits. And as far as ticket sales percentages, read this [url]http://themovieblog.com/2007/economics-of-the-movie-theater-where-the-money-goes-and-why-it-costs-us-so-much/[/url]
I once told told the person I was asking for the price, not their phone number Those assholes kicked me out
Nobody's forcing you to buy the popcorn.
[QUOTE=Captain Lawlrus;35016518]Nobody's forcing you to buy the popcorn.[/QUOTE] No but they are stifling competition by banning outside snacks. They are creating a monopoly.
If general trends and basic marketing shows anything, it's that lower prices mean more sales, not less. About time someone did something. But.. The theater industry is slowly working down to a bare minimum while the world adjusts to the Internet, Netflix, and steaming, so it may end up less than great for theaters if this actually amounts to something. Only time will tell.
Well, they can't search you. so just put the shit in your pockets and go on with your business.
Yea, I can safely say that they overprice on popcorn. My hometown, population 900, had a large movie theater. 90% of its employees came from my highschool. I knew many of them personally. They would frequently get free food stuffs. One of the students brought in an entire bag for a teacher. Like, a bean-bag chair-sized bag of popcorn. Fresh, edible, non-expired popcorn. If they can afford to give that shit away in bulk like that, they aren't relying on it. And this place was bad on the popcorn prices, too. The tickets were reasonable, but the concessions were ridiculous. The teacher who got the popcorn was awesome though. A real hero, everyone liked him. He was also poor as shit and the school disliked his political views and his teaching style, which I thought were true and very effective, so he continued to live in poverty. His meals usually consisted or expired pudding cups for every meal. Shit sucked.
Good thing, as if the ticket prices weren't bad enough for a new movie.
Lol, wow, pay rediculously high for popcorn? I got a recommendation: Put more salt on it so people will buy more soda, the movie theater owners back in the 1960s and 70s did it, why not do that to make money?
I say movie ticket prices are ridiculous too. The closest theater to me sells tickets for almost $13.
Price gouging eh? I think they should look at the gas companies...was it last year they had record profits?
First world problems
[QUOTE=darnok;35016897]First world problems[/QUOTE] It is pretty ridiculous the mark up they have, and they have the nerve to complain about lower sales. When I worked in the prison system the commissary marked up a lot of shit but nothing even close to what theaters do. It is pretty ridiculous that you can get a candy bar from a gas station for 60 cents to a 1 dollar (which they mark up a lot of shit) and the theater charges 3-4 dollars for that piece.
[QUOTE=MR-X;35016590]Well, they can't search you. so just put the shit in your pockets and go on with your business.[/QUOTE] [img]http://ingoodcents.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/AMC-popcorn.jpg[/img] The day I can fit those in my pocket is the day I give up fashion forever.
Just do what I used to do before I decided to boycott the MPAA and wear a damn trenchcoat. Not only will it conceal everything, it will also keep the food warm
Seriously though, who thought $5-8 for some fucking corn kernels, a glop of butter and a sprinkle of salt was a good deal
A 20 oz bottle of water is five bucks at our movie theater.
[QUOTE=Ridge;35016568]No but they are stifling competition by banning outside snacks. They are creating a monopoly.[/QUOTE] Thats why you bring your own shit in. Those thin boxes go in really easy. [editline]6th March 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Dr. Evilcop;35016911][img]http://ingoodcents.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/AMC-popcorn.jpg[/img] The day I can fit those in my pocket is the day I give up fashion forever.[/QUOTE] Fuck the popcorn, bring candy man
I snuck food in before, I guess I was really obvious because the guard said "You don't have to sneak food in, it's allowed." then he laughed at me.
