A movie fan in Michigan is mad as hell and isn’t going to eat it anymore. Joshua Thompson, from Livonia, Mich., has translated the usually silent outrage and frustration of most moviegoers who can’t believe they’re paying $5 for what must be no more than a few cents worth of corn and transferred it to a formal legal action. Last week, Thompson filed a class action suit against his local AMC theater in Wayne County Circuit Court, seeking a refund of what he charges is price gouging at the multiplex. “He got tired of being taken advantage of,” Thompson’s lawyer, Kerry Morgan, said. “It’s hard to justify prices that are three- and four-times higher than anywhere else.” Although legal experts expect the suit to be dismissed, Thompson’s outrage clearly touched a nerve. Blogs, online news and TV reports across the country have picked up the story. Nor is this the first lawsuit designed to address audiences unhappy with the moviegoing experience. As far back as 2003, a man in Illinois filed a class action suit against the Loews Cinema chain, objecting to the pre-show commercial blocks. There’s no word on whether he was successful, but evidence in just about any big chain movie theater — where a good 5 minutes of ads precedes the coming attractions — provides the likely answer.


Dude has a good point. Price gouging bastards! And TV commercials do not belong on movie screens!
Do you like a clean theater with good sound and comfortable seats? What do you think pays for that? “Well the tickets I buy for the movie!” Well if thats the case how do the studios make any money? The fact is it costs money to make, distribute and screen movies and everybody needs to get paid from the head of the studio to the people who work the concessions. If you don’t like the price of the popcorn then I’m sure your fat ass can do without it, simple solution.
While I also dislike the high prices of popcorn, candy, and soda in the movie theaters, I thought that those high prices were because the movie theaters don’t make much (if any) profit off the ticket sales? And who cares if there are some ads/features playing before the film? You wouldn’t be watching anything else at that time, anyway, and sometimes the behind-the-scenes look at upcoming films/TV shows is fun. I think the ticket prices are what need to drop. I paid $28 for my brother and I to go see “The Adventures of Tin Tin” in 3D. That’s 14 bucks apiece!
I hate when they point a gun to my head and force me to buy snacks.
I don’t agree with this being a law suit.
But I do agree concession prices are way too high.
I do realize that theater owners need to recoup costs and movie goers do not realize how little of the ticket price goes to the the theater.
But I’ve always wonder if theater’s could sell more concessions by setting more reasonable prices.
Most theaters I frequent are about 10 dollars for a small popcorn and soda. As a result I rarely buy anything from the concession stand. But if I could buy a small combo for 5 or 6 dollars (which is still 90 percent profit) I would probably buy concessions during most of my weekend movie trips.
In LA, $5 is a great deal for movie popcorn. But the way around this is to just bring your own. Might not be warm, but a good deal.
This is a tough one. First of all, this lawsuit is pretty silly. And there is no question that charging $5 for $0.30 worth of soda is outrageous. But that being said, movie theatres are hurting. I have more of an issue when it’s a major movieplex like AMC. AMC had ruined the movie theatre experience for me. Fake “IMAX,” all digital projection, and ETX. What the hell is ETX? Meanwhile the smaller theatres (where film presentation is itself an art) are really hurting. I’m more than happy to fork over my $5 to theatres like the New Beverly, Vista or Egyptian. But if I ever get stuck going to an AMC… I’m either bringing it in with me or it’s a much needed diet-time.
Last time I went to a Regal Theater, there were 20 minutes of commercials and then 20 minutes of previews….40 minutes of crap until they started the movie! I manage an independent theater and as such I put no more than 2 or 3 previews on before a film and NO commercials. I’ve actually had people come up and thank me for not showing commercials.
I don’t like the high price of concessions either. Here’s the kicker: I don’t have to buy them and often don’t. I quite enjoy the previews but the commercials suck. I once experienced a screening where the commercials, seemingly without end, drove patrons out of the theater. The audience might be captive but that doesn’t mean exhibitors should mistreat it.
As someone who actually works at a local theater chain, I constantly hear complaints about how high the concessions are. No one’s forcing you to buy any food, and if you want to save money on concessions, go on specific days where the concessions are marked down (on Tuesdays our chain sells small drinks and small popcorn for $1, candy for $2.50, and $5 off any combo) or become part of their customer loyalty program (which gives you free tickets and concessions with a point system.
You actually keep theaters thriving when you buy concessions. And concession sales keep folks like me employed part-time.