Coming from someone who works at a movie theater, you folks REALLY need to stop bugging me about the prices. Yes, I know it's expensive, but we make literally 0 money from ticket sales. [editline]6th March 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Spearman;35016515]I once told told the person I was asking for the price, not their phone number Those assholes kicked me out[/QUOTE] Oh man I haven't heard that one before. Except I do. Every shift.
the local cinema did this so my friends and i bought $100 worth of cheap food, got our really fat friend to lend a skinny short friend a jumper and packed it full of shit. the ticket dude wanted to stop him so he could confiscate all the stuff, then a guy behind us in the queue said that he couldn't search him for food legally and got mad about the prices so the ticket dude just let us through. shit was cash
[QUOTE=Dr.C;35016978]Just do what I used to do before I decided to boycott the MPAA and wear a damn trenchcoat. Not only will it conceal everything, it will also keep the food warm[/QUOTE] trenchcoat lol
[QUOTE=ratman_122;35016491]Most of the time though if you're going to the movies and want popcorn or candy you're going to pay the high price, I feel like even if they did lower prices they wouldn't have near the sales volume increase they would actually need to maintain profits. And as far as ticket sales percentages, read this [url]http://themovieblog.com/2007/economics-of-the-movie-theater-where-the-money-goes-and-why-it-costs-us-so-much/[/url][/QUOTE] has no sources
[QUOTE=McGee;35017982]the local cinema did this so my friends and i bought $100 worth of cheap food, got our really fat friend to lend a skinny short friend a jumper and packed it full of shit. the ticket dude wanted to stop him so he could confiscate all the stuff, then a guy behind us in the queue said that he couldn't search him for food legally and got mad about the prices so the ticket dude just let us through. shit was cash[/QUOTE] We're only allowed to confiscate it if it's visible. I hate it when people come up to my register with shit in their hand.
[QUOTE='[Seed Eater];35016695']Yea, I can safely say that they overprice on popcorn. My hometown, population 900, had a large movie theater. 90% of its employees came from my highschool. I knew many of them personally. They would frequently get free food stuffs. [B]One of the students brought in an entire bag for a teacher. Like, a bean-bag chair-sized bag of popcorn. Fresh, edible, non-expired popcorn.[/B] If they can afford to give that shit away in bulk like that, they aren't relying on it. And this place was bad on the popcorn prices, too. The tickets were reasonable, but the concessions were ridiculous. The teacher who got the popcorn was awesome though. A real hero, everyone liked him. He was also poor as shit and the school disliked his political views and his teaching style, which I thought were true and very effective, so he continued to live in poverty. His meals usually consisted or expired pudding cups for every meal. Shit sucked.[/QUOTE] Theaters usually give employees some free food stuffs (at mine you can get soda, popcorn and nachos) to lessen the likelyhood of the employee stealing stuff. Many places do this for the same reason, but they aren't obligated to give customers free stuff also. And the thing about the popcorn is that most health code laws don't allow storage of cooked perishible foods, unless some extremely stringent requirements are met. Properly storing cooked popcorn and other perishible foods (like hot dogs) can be more cost prohibitive than you can make profit from, especially since most theaters don't have a full kitchen. All cooked items that are not sold is thrown away at the end of the night, or distributed to employees, which is why your friend likely got a huge bag of popcorn. [QUOTE=Hunterdnrc;35017932]Coming from someone who works at a movie theater, you folks REALLY need to stop bugging me about the prices. Yes, I know it's expensive, but we make literally 0 money from ticket sales. [editline]6th March 2012[/editline] Oh man I haven't heard that one before. Except I do. Every shift.[/QUOTE] Yeah, same here. It gets really annoying, literally the only money maker at our theater is concessions. Here's how the profit from the tickets in the first week is distributed: 1st week of release, Hollywood gets 90%, state gets 8.25% in sales tax and we get 1.75% So if we have 1000 customers paying our matinee ticket price ($5.75) the total income is $5,750. [B]the theater only gets $100.63 of that[/B] For 3D movies, our ticket price is $8.25 because the theater is forced to pay a $2.50 "DRM fee" per ticket straight to Hollywood. If you want to bitch about how expensive our stuff is, fuck off. And anyone I catch sneaking shit in I will tell them to toss it, and in which case they want to be a dick about it, I throw them out and they lose their ticket.
my friend brought in an entire hungry jacks (burger king) meal once cinema dudes didn't give a fuck
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